Finding Time to Write

By Jenna G.

Robert J. Ray's book The Weekend Novelist is a timeless linguistic book that delves deep into the works of how to write a real novel. Ray uses his experience in the craft to write a book teaching techniques to aspiring novelists. He has an encapturing way of writing that instructs the reader of the different ways of creating novels like character building and plot construction.

The author has also published a mystery series of five novels, and three other novels outside the series. He ended up publishing six books in six years, and had great success.

Ray has taught college literature, writing, and tennis. He lives in Seattle.

I greatly appreciated his way of keeping the audience engaged. Much like a diary, he put personal experience into his writing. He engaged with the reader, and went along with you in the process. He made it sound like he was sitting beside you while you studied the different techniques.

I also loved how he not only told you how to do the topic at hand, but also showed examples of it. He gave exercises for practice and showed a correct way of doing what he talked about. There was also a reason for everything you wrote, and did not leave one feeling like it had wasted time.

The explanations of the certain procedures and the details to needed in completing the procedure were dull. There were large sections where some details were unneeded and dragged on. Buried in these sections there were important facts, and I found myself skipping over much of it and missing them.

For those who dream of the day their writings are on library and bookstore shelves, this book is a good read. Even those writing for school or mere entertainment will find helpful tips to improve their work.

This book can be found in bookstores across the country.