The Everything Guide To Writing A Novel : From completing the first draft to landing a book contract--all you need to fulfill your dreams

301 Pages·2010·1.28 MB·English

by  Lavene

THE
EVERYTHING
®
GUIDE TO WRITING
YOUR FIRST NOVEL
All the tools you need to write
and sell your first novel
Hallie Ephron, book reviewer for the Boston Globe
and author of Never Tell a Lie
Copyright © 2011 by F+W Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher;
exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.
®
An Everything Series Book.
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Everything and everything.com are registered trademarks of F+W Media, Inc.
Published by Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322 U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com
®
Contains material adapted and abridged from The Everything Guide to Writing a Novel by Joyce and Jim
Lavene, copyright © 2004 by F+W Media, Inc.,
ISBN 10: 1-59337-132-2, ISBN 13: 978-1-59337-132-6.
ISBN 10: 1-4405-0957-3
ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-0957-5
eISBN 10: 1-4405-1063-6
eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-1063-2
Printed in the United States of America.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ephron, Hallie.
The everything guide to writing your first novel / Hallie Ephron.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-4405-0957-5
ISBN-10: 1-4405-0957-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-4405-1063-2
ISBN-10: 1-4405-1063-6
1. Authorship — Marketing. I. Title.
PN3365.E45 2010
808.3 — dc22 2010038493
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information
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THE EVERYTHING GUIDE TO WRITING YOUR
®
FIRST NOVEL
Dear Reader,
I was one of those people who was sure that I'd never write a novel. Not clever
enough. Not creative enough. No unique life experiences. I'd never come up with
a good enough idea, and even if I did, I'd never have the stamina to wrestle it
through 300 pages to a satisfying ending.
Then, one day, a wonderful story idea came to me and I decided to try writing
it. I opened a new file, fingers poised over the keyboard, and right away I was
stymied. Would it be “I” or “she,” past tense or present, and where oh where to
begin?
Writing those first pages was like squeezing blood out of a turnip. A writer
friend who critiqued my fledgling effort wanted to know: From which
character's viewpoint did I think I was writing that opening scene?
Viewpoint? Scene? Were those things that I needed to know about?
It was news to me that I couldn't simply plunge into writing fiction using all
the techniques I'd mastered over years of writing nonfiction. More bad news: All
these years that I'd been reading novels, I hadn't paid much attention to how it's
done. That was understandable because, as I would later come to realize, only
bad writing draws attention to itself.
So, gentle writer, I hope this book spares you the kind of ugly trial and error
that I went through in order to write that novel that you know you've got in you.
Sincerely,
Welcome to the EVERYTHING Series!
®
These handy, accessible books give you all you need to tackle a difficult project,
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brush up on something you learned back in school but have since forgotten.
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out the information you want from our four useful boxes: e-questions, e-facts, e-
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but throw in a lot of fun stuff along the way, too.
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We now have more than 400 Everything books in print, spanning such wide-
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language, crafts, pets, New Age, and so much more. When you're done reading
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them all, you can finally say you know Everything !
Answers to common questions
Important snippets of information
Urgent warnings
Quick handy tips
PUBLISHER Karen Cooper
DIRECTOR OF ACQUISITIONS AND INNOVATION Paula Munier MANAGING
EDITOR, EVERYTHING® SERIES Lisa Laing COPY CHIEF Casey Ebert
ASSISTANT PRODUCTION EDITOR Jacob Erickson ACQUISITIONS EDITOR Lisa
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Colleen Cunningham, Elisabeth Lariviere, Ashley Vierra, Denise Wallace Visit
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the entire Everything series at www.everything.com
Contents
Top 10 Reasons to Write a Novel
Introduction
01 Defining the Novel
A Definition
Types of Novels
Literary Fiction
General or Mainstream Fiction
Genre Fiction
Formats
02 Getting Started
Get Serious
Create a Support System
Organizations for Writers
Connecting Through Social Media
Working with a Writers Critique Group
Tune Your Ear: Read!
Story Ideas
Formulating a Premise
What's Hot (and Should It Matter?)
03 Elements of a Novel: An Overview
The Origins of the Novel
Character
Plot
Setting
Narrative Voice
Theme
04 Creating the Protagonist
The Protagonist
What Does Your Protagonist Want?
What Obstacles Are in the Way?
A Breakdown of Your Protagonist
Pitfall: Character Clichés
Naming the Protagonist
Writing a Character Sketch
05 Creating the Supporting Cast and Settings
Creating Main Characters
Creating Supporting Characters
Creating Minor Characters and Walk-ons
Naming Characters
Physical Locations
Creating an Authentic Time Period
Creating an Authentic Context
Sweat the Small Stuff
06 Building the Plot
What Is Plot?
Coming Up with a Plot
Scenes
Planning Strategies: The Method for Your Madness
Writing a Detailed Synopsis
Storyboarding
Using Software Tools to Plan
07 Research
Bridging the Credibility Gap
When to Do Research
Where to Do Research
Researching Places
Researching People
Staying Organized
08 Starting the Rough Draft