Mastering the Process
From Idea to Novel
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
As the author of twenty-four novels, Elizabeth George is one of the most successful--and prolific--novelists today. In Mastering the Process, George offers readers a master class in the art and science of crafting a novel. This is a subject she knows well, having taught creative writing both nationally and internationally for over thirty years.
"I have never before read a book about writing that is so thorough, thoughtful, and most of all, helpful." --Lisa See, New York Times bestselling author of The Island of Sea Women
For many writers, the biggest challenge is figuring out how to take that earliest glimmer of inspiration and shape it into a full-length novel. How do you even begin to transform a single idea into a complete book?
In these pages, award-winning, number one New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth George takes us behind the scenes through each step of her writing process, revealing exactly what it takes to craft a novel.
Drawing from her personal photos, early notes, character analyses, and rough drafts, George shows us every stage of how she wrote her novel Careless in Red, from researching location to imagining plot to creating characters to the actual writing and revision processes themselves. George offers us an intimate look at the procedures she follows, while also providing invaluable advice for writers about what has worked for her--and what hasn't. Mastering the Process gives writers practical, prescriptive, and achievable tools for creating a novel, editing a novel, and problem solving when in the midst of a novel, from a master storyteller writing at the top of her game.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Mystery author George (The Punishment She Deserves) demonstrates her own cardinal virtues of writing careful organization and meticulous attention to detail in this skillful guide to creating a novel. Not one to wait for inspiration, George goes about her writing process like a job a "challenging and deeply satisfying," but still step-by-step, routine. She concentrates on explaining how she attends to character development, setting, dialogue, and developing plot points, offering exercises at each chapter's end. The book's great strength is in using excerpts from her 2008 novel, Careless in Red,to illustrate potentially abstract ideas, such as the choice among providing new situations, information, characters, or character agendas to create a turning point in the plot. Aspiring authors will likely have already heard her advice in one form or other, but the examples make it tangible and usable. Another strength is an emphasis on hard work: George describes, for example, her exhaustive process of writing every major character's backstory. For those looking to access the same passion that might drive a Thoreau or Virginia Woolf, George is not a go-to. Craft is her m tier. Writers looking for practical insights will find this book to be of great merit.
