Reveals the necessary elments of good writing, whether it be fiction, non-fiction, journalism or poetry. It also points out errors to be avoided.
The difference between The First Five Pages and most books on writing is that the others are written by teachers and writers. This one comes from a literary agent--one whose clients include Pulitzer Prize nominees, New York Times bestselling authors, Pushcart Prize recipients, and American Book Award winners. Noah Lukeman is not trying to impart the finer points of writing well. He wants to teach you "how to identify and avoid bad writing," so that your manuscript doesn't come boomeranging back to you in that self-addressed, stamped envelope. Surprise: Agents and editors don't read manuscripts for fun; they are looking for reasons to reject them. Lukeman has arranged his book "in the order of what I look for when trying to dismiss a manuscript," starting with presentation and concluding with pacing and progression. Each chapter addresses a pitfall of poor writing--overabundance of adjectives and adverbs, tedious or unrealistic dialogue, and lack of subtlety to name just a few--by identifying the problem, presenting solutions, giving examples (one wishes these weren't quite so obvious), and offering writing exercises. It's a little bizarre to think about approaching your work as would an agent, but if you are serious about getting published, you may as well get used to it. Plus, Lukeman has plenty of solid advice worth listening to. Particularly fine are his exercises for removing and spicing up modifiers and his remedies for all kinds of faulty dialogue. --Jane Steinberg
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
No frills, boiled down, extremely useful information for aspiring novelists:
I've bought about 10 books on writing so far from different authors and Noah Lukeman's The First Five Pages has been one of the few with any real "meat." I learned so much from this book and will continue to refer to it and study it. Most of the other books I bought spend too much time telling me the obvious, or things I already knew. The First Five Pages, however, tries to tackle it all of the essentials to get published, and succeeds. It's a boiled down overview of what you need to get published, with... more info
The First Five Pages....by Noah Lukeman:
Exactly what an 'almost finished' writer needs. Noah gives detailed instruction for that last look that will make the manuscript salable. I fought him for two chapters before I admitted he was RIGHT. Thanks for every word.
Thank You Mr Lukeman:
Mr Lukeman's advice is incredible in this age where all rules, mores and sexes are blended. After this book in which he defends classic methods, I felt good again about returning to Melville and Dostoevsky, not to mention one of my all time favorites, Conrad, for reading and observation of their techniques. Thank you Mr Lukeman for writing this book. I read it twice, then made notes. For aspiring writers, if you want to sell a book, first get this one; if you want to write for the internet, you would'nt be... more info
3.5 stars really:
In the First Five Pages, Noah Lukeman reveals the quickest ways a manuscript is tossed into the rejection pile. Think your numerous alliterations are clever? Manuscript readers don't. Believe you're subtlety slipping in backstory when your characters discuss their pasts? Nope, it's annoying and contrived. Subscribe to the belief that the more drama, the better? Please unsubscribe. This book's value ultimately lies with Lukeman's editing credentials. He organizes this book according to what an editor... more info
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