The Liar's Bible: A Good Book for Fiction Writers

by Lawrence Block

Overview

Five-time Edgar winner and MWA Grand Master Lawrence Block write a monthly column for Writers Digest Magazine for fourteen years. The Liar's Bible consists of previously uncollected columns, chosen to illuminate the often dimly-lit path of the writer of fiction.

Here's what one reviewer said on Goodreads:

"I am fascinated by the creative process and there are few excellent examples of this that I have found – there is Koestler’s The Act of Creation insightful in a general way– but I have found only two worth their salt about working creators – Trauffaut’s interviews with Hitchcock collected in Trauffaut/Hitchcock and Thomas Hoving’s two interviews with Andrew Wyeth – published as Autobiography and Two Worlds of Andrew Wyeth – but reading Lawrence Block’s collected columns on writing from Writer’s Digest I have discovered outstanding examples of this somewhat mysterious creative process.
"Now I am anxious to read his other collected columns – Block of course writes so fluidly that, as one Stephen King fan commented, I would probably read his grocery list – but he also asks brilliant questions of himself and does a terrific job answering and commenting on these.
"This is a must read for anyone intrigued by writers, artists, the creative process or those eager to write whether already published or hoping to be soon."

And here's another:

"What an absolute treat it is to re-read these columns, nearly 30 years after I first read many of them in the pages of Writer's Digest. I first started reading WD in high school, and subscribed for years, mostly for Lawrence Block's fiction-writing columns. This book collects all of his pieces from that era. Sure, a few pieces of advice -- mostly related to the marketplace for fiction -- have since become, oh, just slightly dated, but most of the wisdom still applies, not just for fiction writers but for all writers. These columns were, indeed, my bible in the early stages of my writing life. I owe a lot to Block, and I'm glad to have the chance to reflect back on how his writing influenced not just my own wordsmithing but also my life."

Product Details

BN ID:	2940154663875
Publisher:	Lawrence Block
Publication date:	06/04/2017
Sold by:	Draft2Digital
Format:	eBook
File size:	671 KB

About the Author

Lawrence Block has been writing award-winning mystery and suspense fiction for half a century. His newest book, pitched by his Hollywood agent as “James M. Cain on Viagra,” is The Girl with the Deep Blue Eyes. His other recent novels include The Burglar Who Counted The Spoons, featuring Bernie Rhodenbarr; Hit Me, featuring philatelist and assassin Keller; and A Drop Of The Hard Stuff, featuring Matthew Scudder, brilliantly embodied by Liam Neeson in the new film, A Walk Among The Tombstones.  Several of his other books have also been filmed, although not terribly well.  He's well known for his books for writers, including the classic Telling Lies For Fun & Profit and Write For Your Life, and has just published a collection of his writings about the mystery genre and its practitioners, The Crime Of Our Lives.  In addition to prose works, he has written episodic television (Tilt!) And the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.  He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.