Essential Guide to Writing a Novel

New writers tend to put too much summary into their stories.  I'll talk about how to avoid that mistake, making sure that most of our novels are scenes.   Why is this so important?   Scenes are much more engaging for the reader than are summaries.   Also, here's how to show--rather than tell--about our characters' aches and pains.   And here's a list of the twelve best novels o...

A great pleasure in our fiction reading is coming across a dastardly villain, someone so bad and so well-described we will never forget him or her.  Hannibal Lecter.  Nurse Ratched.  Huckleberry Finn's father Pap.   How can writers create such a villain?  Here are techniques, in particular regarding the physical description of the villain.   Also discussed is how we can get unstuck in our plo...

Here are two errors we might make when describing our setting.  First, using a dull setting.  And, second, making the setting inert, that is, not having the setting contribute to the story.   Here are techniques to avoid both mistakes.  Plus, we'll look at how other novelists get to work each day, how they manage to sit themselves down and start writing. Support the show Buy the master class.

Once we have completed our novel, it may be time to obtain the services of a literary agent.  Here are thoughts on how to find good ones, and how to write a query asking them to look at your manuscript  Support the show Buy the master class.

Blue is bluer when placed next to yellow.  Here are techniques on the use of contrast to make our scenes and characters more vivid.  Also, we can learn how to describe characters--and we can be inspired--by reading how the masters create their characters. Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft,...

Here are some thoughts about how we can write our story in the first-person, some techniques that will capture the reader.   Also, usually the fewer the adverbs and adjectives, the stronger the writing.  Here's how we can reduce the number of modifiers in our fiction.  And here's a list of the six funniest novels of all time. Support the show Buy the master class.

One of the best ways to learn the craft of fiction is to read the works of great writers, those novelists who know how to offer the reader unforgettable images of new places and new people.   Here are examples of character and setting descriptions from skilled writers.   Listening to them, we'll be inspired to create vivid and enchanting descriptions Here is a 20-episode master class on ficti...

What's the difference between an idea and plot?  It's important to know as we begin writing.  Also, readers love joyous dialogue.  Here are thoughts on how to write it. Support the show Buy the master class.

What in our lives made us want to write?  Here's a discussion about lighting that fuse.  Also: here are techniques for showing rather than telling about our story's setting.  And discussed also is a wonderful way to learn to write that takes little extra time or effort.  Finally, how to write dialogue when the characters are afraid. Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a...

A main reason readers put a novel on their all-time top-ten favorites list is because they fall in love with a character.  Here's how we can create characters readers will love.  Also discussed are techniques for writing sad dialogue.  And also: how to get unstuck when writing or novel or short story. Support the show Buy the master class.

I've been checking out the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, and here are some impressions of its use for writers.  And: what are the benefits of identifying our novel as being in a genre?  Also, more on  those pesky dialogue tag modifiers.   Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft,...

How can we get off the dime and start writing our novel or short story?  Here are some thoughts.  Also, readers love emotional dialogue; techniques to write romantic dialogue and angry dialogue are discussed. Support the show Buy the master class.

Here is a strong technique for immersing readers in our settings.  Readers will think they are right there with our characters.  Also, almost all stories should have a romance, and keys to writing romance scenes are reviewed. Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more.  Each episode...

Here is a strong technique to make our characters vivid and memorable for the reader.   And also: most novels should have action scenes.   The craft of writing a powerful action scene is reviewed. Support the show Buy the master class.

Sometimes a scene we've written just doesn't feel right.  Something is amiss but we can't put our fingers on it.  Here's a method to figure out what might be wrong and how to fix it.  Also: we can get stuck in our thinking about the plot.  Where should the story go next?  What should we add?  Here are ideas on inventing plot points. Support the show Buy the master class.

A terrific way for writers to find inspiration is to hear legendary sentences from famous novels.  Here are a few.  Should we fiddle with fonts in our manuscript?   And slow motion is a powerful tool for our scenes. Support the show Buy the master class.

Can we use a spreadsheet to plot our novels?   Some authors do.   Here are thoughts about using Excel for outlining a story.   Also, most main characters in a novel tell the truth to the reader.   But some don't.   Sometimes an unreliable narrator is a strong tool for plotting.   Plus, should authors fiddle with the speed of time in our novels?   Hurrying time and skipping time?   Here are so...

How can we handle the dispiriting feeling that writing our novel is a huge, endless, and hard chore with completion far in the future, if ever?  Here are some thoughts about facing our big writing project.  Also mentioned are some sentence-by-sentence writing mistakes that are easy to avoid.  And this episode presents some specific words we can delete from our manuscript, and our story will magica...

Creating a timeline can help us keep things straight as we plot and write.  Also, here's a discussion of authorial distance, which is the closeness or distance the reader feels from the scene's subjects.  And a list of ways to avoid sentence-by-sentence weak writing. Support the show Buy the master class.

For each scene, the perfect number of characters exists.  We'll talk about that number.  Too few, and we don't have a scene.  Too many, and the scene is like a subway at rush hour.  Also, here are some techniques regarding metaphors and similes, a skill that can make our writing more lyrical and engaging.   Please note: I will be out of the office next week, and so won't upload a ne...

How many words a day?  Too fast, and our story might be sloppy.  Too slow, and we'll never finish.  Here are some thoughts about our pace of writing.  And also; contrast is a critical tool for us writers.  How can we use it? Support the show Buy the master class.

Here are thoughts on how we might handle doubts about our writing abilities, the fear of failure.  Plus, more tips on facing the camera.   And: humor is a wonderful tool for writers.  Add some laughs to our stories. Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more.  Each episode is focused...

We shouldn't write about embarrassing stuff, and here's a list.  Also, here are techniques to rev up the middle of the novel, often the hardest part to write. Support the show Buy the master class.

Here's a strong way to make our sentences pop, to make our writing lively and energetic.   Also: how to keep the reader engaged by reducing disbelief and so making our story more real. Support the show Buy the master class.

Let's apply the wonder factor to our stories, giving readers elements that will make them shake their heads and smile, and so remember our writing.  And here also are techniques to avoid inertia in our writing. Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more.  Each episode is focused...