Introduction
Dean Koontz wrote a book in 1972 called Writing Popular Fiction for Writers Digest Books. In 1981 he expanded and rewrote it and published it as How to Write Best Selling Fiction. He mentions doing another edition in about ten years, but it’s been over thirty years and no new edition has been released. I heard about this book from many sources over the years but did not pick up a copy. Recently, an internet writing teacher I follow, Jerry Jenkins, mentioned it at jerryjenkins.com. He wrote the Left Behind series and over 190 books. He says Koontz’s book inspired to become a writer. The advice within helped him to write fast and well. So, with those recommendations in mind, I resolved to buy the book, since it was unavailable through my library. It can only be bought as a used original edition. The cheapest copies at Amazon were $200, so I gathered together my Amazon gift cards and ordered a copy. My copy arrived, and the dust jacket looked pristine as showed in the picture attached to this review. The book’s first printing was 1981. This book is from the second printing in April 1982. The binding is broken in one spot. That can be seen in the second attached picture. The reader marked the book in ink and highlighted passages with a yellow highlighter. Observations are written in the margins by the first reader and some of them are insightful. No pages are missing or torn.
Summary
So, what information did I learn from this book? The book is 309 pages long with 15 chapters of advice and definitions. Koontz explains why he wrote this book, explains his writing process, and gives examples excerpted from his fiction. Key points from page 75 are that the novel’s protagonist must face terrible trouble at the novel’s beginning and from page 111 the complications must build up to a final and worst complication leading to the resolution. He describes how he uses the idea pump on pages 65 and 72, a free-form word association used to create an idea for a novel-length work. Koontz describes his four-point classic plot story pattern for successful novels on page 74. This is the structure that Jerry Jenkins teaches. The main take away of the book is given in eight points of what a reader demands on page 13.
- A strong plot
- Action, Action, Action
- A hero or heroine
- Believable Characters
- Character motivations explained
- Developed setting
- Good Grammar and Syntax
- Style: use vivid and visual writing
These eight points are explained in chapters 4 to 11. Koontz specifically gives his advice on how to write successfully in the science fiction and mystery genres in chapter 12. He gives writing advice in chapter 13 and publishing advice in Chapter 14. Chapter 15 is an exhaustive list of the authors Koontz recommends reading including their best-known works. He believes that to be a writer of popular fiction, you must read the popular authors to learn how to write like them. A serious writer would want to read them all. There are 101 authors named, and I have read works from 44 of them.
Recommendation
So, what is my opinion of the book? Koontz uses a conversational tone that establishes him as a mentor to the reader. The advice is solid and applicable for today. The examples are dated but also interesting. I can see why this book could not be updated. It would have to be completely rewritten with new examples and updated genre information so that is probably why Koontz has not done it so far. I am a better writer having read this book, so I am glad I purchased it. It is one of the best writing books I have read. If you enjoy writing, then I suggest buying or borrowing a copy.
Links
Link to the Goodreads page for How to Write Best Selling Fiction by Dean Koontz.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/286475.How_to_Write_Best_Selling_Fiction
Link to my review of another great book on writing called Beginnings, Middles, and Ends by Nancy Kress.