Random Craft Post Three

Not sure this is actually a Craft Post because the book I'm going to talk about is not exactly a craft book but more as the title (How I Write) says - one author's take on writing for publication.

That author just happens to be the hilarious Janet Evanovich, creator of the very popular Stephanie Plum books. I must admit I've only read about three (not 1,2,3 either) in the Plum series. I enjoyed them all, just have very limited reading time at the moment. However, when I saw Janet had written a book ABOUT writing, I had to have it. Surely someone who has hit the bestseller lists time and time again would have something useful to say.

I read this book in one sitting and got many nuggets of gold from it. Some were reminders of things I already knew, some were light bulb moments and other just particularly fitting because I've just finished a first draft. One of these were the saying she quotes from Stephen King: ''A Second Draft = A First Draft minus 10%''. I'm hoping this is the case for my recently finished wip, cos it could do with losing a few ks.

Right... now before I go, I'm gonna do what a random craft post is supposed to do and open the book at a random page and share what lies there. Here goes....

Janet's take on plotting:

Plotting isn't my favorite thing, but here's how I do it. I listen to some cheesy disco music to get my energy up. Then I sit down with a yellow pad and a big bag of chips. I think about a crime and why it would occur. What were the bad guys thinking? What did they want? How did they do it? Why did they get caught? How did the capture go down? I see it as a movie. Then I write out my little time line of action.

I really enjoyed reading Janet's book. As I said, it's not a How-To write book exactly but more an insight into how this really talented author does her stuff. I wish more of my favourite writers would publish books about their process.

So... you guys read any good craft books lately?