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Novel Writing |
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During 2005 we serialised extracts from Novel Writing: 16 Steps to Successby Evan MarshallThe book is published by A & C Black Writing Handbooks series. These excerpts appear by kind permission of the publisher.
The right choiceSo what should you write? It’s been right in front of you all the time: what you love to read. Find your leadTo begin developing your story idea you need a crisis to present to your story’s main character – your lead. But what constitutes a crisis depends on who it’s happening to. Who is your lead? You need a rudimentary idea at this early stage: For instance, is it a man or a woman? An adult, teen or preteen? Defining the leadYour lead is your novel’s most important character, the hero or heroine of your story. Every novel needs a lead; a novel without a lead is like a movie without a star. Getting off to the Right StartOK, you have your target genre, a story idea and some characters. Why not just start writing? Because without some kind of plan, a map of the route your story will take, you’re practically guaranteed to start with a bang and, sooner or later, look up and say, ‘Now what?’ Surprising the ReaderFor me, one of the most enjoyable aspects of reading a novel is being surprised. I love nothing more than to be shocked by a revelation or story development... Finding the time to writeIdeally, you’ll set up a regular schedule... Do your best to use those blocks of time when they’re available... Make a promise to yourself that, whenever possible, you’ll take advantage of the pieces of writing time you’ve carved out for yourself throughout the day.
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