How To Write A Novel: From Idea to Book (Writing Craft Books)
£10.40£12.30 (-15%)
Writing a novel will change your life.
It might not be in the way that you expect, but when you hold your book in your hand and say, “I made this,” something will shift.
The process of getting to that point will light a spark in your creative soul and help you discover unexpected aspects of yourself. It will be one of the things you are most proud of in your life. This book will help you get there.
I’m Joanna (J.F.) Penn, award-nominated, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 18 novels and novellas with nearly a million books sold in over one hundred countries.
This book will help you write your first novel, or improve your creative process so you can write more books and reach more readers. It covers mindset, ideas and research, aspects of craft, how to write a first draft, and work through an editing process to a finished book.
You will discover:
Part 1: First Principles
- Why are you writing a novel?
- What has stopped you from completing a novel before?
- Principles to keep in mind as you create
Part 2: Ideas, Research, Plotting, and Discovery Writing
- How to find and capture ideas
- How to research your novel and when to stop
- Outlining (or plotting)
- Discovery writing (or pantsing)
- What are you writing? Genre
- What are you writing? Short story, novella, or novel
- What are you writing? Stand-alone, series, or serial
Part 3: Aspects of a Novel
- Story structure
- Scenes and chapters
- Character: Who is the story about?
- Point of view
- Dialogue
- Plot: What happens in the story?
- Conflict
- Openings and endings
- Setting and World-building: Where does the story happen?
- Author voice
- Theme
- Book or story title
- Language versus story and tools versus art
Part 4: Writing the first draft
- Attitude to the first draft
- How to write the first draft
- Dictate your book
- Write fast, cycle through, or write slow
- Writer’s block
- Writing tools and software
- When is the first draft finished?
Part 5: The Editing Process
- Overview of the editing process
- Self-editing
- How to find and work with a professional editor
- Beta readers, specialist readers, and sensitivity readers
- Editing tools and software
- Lessons learned from editing my first novel after more than a decade
- When is the book finished?
Conclusion
If you want to (finally) write your novel, then buy How to Write a Novel today.
Read more
Additional information
| Publisher | Curl Up Press (11 Aug. 2022) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 302 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1915425093 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1915425096 |
| Dimensions | 13.97 x 1.75 x 21.59 cm |
by Mrs S B Jupe
If you want to write a novel, learn from the best. Joanna Penn, the author of 18 novels, presenter of the Creative Penn podcast, public speaker and teacher on the topic, shares her knowledge in this comprehensive guide. Whether you are thinking of writing a novel, have started your first draft, or are a seasoned storyteller, this book is full of invaluable, practical advice.
Peppered with her personal experiences, Joanne explains the mindset you need to develop to complete your novel, the elements that make up a successful story, different methods for planning and writing your novel, and the selection of your support team – editors, beta readers, proofreaders, and more.
Having read Joanna’s book, I discovered I am more of a discovery writer than I thought. This has freed my imagination to take my characters on a journey while keeping the book’s premise intact. Thank you for all your non-fiction books – they are all worth reading.
(I purchased the digital version of How to Write a Novel directly from Joanna’s website)
by Mista Budds
I’m not sure what I expected in fairness. It was a good read and I have since reading begun implementing one or two of the ideas. So all in all I found it a good read for a novice or maybe an intermediate level of theory.
by jill
As a long time fan of Joanna Penn’s podcast; ‘The Creative Penn’, and as someone who has also been dithering around for over 4 years deciding whether to write a memoir, or make some of that information in to a novel; Joanna’s latest non-fiction book has now convinced me that the key stories in my head, and scribbled in notepads, are not only worth writing but I know that I am now armed with tools and a clear plan on how to do so. And it has proven to me, even though I am a Virgo who likes control and perfectionism that I am truly a discovery writer like her! No, I am not that awful term, ‘a pantser’!!!
I have bought and read quite a few writing craft books over time, taken writing courses, and listened to many other writers and the advice in this book is the first that I really ‘wanted’ to keep reading. Joanna has always been so generous in sharing a raft of information about so many topics for free for those who not only sign up to her newsletter and look at her website and this book is no different with it’s wealth of links and books referenced as relevant examples. She is totally open and, in my view, bares all with her own process, fears, and writing achievements and this is a quality I found so endearing and most of all honest. I bought this as an eBook direct from Joanna’s site and it is now full of highlighted material that I know I will constantly revisit. I love the direct links on the e-version that I can take straight to websites and look at suggested software / information etc. Or save the new podcasts she identifies. This book for me, is easy to read, kind, generous and totally informative as if talking with an experienced older writer friend. Even though I am probably old enough to be Joanna’s Mum, which BTW I am not 😉 This book is worth every penny or cent.
by Tracey Lindsay
Really helpful in cementing my ideas and giving me the confidence to start writing. Lots of helpful resources
by Anthony House
Brilliant book to help write my own novel ????
by Anthony House
Hardback, new book prices! For this..
Not complaining about the book content, but do not want cardboard glued to its cover thank you very much!
Not happy with the packaging at all!