Started: July 28
Finished: August 2
Notes: I've read absolutely no non-fiction this year, and I'm feeling the urge. So I decided to check out this one. I'm less interested in the financial aspects, though that does have its appeal, and I'm drawn more toward this author's notions of "Universal Fantasy."
Mini review: Beginning fiction writers especially mind find some solid advice here, but I felt this one wasn't quite for me. For one thing, I felt the notion of "universal fantasy" wasn't well defined, though there were tons of examples given from literature, television, and film. Maybe "universal fantasy" is self explanatory, but I've seen the term used elsewhere and it wasn't exactly the same as what I found here. Secondly, I didn't feel there was a whole book's worth of information here. For me, the author's ideas could have been fleshed out in a blog post, though maybe a long blog post. I found all the examples given to be less helpful and more tedious. But that's just me. The author did her job well enough that I purchased her book, so there's something to be said for that. Don't let my grousing leave you thinking this is an awful book, because it's not ... I just didn't find it right for me. Did I pick up some advice, or maybe a different way of thinking? Yeah, I suppose, but I really didn't find much new here. Others might experience otherwise.
