zak_martell's Reviews (277)

A fitting wrap up to the Conviction Arc. I look forward to beginning the next.

This volume feels like it progresses quite slowly.
It's obviously a middle chapter, with not much starting or ending to it.

I read this book because of its inclusion on Chris Williamson's recommended reading list.
To be honest, there's nothing new being said here.

 I read it on the recommendation of Philip Pullman in his book Daemon Voices.
I wasn't disappointed. 

Encouraging and motivating.
Some good tips too. Especially in the first half.

Interesting ideas. Some of the essays more than others.

I’d recommend even if you’re not necessarily a fan of the series.

Listened to the whole thing in one go as I walked an impromptu marathon, chuckling and scoffing to myself all the way.

Always tough to rate anthologies. There are two five star reads towards the end.
The rest are varying from good but not my thing, to good and my thing.
I wish there were more anthologies like this for other niche genres.

I don’t necessarily agree with everything thought on writing out across, but still this is one of the most densely packed books on writing fiction I’ve ever read.
In a good way. There’s a brilliant piece of insight on every few pages. Things that aren’t in every book on writing.

I personally plot out my stories ahead of time - the exact opposite to what this book is recommending - but still I’ve learned so many actionable pieces of advice that I can use to improve my writing.

Some of it was very interesting, but I found parts hard to understand. The later chapters on particular artists were incredibly dense and difficult to understand. I wasn't sure what it had to do with the overall subject of the book.
Overall, probably worth reading for artists, but I think you'd get the most out of it by skipping around and only reading the parts that interest you most.