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This section of my website is devoted to Views & Reviews of people, books, and general subject matter, that I highly recommend.  Enjoy...

Makeover Revision Techniques
No Fiction Writer Can Afford to Ignore
by Elizabeth Lyon

Patti Dickinson is a reviewer to trust. I, too, love Elizabeth and use her how-to books constantly. If you are a serious writer, this book offers more help under one cover than any I have read.  Enjoy Patti’s review and then buy a copy of the book. It will be money well spent.   Maryn

 Manuscript Makeover
Revision Techniques No Fiction Writer Can Afford to Ignore
By Elizabeth Lyon

Trade paper, 2008, a Perigree Book by Penguin Publishing Co., U.S. $14.95

 Review by Patti Dickinson
March 25, 2008 

From the back cover: From the first chapter to the last, Manuscript Makeover will show you how to revise and rewrite for a cohesive and consistent story line, strong and memorable characters, and a distinctive style. With this indispensable guide, you can create compelling stories that attract literary agents, editors, and publishers.

 Where would we be without how-to books on the multitude of subjects that make up good writing. These books remind me of what I like to call, iron gizmos, those rumble strips imbedded at the edge of a highway to keep us from drifting onto the shoulder. Thud, thud, thud, pay attention, keep focused. That said, good how-to books do much more than that, but the difficulty is finding one that, #1 you can understand, #2 you don’t fall asleep reading #3 that excites and inspires #4 seems to be written just for you and your project. 

I confess to having read (and used) all of Author Elizabeth Lyon’s previous how-to books: A Writer’s Guide to Fiction, The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit, A Writer’s Guide to Nonfiction, and Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write.  My expectations, therefore, for Manuscript Makeover, were understandably very high. Lyon’s latest book does not disappoint. It lays out for the reader a continuum of valuable guidelines on the journey to good and confident writing and revision. And thankfully, it sails through the #1 to #4 criteria with flying colors.

 The 347 page book is divided into four parts:  

• Style Speaks

• Craft Works

• Characterization Endures

• Marketing Pays

Each of the four parts is then divided into subsections that cover things like viewpoint, movement and suspense, time and pace, structure, and a variety of approaches on characterization. The subsections get into the knitty-gritty, the why, the how, and the how-to of the particular area of writing/revising emphasized in that section. The subsections are detailed and thorough, meaning you won’t have many—if any—unanswered questions after reading.

 In the subsection on Style, for instance, one suggestion (of several) is to approach revisions from Inside-Out—deep listening to your story read aloud, which makes it easier to identify the “clunks, hisses, and coughs” in your manuscript. Or from Outside-In Simple Revisions for Style, which covers a variety of techniques such as varying sentence structure, sentence beginnings, word/sound repetitions, and so many more. In the Outside-In Advanced Revisions for Style

Lyon offers a chapter full of tips to take your writing from adequate to WOW.

 Part Four: Marketing Pays Off wraps up “everything you need to know” before you put that manuscript in the mail to an agent or publisher. 

Manuscript Makeover is organized and written in typical Lyon style, easy to follow and in a casual voice as though she is talking to you. A helpful feature: you do not necessarily have to start at the beginning and read the chapters in order. Each one contains basic and advanced information, but the book is so well organized, you can easily find and read the particular chapter covering what is troubling you the most about your manuscript.

 Manuscript Makeover is a stand out among how-to books on writing and revising fiction because of its all-encompassing coverage and because of Lyon’s writing style and organization skills. Read it and Manuscript Makeover will, thud, thud, thud—hold your attention and keep you focused (remember, the iron gizmos?) The title offers good advice: as a fiction writer this is a book you can’t afford to ignore.