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One of the best “how to” books.
I found the experiential description of action section to be very helpful. It refocused me on how to write action scenes with flavor and depth. I have some 20 books on the craft of writing on my shelf, and as I am revising my third novel this month, I’m already grabbing it down several times as my go-to book. If you are a writer at any level, this book is a worthy addition to your craft library.

Great resource for writing compelling stories
"Mastering the Craft of Compelling Storytelling" is the only writing book—and I own quite a few—that I've highlighted. Concepts that I've struggled to understand make more sense, and my writing strengths are further improved. The section on "weak, wasted, and wrong words" is one of the many sections to reread when writing/rewriting a novel, short story, or any prose.

This is now my go-to book when I'm writing or rewriting a story. Story/plot has always been something I struggled with, as far as understanding how to construct a good one. This book has been a big "aha" for me and was, within the first handful of pages, improving my storytelling.

A must read
As a fiction writer, I'm always searching for craft-related books, always trying to glean something useful for my next story. I would say Ray Rhamey's book stands head and shoulders above many such books I've read.

Among many topics presented here, the author discusses POV shifts, elements of story, description techniques, and, of course, language. The beauty of it is that the reader is not expected to grasp such concepts based on definitions alone, as we have a multitude of examples resulting in ease of flow and many aha moments.

For anyone who wants to improve and make his/her writing compelling, there is no better guide than Rhamey's Mastering the Craft.

This is not a dry, pedantic `how to' book on writing. It is an entertainingly easy to follow guide on not only what to do, but just as importantly, what not to do.

I’ll Use It Every Time I sit Down to Write
You WILL become a better writer by reading this book and implementing the suggestions made by Mr. Rhamey. And they're not vague or theoretical suggestions, either—they are clear, definitive, concrete, and 100% useful. It's a brilliant and entertaining resource book on the craft of writing.

In my opinion, the best way to use this book is to first read it cover to cover, pretending it’s an online course or weekend workshop. Gobble it up whole, so the cells of your writer’s brain absorb and integrate the information. Then, as you write and revise, you can go back to refresh yourself on specific skills or techniques as you need them.

Here are three reasons I like and recommend this book:

The style and voice are friendly, engaging, encouraging, and genuine. There's no huge ego behind the scenes, bestowing rules and regimens. Ray Rhamey is an unassuming guy who really knows his stuff, and his warm teaching style comes through the text beautifully.

Examples abound! By far the best way to improve writing and revising is to see before and after samples, and Rhamey has included a truckload. At every step we're shown ways to improve word choice, sentence structure, characterization, description, dialogue, opening pages, and more. He draws from published and unpublished novels, other books on the craft, agent blogs, and even his own fiction.

The final section of the book includes the opening paragraphs of eleven stories, submitted to his online critique blog, Flogging the Quill. After reading through the book, critique these excerpts yourself, and see how your comments compare to those Rhamey made. The results are dramatic: do just a few of these and you'll realize how much you've learned. Better yet, you'll be ready to apply these critical reading skills to the revision of your own work.

Rhamey suggests “there should never be a good place to put your book down.” If you want to write a book that readers can't put down, then Mastering the Craft of Compelling Storytelling is a resource you can't afford to be without.

Add it to your writer’s toolbox
Mastering the Craft of Compelling Storytelling is one of my favorite writing reference books. Ray's advice is solid and can take your story to the next level. Don't make it so easy for us acquisition editors to say no. Apply this. Wow your readers.

Very useful for the serious writer I'm mad at this book. Know why? Because it's one of the best I've read about crafting compelling novels, and it's telling me that I have to revise my own novel yet again. The examples are clear and unusually frequent. For example, you won't read pages of theory before being shown exactly what is meant by creating tension. If you're writing a novel you hope will sell to an agent, then to a publisher, and finally to a great many readers, Rhamey's realistic advice will help you.

Highly recommended
I have at least two dozen books on writing, but have read very few of them from cover to cover. Ray Rhamey’s book is the exception. It’s a must-read for any writer who wants to create fiction that compels the reader to turn the page. Rhamey details how to make every word count with practical advice and clear examples. Highly recommended.

One of the BEST Books Available on the Craft of Writing
Mastering the Craft of Compelling Storytelling by Ray Rhamey is easily in my top 5 list of books on the craft of writing. Ray lays out the fundamentals in such an easy to understand manner that you can’t help but learn something, but he also provides so many nuggets of wisdom and helpful tips that you are sure to find something new that you missed previously in each new reading.

My favorite sections were the Point of View (POV) chapter and the dialogue chapter, which are easily worth the price of the book by themselves. But every part of this book is full of so many lessons of experience and learning that both newbie and journeyman writers will find multiple pieces of this puzzle we call writing to help them complete the full picture.

Mastering the Craft of Compelling Storytelling is a must-have book in the library of everyone who wants to study the craft of writing.

SO MUCH great advice!
I've read a lot of books on the craft of writing, and I've come to judge these books based on how many passages I've highlighted or bookmarked. And man ... I marked up this book! I've been a fan of Ray Rhamey's for a long time (especially his Flogging The Quill website), and I was excited to read this book to learn more from him.

What I loved:
1. This book contains SO MUCH great advice—from big ideas of storytelling down to little facets of word choice.
2. His writing style is very easy to read.
3. He's included practical tips and exercises for the reader to put into immediate practice.

Not only will I recommend this book to all of my writing friends, I will also read this book again and again to master the concepts presented within its pages.

A Writer’s Must Read
Thank you Ray Rhamey for putting into one book so much of what we need to know as writers. This book, unlike a number of craft books, is an easy and entertaining read. More importantly it captures in one place, so much great stuff to take your writing from 'meh' to powerful. I found so many answers in my first reading and you can bet I'll be using it as reference in the future.


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