Writing the Breakout Novel: Insider Advice for Taking Your Fiction to the Next Level

Take your fiction to the next level! Maybe you're a first-time novelist looking for practical guidance. Maybe you've already been published, but your latest effort is stuck in mid-list limbo. Whatever the case may be, author and literary agent Donald Maass can show you how to take your prose to the next level and write a breakout novel - one that rises out of obscurity and hits the best-seller lists. Maass details the elements that all breakout novels share - regardless of genre - then shows you writing techniques that can make your own books stand out and succeed in a crowded marketplace. You'll learn to: • establish a powerful and sweeping sense of time and place • weave subplots into the main action for a complex, engrossing story • create larger-than-life characters that step right off the page • explore universal themes that will interest a broad audience of readers • sustain a high degree of narrative tension from start to finish • develop an inspired premise that sets your novel apart from the competition Then, using examples from the recent works of several best-selling authors - including novelist Anne Perry - Maass illustrates methods for upping the ante in every aspect of your novel writing. You'll capture the eye of an agent, generate publisher interest and lay the foundation for a promising career.

Writing the Breakout Novel

By Donald Maass

A breakout novel is one that rises out of its category and hits the best-seller lists. Maass explains the elements that all breakout novels share and shows readers how to write a novel that has a good chance of succeeding in a crowded marketplace. Then, using several of his clients' experiences, including best-selling novelist Anne Perry, Maass provides insider examples to show how this type of novel can generate agent and publisher interest.

Donald Maass is the author of 17 novels. He now works as a literary agent, representing dozens of novelists in the SF, fantasy, crime, mystery, romance and thriller categories. He speaks at writer's conferences throughout the country and lives in New York City.

Library Journal

In today's world, an author who doesn't produce a breakout novel risks getting lost in the midlist of the publishing world. Maass, the author of 17 novels who now works as a literary agent representing such distinguished writers as Anne Perry and James Patterson, knows firsthand what makes a novel rise above its category in the already saturated book market. Using his own clients as case studies, Maass defines the most crucial elements of a breakout novel a powerful sense of time and place, larger-than-life characters, a high degree of tension, good subplots, and universal themes and shows the reader how to use these elements efficiently to write a novel that will generate interest and have the potential to hit the best sellers lists. Each section ends with checklists for review. Recommended for all public libraries serving communities with struggling writers. Lisa J. Cihlar, Monroe P.L., WI Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Explains the elements that all breakout novels share & shows readers how to use these elements to write a novel that will stand out within the crowded marketplace. A breakout novel is one that rises out of its category -- such as literary fiction, mystery, romance, or thriller -- and hits the bestseller lists. Maass explains the elements that all breakout novels share and shows readers how to use these elements to write a novel that has a good chance of succeeding in a crowded marketplace. They'll learn to: -- create a powerful and sweeping sense of time and place -- develop larger-than-life characters -- sustain a high degree of narrative tension from start to finish -- weave sub-plots into the main action -- explore universal themes that will interest a large audience of readers Then, using several of his clients' experiences -- including best-selling novelist Anne Perry -- as case studies, Maass provides real-life, insider examples to show how this type of novel can generate agent and publisher interest, creating or enhancing a novelist's career Using real-life case studies, the author shows novelists how to create a powerful and sweeping sense of time and place, develop larger-than-life characters, sustain a high degree of narrative tension, and explore universal themes that will interest a large audience of readers