Writing a novel is an exciting venture but it can also be a daunting task due to the sheer size of the project. From plotting to character development and interaction to genre, working on a novel requires a lot of time, patience, creativity and research.
Having had my suspense novel manuscript critiqued by a published, professional author, I also found out a lot about making the manuscript “saleable”, something I hadn’t even thought about as I slogged through my first revisions.
For all you novel writers out there, I’d like to share just some of the many fine webpages available to help you get your manuscript finished and ready for submission.
Although I haven’t tried this method yet, it looks like an interesting exercise. I’d love to hear from anyone who has used it: THE SNOWFLAKE METHOD
http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php
PLOTTING YOUR NOVEL by Lee Masterson
http://www.fictionfactor.com/articles/plot.html
If you’re writing a novel in the suspense genre, I highly recommend studying one of the masters in the field, Mary Higgins Clark
http://www.simonsays.com/content/destination.cfm?tab=1&pid=352932
For those who need a boot just to get started on the novel they’ve always wanted to write, try the Nanowrimo challenge
http://www.nanowrimo.org/
FREE AND AFFORDABLE ONLINE WRITING COURSES
http://www.docnmail.com/learnmore/writing/novels.htm
MYSTERY MENTOR Marilyn Henderson
Marilyn did the professional critique of my novel and it was well worth every cent I spent.
http://www.mysterymentor.com/
HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN 100 DAYS OR LESS (for those who need inspiration getting started)
http://www.peacecorpswriters.org/pages/depts/resources/resour_writers/100daysbook/bk100da.html
***FREE***PLAINTEXT HANDOUTS FROM A COLLEGE PROFESSOR
http://www.steampunk.com/sfch/writing/ckilian/
GET WRITING – WRITING A NOVEL
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/getwriting/A2982008
ABOUT.COM has tons of “writing” information. Plug in “writing” or “novel writing” into the search box and you’ll get more than enough pages of information
http://www.about.com/
And here are some wordpress.com blogs on novel writing:
http://glasstoobigbook.wordpress.com/2005/07/14/novel-writing-advice/
http://kayedacus.com/2008/04/11/upcoming-blog-series-writing-the-romance-novel/
Okay, I’ve done a little of the legwork for you so that you can spend less time searching for information on the internet and more time writing that novel.
Dramaquill's All Things Writing 
Some of those links are alright (some of them tote ‘writing rules’ that I cringe at), but aside from very basic information, none of them really talk about craft in-depth. Most of those would better serve beginners. Try Mechanical Hamster, which gives less ‘rules’ and more guidelines and discussion on craft and style, or E.E. Knight’s writing collection, or the occasional craft posts by Steve Malley (especially his post on scene and follow-up, stages of fear, grappling character).
Comment by elizaw — May 14, 2008 @ 12:31 PM |
Thanx, the msg is help to upcoming writters like me.
Wadda
Comment by wadda — August 8, 2008 @ 9:59 AM |