Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell

This book was assigned reading for a class that I am taking. While it is a good book and I did find parts of it helpful, for me, this book seemed rather basic. I do a lot of reading (of both fiction and non-fiction) every single day, so I regularly notice many of the things that are talked about in this book. For me, I felt like the author was telling me things I already knew, though I do recognize that in general, that may not be the case for others who read this book.

That being said, for anyone who is new to writing fiction or who wants a little refresher to help with their plots and the structure of their story, I do believe that this book would be quite useful. It includes a large number of examples and explanations of the why and how behind what the author is attempting to explain. The book also includes a large number of exercises for those seeking to improve their skills when it comes to developing their plot and story structure.

The exercises are clearly well thought out, and the reasons for why each exercise should be helpful are well explained. So anyone who has questions about plot and story structure will likely benefit from reading this book and trying at least a few of the recommended exercises.

I do feel that this book is likely to be of more help to newer writers than to those who have been writing and have had several pieces of their work published. It may also be of help to beginning developmental editors. (This book does not deal with grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, or point of view, so is less likely to be of much help to copyeditors, though they might also find some of the subjects covered by this book useful.) But overall, I do feel it would be a helpful and useful book for any fiction writer.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

The Cartagena Cartel by T.C. Roberts

Archie Flynn has fled from the law, travelling to a country that does not have an extradition policy with his home country. He is struggling to mend his broken heart, as the woman he threw his life away for has chosen to remain with another man. So what else can he do but try to drown his sorrows and find other women to take his mind off of Jezebel, the woman he believes he still loves.

I am going to start off by saying that I do not believe that I was the intended audience for this novel. It is a book that can be classified as “lad-lit” and involves Archie seeking solace in drugs and the bed of women that he has only just met. This naturally gets him in trouble in Cartagena, when he runs afoul of the drug cartels and finds himself the victim of a “zombie drug” that causes him to wake up in an unknown area, wearing only his underwear, and uncertain how he got there. Everything that he had with him has been stolen, and the police seem unwilling to do anything to help him. 

I did have some issues with this book. It really could have used another round with an editor/proofreader, as while everything was spelled correctly, it wasn’t always the correct word used. I also ran across a couple of sections where the text appeared to have been repeated verbatim from partway through the previous chapter. I am uncertain if that was intentional or not as it happened more than once, but for me, it was confusing.

I also had a few instances where I found myself taking issue with actions that I could not see as being realistic given the circumstances, even for a fiction novel. Yes, I am sure that there are good people who are willing to help by loaning money to someone who has been drugged and robbed, but in a city where it sounds like it is a common occurrence and the local police are paid off by the drug cartels so are unwilling to help, it is a very real possibility that the person who has been robbed will never be able to repay a potentially significant amount loaned to them…  Well, I have  problems believing it. And given that the main character does not appear to have not learned from his misadventures, this book just was not meant for me.

While I am not the target audience for this book, those who enjoy reading about someone trying to bury his heartbreak over a woman he thought he loved by repeating the behavior that got him into trouble in the first place, or who enjoy reading books about someone’s misadventures with the law, with various women, with drugs and drug cartels, or who are simply looking for a book about someone’s misadventures in other countries, you might enjoy this book. The story itself wasn’t something I considered horrible, just highly unbelievable at times. Though I do have to say that I saw the likelihood of Archie getting “roofied” coming. That part was very believable.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.