Essentials

The thing you need to know about revising is not to fear it. Yes, it’s a lot of work, but it’s necessary work and, when done right, can be both enjoyable and rewarding. The first trick I learned is to think about the etymology of the word revision: re – vision. You had a vision when you started the book and now you have a chance to envision it again. This is a time of polishing, of perfecting, of insuring your original vision is as pure and beautiful as it can be before sending it off to be read. Don’t...

Much of this section is from my book How to Write Fantasy Novels, Volume II: The First Draft, but I have edited it to ensure it is applicable to all genres of fiction. You’ve got an idea and you’ve begun to write. Now what? Now you write until the book is done. Would that it were so easy. But in a way, the best way to get the book done is to do whatever you can to just write. Don’t plan. Don’t think. Just write. In fact, a lot of the advice in this Essential will be centered around pushing...

Before you start the Novel Writing Essential, it’s recommended you read Point of View and Tense from the Basic Writing Essentials. The concepts there combine with the starting elements here in powerful ways. After you finish, further reading includes The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. & E. B. White, Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card, and Writing the Novel by Lawrence Block. Ideas that can serve as the starting point of a novel fall into a few main groups. You can start with more than one of them—in fact, it’s better if you do—but a novel can be...