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| Author: James Scott Bell
Publisher: Writers Digest Books
Category: Book
List Price: $16.99
Buy New: $11.55
You Save: $5.44 (32%)
Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 7432
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2nd
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9
ISBN: 1582975086
Dewey Decimal Number: 808.3
EAN: 9781582975085
Publication Date: May 5, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
Revision and Self-Editing (Write Great Fiction) July 1, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
James Scott Bell writes with excitement and humor. This how-to book is practical, insightful, and inspiring. He actually tells how it's done.
A Must-Read for Every Writer May 30, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'm always looking for a great writing book that teaches fiction techniques in an easy to understand format. As a published writer, I devour craft books to not only help me become a better writer but also to recommend as a teaching tool. Revision & Self-Editing is a reminder of the importance of a polished project with writing exercises that strengthen and challenge all writers. This is a Must-Read for the fiction novelist.
Indispensable October 18, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'm currently doing a revision of a completed first draft while also structuring the plots for two new novels. Sitting next to my keyboard are two books by James Scott Bell, PLOT & STRUCTURE and REVISION & SELF-EDITING. My copies are underlined, annotated, dog-eared, and well-thumbed. I've learned that no matter how much I think I know about writing, I've always got a lot to learn, and Bell is the guy who teaches it best.
If you want to write a novel that grips your readers from the first line and holds 'em by the throat to the end, regardless of genre, then these books are indispensable. Bell's intro to REVISION & SELF-EDITING, "On Becoming a Writer," inspires you and makes your fingers itch to start writing. Chapters on Characters, Plot and Structure, POV, Scenes, and so forth are a content-packed course on the essentials of writing fiction. Bell gives you a checklist at the end that will help you to spot flaws and weaknesses in your manuscript at a glance--and he tells you exactly how to fix them. Suggestion: Read a couple of James Scott Bell's novels like TRY DYING or THE WHOLE TRUTH and marvel at how this guy writes, then read REVISION & SELF-EDITING and PLOT & STRUCTURE and find out exactly how he does it.
 Very good, get it! November 8, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have bought the whole series of Write Great Fiction and also other titles. According to the buildup of the previous 4, this one finishes the series in a logical way: a brief summary of all the `how to write' elements, ended with a big checklist.
Some reviews say this is a good one (like me), others do not.
I give this book 4.5 stars, therefore 4 since Amazon doesn't do decimals. Not 5 stars since a perfect book on revision should have included the whole checklists of each individual Write Great Fiction as a summary, which would have made it more complete. Of course, the publisher obviously wants us to buy them all, but for quick checklist + completeness purposes, I would recommend the publisher to revise this book such. Probably the best way would have been to put the three authors of the series together and come up with their ideas.
Nevertheless, a well-done final of this by far best series on the `How to write' subject. I love the way these titles have handled their subjects: no vague blabla, but good examples, on how to and how not to, ended with a synopsis, and in the end a big checklist. They are conveniently arranged and that is what I was looking for, and probably all of us: after putting them down finally having some checkpoints on the wall! Writing and revising is intimidating enough, and the idea to have to keep in mind all the books and innumerable tips, is not possible. What is possible is to make a list yourself out of these books, and collect them on your own checklist on your wall, for every scene you rewrite. I did this for all titles, and it worked. I think no book on rewriting can be the perfect checklist but this series has helped tremendously to collect I think almost all you need to write a good book. The rest is just talent, and not giving up.
This book starts off with all the elements the previous titles have dwelled on themselves, so the plus is it is good to summarize and memorize again, the minus is the other titles were complete enough.
On the other hand, to just give a ten page checklist would also not have worked. I found also, that the way James Scott Bell handled all the basics again was a nice addition. He had some ideas and examples I had not read in the previous ones before, since three of them were done by other authors.
Finally he gets to the revision process itself, which is well covered.
I have not seen better titles on the subject yet. Take Stein on Writing, from Sol Stein. These titles are good too, but not as schematic as these ones (I like summaries, and bullet-points) and they are more interwoven with his experience as an editor. Nice, but sometimes too wordy, and not always handy for on the wall stuff. After all, it is about what we have left when we put it down. With Stein's books it was a nice read ,but nothing concrete. With this series, I have more than enough to go on!
If you want to be a better writer . . . December 7, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
. . . buy this book. It will help you, whether you're a newbie or a multi-published veteran. I've written four published novels, and I still found invaluable advice in every chapter of Revision & Self-Editing. Although this book focuses on the work that comes after a first draft is finished, it includes tools and tricks that will be useful no matter where you are in the writing process.
It's also surprisingly fun to read. We've all read novels that read like bad manuals. Here's a manual that reads like good novel. I generally have to force myself through nonfiction books (particularly how-to-write guides), but I actually had trouble putting this one down.
Kudos to James Scott Bell on a job well done.
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