Not another how-to-write tome that I shall soon forget, I told myself, but something drew me to A Long Game: How to Write Fiction, by an acclaimed author with eight novels published over two decades. And my decision soon proved wise, as I sank into an opinionated series of short advice vignettes, more than two hundred of them, that span everything a writer’s craft book should encompass. The author shoots down any number of common maxims (show, don’t tell, anyone), refuses to be prescriptive, and yet offers many strong instructions on issues from the general to the highly technical. Employing a sprightly, soothing style that draws in the reader, the book winds its way through all the familiar craft topics, from plot to dialogue, from adverbs to modifiers, from voice to planning. It is a delight to read. I am hesitant to recommend it to writers or wannabe writers who need a classroom-mimicking, simple structure, but if you can absorb the complexity of A Long Game, it will not only bless you with deep advice, it will send you straight to the page.
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