I seem to have caught up with all the emails, job ads, blogs, household chores and other tasks that were brushed aside while we were in Michigan. Over the past two days I've managed to find time to write a couple of story critiques and I've jotted down some story ideas. Then a certain book arrived...

Yesterday my copy of Nancy Kress's Beginnings, Middles & Ends came. I found out about this one from Murphy's blog. Naturally the arrival of a new book meant I dropped everything to check it out.

This is a writing book, and it seems to be a useful one at that. Most writing books aim to impart various pearls of literary wisdom, which are usually either commonsense or have limited usefulness. At the very least, they try to inspire. Many of these end up gathering dust on the shelf after they've been read.

Beginnings, Middles & Ends seems to be a bit different from the others I've read. It concentrates on structure and develops the idea of an 'implicit promise' all stories make to readers in their opening scenes.

Kress divides the book into three parts and sets about analyzing what goes into each section of a story, discussing both novels and shorts. She gives plenty of examples which illustrate her points, and provides prompts that can help overcome story problems that writers commonly face.

After a brisk read through, I'd have to say this is one of the better writing books I've read. Although the 'implicit promise' idea probably exists in various writing books, the way it is presented in this book, and the discussion it generates, provides much food for thought. There are also lots of tips for analyzing and rectifying plot and character problems.

I particularly recommend Beginnings, Middles & Ends for anyone struggling to figure out why some of their stories just don't work, or for writers who typically have a hard time when they reach certain parts of their stories. This one's well worth a look for newer writers and pros alike.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some story ideas to attend to...