Review of From Big Idea to Book by Jessie L. Kwak
I recently got a big stack of writing craft and books through a Microcosm Publishing Kickstarter, so I’ve decided to work through several of them for reviewing on my blog.
I really love Jessie L. Kwak’s writing style, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction. Her non-fiction style is so conversational and easy to grasp. So of course, I really liked From Big Idea to Book. This book breaks down the various steps from getting an idea to seeing it published. What’s even better is that the steps in this book take into account the differences between writing fiction and non-fiction, and even look at things smaller than a book, like short stories or a non-fiction article!
The book is divided into four main sections: Planning, Drafting, Revising, and What’s Next? I found the most useful chunks for me to be the first and third sections.
In the Planning section, there are ideas for brainstorming and idea generation that were new to me and that I plan to use when I’m trying to come up with a new story idea with absolutely nothing coming to mind.
The Drafting section talked about different methods of drafting a piece, and I mainly didn’t get as much out of this because I know exactly what sort of drafting method works for me, through a lot of trial and error. For someone who believes that the world is only divided into Pantsers and Plotters, the alternative combinations of these might be quite useful!
The Revising section had some great tips about boiling down your idea to its core and then using that core as the guiding principle as you read what you wrote and decide what to keep, what to alter, and what to discard. Because it acknowledges the fact that sometimes stories can take a life of their own, and don’t always end up where you thought they might go, that advice really resonated with me. My stories are known to be somewhat ornery, now and then!
Finally, the What’s Next? section talks a bit about publishing and finding community. It’s a very brief section and more useful to someone with less publishing experience under their belt.
All in all, though, it’s a great read regardless of your level of experience as a writer, published or not!
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