Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts
- Downloads：2313
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-03-06 01:19:42
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Matt Bell
- ISBN：1641293411
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Kristin Boldon
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I am writing a novel right now and this book has so much good advice， not just from the author but from a range of other authors， whose interviews he's carefully harvested for the gems。 And the advice on tightening your prose is good for any kind of writing。 This book， which quotes a range of authors and uses strong examples of craft， is one of the most useful writing books I've read。 I am writing a novel right now and this book has so much good advice， not just from the author but from a range of other authors， whose interviews he's carefully harvested for the gems。 And the advice on tightening your prose is good for any kind of writing。 This book， which quotes a range of authors and uses strong examples of craft， is one of the most useful writing books I've read。 。。。more
H S
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A wonderfully warm and accessible book on writing a novel。 I can’t wait to press it into the hands of my students， and I’ve found it immensely helpful as I wade through my own second novel。 All the key insights I would wish to impart to beginner writers are here， as well as genuinely new and helpful advice that I’m sure I will be using in my writing for years to come。 Congratulations to Bell for a text that’s equal parts insightful and approachable。 I’ve already pre-ordered my physical copy here A wonderfully warm and accessible book on writing a novel。 I can’t wait to press it into the hands of my students， and I’ve found it immensely helpful as I wade through my own second novel。 All the key insights I would wish to impart to beginner writers are here， as well as genuinely new and helpful advice that I’m sure I will be using in my writing for years to come。 Congratulations to Bell for a text that’s equal parts insightful and approachable。 I’ve already pre-ordered my physical copy here in Australia， as this has well and truly earned its spot in my craft and process library！（With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Soho Press for an advanced copy of this book） 。。。more
Dan
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My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Soho Press for an advanced copy of this book on the writing craft。 In Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts， Matt Bell an author whose works crosses over many different genres and writing styles， and who also teaches creative writing at the university level has written probably one of the most helpful and more importantly encouraging writing books that has come in quite a while。 Mr。 Bell breaks the writing process in his book My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Soho Press for an advanced copy of this book on the writing craft。 In Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts， Matt Bell an author whose works crosses over many different genres and writing styles， and who also teaches creative writing at the university level has written probably one of the most helpful and more importantly encouraging writing books that has come in quite a while。 Mr。 Bell breaks the writing process in his book into three steps。 First get your ideas down， don't worry about the style the narrator even the plot， this as you go will all change。 Second， go back and revise what you have， by outlining or listing what you have， and deciding if what you have is right。 Change the order， maybe change the point of view， add or delete characters。 Finally， polishing what you have， and revising where needed and even more where you don't think it is needed。 The writing for the book， is loose， conversational and never drags。 Not really a class， nor a TED speech， more like a mentor sitting back and going， ok show me what you have。 Mr。 Bell uses many examples from his own writing， and shares his and other authors anecdotes in a way that shows a lesson， rather than beating the reader on the head with it。 Mr。 Bell is very encouraging， and wants to make the reader not just a good writer， but happy with their work。 Mr。 Bell stresses the work involved， has many good suggestions， promises that it won't be east， but the reward is really worth it。 This is a very easy book to recommend。 For a slim title， there are many good suggestions and ideas， and practical honest advice。 Positive advice for that matter。 A nice gift for the friend you know has always wanted to try to write not the great American novel， but something for themselves， that is both encouraging and useful。 。。。more
Caitlin Kunkel
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An excellent craft book， broken into three helpful and intuitive stages and stuffed with concrete exercises and techniques。 "Refuse To Be Done" is a compact and fast read that can be easily referenced and used at numerous points in the writing process。 I'll definitely be recommending this to other writers and my students！ An excellent craft book， broken into three helpful and intuitive stages and stuffed with concrete exercises and techniques。 "Refuse To Be Done" is a compact and fast read that can be easily referenced and used at numerous points in the writing process。 I'll definitely be recommending this to other writers and my students！ 。。。more
Jen
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The only thing I didn't like about this book is that it isn't out yet so I can't recommend and send it to all the writers in my life。 This is an essential resource for people who are embarking upon writing a novel for the first time， revising for the 12th time， or writing a first or 10th book。 It's accessible and thorough， but like any craft book， you can take what seems useful and leave the rest。 I will probably revisit it again and again。 The only thing I didn't like about this book is that it isn't out yet so I can't recommend and send it to all the writers in my life。 This is an essential resource for people who are embarking upon writing a novel for the first time， revising for the 12th time， or writing a first or 10th book。 It's accessible and thorough， but like any craft book， you can take what seems useful and leave the rest。 I will probably revisit it again and again。 。。。more
Sam Slaughter
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A wonderful， accessible book that gives practical advice all the while offering a solid push to do more with whatever project is in front of you。 This is the sort of advice that could be given over a few beers， except in written form you have the added benefit of being able to underline， highlight and notate the hell out of it
Joy R。
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Packed full of practical ideas， this short gym offers a budding writer all that’s needed to actually take the step of completing their manuscript。 Including specific writing inspiration like “Writing the Islands “or “Art life” while writing the first draft， Bell encourages a view of novel writing as three drafts。 Offering useful tips about revising versus rewriting， use of chapters and outlines as well as a focus on “how “the writing looks when in print， this book is a must have for anyone seeki Packed full of practical ideas， this short gym offers a budding writer all that’s needed to actually take the step of completing their manuscript。 Including specific writing inspiration like “Writing the Islands “or “Art life” while writing the first draft， Bell encourages a view of novel writing as three drafts。 Offering useful tips about revising versus rewriting， use of chapters and outlines as well as a focus on “how “the writing looks when in print， this book is a must have for anyone seeking the elusive term of ‘novel writer’。 Well worth having in one’s home library！ 。。。more
Martha Southgate
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Brilliant advice on how to move through writing a novel even if （like me） you’ve successfully done it several times。 Definitely teaching this old dog some new tricks。
Kelly
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Loved this craft book， and I thought I had had enough of craft books， but Bell is both passionate about novel-writing and encouraging/realistic with techniques to overcome the long periods of fear/loathing/despair that one encounters when writing a novel。 Four of my favorite pieces of advice were: write the islands， follow your excitement， beware of “Have to” scenes， and learn what book you’re not writing。 More to come in the longer published review。
Jenny Shank
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I requested a review copy of this to consider using it in the writing classes I teach， and I am definitely going to be recommending this to my students。 There's a lot of helpful aspects， but here are a few:It's a short guide， about 150 pages， with roughly 50 pages focusing on each of three drafts Bell proposes that novelists write。 This is helpful， because I think that sometimes we writers pick up a craft manual when we're stuck and use it as a way to procrastinate。 Bell will get you on your way I requested a review copy of this to consider using it in the writing classes I teach， and I am definitely going to be recommending this to my students。 There's a lot of helpful aspects， but here are a few:It's a short guide， about 150 pages， with roughly 50 pages focusing on each of three drafts Bell proposes that novelists write。 This is helpful， because I think that sometimes we writers pick up a craft manual when we're stuck and use it as a way to procrastinate。 Bell will get you on your way back to the page quickly with some concrete ideas about what to do next in your drafting and revision process。I especially found his ideas about the third draft--or the third phase of drafting--helpful。 I'd already been using some of these because Bell mentioned them in his newsletter or on Twitter， and when I've offhandedly mentioned something about looking for "weasel words" in a writing class， my students all wanted the list and to learn more about the technique， so I can direct them toward this book。 I think it's so hard to see what to do next when you've been working on a book for years and are sick of it， and Bell gives a number of techniques to squeeze just a little more of the stuff you don't want out of your draft before you hand it off to the next reader。This is also a joyful book， I think， which is helpful。 There are parts of writing which are really a slog， but Bell shares how he brings good energy to all the phases of the draft， and wants to extend the revising experience to make the book the best it can be。 。。。more
Angela
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A great resource that I'll be using to teach revision in my memoir writing class。From the first draft through developmental edits to the final line edits， this book breaks down the mystery of revising into manageable steps with examples and references。 A great resource that I'll be using to teach revision in my memoir writing class。From the first draft through developmental edits to the final line edits， this book breaks down the mystery of revising into manageable steps with examples and references。 。。。more
Brenda Hasse
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For the beginning writer， this is a good guide to producing a novel。 His advice for the second draft is one I have never used， but an interesting technique。 The third draft of advice offers great guidelines。
Sebastian Murdoch
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