Actually, I really like Dan Brown's writing style. It really draws you in and is really effective. The only problem is that Brown has only written one book, really. All his novels have the same, highly specific format. It's only the details that are different. The plot exposition, the characters etc are all mostly the same.
Lots of popular novel writers use formulaic writing, applying the same recipes again and again, and that seems to please their readers. Pretty much all Agatha Christie novels share the same basic plots (one character is killed, sleuth asks questions to everyone, finally everybody is in the same room of a castle / manor and sleuth gives the answer), with the same stock characters (rich people), for instance, and she is one of the biggest book sellers ever.
Perhaps he ascribes to the aphorism "if it ain't broke don't fix it". People keep buying it for better or worse, if he wants to break out and try alternate styles he's probably better to use a pseudonym. Sometimes you like to have an idea of what you're getting in to with a book, sometimes not.
The narrative quality of The Da Vinci Code does indeed scream PowerPoint. A quick Google search does not immediately yield support, but I'm going with this anyway as it meshes with my loathing for that particular work. :)
Was just me expressing my distaste for Amis in general and London Fields in particular. He is highly regarded in the UK, but I cannot fathom why (I'm a Brit).
I think London Fields and Time's Arrow employ a lot of clever but bad prose (bad in that the prose does not flow). And specifically for London Fields I felt it quite misogynistic. Currently wading through The Information to see if there's something else that grabs me, giving him the benefit of the doubt.
So far I think Amis is massively over-rated. Not enjoyable.
Yup, I've cranked out two novels and a comic script with Scrivener. Hands down my favorite electronic tool for planning, plotting, and composing after I'm done sketching out general plot arcs on paper.
Heller's outline for Catch-22 is especially notable due to the story's non-linear plotline. I found it extremely useful when reading it the first time trough, since the plot is so difficult to follow.
* James Salter’s outline for Light Years
* J.K. Rowling’s spreadsheet plan for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
* Joseph Heller’s chart outline for Catch-22
* Henry Miller’s manuscript plan for Tropic of Capricorn
* William Faulkner’s outline for A Fable — written on his office walls.
* Sylvia Plath’s outline for The Bell Jar
* Norman Mailer’s character timeline for Harlot’s Ghost.
* Part of Jennifer Egan’s plan for her short story “Black Box.”
* Gay Talese’s outline for his classic profile “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold”
http://flavorwire.com/391173/famous-authors-handwritten-outl...
Personally, I use Scrivener - http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php