Many new writers are confused about how to format their manuscript. Many of these issues arise from mixing the conventions for non-fiction, such as essays, with that of fiction. So here are a few guidelines: Indent each new paragraph Each new paragraph should be indented by about a half a centimetre, with the exception of…
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Many an hour has spent agonising over the first line of a novel. So much rides on those few words that are the gateway to those that followed. A great first line can make the hair on the back of your neck tingle, and grab you by the eyeballs, dragging you into the story. A…
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Some people can’t wait to show their work to others. It’s barely left their fingertips and they’re shoving it under someone’s nose, begging to be told how wonderful it is. Other people are secretive and private, hiding away in their little writing burrows and snapping at anyone who comes too close to their precious manuscript.…
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Procrastination We’ve all done it. Gone through work all week looking forward to that slot of time on Saturday afternoon where we’re going to get down and finally get started on that novel we’ve been meaning to write for years… but then when Saturday afternoon comes, suddenly we remember all these important things we have…
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What is point of view? If you want the obvious, then you can say that point of view is the perspective from which you view the story. But what does this actually mean? Well, there are two common writing styles – first person and third person. First Person In a first person story your point…
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Just in case you don’t know what NaNoWriMo is, it’s an annual writing project that takes place every November, in which amateur writers (who knows, possibly some professional ones as well) attempt to write 50,000 in a single month. It stands for National Novel Writing Month – though it’s really international these days. Just for…
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Every story needs to incorporate each of these story elements to some degree. By having a firm grasp on what each of them are and how they fit into your story, you can become more confident and competent in your novel writing. So, let’s take a look at each of them in a bit more…
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There are many, many, books on creating decent characters, and we’re going to try to summarise character creation in a few brief study notes, so please keep in mind the limitations of what we’re doing here. We’ve distilled a few key points, rules of thumb and techniques but there is more – so much more.…
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The names of your characters matter a great deal. There are unusual names which are now so imprinted on particular characters that it seems impossible to separate the two, such as Heathcliff, Hannibal, Simba and Cinderella. Each of these names reflects the character and the themes of their story. Heathcliff is literally ‘heath’ and ‘cliff’…
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So, you’ve finished your book. The hard part is over, right? Wrong. Now you have to convince some hard-nosed literary agent that your novel is going to be the next bestseller and is exactly what the market is looking for right now. Well, okay, maybe you don’t have to go quite that far, but too…
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