Not only you will learn how to read a page turner, and the inside secrets to keep your readers in their tipy toes wanting to know more and finding themselves in that situation all great books leave you in, saying to yourself "just one more page", you will also learn all the basic steps to "craft" your story to the best potential.

The description of this book reads: "Tension is the heart of conflict, the backbone of uncertainty, the hallmark of danger. It keeps readers guessing and characters on their toes. When you've got tension in place, stories leave readers breathless and wanting more. When it's missing, scenes feel inconsequential, plots drag, and characters meander."

Before reading this statement I never really though how this is true of most books I read. It was some form of tension that made me want to read until this tension or conflict was resolved. Only once the main character encountered him/her-self in a neutral situation is when I was able to pause and continue later. Or countless nights I stopped only because I fell asleep reading, and had to start all over, because I lost my place in the book by dropping it by the side of the bed.

I always fantasied about writing novels, but never had the courage to actually start. I mention this, because this book is making me feel that I least I have a shot at trying. I won't need to start from nowhere, as this book will give me the guidance I feel I need as a newbie.

This book goes into detail about writing conflict, tension, danger and other scenes that just will exalt any reader.


A resource that can be used over and over again until you master the concept presented in this book.
I received and advanced digital copy of this book for the purpose of reviewing it.

I would like to thank Writers Digest Book and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the fantastic book so I may write an honest review.
I found this book a very enjoyable read ,especially for a How to book. He kept it basic and easy to follow. The best part was he used examples of what he was trying to describe from other books to show how techniques were used by other authors. I found this valuable to see what he was trying to explain by example. Also I found very helpful was he summarized main points at the end of each chapter. This was a very well organized book and well thought out. When the time comes for me to give my hand at writing a book, I will be pulling this out. I highly recommend this book!
5 stars.

This book is written in a straight forward and practical manner, offering succinct advice into the plotting and drafting of a story and its characters. My favorite thing in this book were the several excerpts that were given as examples of what to do breaking the monotony of only being told what to do. Those books are in many cases works that many ya and fiction fans have already read or from authors that are a permanent fixture on the bestseller columns. I found myself making it a game of how many of those I had already read and how many authors I recognized.
This book is well organized and the text is broken by several points as to make it less threatening, with each chapter, ending on a summary of what had been read and a "Now You" section where it challenges the reader to apply the new information to their own work.

This book provides excellent advice to writers in a well-organized, systematic way, with a summary of the main points at then end of each chapter for easy reference. A key point of the book is that tension is crucial to keeping the reader's interest, and the author provides numerous examples of what it means to maintain tension while advancing the story. Oddly enough, this is where this book itself falls short. For large sections the presentation has a nonstop, predictable cadence--1) piece of good advice, 2) paragraph introducing an example, 3) an example from a published work, and 4) conclusion about how the example illustrates the advice--that made it feel too much like reading an outline of lecture notes. Also, the selected examples are drawn so heavily from fantasy, science fiction, etc, that there is an inherently unrelatable and unsettling quality to them already. It would have made the point much more strongly if the author had chosen more examples showing how authors contrived to create tension even when writing about seemingly boring, normal things. I get the impression that the author must be a constructive and skilled editor, someone great at helping to overhaul and refine flabby writing. This book would have been much more helpful if instead of just giving a laundry list of superb advice with examples of good execution, the author had given before/after examples demonstrating how weak passages could be improved by using the principles described. There was eventually a little of this "advice in action," but I didn't notice any until fully 3/4 of the way through the book. I kept wishing for more truly helpful examples of how to apply the author's points. A minor point: the author's continual use of "they" and "their" as singular pronouns was annoying and distracting.

Rosenfeld's How to Write a Page-Turner is filled with common writing advice but provides examples of each item so that new and seasoned writers can "see" what the advice is actually talking about. This step is often missing in other "how to" books. With topics ranging from types of conflict to using imagery, Rosenfeld covered it all. At the end of each chapter, there is a summary and exercises for readers to apply the advice. This book would make a great addition to high school libraries and classrooms as well as any aspiring author's arsenal.

Thank you NetGalley and Writer's Digest Books for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy.

Why do some books keep you awake till the small hours while others gather dust on the bedside table? Rosenfeld shows how writers can keep their readers hooked. (Tension is the key, I discovered.)
I actually found this book quite gripping itself. There were lots of examples from novels (many of which have been very recently published), giving the impression that Rosenfeld has current market knowledge.
I particularly liked that there was a ‘roadmap’ for a ‘page turner’ – starting with the set-up, passing the ‘point of no return’ and ‘dark night’, and on to the ‘triumph’.
I found it quite inspiring. I’ll certainly be looking out for some of these tactics in the next novel I read and - yes - maybe I will even write one myself!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC

How to Write a Page Turner is a great resource for not only writers, but readers as well. I liked how the author explained how to accomplish the task of writing a page turner by using examples from other selected writers. There was also a “now, you” exercise at the completion of each chapter to continue the learning process, if you so desire.
As a reader, I also took note of the many “turn paging” book excerpts the author used to highlight her explanations of tension. These excerpts grabbed my attention so much that I now want to read those books in its entirety.
This was an interesting and informative book and highly recommended for both writers and readers.

Some interesting concepts but this book did not keep my interest. It did not catch my full attention.

Tension in fiction is the focus of this book, and the author gives the aspiring writer a zillion ways to create tension in fiction. Many basics of fiction are covered in this textbook. There is almost too much to digest. Recommended for the novice writer.

I wanted to include How To Write A Page Turner by Jordan Rosenfeld in my write up today. Though I have written several books, I am always eager to learn more and get better with my storytelling. This is a book I will read slowly and take notes from. If you are interested in writing or improving your skills, I suggest you get this one when it comes out in March.

Here is what you can look forward to learning-

Tension is the heart of conflict, the backbone of uncertainty, the hallmark of danger. It keeps readers guessing and characters on their toes. When you’ve got tension in place, stories leave readers breathless and wanting more. When it’s missing, scenes feel inconsequential, plots drag, and characters meander.

Learning the craft of writing can sometimes feel like a paint by numbers approach–connect compelling character A to plot event B. To avoid writing that’s formulaic, predictable, and slow, How to Write a Page Turner will help you sew the threads of tension tight for an unforgettable story.

You’ll learn how to:
Recognize the essential tension elements of danger, conflict, uncertainty, and withholding, and add them to your fiction
Create levels of tension in your characters through flaws, dialogue, power struggles, and more
Build tension at energetic markers throughout the plot
Use intimate imagery, strong sentences, and well-chosen words to build tension in exposition
While this book walks you through the key areas that need tension building, from character to plot, it also delves deeper, analyzing exceptional examples from contemporary fiction’s most gripping page-turners. So as you dive into the inner conflicts of a character’s deepest psyche, to the mechanics of how you reveal information to the reader, you’ll also discover how to craft a story your readers can’t put down!

So many people have often remarked to me that they would love to write a book but don’t know where to start. There are so many amazing books on writing that you can get to help like this one! I am excited to keep learning.

In a world with so many "how to write" books, it is refreshing to see a bit different advice. This book is not groundbreaking, but it does tackle some important points by offering explanations and writing prompts. It really goes into advice on how to write conflict, how to up the stakes and how to take advantage of withholding, pacing and conflict.

If you have any desire to write a book, I would highly recommend this book! I found it broke down the process of idea generation and writing into manageable steps. I run a writing workshop in my library and I'm certainly going to be recommending it to the people who attend the workshop. Will also be requesting that the library purchase a few copies as it's on a topic that is always popular!

Not only is this the perfect plan for writers, it would do well for GCSE students to help them with their English Literature. While not an approach teacher’s take, understanding how a writer approaches the craft might help some understand themes and characters a little more.