Hope it helps. The reviews make it sound kinda formulaic, however that's fine for me. Hope you do derive some value from it.
So do I? It's a bit daft, but now that I've ordered this book I feel reluctant to carry on writing until it arrives and I can start reading it. I have this idea in my head that writing now will be like trying to open a door with the wrong key. The correct key is on its way, so wouldn't it make more sense to wait?
Don't hold off on writing. I'd say continue writing until you finish. The worse thing you can do is hold off and get crippled by doubt. Experience is the best teacher in all of this, and you won't get experience if you shelve a story. While reading the book, try to analyze your past chapters and scenes, then find out what you were missing and what you had done correctly. Most likely you have instinctively followed the scene and sequel patterns on some scenes without prior knowledge of the scene-sequel patterns. Learning writing is an ongoing process. I'm still learning, and whatever new stuff I learn today, I compare it with my past works and try to implement it on my current one. Even if your writing is weak on past chapters and improved onward, you will still have the opportunity to improve on the weak chapters on the revision stage. Once again--don't hold off writing.
Thanks for the encouragement, nastyjman. I suppose at worst, I can carry on writing in my amateurish 'one event after another' kind of way, with no real stitching between each, and then once I've devoured and fully understood the tricks in The Techniques of the Selling Writer, I can go back and join up the dots in the way he advises.
