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    Nail Your Novel: Why Writers Abandon Books And How You Can Draft, Fix and Finish With Confidence
    Nail Your Novel: Why Writers Abandon Books And How You Can Draft, Fix and Finish With Confidence
    Nail Your Novel: Why Writers Abandon Books And How You Can Draft, Fix and Finish With Confidence
    Ebook181 pages2 hours

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

    By Roz Morris

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    About this ebook

    This book is used by award-winning authors and university creative writing departments.

    Are you writing a novel? Do you want to make sure you finish? Will you get lost and fizzle out? Will you spend more time reading about how to write than actually getting the words down?

    Most books on novel-writing will make you read hundreds of pages about character arcs, inciting incidents, heroes’ journeys. It’s great to know that – but while you’re reading about it you’re not writing your book.

    And what these books don’t tell you is how to use this learning and get the job done.

    Nail Your Novel is a writing buddy – and mentor - in a book.

    In 10 easy steps it will tell you:
    *how to shape your big idea and make a novel out of it
    *how to do your research and how to use it
    *how to organise your time
    *how to plot and build characters
    *when you’re going to hit problems and what to do about them
    *how to write on the days you don’t feel inspired
    *how to reread what you’ve written and polish it.

    Along the way, Thumbnail Notes give tutorials about storytelling and storycraft – strictly when you need them. The author has written nearly a dozen novels that have made it into print – and this is how she did it.

    You don’t even need to read the whole book before you get started. You read a section, then do as it says.

    Don't abandon your idea. Nail Your Novel.

    Get your copy now.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRoz Morris
    Release dateJul 15, 2012
    ISBN9781476101200
    Nail Your Novel: Why Writers Abandon Books And How You Can Draft, Fix and Finish With Confidence
    Author

    Roz Morris

    STOP PRESS! Roz Morris's novel Lifeform Three was longlisted for the World Fantasy Award.NEW RELEASE! Ever Rest, Roz's long awaited 3rd novel, launched on 3 June 2021. Read it now!Roz Morris writes fiction and essays about unusual ways we can be haunted and how we seek people and places we belong with. Her work has been profiled by The Guardian, Literature Works, the Potomac Review, Rain Taxi and BBC Radio.Her fiction has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide, although you won't have seen her name on the covers - she began her career in secret, ghostwriting fiction for big-name authors.Now she's coming out of the shadows. Her own novels have been described as 'profound tales and compelling page-turners', with fine-honed language, unforgettable characters, and gripping, unusual storylines. Plaudits include a top-ranked title in the American Library Journal programme, a longlisting for an international award alongside Neil Gaiman and a finalist position in the People's Book Prize 2017.She is a writer, journalist, fiction editor and the author of the Nail Your Novel series for writers. She teaches creative writing masterclasses for The Guardian newspaper in London and is also the author of a series for writers - Nail Your Novel.If you want to get to know her a little better, drop in at www.rozmorris.wordpress.com and her blog www.nailyournovel.com - where she keeps a regular diary of challenges she's tackling in her writing. Follow her creative adventures in her newsletter https://tinyurl.com/rozmorriswriter

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    4/5

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    • 4/5
      I'll definitely use this book for my edit and rewrite.
    • 4/5
      So this is a book about plotting, and I'm a confirmed, committed Panster....

      At least, I used to be!

      Nah, just kidding -- I'm still a Pantser, but having said that, there's a veritable TRUCKLOAD of good advice in this book. So much information, delivered in really easy to digest and implement chunks. I'm definitely going to give it a try.

      Bearing in mind that this book is a bit old now (it was published in 2011), there's only a tiny reference to self-publishing at the end. But even if you don't ever intend to go for a traditional publishing deal -- I don't -- I kinda like what the author said about the synopsis. Even if you're self-publishing, it could be useful to go ahead and write a full synopsis as though you were going to pitch to an agent, for two reasons:

      1. Because writing that synopsis gives you one last chance to spot issues with your story, in terms of plot consistency, timelines, pacing, etc. And every little bit helps in that department.

      2. Because when you condense 100k-word novel into a thousand-word synopsis, you're putting your brain in "summarising mode", and you're going to need to be in that frame of mind when you want to write your blurb, which will require you to condense that thousand-word synopsis even further, into 50 words that can go on the back cover and the retailers' websites.

      2.1. And you should probably write that blurb even if you're NOT self-publishing, because those 50 words also become how you answer people when they ask you what your book's about.

      I hope Ms Morris doesn't mind me including that spoiler, but really, this book isn't about how to get published. That's a relatively small chapter at the end. It's about how to get your novel finished... well, I'll let you know in a few months whether it achieved that goal, but right now, it's looking promising.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      A very valueable resource for writers. I wish I would have had it when I was writing my first book. It would have saved me a lot of time and, more importantly, angst. I look forward to using it as a guide as I make my way through my second book and beyond. Thank you for this great resource, Roz!

      1 person found this helpful

    Book preview

    Nail Your Novel - Roz Morris

    NAIL YOUR NOVEL

    WHY WRITERS ABANDON BOOKS AND HOW YOU CAN DRAFT, FIX AND FINISH WITH CONFIDENCE

    By Roz Morris

    Copyright 2011 by Roz Morris

    Smashwords edition ISBN 9781476101200

    Connect with Roz Morris at

    Twitter http://twitter.com/roz_morris

    Website http://www.nailyournovel.com/

    This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook 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 you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return to the store and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

    This book is wholly the intellectual property of Roz Morris. It is completely and utterly her copyright. No part of it may be copied or reproduced without the prior written permission of the author, Roz Morris. All rights reserved.

    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

    INTRODUCTION

    Have you got a novel inside you? Many people say they have. They’ll get round to writing it some day – just not now. Or, if now is the perfect time, they’re not sure how to go about it.

    Maybe you already write. In which case you know there’s a lot to worry about. Character, plot, arcs, plot points, tone, narrators, narrative, viewpoint, metaphor, themes, language, imagery, genre, research, pacing. Phew. You’ll probably also know that a novel is a holistic organism in which each of those elements sparks off all the others.

    How do you hit all those marks AND make a fascinating story?

    Most things we do we have a plan for. In most jobs, if we have a task to do, there’s a project plan, a schedule, a methodology.

    But many people start a novel and hope they’ll muddle through.

    I’ve been writing novels for years and helping floundering writers find their way. What I notice time and time again is that so many make it very hard for themselves, even experienced authors.

    I’m not saying writing a novel is easy. Nor that anyone could do it.

    But there are ways to make it much harder than it needs to be.

    For instance, many writers paint themselves into a corner because they are tackling a problem at the wrong time. They get blocked because the critical parts of their brain are inhibiting their creativity. Or their overactively inventive imagination is stopping them seeing the simple, rational solution. Or they are attempting to spice up a dull story by adding more events, when really they need to find a way to examine the ones they already have.

    There are times when you can usefully fret about phrasing, or whether your character saw her boyfriend last week or last night.

    And there are times when that is a colossal waste of energy.

    I hate wasting energy. And as a professional I can’t afford to. I’ve developed a method to tackle all the milestones of writing a novel, from initial inspiration to final polish. It’s smart and efficient. It draws on techniques from Hollywood scriptwriting, improvisational drama, project management and sports psychology – because experts in those fields have already solved problems that novel-writers come across.

    I’m going to tell you the way to nail your novel.

    Who am I?

    I am a professional writer with more than a dozen finished novels under my belt. I ghost as other people and I write under my own name. Eight of my novels are bestsellers. I also freelance for a critiquing consultancy. I love stories and storytelling – if you do too, drop in on my website, www.nailyournovel.com - inspiration and creative provocation for writers.

    My method will not only help you finish a novel, it makes the whole writing business a lot more creative and fun. A thoroughly planned novel takes less time to write. Even better, it is more likely to succeed in today’s market because it will have been properly structured, fixed and polished.

    If you’ve never finished writing a novel before, imagine how you’d feel if you got all the way to the end.

    What this book is

    This book is a complete project plan for writing a novel. It’s a short book because there’s no need to make it a long one. And if you’re trying to start a novel you don’t need yet another thing to do before you can begin. Your time is precious and you need to get going.

    Some writing guides make you go through a series of exercises to warm you up before you embark on a ‘proper’ piece of writing. Write 200 words every morning on a noun picked at random from the dictionary – that sort of thing.

    There’s none of that here because I don’t believe that’s necessary. This is the age of communication. You can all text, email, tweet, blog, comment, review and write letters. You already know how to put your thoughts into prose.

    What I will make you do is quite a lot of tasks that aren’t writing the actual text of your book. But they will all be work on your novel. But no exercises, no time wasting. From the word go, you are getting on with your novel. This is all work that will shape the finished book.

    How to use this book

    This is not a book about the detailed mechanics of plot, character etc, although I will give thumbnail notes on the essentials when you need to be thinking especially about them. There are many good books that go into those aspects of writercraft in exhaustive detail, and we all have our own favourites according to the genre we write and the kind of tutoring we relate to.

    But this plan can be used no matter what genre you want to write. Whether you’re a first-timer or an old timer.

    It will help you use stories – and what you learn from other books – to the maximum because you will get the best out of your ideas.

    It will also enable you to troubleshoot. Not just logistical problems such as how to get your characters out of a sinking boat, or how to spot if your plotting’s a mess. Writers also need to battle hiccups in their confidence and motivation. I know all the enemies to writing and the destroyers of creativity. I’ll help you outsmart them. The bad times when you don’t know what to do, or you’re fed up with the manuscript. Where your creativity is mired in sludge and your writer’s block goes from wall to wall.

    All these problems have solutions if you know how to find them.

    Start now – right now

    You can start work now. The step-by-step process will tell you all you need to do as you go along.

    Your working day starts with a cup of coffee and this book. You read a bit, then do as it says. When you’ve completed that task, read a bit more. I’ll anticipate when you’re likely to get stuck and I’ll tell you how to get out of it.

    If you’ve got a novel abandoned in a drawer, you can use this book to resurrect it. Not just that but your enthusiasm, that little flame of belief that got you all excited in the first place.

    Whether you’re starting from scratch or revisiting a previous attempt, if you follow the steps all the way to the end you’ll have a finished, polished novel in your hands.

    1 WHY PEOPLE START NOVELS BUT DON’T FINISH

    Where does it all go wrong? Let me tell you a little story. Long ago, I had an idea for a novel. I’d got a set-up and some characters, and a cracking

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