Essential Guide to Writing a Novel
Essential Guide to Writing a Novel
Latest Episodes
Episode 226 - Ways to make our sentences shine.
Novels that endure not only have bold plots but are also beautifully written. Here are techniques on how to make our sentences shine. Also: should we write our first chapter first and our last chapter last (as does John Grisham) or ...
Episode 225 - Leave it all on the field.
Cliches can offer solid advice. Pedal to the metal. Go big or go home. Leave it all on the field. We should swing for the fences with a bold plot. Also: a setting can be more than facts about the landscape. T...
Episode 224 - Using all the senses to describe our character.
Some of us may describe our characters using only the sense of sight: what the reader sees when imagining the character. But we can also use sound, smell, taste, and texture to make our characters more memorable. Here are thoughts o...
Episode 223 - Readers can fall in love with our settings.
I talk about ways we can make our settings--the time and place of our story--irresistible to readers. They'll want to live there. Plus: we can use our global search function to almost instantly make our sentences more forceful. ...
Episode 222 - Small techniques can add up to forceful sentences.
Here are pocket-sized techniques that can result in strong sentences; small--even tiny--things we can add to our prose writing arsenal. Also, Elizabeth George on her use of two outlines: the step outline and the running plot outline...