A typical length for a novel is 80,000-90,000 words. Fantasy novels tend to run longer (epic fantasy can go over 100,000 words), while series romance and young adult might be a bit shorter. For most genres, a novel may be easier to publish if you avoid going under 70,000 words o...
It can be helpful to share your work with other writers, but if you don’t know any other writers, sharing it with non-writer family and friends is OK too. When other people read your work, they’re reading it from a different perspective and can catch plot holes, inconsistencies, and...
The essence of your novel can best be described as your protagonist’s world clashing with the antagonist. Both characters try to bring balance to this world by overthrowing the other. If you learn how to write a novel with this goal in mind, you will be on track to write a gripping n...
For any writer, the ability to look at a sentence and see what’s superfluous, what can be altered, revised, expanded, or especially cut, is essential. It’s satisfying to see that sentence shrink, snap into place, and ultimately emerge in a more polished form: clear, economical, sharp....
The best way to hold yourself accountable for your work is to let others know your goals. Is there someone you trust or a group of people in your network you can appoint to check in on your progress?Perhaps there is someone who is a seasoned writer who can serve as a mentor. If so...
For example, I know at least one professional writer who often doesn’t write the first chapter of a new novel project until she’s finished most of her first draft, because she knows she’d just have to change it later. You can even use placeholders like “[Fight scene here]” or “...
memoir,you may need to finish writing the book before you seek publishing. Memoir exists in something of a gray area in the publishing world, with more self-help focused memoirs requiring a proposal, and more creative memoirs acting more like a novel, where the writer would finish them first...
So I’d recommend tackling your novel from beginning to end, drafting each scene as best as you can– whilst remembering that it is a draft that you’ll later be able to edit. Don’t aim for perfection at this stage. Finishing your first draft will almost certainly take several months,...
Editing a Novel: How I Do My First Round of Self-Edits Different Kinds of Editors, and How to Find an Editor, with Kristen Tate Intuitive Editing, with Tiffany Yates Martin How to Self-Edit Your Novel. Interview with Kris Spisak
While a nonfiction book may not have as much action ordialogue or character developmentas a novel, you caninject tensionby showing wherepeople have failedbefore and how your reader can succeed. You can even make the how-to project look impossible until you pay off that setup with your unique...