This is one of the best books I've ever studied on the nuts and bolts of write-craft. After applying the intensely practical and clearly illustrated principals, the quality of my writing took a quantum leap forward. Even non-fiction writers can glean much from this book, since non-fiction also uses many story-telling techniques. Highly recommended!

I would have to say that this book should be a must for all aspiring authors. Even, dare I say, to many established authors who make many of the mistakes that this book talks about. And I don't say this because I blindly follow what this book says. Nay, I have read books and I have been annoyed or bothered by their unrealistic dialogue, their page long speeches over and over again, using too much description, and finally the author patronizing the reader by trying to force feed everything. That is why I found this book to be amazing, because what I had already been shaking my head at was found in this book to be big no-nos.

That being said I was amazed while reading. There were some chapters that were rather basic, such as chapter 1, "Show and Tell", but then there were other chapters that I know, as an amateur writer, will greatly help my already written work as well anything in the future. Such chapters as "Proportion", "Dialogue Mechanics" and "Breaking Up Is Easy To Do" are all great chapters.

I would most definitely recommend this book to all beginning writers, even to those already established just to refresh their editing styles. A quick read that is well worth it.

5 stars.

I have read a lot on the subject of writing, yet I learned more from this one book than all others combined! Unlike many books on writing, this one is easy to read and understand. Rather than teaching you "how to write", it targets common mistakes that writers make and shows you how to edit what you've already written. The best part is, after you've learned how to correct the mistakes, you can avoid creating them in the first place. Your finished manuscript might not be perfect, but if you follow the advice given, it will be readable and much closer to a professional level. I only wish these authors had more books on the subject, to cover the areas of writing they didn't include!

As others have stated, this is a helpful book for improving line-level writing. This is not a general book on fiction writing and does not cover the usual topics, nor is it intended to. This leaves more room for what it does cover: editing.

Since others have mentioned Renni Browne's editing service (called "The Editorial Department"), some caveats are in order. The editing provided by this organization is not done by Browne or by King or by another other professional editor. It is done by writers to whom Browne has given a quicky training class. Renni herself seemed okay when I talked to her, but her people provided the most skimpy and general critiques I have ever received, and they were largely useless. (And it cost five times more than I paid to various published writers whom I hired to critique my manuscripts, whose critiques were professional and valuable.)

Read the book instead.

Authors will find this book by Browne and King helpful in two specific regards: (1) learning how to render a scene for the reader rather than slipping into narrative summary, and (2) developing crisper, more realistic dialogue by using beats and avoiding mistakes that scream "amateur!"

While I didn't find the writing exercises that appear at the end of each chapter extremely helpful, many readers will undoubtedly benefit from them. One final note: Since the hardcover version of this book first appeared in 1993, many of the examples from contemporary fiction are dated. This isn't to say they aren't informative, just not as cutting-edge as some readers might want.

Overall, this is a good book for fiction authors to add to their libraries.