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AN EXCERPT FROM: THE EVERYTHING GUIDE TO WRITING A NOVEL
For our Writing Friends:
We began this book because so many people ask us about different elements of novel writing. In every workshop we give, there are different questions that all deserve good answers. We’ve collected a great deal of knowledge through the course of writing over forty books. The problem was finding a way to put all of those answers together.
There are plenty of workshops and seminars for writers that break down many of the answers. But small chunks of information gathered from hundreds of different sources are sometimes confusing and difficult to remember. We wanted to put as much as we could in one place.
We hope the information contained here will be easy to use. Writing and publishing can be a strange and mysterious world. Our goal here was to take away some of the mystery with clean, straightforward answers. Hopefully, we’ve accomplished some part of de-mystifying the process for everyone who reads this book.
]“Where do you get your ideas?” Every author hears this question repeated at every book-signing event and workshop. Readers are always eager to know what inspired a certain character or plot. A better question would be, “Where do you keep your ideas?” Writers know where their ideas come from. What they don’t always know is what to do with them once they get them. Over the course of a lifetime, a writer will have to cope with lots of ideas, both good and bad.
Being Organized
Everyone knows the value of being organized. It’s what keeps you from wearing mismatched socks. It helps you find the light bulbs when you need to change one. It keeps your insurance papers in a file in case there’s an emergency.
And everyone knows what it’s like when you’re not organized. You’re late for work on the day of the important presentation. Your son borrowed your laptop so you only have your written notes and they have coffee stains on them. You meant to send your suit to the cleaners but you forgot and there’s ketchup on your lapel. If only you’d been more organized.
Being an organized writer means never misplacing an idea that you loved six months ago but didn’t have time to write. You know what chapter you’re working on and whom you sent your last manuscript. You keep track of what publisher rejected your romance because it was too spicy. That way, you won’t send the same kind of book to them again.
The writer as a small businessperson wears many hats. Agent, editor, publicist and creator. He can’t afford not to be organized.
Good organization can do more than just keep your writing going smoothly. It can help you if you are audited by the Internal Revenue Service. It can also protect you if any of your work is ever plagiarized by providing the background proof that your work is truly your own.
So Many Ideas
Author Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) wrote over 500 books in his lifetime. He was one of the most prolific authors ever published. That doesn’t include his 400 essays. Though he is best known as a science fiction author, he also wrote non-fiction books. Using a basic ratio for what happens to most writers, that meant that he had thousands of ideas for books that didn’t work.
How many ideas do you have? Probably too many to ever write. Very few writers are lacking for things to write about. Finding the time to do it is the problem. That’s why you can only write the big ideas. If you want to get anything accomplished, you’ll have to pick-and-choose.
But what do you do with all of those ideas? You’ll have to be objective. Try not to think of them in the same category as your children or other cherished items. The really good ones, you write at least a paragraph down and file away. The possible ones, you write at least a sentence down and file away. Anything down from that, you discard. There is only so much of you to go around.
Try not to force too many ideas into one book. This will only confuse the reader. Stay clear and focused on what you want to say. Let those extra ideas stayed filed away until the time is right for them. More is not always better.
Top Ten Reasons to Write a Novel
1. You have a story to tell. You have to write it or you just might explode.
2. You have a passion for words and you love to write.
3. You’ve experienced something you feel the world should know.
4. You’re dissatisfied with the books you read. You believe you can write better.
5. The story you want to tell is too detailed and involved to fit into a short-story format.
6. You want to have the satisfaction of knowing you’ve completed a manuscript.
7. You want to try your hand at getting a novel published.
8. You’re looking for a career that you never have to retire from.
9. You’re looking for a career that can travel with you, wherever you go.
10. You want to see if you can capture a piece of the fame, wealth, and glory that a successful novelist can enjoy.
ARTICLES WE’VE WRITTEN ABOUT WRITING:
We’ve written and published a ton of articles about writing in the past 5 years. A few are here and we’ll be changing them, adding to them as we go along. We hope you find them helpful!
10 STEPS TO BEING PUBLISHED
1. Read what you want to write.
We can’t stress this enough. If you don’t know what the market is doing, you can’t expect to get published. Have a feeling for what you’re doing, write from the heart, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that because you love your baby, everyone else will. Get an idea of what’s going on before you start sending your work out. It will save you time, money and heartache.
2. Edit your work at least three times.
Once is not enough in this case. It would be even better if you have someone you can depend on to be honest who could look it over for you. If not, learn to be objective. Put it aside for a few days then take it out again. Slash extra words that repeat. Don’t be so in love with an idea that you can’t chop it out even if it ruins the rest of the story and you have to rewrite. If it doesn’t work, you won’t be the only one to see it.
3. Make sure you know the editors name and how to spell it.
There’s nothing that will get your work shuffled from one envelope to the next like not knowing the editor’s name or sending something “Dear Editor.” If your work is important to you, act like it. Know who you’re sending it to. And know how to spell their name. It’s the most frequent way to get rejected. It may not be fair but editors are only human.
4. Be sure that what you’re sending is right for the publisher.
Know your market intimately. Don’t send genre fiction to a non-fiction publisher then be surprised because it bounces back. If you write fiction, be sure you know the different genres and sub-genres. Check out the publisher beforehand and make sure they publish what you’re sending to them. If they ask for 300 words, don’t think you can send 500.
We have a very good friend who wanted to be published with Avalon Books (as we are). She asked us what to send and we told her. A few weeks later, she told us that she sent off a manuscript that was about 100,000 words. Avalon only accepts book manuscripts that are 50-60,000. “They’ll be willing to overlook it if they like it,” she told us. Wrong! It was back in three weeks and she’s still wondering why. The rules are there for a reason. That’s what the publisher wants to see. Don’t think your work is so good they won’t be able to resist.
5. Don’t compare your work to others.
This can be difficult because you want to have some idea of how you’re doing. But there are no two writers just alike. Have some confidence in your work. That doesn’t mean you can’t learn new things or you have to be resistant to change. Join a critique group only if you’re comfortable with the people who will be reading your work. Don’t change everything or put your work aside because one reader says they don’t like what you’re doing. Remember that you’re developing your voice.
6. Be willing to revise.
We’re making a subtle difference here between editing and revision. We’re classifying revision as what an editor wants you to change in your work. Out of all the books we’ve had accepted for publication, only a handful haven’t had revisions. Sometimes big and sometimes small. Bear in mind that when an editor contacts you about revisions, even without a contract, they’re trying to find out if they can work with you. Show them that they can by being professional. Always listen to their suggestions carefully, write them down and think about them before you say you won’t do them. Be ready to have good explanations for why you don’t think their ideas make the story better. An editor wants to feel they have a hand in the books they edit. They’re all frustrated writers anyway, so smile if they ask you to make some changes and sign the contract.
7. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes or get rejected.
Fear of rejection or of looking silly stops more manuscripts from being published than bad writing. You’re going to make mistakes and get rejected. It’s the only way to get where you want to be. Plan for it. Know what you’re going to do with your rejections. Then move on. If you do make a mistake, get over it. No one knows everything. Try not to make it again. Keep sending your work out.
8. Use a font and print size that can be easily read.
Every editor we’ve met has complained about getting too many manuscripts that are in tiny or strange fonts. Find out what the standard is and use it. Don’t think you can impress someone because you know what Gothic font 5 is. They don’t care. They just want to save their eyesight.
9. Always send a cover letter.
A cover letter is important because it says who you are. It says if you’re impatient or easy to get along with. It says that you think of an editor as a person and not just a name in a book. Your writing should be excellent and speak for itself. But your cover letter is your only intimate point of contact with a stranger who you’d like to publish your work. Act like you’re trying to begin a relationship, in a professional manner.
10. Have fun. If you’re not having fun, find something else to do. This business is hard and competitive. If you don’t have chills when you finish a manuscript and cry with your characters, there’s something out there that’s easier and less stressful.
Maybe this article should have been called how to murder someone and make it look romantic! Many romance writers are making the jump into mystery. As genres, the two are closely linked and can contain elements of both in a single story. Mary Higgins Clark has made her fortune joining the two. Romance writers like Tami Hoag and Nora Roberts have crossed the line.
What makes a mystery romantic or a romance mysterious? It’s mostly the writer’s POV. What? You’ve never heard of POV? Well, step into our parlor!
POV or point of view is the writer’s best friend.
Mysteries today aren’t as simple as Sherlock and Watson. They can have other stories going on within them. Today’s mystery can also be a romance, have sci-fi or supernatural elements, or be set in the past. The hero can be a vampire or a ghost. The heroine can be a Duchess from the Regency or a pilot from the future. The point is that there IS a mystery to be solved and it’s solved by the end of the book.
Why do romance and mystery cross so well together? It may be because all genre writers are a savvy lot who understand writing and marketing. It may be because we associate mystery with romance. There’s a feeling between two people who solve crimes together or spend time alone on the dark moors that translates well between the two genres. Writers like it and so do readers. Think of all the mystery solving partners that you’ve wished would curl up together when the story was done. That’s the mystery of romance!
OUTLINING MADE EASY
Most writers hate outlining. Some are terrified of it. Non-fiction writers are used to it as a necessity. Fiction writers stay as far away as they can. But outlining can be the fiction writer’s best friend, especially the fiction novel writer.
Outlining accomplishes 3 very important functions:
Outlining prevents getting lost or repeating your ideas. When you see the order of your work in front of you in an outline, you can change sequence before you begin to write, helping to prevent unnecessary rewrites or revisions.
Some writers believe that you can’t be creative without keeping your ideas close to you, not writing them down or discussing them before you begin the novel. These are seat-of-your pants writers who would rather be boiled in oil than create an outline. That’s fine until you get to chapter 17 and suddenly your plot is not where it should be and you’re writing the same ideas that you wrote in chapter 3. And what about that sagging middle?
Most professional writers have to be able to discuss their storylines with editors and agents. They don’t have the luxury of being silently creative or keeping their plot a secret before they write it. Every writer should be able to detail their ideas for a novel in an outline or synopsis as well as minimize them into a single sentence. It’s just what writers do at one time or another in their professional career.
Let’s throw away the old notions about outlining that we learned in school. Your outline only needs to be what you need to express your ideas for each chapter of your book.
If you can’t write a page that basically describes what you want to happen in each chapter, write a paragraph. If you can’t write a paragraph, write a sentence or two. You can always go back and fill in as you discover more about your work.
Your outline can:
Okay! We’re ready to outline!
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