The Breakout Novelist: How to Craft Novels That Stand Out and Sell

This one took me quite a bit of time to get through, because there's a lot of information AND opinion to navigate. In terms of writing style and voice, it felt....conversational, but condescending somehow as well. His asides were unnecessary, and there was some "assume the reader is an idiot" in them. But if you gloss over those question/answer insults, you'll find a lot of nuggets of info here. The first half is all about the elements of a good novel, with a metric ton of examples of each (excellent for helping us readers understanding those concepts). It's nothing new, just reminders of things like micro-tension, and support of the idea that you should always write to outdo yourself, and write often, and write your very best.The second half is all about the publishing industry. It's a little outdated already, having been written in 2010 (when the ebook publishing industry was still in its infancy, not the ungainly waddling toddler it is today), but still useful. I found that part most educational, and it was eye-opening (and depressing) to see how convoluted the industry is. The underlying assumption was that if you write a truly great novel, and you have a good agent, you're guaranteed to get published and garner a fan base (and then you need to keep writing better and growing your skill). That seems contradictorily simple, given how convoluted the publishing industry is (according to Maass) but maybe it's the carrot to balance the stick reality of "you will never be self-supporting as an author". I recommend picking this one up AFTER you've written an revised a manuscript. It will certainly get you thinking about your story and characters. If you pick it up before you've written anything (like I did) you may find yourself intimidated out of writing (which is what I'm currently struggling with). Either way, it's a good resource.

An exceptional writer once told me that I should stop reading-about-writing and just-write. She also explained that it takes decades, learning to write fiction well.Now she thinks that I've made extraordinary progress in a just three yeaers. And I have several how-to texts to thank. My favorite is "Breakout" by Donald Maass.I wasted time & money on a "bunch" of texts that were of little or no use to me. But I especially like texts by Donald Maass; James Scott Bell; and K. M. Weiland. . . . Thank-you, guys!

Some reviewers have stated this book isn’t useful unless you already have written your manuscript or are working on one. I totally disagree. Every single page is chocked-full of important and precise writing instruction. Maass not only offers writing instruction, but shows you how to think like a writer via the needs of your characters and of your readers. Buy this book NOW, before you even know what your novel is about. You want all this brilliant information percolating in your subconscious for when you actually sit down to write. I will be reading this amazing book repeatedly. This volume should be on every writer’s shelf. I’m ordering the workbook next.

.Reviewed by C. J. SinghCouple of years ago, I read three fiction-craft books by Donald Maass in the order they were published:  Writing the Breakout Novel  (2000), Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook  (2004), The Fire in Fiction: Passion, Purpose and Techniques  (2009)and posted a review of the latter on amzon.com.Maass's three fiction-craft books, written over a span of fifteen years, overlapped somewhat in contents. This redundancy he has skillfully excised in the compact three-part new book, beautifully designed with spiral binding. Introducing "The Breakout Novelist," Maass writes: "[It's] a story doctor on call. That is the purpose of this book, I have assembled here the best of my previous books on fiction technique" (p 1).The first part, "Mastering Breakout Basics," lucidly explains fundamentals such as premise, character, plot, subplots, and theme. He cites numerous examples from novels including Anne Tyler's "The Accidental Tourist," Judith Guest's "Ordinary People," and David Guterson's "Snow Falling on Cedars." The concluding chapter, "Practical Tools," comprises thirty-five exercises.The second part, "Achieving Breakout Greatness," is a compact version of his acclaimed book "The Fire in Fiction." Examples from novels include E.L. Doctorow's "The March" (2005), Gary Shteyngart's "Absurdistan" (2006), Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" (2006), Ethan Canin's "America, America" (2008), and Don DeLillo's "Falling Man" (2008). The concluding chapter, "Practical Tools, " comprises the next set of exercises, bringing the total to seventy-three.The third part, "Building a Breakout Career," focuses on pitching, getting an agent, contracts, as well as the emerging field of e-publishing. It's an update of his "The Career Novelist: A Literary Agent Offers Strategies for Success" (1996).Every now and then, I receive inquiries from readers of my amazon reviews for specific suggestions. To the new reader, I'd say, "In 'The Breakout Novelist,' Maass delivers the best of his previous books. This is the one. Go to it."-- C. J. Singh

Almost gave this five stars, because It's definitely one of the best of this type of book, well written, from a proven source, with apt analogies. Where it fell down just a little for me was that it did sometimes feel as if there were too many repetitions of a point [yes I know it's a good thing to phrase things in different ways] and the work through excercises occasionally used terms that didn't mean much to me, though I thought I'd met most. I'd recommend this though anyway - it's one of only a couple such books I've actually admired.

Ever wonder what's wrong with your novel? This book will tell you, from every aspect. Of course, how well you can fix it is down to your skill as a writer, but this book covers it all. If you study it closely and do the exercises, you will see improvements in your plot structure, storyline, style and dramatic impact in leaps and bounds. This is a book to keep with you at every stage of the writing process, for all your works. It's helped me a great deal.

An excellent book with lots of examples to back up his ideas. Good for dipping into when you want some inspiration.

Excellent book - combines 3 of his previous books, offering you the "best of" information for writing a novel that works and will sell. This is advice from a very experienced agent who understands craft and provides exercises to help you develop it. Also, great advice about the world of publishing and choosing an agent - no, they're not all the same.If I could only have two books about writing novels, I would choose this one and Steven James's Story Trumps Structure.

Bought it for my husband and he loves it- Has read it twice already.