101 Habits of Highly Successful Novelists

by McAleer, Andrew; Pronzini, Bill

ISBN13: 9781598695892

ISBN10: 1598695894

Format: Paperback

Pub. Date: 2008-10-01

Publisher(s): Adams Media Corp

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Summary

In The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Novelists, more than fifty of the greatest fiction writers of our time show you how they practice their craft. You'll gain insight into every aspect of fiction writing, including: Coming up with ideas, Knowing what makes a great story, Developing dialogue, Overcoming writer's block, Creating a pitch synopsis, Promoting yourself. The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Novelists is a "who's who" of today's great fiction writers that will quickly become your most trusted writing companion! Book jacket.

Author Biography

Audiew McAleer is the coauthor of the bestseller Mystery Writing in a Nutshell. He is the author of three novels, including the critically acclaimed Double Endorsement and Bait and Switch

Foreword	p. ix
Introduction	p. xi
Contributors	p. xiii
Passion	p. 1
A Portrait of a Novelist	p. 3
Being Creative and Original	p. 4
Being a Natural Storyteller	p. 5
Being a Natural Observer	p. 7
Embracing Solitude	p. 9
Having a Driving Reason to Write	p. 11
Believing You're Talented Enough	p. 12
Being a Voracious Reader	p. 13
Being Passionate about the Craft	p. 16
Being Passionate about Novels	p. 18
Commitment	p. 21
Understanding the Downside of Being a Novelist	p. 21
Committing to a Career, Not Just One Novel	p. 23
Having Precise Goals, Not Just Wishes	p. 24
Holding True to Your Dreams	p. 25
Being Professional	p. 27
Being Willing to Work Hard	p. 28
Setting a High Standard of Excellence	p. 30
Creativity	p. 31
The Creative Process	p. 33
Finding Inspiration	p. 33
Coming Up with Ideas	p. 34
Exploring the World	p. 36
Being Open to Experiences	p. 37
Studying the Market	p. 41
Knowing What Makes a Great Story	p. 42
Writing about What You Love	p. 43
Writing about What You Know	p. 44
Joining a Writer's Group	p. 47
Attending Writing Classes and Workshops	p. 48
The Writing Environment	p. 51
Finding Time to Write	p. 51
Finding a Place to Write	p. 53
Assembling Your Writing Tools	p. 54
The Writing Process	p. 58
Developing Your Imagination	p. 58
Doing Your Research	p. 59
Becoming Possessed by the Story	p. 62
Nurturing Your Creativity	p. 63
Recording Your Ideas as Soon as They Appear	p. 64
Collaborating	p. 67
Outlining Your Story	p. 70
Choosing Your Point of View	p. 72
Plotting	p. 73
Finding Your Pace	p. 76
Getting the Basics Down	p. 77
Creating Characters	p. 79
Writing Dialogue	p. 84
Making Conflict Work for You	p. 86
Writing a Few Chapters at a Time	p. 88
Discovering the Ending	p. 90
Discipline	p. 93
The Writing Habit	p. 95
Setting Reasonable Goals	p. 95
Making Writing a Pleasure	p. 97
Writing Through the Blahs	p. 98
Exercising Your Body	p. 100
Finding Time to Recharge	p. 101
Getting A Good Night's Sleep	p. 102
Making Your Health a Priority	p. 104
The Challenges	p. 106
Writing Through Your Fears	p. 106
Silencing Your Inner Critic	p. 107
Dealing with Distractions	p. 109
Annihilating the Time Burglars	p. 110
Making Sacrifices to Write	p. 112
Enjoying Times When You're "Not Writing"	p. 113
Overcoming Procrastination	p. 114
Facing the Blank Page	p. 115
Overcoming Writer's Block	p. 117
Sticking with It	p. 120
Meeting Deadlines	p. 122
Coping with Rejection	p. 124
Not Being Afraid to Fail	p. 127
The Editing Process	p. 129
Completing Your First Draft	p. 129
Editing and Rewriting	p. 131
Asking for Feedback	p. 135
Letting Your Manuscript Steep	p. 138
Writing a Pitch Synopsis	p. 139
Asking Other Authors for Blurbs	p. 141
Sending Off Your Manuscript	p. 142
Developing a Track Record	p. 144
Accepting Criticism	p. 147
Trusting Your Instincts	p. 148
Saving Everything	p. 150
The Business	p. 153
Networks	p. 155
Learning from Other Writers	p. 155
Shopping for an Agent	p. 157
Writing a Query Letter	p. 160
Working with Your Agent	p. 162
Working with Editors	p. 166
Having Mentors	p. 168
Becoming a Mentor Yourself	p. 171
Not Burning Your Bridges	p. 173
Building Your Reputation	p. 174
Being Courteous	p. 176
Not Being Difficult to Work With	p. 178
The Publishing Business	p. 180
Learning about Publishing	p. 180
Promoting Yourself	p. 183
Seeking Online Reviews	p. 186
Creating a Website	p. 187
Venturing into Online Publishing Markets	p. 191
Knowing the Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing	p. 193
Your Readers	p. 199
Targeting Your Readers	p. 199
Not Underestimating Your Readers	p. 201
Not Boring Your Readers	p. 202
Writing for Yourself	p. 203
The Future	p. 205
Not Taking It Too Seriously	p. 205
Trying New Things	p. 207
Keep Writing, No Matter What	p. 209
Continuing to Learn and Grow	p. 213
Epilogue	p. 214
Index	p. 215
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