Writing the Breakout Novel

Writing the Breakout Novel:
Insider advice for taking your fiction to the next level
By Donald Maass

Many people have felt that urge to write a novel, but we all wonder if we have what it takes to write a novel a publisher would be interested in and the public would buy.  Donald Maass is a literary agent who shares his expertise on what makes a novel good and a good novel break out.  He starts with the basics, “Storytelling matters above all other considerations…”

He packs Writing the Breakout Novel with stories we recognize, using them as examples to show what breakout writing looks like, no matter the genre.  From The Bridges of Madison County to Jurassic Park, these books have some things in common.  Maass explains what that is and how we can use those aspects in our own novels.

Maass leads us on a tour through our own bookcases to see what is contained in our favorite novels.  He suggests that they “sweep you away, have characters you cannot forget, and involve dramatic and meaningful events.”

“The key ingredients that I look for in a fully formed breakout premise are (1) plausibility, (2) inherent conflict, (3) originality and (4) gut emotional appeal.”

Maass explains how the novel that readers prefer seems to have changed over time.  “Once essential, the author’s voice gave way to omniscient narration, which in turn gave way to objective narration, which in turn lost ground to first- and third- person narration, which in turn has been eroded away somewhat by what can be called close third-person point of view.”

My mind rebels slightly at this, suggesting that a really good novel could be written and accepted in any of these formats.  But the truth is that Maass is telling us how to write in the most widely accepted format during the current time. 

Maass discusses character development, personal and public stakes, creating tension on every page, multiple viewpoints, subplots, pace voice, and endings.  With so many do’s and do not’s, I start to wonder how to put it all together without the writing sounding stilted.  But that’s what good writers do, they put it all together and make it seem effortless so that the reader never sees the man behind the curtain at the controls. 

Maass has been criticized in the respect that he has written some 17 novels but does not make his living as a writer, so how useful can his advice be?  As someone else pointed out, many great coaches are not superstar athletes themselves.  I think you’ll be able to judge for yourself what rings true as you read the advice here.  For me, it was the vast majority of what he had to say.    

This book is “a guide to writing deeper, stronger and more memorable novels.”  That is really the only path to success, he says.  A big advance and an editor is no guarantee. 

“There is only craft – that and inspiration, sustained effort, luck and timing.  But mostly craft.”