Write Now Editing

Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success by K.M. Weiland (book review)

by Leave a Comment

Writers often look upon outlines with fear and trembling. But when properly understood and correctly wielded, the outline is one of the most powerful weapons in a writer’s arsenal. Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success will:

Help you choose the right type of outline for you
Guide you in brainstorming plot ideas
Aid you in discovering your characters
Show you how to structure your scenes
Explain how to format your finished outline
Instruct you in how to use your outline
Reveal the benefits:
Ensures cohesion and balance
Prevents dead-end ideas
Provides foreshadowing
Offers assurance and motivation
Dispel misconceptions:
Requires formal formatting
Limits creativity
Robs the joy of discovery
Takes too much time

Even if you’re certain outlining isn’t for you, the book offers all kinds of important tips on plot, structure, and character. Includes exclusive interviews with Larry Brooks, Elizabeth Spann Craig, Lisa Grace, Dan L. Hays, Jody Hedlund, Carolyn Kaufman, Becky Levine, Roz Morris, John Robinson, and Aggie Villanueva, answering important questions:

Can you describe your outlining process?
What is the greatest benefit of outlining?
What is the biggest potential pitfall of outlining?
Do you recommend “pantsing” for certain situations and outlining for others?
What’s the most important contributing factor to a successful outline?

Let me start by saying I am NOT an outliner. I’ve done it before, and I found it to be a complete waste of time — I spent weeks working on it, but after the first third of the novel I had abandoned the outline to follow a better story. Since then, I’ve worked from character sketches. I spend days (weeks) getting to know my characters. I know where they’re going to start and I know where I want them to end up. Using what I know about their personalities, I throw situations at them in order to guide them to the ending I want. That technique works for me.

Because of my previous bad experience with outlining (and my success with character building), I wasn’t really excited about reading this book. I’m not an outliner. After reading this book, however, I don’t think K.M. Weiland or any of the above mentioned authors are either.

The title of this book really should be Researching Your Novel or Before You Start Writing, Do This. By Weiland’s definition of outlining (which is essentially creating pages and pages of story notes and ideas before you start writing your book), anyone who preps before they start writing could essentially be considered an outliner.

The real emphasis here isn’t to outline your book, but to take time before you write to jot down some ideas and figure out plot holes and characters first so you don’t have to go back and fix things later. For that reason, I enjoyed this book because I believe in the power of prep work.

I would recommend this book to anyone either early in their writing career or struggling to put together new story ideas. There are some great tips and suggestions in this book that will help strengthen your characters and their stories.

Revision & Self-Editing by James Scott Bell (book review)

by Leave a Comment

Don’t let the revision process intimidate you any longer. Discover how to successfully transform your first draft into a polished final draft readers won’t be able to forget.

In Write Great Fiction: Revision & Self-Editing, James Scott Bell draws on his experience as a novelist and instructor to provide specific revision tips geared toward the first read-through, as well as targeted self-editing instruction focusing on the individual elements of a novel like plot, structure, characters, theme, voice, style, setting, and endings. You’ll learn how to:

•Write a cleaner first draft right out of the gate using Bell’s plotting principles
•Get the most out of revision and self-editing techniques by honing your skills with detailed exercises
•Systematically revise a completed draft using the ultimate revision checklist that talks you through the core story elements

Whether you’re in the process of writing a novel, have a finished draft you don’t know what to do with, or have a rejected manuscript you don’t know how to fix, Revision & Self-Editing gives you the guidance you need to write and revise like a pro.

It took a while to finish this book because I wasn’t expecting it to be so full of information — I tried reading a bit here and there but quickly discovered that I needed to give each chapter my full attention to really absorb the tips and suggestions. I think this book might be a little more right-brained than I am (some of the concepts seem too abstract for this left-brainer), but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth trying. I’m looking forward to using some of these techniques on my next manuscript!

The Chunky Method by Allie Pleiter (book review)

by Leave a Comment

Can’t seem to finish that novel you’ve been writing? Want to write faster and get published but fear squelching your muse? 

Pleiter’s innovative Chunky Method offers practical, real-world productivity advice in an easy to read and inspiring workbook. Follow a step-by-step plan to identify your unique writing “Chunk” and wield it to create a solid plan that works “even when life gets in the way.” No matter what your writing style, The Chunky Method Handbook will help you chart a individualized path to your creative writing goals.

The award-winning author of over twenty novels, Pleiter has been teaching her nuts-and-bolts tactics across the country for years to writers of all genres, ages, and experience levels. Filled with real-life examples, humor, honesty, and encouragement The Chunky Method Handbook is an essential resource for thriving in spite of all that the current market—and everyday life—demands from a writer’s creative energy.

In this book, you’ll learn how to write your book one step at a time. You’ll discover the secret to finishing your novel at your own pace.

It happens all the time — people start writing, then stop. Life got in the way. Or worse, they want to write, but they can never get started.

I’ve always struggled with it too. People say, “write every day!” but I don’t always have time, so I’ll go days (or weeks) with writing a word. That always made me feel guilty, which made the writing process harder than it already was.

This book, however, is going to forever change how I write (for the better!). It took a long time to read this book not because it’s long or a difficult read, but because I’m a big chunk writer. The book explains it, but the gist of it is that I can’t do a little bit at a time. I had to wait several weeks before I could see down and figure out my chunky personality. It was well worth the effort, though!

I can’t say enough good things about this book as a functional tool for any struggling writer. If you want to write but don’t know how to find the time, GET THIS BOOK! I’ll be recommending it everywhere.

Don’t wait! Get your copy today — you won’t regret it!

The Complete Writer’s Guide to Heroes & Heroines: Sixteen Master Archetypes by Tami D. Cowden, Caro LaFever, and Sue Viders (book review)

by Leave a Comment

An invaluable resource for writers working in any genre…. — Prof. Richard Walter, Screenwriting Chairman, UCLA Dept. of Film and Television, letter to author, 5/4/00

Finally! Fiction Archetypes made easy. . . . Stuffed with examples and cleverly organized, [this book] earned a spot on my crowded bookshelf. — Debra Dixon, author GMC: Goal, Motivation & Conflict, 1996; and Sweet Tea and Jesus Shoes, 2000; email to authors 4/00

The Complete Writers Guide to Heroes and Heroines takes the mystery out of creating compelling and memorable characters. Every writer should own a copy. — Deb Stover, award winning author of nine time travel and historical romances, email to authors. 4/00

The authors have developed a clear and usable system for creating memorable characters. — Kevin J. Anderson, best-selling co-author of Dune: House Atreides, email to author, 5/25/00.

This book identifies and analyzes sixteen character archetypes (eight male, eight female) and not only explains them, but also shows how they interact with others. My favorite part, though, was how they took one archetype and showed how it was used in different books/movies in different ways to prevent it from becoming a stereotype. I’m already recommending it to other writers.

One thing worth noting: this book is terribly edited. If you can’t look past incorrect punctuation, formatting issues, and more, you won’t want to read this book. If, however, you can look past the problems and focus on the content, there’s a lot to be learned.

Newsletter Ninja: How to Become An Author Mailing List Expert by Tammi Labrecque (book review)

by Leave a Comment

Are you struggling with email? Newsletter numbers getting you down? Fewer people opening your messages? No real reaction when you launch a book? 

There’s another way–a better way. 

Imagine having a large list of happy readers who devoured every email you sent. Or launching a book and activating an army of fans who did the selling for you. You could be that person, with the help of Newsletter Ninja. 

Newsletter Ninja is a comprehensive resource designed to teach you how to build and maintain a strongly engaged email list–one full of actual fans willing to pay for the books you write, rather than free-seekers who will forget your name and never open your emails. 

* Learn new ways to think about your email list 
* Re-energize your existing subscribers 
* Embrace not just the basics, but next level methods 
* Improve engagement and watch those open/click rates soar 
* Build a happy list of passionate readers 
* Launch your books into the charts 

You’ll get a handle on open rates, click rates, and engagement–while also learning about yourself, your readers, and what you’re really selling when you send an email. (Spoiler: it’s not your books.) 

Whether you’re building a mailing list, want to grow an existing one, or simply want to raise your email game, Newsletter Ninja has solutions that will work for you.

For years I’ve been hearing/learning about the importance of newsletters. I’ve taken some classes and read some books about the topic, but none of them focus specifically on best practices for fiction writers. This is the first book I’ve read that actually includes practical tips for novelists, as well as a link to even more tips on the author’s website. 

Just because it’s a short book and an easy read, however, doesn’t mean it’ll be easy to walk away from — Labrecque lays everything out for you, but there’s quite a bit of work to do when your done (but all of the links and tips should help). I will absolutely recommend this book to every author I know.

Pick up your copy here!

ABOUT ME

Editor. Teacher. Novelist.
A passionate lover of fiction, Karin doesn't just write novels, she helps others write their best stories! A certified substantive editor with the Christian Editor Connection, her goal is to help authors to put her out of business by equipping them with the tools they need to become better writers.

Connect

Copywriting

Karin understood my advertising and marketing writing needs and accomplished the project in record time. She asked all the right questions up front to equip herself with enough … [more]

Editing

Substantive Fiction Editing: A substantive edit looks at the big picture. Start here to tackle the big issues before moving on to the nit-picky details. Substantive edits not only point out … [more]

Author Page

Lover of all things fiction, I also love University of Michigan football, the Detroit Lions, Tigers, and Red Wings, kayaking, gluten-free cupcakes, and my husband.

Resources

Press Release Tool Kit Stop waiting and hoping for people to notice you and your organization! With this Press Release Tool Kit, you’ll learn to apply the step-by-step process I use to … [more]