Name: Erin Darlyn's review of Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts by Matt Bell
Item: Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts
Rating: 5
Author: Erin Darlyn

Matt Bell

They say writing is rewriting. So why does the second part get such short shrift? Refuse To Be Done will guide you through every step of the novel writing process, from getting started on those first pages to the last tips for making your final draft even tighter and stronger. From lauded writer and teacher Matt Bell, Refuse to Be Done is encouraging and intensely practical, focusing always on specific rewriting tasks, techniques, and activities for every stage of the process. You won't find bromides here about the "the writing Muse." Instead, Bell breaks down the writing process in three sections. In the first, Bell shares a bounty of tactics, all meant to push you through the initial conception and get words on the page. The second focuses on reworking the narrative through outlining, modeling, and rewriting. The third and final section offers a layered approach to polishing through a checklist of operations, breaking the daunting project of final revisions into many small, achievable tasks. Whether you are a first time novelist or a veteran writer, you will find an abundance of strategies here to help motivate you and shake up your revision process, allowing you to approach your work, day after day and month after month, with fresh eyes and sharp new tools.

Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts

They say writing is rewriting. So why does the second part get such short shrift? Refuse To Be Done will guide you through every step of the novel writing process, from getting started on those first pages to the last tips for making your final draft even tighter and stronger. From lauded writer and teacher Matt Bell, Refuse to Be Done is encouraging and intensely practical, focusing always on specific rewriting tasks, techniques, and activities for every stage of the process. You won’t find bromides here about the “the writing Muse.” Instead, Bell breaks down the writing process in three sections. In the first, Bell shares a bounty of tactics, all meant to push you through the initial conception and get words on the page. The second focuses on reworking the narrative through outlining, modeling, and rewriting. The third and final section offers a layered approach to polishing through a checklist of operations, breaking the daunting project of final revisions into many small, achievable tasks. Whether you are a first time novelist or a veteran writer, you will find an abundance of strategies here to help motivate you and shake up your revision process, allowing you to approach your work, day after day and month after month, with fresh eyes and sharp new tools.

How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts

Refuse to Be Done

Caroline Clutterbuck Kapulkin

Poet Traci Brimhall says she writes “in order to produce inspiration rather than at the mercy of it,” and that’s how I want to write, too, especially during this generative draft. When you get stuck, look at the material you've made and use it to produce fresh inspiration.

Cindy Lieberman

Erin Darlyn

Practical, helpful, and well organized. I listened to the audiobook through Hoopla / my library, and immediately added it to my bookstore cart so I can pick up a physical copy next time I buy books. It’s a book I want to revisit.

Super helpful, in-depth, and upbeat! Bell walks you through all the steps from motivation during a first draft, to tips on how and what to revise in a final draft — the specifics are helpful and thorough, yet also suitable for any genre.

The author’s voice is my favorite part of this book. It is instructional, but incredibly kind and affirmative, giving the reader a sense of camaraderie. Celebrate your wins!! We can do this!!! 

Definitely going to keep this by my workspace when I’m in need of a pep-talk, and when I move onto my next drafting stage. I put this right up there with my other favorite writing books: Save The Cat Writes A Novel by Jessica Brody, and Brave The Page by Rebecca Stern & Grant Faulkner. 

Super helpful, in-depth, and upbeat! Bell walks you through all the steps from motivation during a first draft, to tips on how and what to revise in a final draft — the specifics are helpful and thorough, yet also suitable for any genre.

The author’s voice is my favorite part of this book. It is instructional, but incredibly kind and affirmative, giving the reader a sense of camaraderie. Celebrate your wins!! We can do this!!! 

Definitely going to keep this by my workspace when I’m in need of a pep-talk, and when I move onto my next drafting stage. I put this right up there with my other favorite writing books: Save The Cat Writes A Novel by Jessica Brody, and Brave The Page by Rebecca Stern & Grant Faulkner. 

Cindy Lieberman &
Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts by Matt Bell

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Cindy Lieberman &Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts by Matt Bell

Reviews

Highlights

Join the club

Cindy Lieberman &
Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts by Matt Bell