The 3 A.M. Epiphany: Uncommon Writing Exercises that Transform Your Fiction

I love this book.Even if I only do a small fraction of the exercises ( I normally hate writing exercises; actually, I hate almost any exercise in any form) I know that my writing will benefit and I will emerge a happier, better man.BUTThe type size is so tiny that if it were any smaller I would need a magnifying glass.Think of the tiniest type in the cheapest classifieds in a newspaper.Whatever possessed the publisher to make the book almost impossible to read?Nonetheless, if you are OK to go blind in your attempt to read this it will be a good use of the last of your sight.

I bought this for a class. I found it boring and sometimes stupid. The fine print is hard to read. I'd rather be reading some good fiction or nonfiction about something I'm interested in with normal size print.If you like reading try some of my favorite fantasy and sci-fi authors: Richard Adams, Palo Bacigulupi, Suzanne Collins, Abe Evergreen, Diana Gabaldon, Hugh Howey, George Martin, Brandon Sanderson, John Scalzi, and Andy Weir.If you’re looking for good stuff to watch consider miniseries like The Astronauts Wives Club (2015), Band of Brothers (2001), Frank Herbert’s Dune (2000), Frank Herbert’s Children of Dune (2003), Into the West (2005), Lonesome Dove (1989), Manhattan (2014-2015), Return to Lonesome Dove (1993), Pride and Prejudice (1995), Taken (2002), and The 10th Kingdom (2000), which are all terrific because they have clear beginnings that establish an objective, then strong middles and conclusive endings where the goal is achieved, like a good novel.Other shows I’ve really enjoyed include Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009), Breaking Bad (2008-2013), Cowboy Bebop (1998), Downton Abbey (2010-2015), Firefly (2002), Game of Thrones (2011-2019), Granite Flats (2013-2015), The IT Crowd (2006-2013), Jericho (2006-2008), Lost (2004-2010), Merlin (2008-2012), The Prisoner (1967-1968), Rome (2005-2007), Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011), Spartacus: Blood and Sand (2010), Stargate: SG-1 (1997-2007), Stargate: Atlantis (2004-2009), Star Trek (1966-1969) and Star Trek Voyager (1995-2001). I didn’t list any contemporary series I’m following that don’t have an end date yet, not conducive to binge watching from beginning to finish.

I have never been a fan of prompts, but this book has changed my mind. The Exercises are far more than prompts. They each tackle a particular writing challenge, and there are several exercises for each challenge. For example there are 13 exercises dealing with point of view, 10 on conversation, 9 on time, 5 on internal structure etc. In addition to giving you practice dealing with a particular challenge, the constraints imposed in each exercise focus your attention on one particular issue, while your creativity runs rampant under the radar. i have produced some of my most surprising writing working with this book. Highly recommended.

I randomly stumbled upon this book and ordered it a few weeks ago. I love it! I am part of a creative writing group and we choose one or two prompts to use and then discuss what we wrote. I give it 4 out of 5 stars because in some prompts the author explains too much, and the idea becomes convoluted. Although with that said, I highly recommend it!

This book is full of really excellent, clever, intelligently conceived writing exercises.Why then the meager star count? I teach an adult ed writing course, and had preliminarily decided to use this as a main text. When I got my copy, however, I found that the text is so small that the book will be useless for some students. It is baffling to me that someone who presumably values books and cares for his readers would allow to be published a book so irresponsibly designed. Hence the the three stars: five for the content; one for the physical book.

This is probably the best writing prompt book or workbook I have ever purchased. Most of the books of this nature that I get a hold of simply give you a starting/ending phrase or a list of words to put somewhere in the writing, which is a relativly easy challenge; but the challenges in this book don't just give you a new topic to write about they make you think about the way you are writing. Any one can come up with a story idea, the real challenge is getting that idea in writing in a way that is interesting to other people. This book helps you with that.

I bought this as a textbook for a writing class and I love it so I kept it. Some of the prompts are a little specific and odd, but if you’re just using it to spark creativity you can just change them a little. Writing from prompts like his has helped me launch several new storylines and make new characters and I’m really enjoying it.

The prompts in this book are great for writers of all skill levels, making this book excellent for use in classes or writing groups, as well as for personal use. The prompts are great jumping-off points, whether you choose to follow them exactly or to just use them as inspiration. They're different from the run-of-the-mill prompts you can find in any so-so inspiration book, the type of prompts which may have made you hate writing when you were younger. These create specific, interesting situations which you can expand upon and make your own. All-in-all, this is an awesome book, and I look forward to getting ahold of the next book, which comes out in January.

A casket of wonders.

My mum is currently writing her first novel and keeps hitting a writing block.These exercises helped her to finish the first draft!There is an abundance of exercises, meaning that you can find the ones most suited to you and your writing patterns.

great.

The title of the book excited me such that I knew I had to get my hands on it. Being a writer, it only made sense. But I didn't, not immediately. I waited for about two years while I kept checking the price of this expensive book on Amazon in my wishlist from time to time. When I found it drop to 520 INR, I added it to my shopping cart. After receiving it, I found the back cover in bad shape. The packaging was not decent. Still, I kept it. This seemed like a very important book for writers. And I was correct.The exercises are gems. I like the second one on page 21 so much at the end of which Brian teaches a great tool for writing.The exercises were short -- one to two pages long. I took it one day at a time. Otherwise, it would have been overwhelming. Plus, learning for me happens slowly and over time. It made sense to learn a lesson and let the subconscious work on it at least for a day. After writing six exercises, I found them helpful. Each exercise taught me a thing or two about the craft. I knew what I was going to do in the next 200 days. Finish all the exercises one day at a time. This book gives the feeling of a classroom experience. Classwork is the exercise and perhaps the learning from the exercise is the homework which over time builds like a tall-storeyed office building with different employees for different roles for a project. I skipped exercises 8 and 9 as I didn't feel like doing them. I was about to skip no. 10 as well. But after two days of going through it, I thought of a novel I was working on and wrote the Epilogue for it. The number 10 exercise helped me finish the ending of my novel way before I reached the end. It felt wonderful. Oh! I loved these exercises. I loved to do homework during my school days. These exercises reminded me of my childhood memories. No wonder I became comfortable with them.After writing the initial 7 exercises, I stopped writing. I kept reading them each day like I used to but I didn't work on the instructions. Just didn't feel like it. It gave me food for thought about my writing, the projects I was working on. The insight into different ways of seeing things in life showed me a wider spectrum on which I can work on my fictional tales. Oh this and oh that...so many things are possible and these exercises opened my eyes to a world of immense possibilities.While reading the exercises, I couldn't help thinking about the three novels I was working on. In one of the exercises, I even wrote an epilogue for one of my novels. This book is a treasure that I have cherished and I will reread it next year. And hope to write more this time. This book reminded me how difficult writing is. Hard work!I keep taking breaks from writing. I see no point in pressuring myself to make progress on paper in a project each day. I know that real writing happens in the subconscious. And I keep feeding the loop which eventually gives output in terms of words on paper. 5/5

I'm slowly working my way through the exercises - and they are challenging. But some very nice material has emerged from them and I'm able to use them to give me new perspectives on work in progress.I wouldn't recommend this for new writers (a collection of writing prompts is a much better bet and I recommend The Writer's Book of days by Judy Reeves) but for anyone who has material already and wants to improve their craft, or needs shaking out of a rut, this has to be one of the best books on the market.I would say though, that the print in the book is way too small to be enjoyable. It was for this reason that I bought the Kindle version.