NAIL YOUR NOVEL – why writers abandon books and how you can draft, fix and finish with confidence

NYN-front2-littleMost things we do we have a plan for. If we have a task to do in our job, there’s a project plan, a schedule, a methodology.

 

But many people start a novel and hope they’ll muddle through.

 

Is that really a way to finish something? If it was your job, would you expect to do it without expert guidance, a plan, milestones, ways to check what you’ve done?

 

Actually, there’s no shortage of certain kinds of expert help on writing. You might have read books or been on courses. You know you have to get a huge number of things right. Character, plot, arcs, plot points, tone, narrators, narrative, viewpoint, metaphor, themes, language, imagery, genre, research, pacing. Phew. You’ll probably also know that a novel is a holistic organism in which each of those elements sparks off all the others.

 

How do you hit all those marks AND invent a compelling, original story? It’s a short step from holistic whole to unholy mess.

 

And while you’re grappling with that, you’ve got to invent and tell a compelling, original story. Make up enough stuff to fill several hundred pages.

 

The potential is limitless. And so is the potential for right royal chaos.

 

Whether you write for a hobby or a profession, you probably have limited time to do it. And as a professional, you can’t afford false starts or to dilly-dally in the clouds hoping to connect with your muse.

 

I’ve been writing novels for years and helping floundering writers find their way. What I notice time and time again is that so many make it very hard for themselves, even experienced authors.

 

Let me teach you how to Nail Your Novel.

 

 

From the List of Contents

  • Why a planned novel is more likely to succeed in today’s market.
  • Thumbnail notes on writercraft.
  • Why novels get abandoned                                                                                                 
  • Why a system can help you be more creative, not less
  • Your personality type and how it affects the way you write                               
  • Secrets to help you take control of your inner critic                                                       
  • To resurrect your abandoned manuscript                                                                      
  • Shaping your inspiration                                                                             
  • Plot thickeners                         
  • How to research                                         
  • A structural survey for your novel
  • Show not tell   
  • How to deviate without losing your way             
  • Block busters, including creative games for when you don’t know what to do    
  • How to keep yourself at the desk when you’re not in the mood.
    Targets and other writing incentives                                                      
  • The Outtakes file                                                                     
  • Mission statement for rewriting                                                             
  • Smart revision alerts
  • Kill your darlings                                                                      
  • How to deviate from your beat sheet                                                                            
  • The publishing business
    Getting feedback
  • How to use criticism
  • Your submission package. Make a 100,000-word novel into a 1,000-word synopsis. Extreme summary – the 50-word pitch                  
  • Dos and don’ts of the cover letter                                                                                                                    

For a flavour of the in-depth, practical advice you’ll get, check out The Beat Sheet – Your Blueprint for Revision. Apart from that article, Nail Your Novel contains 120 pages of all-new material, not previously published on this website or anywhere else. It’s fully indexed, so you can find what you need.

 

Your working day starts with a cup of coffee and this book. You read a bit, then do as it says. When you’ve completed that task, read a bit more. I’ll anticipate when you’re likely to get stuck and I’ll tell you how to get out of it.

 

Praise for Nail Your Novel

From Marsha Durham, Writing Companion
Substantial and well thought out… read the full review here
 
This is a fine book. It provides a clean high level view of the novel writing process. While other books delve deep into specifics, Nail Your Novel offers a clear roadmap from conception to submission. A map to which I return periodically as I get lost in the details of a scene, or let my minor characters take over and steal focus from my protagonist. Read the full review here…
 
Nail Your Novel is about how to take your idea and turn it into a novel, and about how to breathe new life into abandoned projects. It is not a craft book, but more of a process book… read the full review here
 
Morris writes with great wit and wisdom about the writing process, starting with those awkward moments when you actually admit, “Yes, I’m, uh, writing, well, you know, something a bit longer. Maybe, a, uh, a novel.”
Writing always begins here, by acknowledging the writer as a person with the usual insecurities. Morris address this directly by providing you with some structure. No, structure isn’t for everyone, but for beginners, structure can be a comfort and save them a lot of time. Overall, Morris’s experience enhances the book. Even if you’re experienced, I recommend the book as a review for concepts you already know. Because I think you’ll also find some unexpected nuggets.  (For the full review, click here)
 

From Stephanella Walsh, The Creative Identity

What I love about this book, and about people like Roz, is the no-nonsense, confident approach to resolving issues and some of these are as pressing for writers of fiction as they are for those of non-fiction.

In Nail Your Novel you’ll find the five big problems that affect us all: losing enthusiasm, confidence or track, catching project-envy (I’ve got this badly), and lamenting a lack of time.

But this book doesn’t simply dwell on problems to great philosophical depths, for its strength is the offering of solutions that you can implement this very second. 

When I sent the link to a non-fiction writer I know, she told me that the emphasis on planning and not jumping in too early was the greatest advice anyone can receive. Thus my dear reader I urge to go and grab your copy even if you think that your book about railways couldn’t possibly benefit from a bit of research into how a good novel is crafted. Read it anyway, it may just surprise you.

From Cindy

I found Nail Your Novel to be extremely helpful. I am a beginner, and most of the writing books that exists are just too philosophical for those who need the brass tacks/hard facts for how to get it done. Don’t get me wrong, I love philosophy, but we I am trying to accomplish something, I want to really know how it is done. And Roz’s book does that – I read the whole thing in one sitting and was excited to get started. I actually downloaded the e-copy off of Lulu for those that can’t wait to get their hands on it – but it is worth buying the actual book.

 From Frazer Payne, Aylesbury, Bucks:

 I took your book as company on a long train journey to Sheffield this weekend. I was going to visit a friend who, like me, is an aspiring novelist. By the time I got up there I had read it twice and felt compelled, out of friendship, to give him my copy immediately upon my arrival. So, Dammit, I will have to buy another one, and it’s all your fault. We spent the weekend playing the card game for a co-authoring project. It was lovely to feel the buzz again. Thank you very much for an excellent read.

  From Jonathan Moore, Sheffield:

After becoming frustrated with ‘become a writer’ books that either tell you the unique circumstance in which famous writers got their big break, or repeat the same advice as everyone else (avoid cliched phrases?  no shit), it’s a relief to find a book that genuinely helps.  I had started writing a novel and was pushing on with the first draft despite numerous reservations stacking up.  By going back and plotting properly, with an awareness of causality, I am now ready for the next stage, and then the first draft (recycling whatever worked the first time round).

 

From Gene Allvin aka Aelf

Thank you for allowing the free download of Nail your Novel. I’ve had a half dozen short stories published and am in the middle of writing my first novel. It has morphed into a huge project and I’ve been making progress but it’s been like trying to run through wet cement. Your book hammered home (HA) some things that I suspected but didn’t know how to put together. I think I have a handle now on structure, not of the novel but more importantly of the work process used to create each layer of the story such that it will be a  cohesive and entertaining work when finished. Again, thanks so much…


If you’ve read a copy and have any comments, I’d love to hear from you. Either post a comment on the blog or contact me.

 

 

Available as paperback (£5.99 plus postage) or a downloadable PDF (was £2.99, but at the moment is ABSOLUTELY FREE – click here!).

 

 

Buy it now
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/nail-your-novel/7419054