Shut up and write the book is a comprehensive breakdown on how to write a book. It covers everything from how to come up with ideas, worldbuilding, and character creation, through a full breakdown of the common story beats, and even how to approach self and professional edits. It covers choosing tense and point of view, it addresses subplots and pacing, and all of it is written in Jenna's familiar and sassy tone that anyone who has seen her youtube videos would be familiar with. And yet, I was left feeling... just a little despondent. With the caveat that I don't read many non-fiction books, those I do pick up tend to be related to writing. I just don't know what I expected from this except... more. And maybe this is on me. Maybe my expectations were too high. Maybe I was expecting some hidden secrets into the mind and world of a "bestselling author". Maybe I simply know more about how to write a book than I thought I did and need more confidence in my own skills, but while I found the book's voice clever and entertaining, its substance left me feeling like I'd read it all before with only a half decent internet search.
It left me feeling like this would be a great book for first-time writers. It gathers all the basic information together in one place and keeps it concise and easy to parse. The ARC copy I received had 216 pages of content covering twenty-six chapters, and every chapter came with a summary at the end, like a helpful reference sheet reminding you of what that chapter had just gone over. It's short, and sweet, and would be a fantastic reference book for a writer just starting out on their journey. Or one who doesn't want to do the research and reading required to figure out their craft. This book puts all the basics together for you, it's a fantastic beginners' guide, but if you've been writing for a while, if you have a handful of years under your belt or know how to do your own research, then don't think that the accolade of 'bestselling author' means this book is going to give you any fresh, new insights.
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Arista Holmes
I'm a writer in her thirties, who is based in the South East of England. Archives
March 2024
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