A novelist herself, Karin Adams is no stranger to the frustrations and perplexities of novel-writing. Using a clear, digestible structure, Adams lays out a week-long “workshop” to inspire, direct, and build up the writerly muscles required to bring a project to completion.
This reviewer knows as well as anyone that there is no silver bullet to novel-writing: it takes straightforward work. To its credit, THE ONE WEEK WRITING WORKSHOP: 7 Days to Spark, Boost or Revive Your Novel doesn’t claim otherwise—laying out a sensible system based on writing fundamentals instead. Notably, the system begins with reading, and several of its earliest exercises involve reading sections of other books as matter for analysis and reflection: an obvious component of developing one’s instincts and skills as an author, but one often overlooked by writing guides. Similarly, there’s no mystery to beginning a project with thoughtful character work, as plot must derive organically from character. THE ONE WEEK WRITING WORKSHOP clearly and effectively shows this through a series of early exercises, including some visual examples of character concept-mapping that evolve into plot development. In addition to being arranged in a thoughtful order, all of these exercises are categorized as Warmups, Stretches, or a Core Activity, helping the reader understand the centrality and function of each.
Partially with a sense of fun (the text is ostensibly adapted from an actual in-person workshop structure) but perhaps also to fill out the text, there are some proposed exercises of limited utility. Writing out key character traits makes sense; creating a “scrapbook” for the character makes less. Drawing a map of the story world is useful; creating a diorama doesn’t appear to accomplish much. Other proposed exercises might have some fundamental flaws, like writing a “reader’s report” from the point of view of a publisher that’s received a manuscript. It seems self-evidently impossible to achieve the objectivity required to learn anything from such an exercise. However, there’s no harm in skipping some of these tasks, as long as one doesn’t skip an entire “module” altogether, and the balance of the advice is sound.
There is no way around the fundamental processes of novel-writing: one must read to improve one’s understanding and experience, then outline a plan, put words on paper, and revise in stages. But Adams’s ONE WEEK WRITING WORKSHOP creates a valuable structure for doing so, helping even experienced writers grasp hold of a project and get it on track.
There are few surprises but plenty of gems in Karin Adams’s THE ONE WEEK WRITING WORKSHOP: 7 Days to Spark, Boost or Revive Your Novel, which leans on thoughtful, sensible writing advice.
~Dan Accardi for IndieReader