key points to remember

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1 YOUR FIRST NOVEL: PART I: WRITING YOUR NOVEL BY L AUR A WHITCOMB CH A PTER 1: PR EPA R ATIONS Give your idea a temporary name. Write down your ideas, no matter how small. Don t judge. Write everything down and save the notes. Read great writing every day. Remember that all writers need to practice before they succeed. Try the warm-up exercises. Use them before you start your daily writing only if they help. Before you start writing your novel, do research in order to know your characters and setting, but don t get lost in it. Take a little time to inspire yourself. Set up a healthy working environment. 1

2 Set apart writing time each day. Before your novel is finished, talk about it only sparingly. Be discriminating about who you let read it. Love your story, but stay open-minded. Always write your best. Don t take things the wrong way. Don t judge harshly. If you find you re procrastinating because your idea isn t a story yet, give it time. But if you re procrastinating because you ve got page-fright, just take the leap! CH A PTER 2: BEGINNING TO W RITE Take your idea notes and write each on a 3 5 card. Lay out the cards in order. Fill in the gaps in your story with scenes that create intimacy and tension. Make sure all your payoffs are set up and all your setups have payoffs. Remember that your story does not have to be told chronologically. Decide where to put chapter breaks. Figure out what kind of book you are writing. Copy your outline cards on paper. Decide on a point-of-view character. Decide what tense to use. Try some exercises to discover your voice. When you feel overwhelmed, remember what you love best about your story. 2 your first novel

3 CH A PTER 3: THE BONES OF YOUR STORY Review your outline for structural soundness does it give the readers what they are looking for? Is there tension? Do you have enough conflict and suspense to keep the pages turning? Weave theme carefully into your story. Make sure all subplots are essential. Find natural ways of handling exposition and backstory. CH A PTER 4: FLESHING OUT YOUR STORY Choose your protagonist, antagonist, and some secondary characters. Make sure your characters come with built-in conflict. Try the exercises provided to get to know your characters so you can use them to convey exposition and backstory. Have the characters show, rather than tell, us about themselves. CH A PTER 5: M A K ING THE STORY VIVID Write dialogue that sounds natural but is a distilled version of what the characters are trying to say to each other. Alternate between scenes with dialogue and narration without dialogue. Don t overuse said. Choose vocabulary carefully to portray accents and dialects. Choose unusual settings and describe them in interesting ways. CH A PTER 6: BEING UNFORGETTA BLE Use carefully chosen detail in your writing. Find (and exploit) what is original about your plot, hero, and villain using three exercises. 3

4 Discover and enhance the moments they ll remember. Think about the crosshairs of your story. Slow down and write the end of your novel deliberately your last page flavors all the rest. CH A PTER 7: THE NUTS A ND BOLTS Proofread your manuscript for grammatical and spelling errors. Scan your manuscript for paragraph breaks. Find and delete any extraneous uses of so, very, and suddenly. Scan your manuscript for inconsistencies in tense or POV. Avoid overly creative presentation ideas. Review the length of your novel compared to others in its genre (chapter eight addresses adding and cutting). CH A PTER 8: R EPA IRS Mark the places in your manuscript that need to be fixed and rewrite them. Cut all nonessential material. Add material only to enhance clarity, beauty, or meaning. CH A PTER 9: M A K ING IT SHINE Rewrite your opening to reflect your closing. Rewrite your closing to reflect your opening. Make sure your settings are not monotonous. Look at each character s emotional arc and adjust if needed. Find your favorite glowing points and write up to that level of quality. Scan for places you might make an artistic change that would refine your novel. Replace clichés and overused phrases. 4 your first novel

5 Look at things through fresh eyes your character s eyes. Listen to the rhythm of your scenes. Use adjectives and adverbs sparingly. Brainstorm and choose a title that fits your story. Do not get too attached to your beloved title it might change. CH A PTER 10: PR EPA RING TO BE R E A D Prepare your manuscript carefully before giving it to anyone. Choose your first reader thoughtfully. Listen to suggestions and thank your reader. Stay positive. Believe in yourself. Hope is powerful. PART II: PUBLISHING YOUR NOVEL BY ANN RIT TENBERG CH A PTER 11: W H AT A LITER A RY AGENT DOES A ND W H Y An agent has good contacts and always seeks to enlarge his knowledge of the people in the business. An agent sees opportunities for promoting your work everywhere he goes. An agent is your biggest fan, your biggest champion, your most devoted reader. An agent offers advice but doesn t make your decisions for you. An agent helps you ask the right questions at the right time. An agent is your business partner. CHAPTER 12: BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR NOVEL Most published first novels are not the first novels the authors wrote. Put your novel away for periods of time before revising. 5

6 Share your work with other aspiring writers. Don t try to rush your work into print this isn t a race. CH A PTER 13: FIRST STEPS ON THE PATH TO PUBLICATION Get to know other writers. Try to publish short pieces in journals, newspapers, or magazines. Attend a writers conference. Read good books and discuss them with other writers. CH A PTER 14: QUERY LETTER BA BY LON Keep your query letter to one page. Work on a one-line hook to describe your novel s distinguishing feature. Write your letter in a natural tone of voice. Don t forget: It s about the book. CH A PTER 15: THE VIEW FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DESK Develop a short list of potential agents. Research each agent on your list. Follow submission guidelines to the letter. CH A PTER 16: BECOMING A N AGENTED AUTHOR Make a new submission list after you submit your first round of query letters. Do something while you re waiting to hear back. Keep believing in your work. When you ve done the research, you can trust your instincts about whether an agent will be the right one for you or not. 6 your first novel

7 CH A PTER 17: WOR K ING WITH A N AGENT THROUGH THICK A ND THIN Don t sit back and wait for your agent to call. Write a great bio note or have a friend interview you to uncover interesting things about you that you might overlook. Rewrite for your agent as if he were your publisher. Be a squeaky wheel but respond well to oiling. CH A PTER 18: GETTING TO Y ES Don t get discouraged. Keep busy while you re waiting. Prepare to make a quick decision. Be realistic about the financial side of publishing. CH A PTER 19: BECOMING A PUBLISHED AUTHOR Write your own press release if the publisher doesn t produce one. Try to meet as many people involved in your book as possible. Think of creative ways to thank everyone involved in getting your book out into the world. CH A PTER 20: PUBLICATION DAY A ND BEYOND Get involved in promoting your book locally and online. Remember that publication, the culmination of a lifelong dream, is reward in itself. Start your second novel before the first one comes out. 7