A while back at a used book sale, I picked up a copy of How to Write a Damn Good Novel, by James N. Frey.  I didn’t notice until I got home that the title ended with a big Roman numeral II.  After flipping through II, I decide I better get I as well.  I’m glad I did. 

James N. Frey has written two books about the craft of writing novels:  How to Write a Damn Good Novel: A step-by-step no nonsense guide to dramatic storytelling (1987) and How to Write a Damn Good Novel II: Advanced techniques for dramatic storytelling (1994), both published by St. Martin’s Press.  Each of these books is interesting and useful; damn good, in fact.  They deserve to be included in any list of the best how-to-write-fiction books.
 
James N. Frey is an American writer and creative-writing teacher.  According to Wikipedia, Frey was selected Honored Teacher of the Year in 1994 for his novel-writing classes at the University of California in Berkeley. 
Although most of the text in these books is about the craft of writing fiction, Frey shares his philosophy about writing and the process of creating fiction.  For example, he warns of pseudo-rules in fiction-writing, but then he puts rules in perspective:  “. . . first become a great storyteller who uses the principles of dramatic fiction to create masterpieces of craft before you attempt to break the rules.  Yes, the rules may be broken successfully, but for every ten or twenty thousand who try only a handful are successful.”

The strength of these two books is that they provide tons of interesting and practical advice and insight into the craft of writing fiction.  Many how-to books are as much about the author as they are about craft.  Not so with these two; they’re all about craft and the business of writing.   For example, from the first book: “When a character’s will collides with an obstacle that occurs within the character himself, as when duty collides with fear, love with guilt, ambition with conscience, and so on, you have inner conflict.”

Some how-to books focus on a particular facet of fiction-writing, while others attempt to cover the craft from A to Z.  But even the broadest books tend to focus on subjects near and dear to the author’s heart.  A book’s chapter headings tell a lot about what the author emphasizes.  Frey’s first how-to book is structured with nine chapters, addressing the following subjects:
• Character
• Conflict
• Premise
• Storytelling
• Climax and resolution
• Viewpoint and flashbacks
• Dialogue
• Rewriting
• The Zen of novel writing

The second book also has nine chapters:
• Fictive dream
• Suspense
• Characters
• Premise
• More about premise
• Narrative voice
• Author-reader contract
• Seven deadly mistakes
• Writing with passion

Throughout both of these books, Frey provides great examples from films and well-known novels.  Frey is obviously a serious student of fiction and craft, but he doesn’t pretend that he invented all the concepts he promotes.  He peppers his narrative with quotes from authors who came before him.

I’m not a particular fan of writing exercises or chapter summaries, but I do appreciate glossaries and indexes.  In Frey’s books each chapter ends with a recap paragraph that also serves as springboard to the topic of the next chapter.  Readers who appreciate exercises at the end of each chapter may be disappointed, as Frey provides none.  The second book provides a helpful index, but the first one does not.  Neither book provides a glossary or appendix; however, each book offers a useful bibliography of books about fiction.
 
In a five-star rating system, these two deserve four stars each.  The material covered was well addressed, but the author rambled somewhat on the subject of premise.  Critics of the books may note that neither adequately addresses scene and sequel, fiction-writing modes, or setting.  Of course, no single how-to book seems to have it all; that’s why it’s important to read more than just one.
 
Even though these books are getting to be more than a few years old, much of the information is timeless.  Maybe someday the author and publisher will combine the books, update the material, and add topics not previously addressed.
 
In both of these books, Frey shares his passion for fiction-writing.  For example: “To attempt to write a truly damn good novel is to try your damnedest to write a masterpiece.”  But Frey also puts this challenge in perspective:  “Anyone with a passionate desire will succeed if he gives himself to it fully, knuckles down and masters the craft, works hard, has good teachers and reliable readers, learns how to re-dream the dream and rewrite in answer to criticism, and actively pursues the selling of the script in a businesslike manner.”
Students of fiction-writing will appreciate both volumes of How to Write a Damn Good Novel for years to come. 

To find other useful books about writing fiction, see “Best books about writing fiction”
http://www.helium.com/tm/233722/books-about-writing-fiction