Title: Disappointing and formulaic
Product review: Although most of the advice is pretty standard that you get in any how-to-write book, my two stars comes from his statements that you must have a premise (such as "Cheaters never win") before you begin to write. This kind of approach is perilous for beginning writers, leading to work that can be preachy, predictable, and cliched. Many times, the true premise of a story or novel makes itself known during the revision process, but to begin your first draft that way is to try to shoehorn your story into an ill-fitting formula that serves neither the reader nor the writer.
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