This Year You Write Your Novel, Walter Mosley

I scoffed at the title of this book since many of my previous teachers had mentioned great novelists who had spent a decade or longer writing their masterpieces. Mosley’s self help book is short and sweet while reiterating many of the pieces of advice I have gleaned from other craft novels (write every day, don’t expect your first draft to be a masterpiece, show don’t tell, etc.). However, Mosley has a distinct style of getting straight to business. He rarely interrupts the steady flow of advice by recounting his own struggles as a writer or by name dropping to criticize or praise the work of other authors. Mosley issues straightforward statements and illustrates them with examples of progressing stories. The story examples progress along with the book which reinforces Mosley’s advice in a simple and elegant way. All other craft books that I’ve read have made some assumptions about my knowledge of basic literary terms such as story, plot, and narrative voice. Mosley deigns to offer working definitions for these terms, and I found this extremely helpful. The author certainly stays true to his own advice like not undermining the pedestrian details that make a work relatable. This book is an approachable, refreshing read that doesn’t wallow in what it means to be a writer.