Nonfiction Book Review: Eat the Elephant: How to Write (and Finish!) Your Book One Bite at a Time

About the Book

Title: Eat the Elephant: How to write (and Finish!) Your Book One Bite at a Time

Author: Jen Crosswhite

Genre: Fiction Writing Reference

Publisher: Tandem Services Press

Release Date: November 17, 2019

Click here to purchase a copy of this book for yourself.

Publisher's Description

"How do you write a novel? Just like eating an elephant. One bite at a time.

There are a lot of books on individual aspects of writing, but how do you translate that to your own work? How do you know if you are applying it correctly? Creating a novel is a huge undertaking. How do you juggle the forest and the trees?

After having shared this method with many writers at every level of writing skills over my fifteen years as an editor and an author, what I’ve discovered is that the Novel Blueprint method covered in Eat the Elephant addresses these common problems.

·         Each time I write a book it feels like I’m starting from scratch. How do I write a book without reinventing the wheel each time?

·         There are so many pieces to juggle. Where do I even begin?

·         I can’t finish a book. I get partway through and then I get stuck.

·         How do I write faster and better?

·         There’s a lot to remember about writing a book. How do I make sure I hit all the important things? 

·         How do I write a book that readers rave about and tell their friends to buy?

The Novel Blueprint method gives you all the major components you need to construct your novel while still allowing for the element of surprise and the joy of creativity. It helps you write faster because you won’t have to be rewriting and deleting. When you sit down to write, you’ll know what you’re going to write.

It will help you write a better book, rich with characters that are believable and story arcs that are compelling. And it gives you a method you can use on book after book so you know exactly what you need to do each time you sit down to write.

How do you write a book? Using the Novel Blueprint method in Eat the Elephant. Buy now and start writing your novel today!"

My Review

Eat the Elephant: How to Write (and Finish!) Your Book One Bite at a Time, by Jen Crosswhite, is a concise, yet thorough overview of how to compose a detailed story outline that helps a writer think through and include all the critical components of a well written novel, such as structure, backstory, character development, conflict, action/reaction, dialogue, point of view, and more. While leaving plenty of room for artistic creativity, Ms. Crosswhite shows how this outline can be used effectively to help facilitate the writing process as it guides the drafting of a novel from beginning to end.

As an aspiring writer and avid reader, I certainly learned much from reading Eat the Elephant. I found the content of this book to be thoughtful, practical, and very applicable. The instruction, advice, strategies, tips, and wisdom that it offers are definitely valuable and insightful. I appreciate the examples and explanations Ms. Crosswhite provides, as well as the opportunities and the encouragement to apply the content and skills into my own writing. I am confident this book will be an important resource to me as I continue to learn more about the craft of writing. 

I eagerly recommend Eat the Elephant to all readers and writers who seek to improve their writing skills and their knowledge of the writing craft.

About the Author: Jen Crosswhite

“Ordinary people. Extraordinary circumstances. Extra-ordinary God. The first two sentences don't necessarily have good outcomes without the third.

Some days life is just hard. The kids are screaming. The house is a mess. Your boss wants a report yesterday. The fridge is empty. The sink is overflowing. You forgot to pay a bill. Your Facebook feed is full of other people's vacation photos, gourmet meals, and cute shoes.

It's overwhelming.

And when we're overwhelmed, maybe we don't always respond to life with serenity and grace.

It's time to take a break. Pick up a book and join someone else's world for a while. Books last longer than a fancy coffee drink and can take you to anywhere in the world and to any time period.

Most of us are ordinary people. We won't be mentioned in history books. Documentary films won't be made about our lives. A film crew won't follow us through out our days. But that doesn't mean we aren't extraordinary.

Each of us has a unique purpose and reason for being on this planet, whether we know it or not, whether we can see it or not over the mounds of bills, dirty laundry, piles of dishes.

But sometimes we need someone to show us the way. Heroes and heroines who live life a bit bigger than we do, though not necessarily by their choice.

So take a break for a moment. Grab a few quiet moments and your favorite drink and read about women and men as ordinary as you. Who may or may not recognize that they are in some extraordinary circumstances.

And see what happens.

As for me, my favorite thing is discovering how much there is to love about America the Beautiful and the great outdoors. I'm an Amazon bestselling author, a mom to two navigating the young adult years while battling my daughter's juvenile arthritis, exploring the delights of my son's autism, and keeping gluten free. A California native who's spent significant time in the Midwest, I'm thrilled to be back in the Golden State. Follow me on social media to see all my adventures and how I get inspired for my books!

I look forward to hearing from you! Please be in touch.” –Biography from JL Crosswhite’s author page on Amazon.com

Click here to visit Jen Crosswhite's website.