The Everything Guide To Writing A Novel : From completing the first draft to landing a book contract--all you need to fulfill your dreams PDF
Preview The Everything Guide To Writing A Novel : From completing the first draft to landing a book contract--all you need to fulfill your dreams
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. ® ® 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 with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. — From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Adams Media was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters. This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases. For information, please call 1-800-289-0963. 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, gain a new hobby, comprehend a fascinating topic, prepare for an exam, or even brush up on something you learned back in school but have since forgotten. ® You can choose to read an Everything book from cover to cover or just pick out the information you want from our four useful boxes: e-questions, e-facts, e- alerts, and essentials. We give you everything you need to know on the subject, but throw in a lot of fun stuff along the way, too. ® We now have more than 400 Everything books in print, spanning such wide- ranging categories as weddings, pregnancy, cooking, music instruction, foreign language, crafts, pets, New Age, and so much more. When you're done reading ® 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 Laing SENIOR DEVELOPMENT EDITOR Brett Palana-Shanahan ASSOCIATE DEVELOPMENT EDITOR Hillary Thompson EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Ross Weisman EVERYTHING® SERIES COVER DESIGNER Erin Alexander LAYOUT DESIGNERS Colleen Cunningham, Elisabeth Lariviere, Ashley Vierra, Denise Wallace Visit ® 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
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