Self-Editing for Fiction Writers

The fiction writers self-editing book by Renni Browne and Dave King, in my opinion, is the best book to buy for aspiring, and even experienced, fiction writers. Save your money and only buy this book, it is the best.

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers is an excellent book on how to improve your chances at publication. Authors Renni Browne and Dave King provide a wealth of suggestions in fewer than 200 pages.

SEFFW, however, can be difficult reading, as several reviewers have noted; you are likely to find that you are making many mistakes in your writing at present. Browne and King offer particularly strong sections on how to write dialogue and on "showing instead of telling."

The authors are very opinionated about the types of prose that contemporary readers expect (and, hence, that editors prefer to buy). You might find that some of Browne and King's advice is confining because it can curb your creativity. You should, moreover, be forewarned that not all of the advice in SEFFW is easy to adopt. The authors point out in the final chapter (on voice) that you develop fiction skills only with much hard work over an extended period of time.

In summary, Browne and King provide some great advice if you are serious about publishing your fiction.

Having just finished another first draft of a novel, it was time to pull Self-Editing off the shelf for my third read of this trusty book.

That I have it on my shelf and have reread it so many times is a testament to something, but what? it is truth of what we write. Through many examples, and exercises, which I will admit to passing on, the authors give us guidance in what we know to be on the lookout for. Things that we forget as we write and crank out that draft, letting our creativity spew before the other half of the mind takes over.

They are not addressing our creative process, but our thinking process where we use our consciousness to refine what we first wrote. Here they talk to us about scenes, beats, dialogue. Tools that we as writers should look at it. Very often I have complex conversations between multiple characters and the authors address where I have problems, just as i know I have those problems.

Its use is wihtout question. In this day of less editors of your work, you have to write a polished piece. This is a help.

Any writer who is interested in becoming more effective, whether fiction or non-fiction, should read this book. I was impressed from the first page. Sound insights and well-chosen examples help to explain each concept. Every chapter covers an important writing skill, such as characterization, dialogue, proportion, points of view, and so much more. Each chapter ends with a checklist to evaluate personal work and exercises to build understanding. This is well-written and an enjoyable read. A must-have in any writer's resource library.

This excellent work deals precisely with the subjects that are of concern to the talented, inexperienced writer. In my opinion this book would be a perfect tool to catapult a writer from stilted inexperience to smooth, acknowledged readability.