“Science fiction plucks from within us our deepest fears and hopes, then shows them to us in rough disguise.” (p. 109) This quote from W. H. Auden sets the mood for many of the chapters in Gareth L. Powell’s useful About Writing: The Authorized Field Guide for Aspiring Authors (2022). The “field guide” format means Powell invites readers to browse his book in any order they like.

I’ve read over a hundred books on writing. Every time I write, I try to improve my writing. Gareth Powell provides tips from years of writing, some of which might help me…and you.

My favorite chapter in About Writing is “Ten Books That Changed My World.” I’ve read six of the ten. Powell has good taste in books.

What is your writing process? GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Foreword 1  

How to Use This Book 5 

The Artist’s Prayer 7 

Part 1 About Getting Started — 9 

Getting Organised 11 

Getting Started 15 

Tools of the Trade 17 

Choosing Your Teachers 21 

Where Do You Get Your Crazy Ideas? 25 

55 Story Ideas 33 

When to Write and When to Edit 41 

Exercise the Storytelling Muscles 43 

Internalise the Identity 45 

Don’t Wait for Inspiration 49 

Beating the Blank Page: How to Jumpstart Your Story 51 

Three Ways to Breathe Life into Your Fiction 53 

Balancing Writing with Your Day Job 57 

Part 2 About Novels — 63 

The Real Secret to Writing a Novel 65 

When is a Novel Not a Novel? 69 

Understand What Your Novel Is About 73 

What Is Plot? 77 

Creating Authentic Characters 81 

World-Building 85 

Part 3 About Genres — 89 

A Note on Genre 91 

Crime 93 

Romance 95 

Horror 97 

Historical Fiction 99 

Young Adult Fiction 101 

Mainstream and Literary Fiction 103 

Fantasy 105 

Science Fiction 107 

Part 4 About Writing — 117 

How I Write 119 

The Essential Qualities of a Novelist 127 

Ten Tips for Novelists 131 

Daily Productivity Sheet 133 

Three Ways of Finding More Time to Write 137 

Five Essential Rules for Writing Better Fiction 141 

Five Lessons Writers Can Learn from Athletes 145 

Three Things to Remember When Writing Action Scenes 149 

Find Your Carnegie Hall 155 

A Simple Trick to Keep Your Creativity Flowing 157 

Saving What You Take Out 161 

A Trilogy of Things I Learned While Writing a Trilogy 163 

Everybody’s a Geek About Something 169 

Dealing with Writer’s Block 173 

Beating Writer’s Block with 100 Words 181 

How to Keep Being Creative in a Crisis 183 

Part 5 About Getting Published — 189 

Eight Steps to Becoming a Published Writer 191 

Publishing vs Self-Publishing 195 

Why Get an Agent, and What to Look For199 

Ten Tips for Finding an Agent 201 

How to Write a Novel Outline 205 

How to Write a Novel Synopsis 211 

The Secret Formula for Writing an Effective Elevator Pitch 217 

How to Write a Cover Letter 221 

How to Be More Confident 225 

Dealing with Rejections 229 

Imposter Syndrome233 

Part 6 About Being Published — 237 

Becoming a Full-Time Author 239 

What to Look for in a Publisher 243 

Advances: How Do They Work? 247 

Advances: What to Do with Them 251 

Dealing with Editors 253 

Being Edited 255 

Ten Tips to Deal with an Edit 259 

The Knee-Jerk ‘No!’ 263 

Covers – The Front Cover, and Cover Copy 267 

Publication Day 269 

Ten Ways to Maximise Your Publicity and Marketing 271 

Ten Top Tips for Selling Books on Social Media 275 

Dealing with Reviews 281 

Convention Tips 285 

Being an Author 291 

Part 7 About Gareth L. Powell — 303 

My Journey 305 

Where I Write313 

Ten Books That Changed My World 315 

An Open Letter to an Ugly Duckling 325 

Part 8 Frequently Asked Questions — 329 

Acknowledgements 343 

About the Author 345 

Credits 347