The book is published by A & C BlackClick for A & C Black Publishers Publishers References listingWriting Handbooks series. These excerpts appear by kind permission of the publisher. Read more
This is the fifth excerpt from Novel Writing: 16 Steps to Success by Evan Marshall
We are running several excerpts from this title from the A & C Black Writing Handbooks series, by kind permission of the publisher.
Surprising the Reader
For me, one of the most enjoyable aspects of reading a novel is being surprised. I love nothing more than to be shocked by a revelation or story development. I think most readers feel this way. Read more
This is the sixth and last excerpt from Novel Writing: 16 Steps to Success by Evan Marshall
We are running several excerpts from this title from the A & C Black Writing Handbooks series, by kind permission of the publisher.
Finding the time to write
Ideally, you’ll set up a regular schedule. For example, you’ll always work on your novel on the bus, or on that bench near your company’s parking lot. Read more
This is the second excerpt from Novel Writing: 16 Steps to Success by Evan Marshall
We are running several excerpts from this title from the A & C Black Writing Handbooks series, by kind permission of the publisher.
Beginning to define your lead
To begin developing your story idea you need a crisis to present to your story’s main character – your lead. But what constitutes a crisis depends on who it’s happening to. Read more
Submission guidelines: BIO (By Invitation Only). Authors can get in touch via email with a synopsis of between 500 - 1,000 words. Authors should then only send in manuscripts if invited to do so. Hard copy manuscripts sent in without invitation will not be read. Read more
'Over the past 20 years, some of the best novels written, as it were, or writing that serves the function of a novel, have been on Netflix and HBO. The writing is complicated, the plotting is complicated. It has subtext, and people are really responding to it in a way that, unfortunately, is not happening with books...
I have a small confession to make: I've never been told I need to cut words from my manuscripts. In fact, I'm the author envious of anyone who needs to do so because I'm the one struggling to get my manuscript up to my target word count. And for a long time, I feared I was the only writer with this issue. Read more
Alice Hoffman, author of numerous adult and young adult books including Practical Magic and Aquamarine, has a new middle grade book, When We Flew Away, a historically based imagining of Anne Frank's life before the family was forced into hiding. Young Anne is grappling with her developing identity within her family and community, at times blissfully happy and others deeply contemplative. Read more
In 2007, after my manuscript had been rejected for the 44th time, a colleague offered to introduce me to a published novelist. It turned out to be Mantel - and I was fortunate enough to soak up her wisdom for the next 15 years
My debut psychological suspense novel, The Bookseller, sold to Harper in 2013 in a pre-empt. I'm not going to lie-it was an amazing deal. The type of deal that compelled me to ask my husband, when I called to break the news, "Are you sitting down?"