This book is extremely helpful. When I started reading the first 5 chapters, I thought this was unhelpful, uninspired, and acted like writing should be sterile, just for mass marketing and money. I stopped reading, and thought it was a waste of my time. But, of course I was wrong. Now that I finally attained some real inspiration and passion in an idea, this book is now incredibly helpful. I have to start it over just so I can fully use its knowledge for my story.

When you finally find something you love and want to write about, this book is can be so helpful in helping you go where you want to go. I always thought the author just wanted me to write his story, but now, I know that this book enables and helps me write my story.

The book is devoid of fluff, full of actionable tips, advice, formulas and strategy backed up by good evidence and supporting examples. James has steeped himself in books on learning the craft and the book reads like a 'best of' story writing tips. As a writer, I have plenty of ideas but struggle to know how to convert those ideas into something that will sustain a novel. This little manual showed me how. Since reading it I have made great headway into developing the outline for my first novel. Without the book, I would have been at a loss as to how to go about it.

The key lessons here are the LOCK system and three Act structure. You will see how this formula applies to almost all successful fiction and how you can recreate it to create plots that sustain interest for 200, 300 and more pages.

No book is perfect, and my only criticism is that I would have enjoyed a more varied selection of supporting examples. The author draws from Dean Koontz a little too often! I'm sure this has been a common criticism, but it's only a minor note against a book that is quite exceptional.

I have been devouring books on writing, and this one stands out as the best, by far. As an engineer who is seeking to understand what makes fiction "tick", this book is a godsend. Bell himself was a lawyer before becoming a successful novelist. It is obvious this book was born from the mind of a highly analytical person who was also able to achieve commercial success.

If I were to title this book, I would call it "Principles of Novel Construction". Other books have presented useful advice, but this book is the nexus of my understanding.