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Title: For the serious professional
Review: This book is the best book I've read to date on how to write a novel. As Bickham himself wrote, understanding structure frees the writer. Once you understand structure, then you can decide when and how to break the rules.According to Bickham, novels are made up of scenes, in which there must be conflict; transitions; and sequels, in which the viewpoint character reacts to conflict and determines a new course of action.The protagonist is the author of her fate; whatever happens at the end of the book is a result of decisions, she has made. An ending doesn't have to be happy, but it has to be satisfying; it has to answer the story question posed at the beginning of the book.Reading a good book on craft is very encouraging for the struggling writer and this is a great book on craft.The reviewer of the title "Melodramatic Crap" needs to edit his comments; the spelling errors detract from his message... among other things.
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