‘Making Shapely Fiction’ is a book I’m sure I’ve talked about before, but I can’t help but bring it up again. It’s essentially a manual covering the many varied aspects of fiction and fiction writing. It’s not a book I’ve ever been able to sit down and read cover to cover (nor would I necessarily recommend you do so), but it is one that I literally keep by my bedside to pick up every so often for inspiration. Each entry in the book is a mostly self-contained guide about some aspect of fiction writing or another. Author Jerome Stern has a bit of advice about everything from the basics of plot and character, to niche entries that a more seasoned writer would find interesting such as ‘bear at the door’ and ‘objective correlative.’ I think this is an essential book for any writers out there, and an amazing place to get started. The bite-sized presentation, the range of topics, and the quality of the information are all spectacular. My only wish is that it had more, only, I’m not sure what else it would include that it doesn’t already cover.

Thank you for reading,

Benjamin Hawley

P.S. I was trying out a shorter review style this time. Let me know what you think!