A Beginner's Guide to Writing a Novel. Writing a novel is not an easy thing to do. Unlike many non-fiction works, publishers will not accept a novel unless it's completely finished. The more a writer knows about the basics of how to write a novel, the more easily the novel will be put onto paper and the more interesting it will be. Writers should attempt to incorporate all of the following tips in order to make their novel as good as possible: Start The Novel With a Conflict One of the best ways to hook a reader is to start in the middle of action. Create Interesting Characters A man with a square jaw isn't going to keep readers interested. Keep the Novel Pacing Fast and Tight Readers don't want to spend 50 pages reading information that doesn't have anything to do with the overall plot.
Make Your Story Unique Every writer's story should stand out from competing novels. Read While You Write. Writing Tips and Writing Advice. Exercises for Fiction Writers - Page 2. How To Write A Novel Using The Snowflake Method. Writing a novel is easy. Writing a good novel is hard. That’s just life. If it were easy, we’d all be writing best-selling, prize-winning fiction. Frankly, there are a thousand different people out there who can tell you how to write a novel. There are a thousand different methods. In this article, I’d like to share with you what works for me. This page is the most popular one on my web site, and gets over a thousand page views per day, so you can guess that a lot of people find it useful. Good fiction doesn’t just happen, it is designed. For a number of years, I was a software architect designing large software projects.
I claim that that’s how you design a novel — you start small, then build stuff up until it looks like a story. If you’re like most people, you spend a long time thinking about your novel before you ever start writing. But before you start writing, you need to get organized. Step 1) Take an hour and write a one-sentence summary of your novel. Shorter is better. Creative Writing 101. RJ Great article. Morning is definitely the time where I am most creative. I think it’s because my mind is the freshest and the least cluttered at this time of day. Doug Rosbury When I write, it is with an emphasis on the sharing of wisdom arising from my life experience. Wether one could reasonably term such writing as being creative or not I don’t necessarily concern myself with. How to write a book – the short honest truth. Every author I know gets asked the same question: How do you write a book?
It’s a simple question, but it causes unexpected problems. On the one hand, it’s nice to have people interested in something I do. If I told people I fixed toasters for a living, I doubt I’d get many inquires. People are curious about writing and that’s cool and flattering. Rock on. But on the other hand, the hand involving people who ask because they have an inkling to do it themselves, is that writing books is a topic so old and so well trod by so many famous people that anyone who asks hoping to discover secret advice is hard to take seriously.
Here’s the short honest truth: 20% of the people who ask me are hoping to hear this – Anyone can write a book. If you want to write, kill the magic: a book is just a bunch of writing. Writing a good book, compared to a bad one, involves one thing. Getting published. 30% of the time the real thing people are asking is how do you find a publisher. Discouraged yet? Seven Simple Steps to Writing Your First Book, Sid Smith. I frequently receive calls from consultants and professional speakers who want to write a book, but have neither the time nor the writing skills (sometimes one, sometimes both). The most frequent comment is, "I get stuck almost as soon as I sit down to write. " "That's your problem," I say. "What? " "Sitting down to write - that's your problem. " "Well, then how am I supposed to write a book? " I say: "If you can talk, you can write. " I'm about to reveal to you a technique that will help you to get your book written in record time.
Step one - the planning phase Most people will get an idea and start writing. This is one place where, if you're strapped for cash, hiring a book writing consultant can be the best thing you ever did for yourself. Step two - the outline phase If you're working with a coach or consultant, he or she will talk you through the creation of a very detailed outline of your book. Your speaking skills will come in handy here. 1. 2. 3. Go get your book printed! Writing A Novel - A Beginner's Guide. About Creative Writing -- Creative Writing Advice. Tips about Novel Writing from Fiction Writer's Connection -
201 Ways to Arouse Your Creativity. Arouse your creativity Electric flesh-arrows … traversing the body. A rainbow of color strikes the eyelids. A foam of music falls over the ears. It is the gong of the orgasm. ~ Anais Nin Creativity is like sex. You fumble your way through, you get lost in it, you fall in love. Both are passionate, rhythmic, pleasurable, and flowing. I know, I know. The people I speak of are writers. Below, I’ve exposed some of their secret tips, methods, and techniques. Now, lie back, relax and take pleasure in these 201 provocative ways to arouse your creativity. Great hacks from Merlin Mann of 43 Folders. Fifty (50!) Tools which can help you in Writing - Stepcase Lifehack. Synonym Finder » Find synonyms, antonyms & definition for (almost) any word.
Writing Tools/Software. Internet Resources - Writers Resources - Writing Links & Writers. Unsorted [/writers] James Patrick Kelly - Murder Your Darlings - "When time comes to make that final revision, however, you must harden your heart, sharpen the ax and murder your darlings. " Greda Vaso - Determining the Readability of a Book - includes formulas for Gunning's Fog Index, Flesch Formula, Powers Sumner Kearl L. Kip Wheeler - Literary Terms and Definitions L. Kip Wheeler - Comp - Lit - Poetry - Links - more Style - Grammar - Errors in English [/writers]American Heritage - Book of English Usage - free download Band-Aid AP StylebookPaul Brians - Common Errors in EnglishCJ Cherryh - Writerisms and other Sins The Chicago Manual of Style FAQ Gary N.
Curtis - The Fallacy Files - Logical fallacies and bad arguments Prof. Charles Darling [RIP] - Guide to Grammar and Writing The Economist (UK) - Style Guide John Eshleman - Logical Fallacies H.W. Writing Fiction. Writing Generators. Writing4Success Home. AdviceToWriters - Home. Fifty (50!) Tools which can help you in Writing - Stepcase Lifehack. Read These Seven Books, and You’ll be a Better Writer. Donald Miller I used to play golf but I wasn’t very good. I rented a DVD, though, that taught me a better way to swing, and after watching it a few times and spending an hour or so practicing, I knocked ten strokes off my game. I can’t believe how much time I wasted when a simple DVD saved me years of frustration. I’d say something similar is true in my writing career. If you read these books, your writing will improve to the point people who read your work will begin to comment on how well you write.
Sometimes the difference between an okay writer and a great writer is simple. I’ve read quite a few books on writing and here is, in my opinion, the collection every writer should have in their library. • The War of Art by Steven Pressfield: This book is aimed at writers, but it’s also applicable to anybody who does creative work. Pressfield leaves out all the mushy romantic talk about the writing life, talk I don’t find helpful.
. • On Writing Well by William Zinsser: Character Chart. FAVORITES Color: Music: Food: Literature: Expressions: Book: Quote: Expletive(s) (swears): Mode of transportation: HABITS Smokes: What? How often? Drinks: What? How often? Worst bad habit? Quirks: BACKGROUND Hometown: Type of childhood: First memory: Most important childhood event that still affects him/her: Why? Lower education: Higher education: Booksmart or streetsmart? SELF-PERCEPTION One word character would use to describe self: One paragraph description of how character would describe self: What does character consider best physical characteristic?
Immediate goal(s): Long range goal(s): How does character plan to accomplish goal(s)? How character react in a crisis (calm/panic/etc.)? Jewelry? Owns a computer? © (c ) copyright 1990-2011 Rebecca Sinclair ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Authors Note: I worked hard on this. Fiction Writer's Character Chart - EpiGuide.com. If you're a fiction writer -- whether you're working on a novel, short story, screenplay, television series, play, web series, webserial, or blog-based fiction -- your characters should come alive for your reader or audience. The highly detailed chart below will help writers develop fictional characters who are believable, captivating, and unique.
Print this page to complete the form for each main character you create. IMPORTANT: Note that all fields are optional and should be used simply as a guide; character charts should inspire you to think about your character in new ways, rather than constrain your writing. Fill in only as much info as you choose. Have fun getting to know your character! If this character chart is helpful, please let us know!
To join our community, which focuses on online writing, visit -- and feel free to show off your character charts. Looking for more character questionnaires / charts? HOW TO WRITE MARGINALLY READABLE FAN FICTION.