Nail Your Novel: Why Writers Abandon Books And How You Can Draft, Fix and Finish With Confidence

165 Pages·2011·0.7 MB·English

by  Morris

NAIL YOUR NOVEL
WHY WRITERS ABANDON BOOKS AND HOW
YOU CAN DRAFT, FIX AND FINISH WITH
CONFIDENCE
By Roz Morris Nail Your Novel – Why Writers Abandon Books and How You
Can Draft, Fix and Finish With Confidence Roz Morris Published by Roz Morris
Copyright 2011 Roz Morris Connect with Roz Morris at Twitter
http://twitter.com/nailyournovel
Website http://www.nailyournovel.com/
This Kindle book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may
not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book
with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If
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respecting the hard work of this author.
CONTENTS
Introduction
Why a planned novel is more likely to succeed in today’s market. What this
book is and how to use it. thumbnail notes on writercraft. Start now.
1 Why people start novels and don’t finish
My abandoned book – a cautionary tale. Why I developed a plan.
FAQs - Why a system can help you be more creative, not less.
Your personality type and how it affects the way you write.
Tailor the system to your needs.
To resurrect your abandoned manuscript.
Importance of taking a break to get critical distance.
2 Before you start the manuscript
Aims at this stage. What you’re ignoring.
task 1… Shaping your inspiration. Nurturing ideas.
task 2… Starting this specific novel. Putting flesh on the initial idea. Character.
Genre. Filling in the blanks. Plot thickeners. The wish-not list. Working library.
task 3… Focused research. How to research. The hat game.
task 4… A structural survey for your novel. The cards game. Fill in blanks.
Writing a novel based on your own experiences. Sub-plots. Keeping your plot
focused. Got enough plot? Assessing an existing draft or partial draft. Know
your ending.
task 5… Detailed synopsis. Making major changes.
Aims recap. Ready to start the actual text
3 The first draft
Aims at this stage. What you’re ignoring.
task 6… How to free your muse and turn off your inner critic.
Rules for this stage. Show not tell How to deviate without losing your way.
Block busters, including creative games for when you don’t know what to do.
How to keep yourself at the desk when you’re not in the mood. Targets and other
writing incentives. Emergency rescue library. A soundtrack for your novel.
Prepare for tomorrow. Make a personal details file. The Outtakes file. Aims
recap.
task 7… Before you look at your manuscript again.
4 Before you rewrite
How rough your manuscript will look and why that’s good. Your novel is now a
new creature. Characters take over.
task 8… The beat sheet game. How to take control of pace, tone, story
mechanics, arcs, beginning, middle, end, tensions, sub-plots, purpose of each
scene, timeline, themes, characters. Making changes. Mission statement for
rewriting. If you need to fundamentally re-plan. Assessing an abandoned
manuscript. Aims recap. Ready to rewrite.
5 The rewrites
Aims at this stage task 9… Revising your manuscript. Viewpoint, format and
voice. How to use the beat sheet. If you get stuck. The Outtakes file. Targets.
The beginning. Dialogue. Other smart revision alerts - facts, consistency,
timeline, show not tell, relics of your previous draft. Kill your darlings. Spelling
etc. Chapter beginnings and endings. Are you sure you’ve finished?
6 Sending your novel to seek its fortune
The publishing business. Give your novel the best chance you can. Getting
feedback. Friends or professional critics? How to use criticism. Sending it out.
Agent or publisher?
task 10… Your submission package. Make a 100,000-word novel into a 1,000-
word synopsis. Extreme summary – the 50-word pitch. Dos and don’ts of the
cover letter.
About the author