Write Your Novel from the Middle

By: James Scott Bell

Narrated by: James Scott Bell

Length: 2 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's Summary

A powerful secret and a fresh approach to writing bestselling fiction!

What's the best way to write a "next level" novel? Some writers start at the beginning and let the story unfold without a plan. They are called "pantsers", because they write by the "seat of the pants".

Other writers plan and outline and know the ending before they start. These are the "plotters".

The two sides never seem to agree with each other on the best approach.

But what if it's not the beginning or the end that is the key to a successful book? What if, amazing as it may seem, the place to begin writing your novel is in the very middle of the story?

According to #1 bestselling writing teacher James Scott Bell, that's exactly where you'll find your story's heart and heat. Bell's "Mirror Moment" is the secret, and its power is available to any writer, at any stage of the writing process.

Bringing together years of craft study and personal discovery, Bell presents a truly unique approach to writing a novel, one that will stand the test of time and serve you all your writing life.

©2014 James Scott Bell (P)2019 James Scott Bell

Critic Reviews

"I need three things before I tackle a new novel: Diet Coke, a laptop, and my dog-eared copies of James Scott Bell's books on writing craft!" (Kami Garcia, #1 New York Times and International Bestselling author)

Great info! Could have used a sound editor.

I will be recommending this book to my writer friends, but the audio is fairly inconsistent. Still worth it though!

1 person found this helpful

The Midpoint: An important insight

Subtracted a point for missing chapter titles, making the audio book less useful as a reference.

About 55% is about the idea regarding the midpoint as a mirror moment, the remainder of the book is about writing a page turner in general.

The information is highly valuable and I enjoyed listening to it. Short and to the point.

1 person found this helpful

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super poradnik, cenne wskazówki, polecsm wszystkim małym i dużym. piszcie i bądźcie szczęśliwi. peace, love, rastafari

Very encouraging!

Very helpful; great writing and plotting advice! I was pleasantly surprised that it helped as much as it did with gathering my thoughts on the stories I try to write.

Practical, brief, and instantly applicable

I had the pleasure of attending one of his workshops at a writers conference and his name keeps coming up in other craft books I’ve been reading, so I turn to this book for some guidance. I was literally stuck with some very basic plotting questions, even though I’ve already written my book. This was an incredibly quick listen, and I generated pages and pages of ideas and solutions to my problem. I also must say that I really like The authors voice as a narrator. He speaks naturally and has a positive, humorous and joyous tone. Definitely worth my time and definitely a book I recommend. I have a feeling this was a condensed version of the actual book, and I really liked how fast I was able to finish it and get on with my book. Unlike many authors, he is respectful of the readers time. I feel everything he said was rocksolid valuable information.

Wonderful new book on writing. GREAT in audio!!!

I own most of James Scott Bell’s books on writing, many in both print and ebook formats. I’d gladly buy every single one of them again to have them in audio format. Mr. Bell has done a fine job of narrating this new book, and I think it is really brilliant content, as well.

Bravo James Scott Bell! Let’s have a few more, okay?

Very thought provoking

a surprisingly deep set of prescriptive writing advice on how to plot, develop characters, and to do so regardless of your personal writing style. All I can say is it left me excited to try his method.

if this was an article, it would be clickbate

dont get me wrong, there is some sound advice and thoughts here. it's worth a read. but it doesn't present an actual idea of writing from the middle. its actually breaking down the idea of starting from either the beginning midpoint or ending based on your heros character. also, dont get the audiobook as the quality is very poor.

A Great Guide

Bell is a master of his craft and one who's books on writing I could read forever. This book is great and has a technique I will try myself. The problem with it is the quality of the recording. There is a constant loud hiss throughout, the edits are more than noticable, and you can even hear the keys being hit as if to end the recording process. If the author is going to keep recording his own audiobooks, then great, but he needs a better mic and set up.