Reddit reviews Writing Fiction For Dummies

> Like...it would be passable if she was struggling.

I've read Writing Fiction For Dummies for fun, and I know how to structure a story better than this.

This is going to sound like really flippant advice, but I swear it's not: buy this book. There is a lot of basic stuff you need to know - how to build character and setting and plot, how to outline, and yes, how to market and publish - and this will spell it all out a lot better than any of us could do in a short post on Reddit. It is definitely an intro book, so it's not like this is all you'll ever need, but it's a good place to start, get your bearings, and figure out what you need to focus on next.

When you do figure that out, there are tons of books dedicated to everything from plot structure and scene structure to dialogue and character arcs; buy those too. Use them to improve your craft and fill in your gaps.

Also, read! Read a lot. Pay attention to how the authors you love set a scene, how they describe things (and to what extent), how they structure their chapters and scenes, how they write dialogue. All books contain real, solid examples for you to study and learn from. Figure out what you admire, and mimic it. Figure out what you hate, and avoid it.

And last, keep in mind that your writing probably won't be amazing right away, and you might have to rethink and rewrite your book a few times as you're learning (or maybe even start a new one) before you really feel like you've gotten the hang of it. Don't give up, just keep learning and keep working.

Continued because it was too long lmao

11.) Something that would have a profound impact on your life and help you to achieve your current goals.
I honestly really want to get into acting. I love movies and TV shows, and I really would love to start acting. For that reason, this book would be a great addition to my library and would probably teach me a lot.
This book also looks like it would be a good learning experience. :)
I found another great read! I'll pretty much take any acting books I can get.

12.) One of those pesky Add-On items.
Pop Funkos are honestly my go-to add-on item. Like this little fella, for instance. Adorable and affordable (did I just make up a saying? I do believe I did).
What's that? Ah, yes. Pops. The source of my broke-ness. Have another..
Oh, you think I'm done. HA. I'm too far deep to dig myself out of the hole that is my ever-growing collection of Pops. Infinity War just came out (no spoilers, I really want to see it but haven't gotten the chance yet), so how about this adorable Thor Pop? Who doesn't love Thor?

13.) Something fandom related. (Sports fandoms are acceptable- bonus if someone figures out my favorite team)
My favorite band happens to be Twenty One Pilots... and this is a pretty sick shirt.
I'm sorry, I'm still thinking about Infinity War from up above. I found a Thanos shirt that is honestly super cool. Like I've never seen it before and now I want it lmao.
I recently got gifted this absolutely gorgeous and cool Hawkeye T-shirt. It has BOTH Hawkeyes from the comics on it! Super cool.

14.) Something ridiculously priced, more than $10,000. They exist, y’all.
Who the absolute heck buys a $180,000 watch?! Not me, that's for sure.
I'm honestly not even sure what this is, but it's expensive as heck and you could put that money toward an ACTUAL CAR.
Y'all need a parking lift? I gotchu.

15.) Something with sharks or unicorns.
Who doesn't love socks?. Especially socks with unicorns.
You ask for sharks, I get you sharks.
Also no joke this is the cutest thing I've ever seen oh my gosh.

16.) Something that smells wonderful.
I have a cinnamon candle (not that exact one) and I absolutely love it to death.
Who doesn't love coconut lime? I know I love it.
Have you ever thought to yourself, "damn, I really like me the smell of cilantro"? Well, look no further.

17.) A toy that you wanted or had when you were a child that was the best ever, or (if it’s not on amazon) a toy that you think is pretty cool now (Funko Pops, etc., will count.)
If you never played Clue, did you ever really have a childhood?
Another cool toy I had was something like this cool tent-like bus. The one I had had separate sections that were detachable. It was super cool.
I know it's not technically a toy, but I used to watch The Land Before Time ALL the time. I still love that show. It's so, so good.

18.) Something that would be helpful for writers.
Just getting started on writing? Writing for Dummies is always a good place to start.
If you're writing (especially on a computer), you're gonna eventually need some Advil, whether it's from writer's block or a headache from staring at the computer screen too long.
I know it might not be considered useful, but I always thought an ink pen was super cool to have, especially for writers.

19.) Something related to your current obsession, whatever that may be.
I don't know why, but I suddenly really like Harley Quinn's character. I've been getting, like all the Funko Pops of her. I have a problem.
Oh gosh, you shouldn't have asked. I finally finished catching up to The Walking Dead, and now I want everything Negan related. Like, seriously, I just bought a bloody Lucille of my own. Someone stop me. Anyway, here's a cute little Lucille keychain that I've never seen before.
Another thing I really like is Kylo Ren, but I think you already know that. This BrickHeadz is adorable.

20.) Something that is just so random and weird that it makes you laugh.
This oh my gosh i am dying.
Also idk why but just the lady's posture and the huge heckin' bear is k i l l i n g me.
I don't know how I stumbled upon this weirdass thing but the more I look at it the funnier it is.

Also, this whole thing took me like an hour but it was so much fun. Thanks for the contest!

I suggest reading some good books on writing novels. Writing Fiction for Dummies is a great place to start

I think your MIL needs this. Just sayin'.

I'm a firm believer that learning any skill is a matter of following a simple three step process: 1. Study; 2. Practice; 3. Get feedback. And, of course, repeat until... Well, basically until you die or lose interest. There's always more to learn.

Others have already addressed steps 2 and 3 (ad nauseum), but it's obvious what you're really asking for is resources for step 1, so here are a few of my personal favorites:

• Bestselling, award-winning fantasy author Brandon Sanderson's lectures at Brigham-Young University. As a full 12 hour university-level writing class, it is one of the best writing resources you'll find anywhere, and it is available free on YouTube. It's focused on fantasy, but a lot (most?) of what he talks about is applicable to any genre.
  
• I kinda hate recommending it because of the embarrassing title, but Writing Fiction for Dummies actually provides a pretty thorough overview of the writing process and the choices available to an author, including some options a lot of people don't seem to be aware of (for example, 3rd person objective POV).
  
• K.M. Weiland's blog Helping Writers Become Authors is full of great info, especially on character arcs and how to use (her preferred version of) the traditional three-act structure. A little bit prescriptive, so keep a pinch of salt at hand, but you can learn some good techniques from her.
  
• Jenna Moreci's YouTube channel. She's a self-published author with two mediocre books under her belt who basically regurgitates the same writing advice you can find on pretty much any other writing blog, but it's still mostly good advice, and I like the blunt, humorous style she presents it in.
  
  As a bonus, here are my two standard recommendations for where to go when you get to step 3 and are ready for peer critiquing:
  
  
• Scribophile.com is basically a free online critique group. The general atmosphere is friendly, helpful, and gracious. It's based around a karma system that ensures everyone participates in a fair exchange of critique quantity – while that doesn't guarantee a fair exchange of critique quality, it does mean that you can be sure to get some kind of feedback on everything you post (unlike some similar sites, where most stories just get ignored). Also, your work is only accessible to other members, not posted publicly for the entire Internet.
  
• r/DestructiveReaders is a subreddit for exchanging critiques with fellow redditors. I haven't actually used this one personally because I'm not comfortable posting my works-in-progress completely publicly, but their description makes a point of expecting in-depth, detailed critiques.

A blog about how you start from scratch would be fun. Especially if you keep it up, you will be able to look back on it as a professional years from now and see how far you've come.

For writers of large worlds (I have my own persistent universe for my science fiction), I do recommend one thing: It is possible to have a universe that is TOO big. To avoid drowning your audience is needless details, be sure to learn how all the story elements PLAY TOGETHER. Characters advance the plot. The setting is the world that characters interact with. Characters run into conflict. Plot is all about the conflict. Etc etc .... all story elements are interconnected in every which possible way. If nothing works cohesively together, then you will run into disjointed issues in your writing.

To learn how these story elements are interconnected in a sort of "web-of-storytelling", I've enjoyed the Writing Fiction for Dummies book to help explain the basics. It definitely does NOT cover everything, but it's a good high level view of all story elements. Each element (i.e. plot, setting, characters, dialogue, etc) can and does have its own books by themselves. If you feel you are lacking in a specific element, you can potentially read up further into it.

Your fictional writing courses should help out as well. Again, be aware that you will not learn everything there is to know in your coursework.

I have a disclaimer though: Reading about writing, and taking the time to write are two different things. Do NOT spend a lot of money in hopes that self-help books alone will teach you everything there is to know. Most skill comes from experience and practice. This is where your blog will come into play. It will keep track of how well you improve over time.

You can do it!

Believe me, it makes me a grumpy toast to shell out that much for likely outdated books. At least it's an ebook, though. CTRL+F FTW!

Still working through it, but I'm reading Writing Fiction for Dummies. I found it in my store and was actually pretty surprised. I'm not usually a fan of the quality of Dummies books but this one seems pretty comprehensive so far, if a little geared towards professional writing.