Questions

You’ve done it. You’ve gone and written the next Great American Novel. Shockingly, some dolt at a publishing house has actually recognized your brilliance. This is it. The big time! There’s only one problem…nobody is buying your novel.

Write it and they will come. Okay, that’s a take off of a certain baseball movie cliché, but it is just as true for writing. The most misunderstood thing new writers don’t understand about novels is writing them is only the first step. You might write the piece de resistance for the decade, but it doesn’t matter if nobody knows about it.

Will you get rich writing? Well, you will if you are the next Stephen King. Most writers obviously don’t make it that far. Yes, you can make a living writing, but you are sadly mistaken if you believe the glamorous image of a writer’s life that is often portrayed in movies and such. I’ll give you an example.

I read a marvelous travel book written by a young lady who had traveled to Costa Rica. She ended up falling in love with a man in prison there and ultimately living with him after he left prison. It was a solid novel and a good read. When I completed it, I slapped it up in the used section on Amazon. Guess who purchased the book from me? Yes, the author. It was cheaper for her to buy her own novel from me used on Amazon than from her own publisher! Welcome to the business of writing.

Writing your novel is obviously a huge step in the revenue generating process. That being said, the modern publishing industry is a cutthroat one. You must be a good writer, but you also must learn to market your material. Most publishers are not going to make a massive effort. It is you who must do this. It is you who has to get out and work the book signings. It is you who needs to show the world one way or another that you’ve written a masterpiece. More than a few great authors have died penniless because they could not master this simple idea.

Writing a novel takes ability, passion and technique. Just keep in mind the job is not done when you finish the writing process.


- Thomas Ajava

Everyone has plans to write the great American novel. In ***?ct, most researchers believe that everyone has at least one great story inside them. However, you may be wondering, then if everyone has a great story, how can they get the story out?

The key to getting the story out is to ****?anize your thoughts with an outline and get busy writing. Sounds easy, right? It can be. If you use the handy-dandy index card system to write your novel outline. In ***?ct, if you use this easy-to-follow plan, you will be able to quickly and efficiently ****?anize those thoughts and get that great American novel out of your head and into paper!

But, why note cards and not paper, you may be wondering. Here’s why:

- They are incredibly small and easy to carry around. In ***?ct, you can easily plop them in your purse or bag and write down your ideas ***? you think of them.

- They are easy to discard. If you change your mind about an idea , you can throw it away without having to throw away the entire paper.

- They are easy to ****?anize and sort.

- They come in various sizes to fit your precise needs.

Now, that you know why they are so great. You may be wondering how to plan out a novel using them.

Here’s how:

1. Figure out what you would like to accomplish with your novel and write specific questions on each note card. For instance:

- How many chapters will you have?

- What will be your plot and ***?tting?

- What type of characters and scenes will you have?

- Will you choose fiction or nonfiction?

- What tone will it be?

2. Next, start evaluating your ideas ***?rther by taking 10 more note cards and writing answers to each idea you come up with. That is, put one story ideas at the top of each card.

3. Third, go through each note card and place a star by the ones with the most potential while crossing off the ones that won’t work. When you come an idea that won’t work, throw it away.

4. Then, go through the cards and choose the idea that has the most potential.

5. Once you’ve decided, take 10-20 more cards and create chapter headings for the winning idea. Write down how you ****?t the novel to be ****?anized. For each new thought, place it on a ***?parate note card.

Congratulations! You now have a working outline that you can use to write your novel. ***?e, that wasn’t so bad at all? All it took was a little brainstorming and ****?anization. Now, take those cards and get that novel out of your head and onto paper.


- Stuart Brown

a dream of a creative writing career. You may dream of writing the great American novel, or becoming the next Poe. If you are serious about becoming a writer, there are several things you should do and keep in mind.

Write everyday as much as you can.

Writing is not like riding a bike. If you stop writing and go back to it 5 years later, you probably won’t be nearly as good, let alone better. If you want to become a great writer you have to practice all the time. That means everyday. That means setting a certain amount of time to write everyday. Stop right now, check your calendar, and right in a time for everyday that you will write.

Write creatively, not like a high school essay.

You probably hated writing essays in school. They told you to have an introduction paragraph, the body, and the conclusion. Then they said to do the same with each paragraph. Don’t use I and sound really boring. Okay, they might not have said that, but generally, most essays sounded very formal. If you enjoyed writing unique, creative essays, then you are on the right track. I’m not saying to forget everything you’ve learned about writing, I’m just saying that creative writing is much less formal. You want to engage your writer and keep them interested. Don’t let boring monotony kill your story!

Edit your work over and over.

I have come across some people’s writing that was just awful. It was a good story and may have had potential, but it was very poorly written and seemed as though they wrote it once and never looked at it again. If you are writing a piece that you are serious about, especially if you want to publish it, you need to make sure that it is perfect. Print it up, if possible, and read through it a few days after you wrote it. Analyze it and make sure it’s perfect. Then have someone else that you trust go through it as well.

Don’t give up!

For me, writing has always been my dream. I write all the time and I’ve always wanted to be a successful writer. People are always telling me that I am a great writer. If you want to succeed, you can’t give up. Just keep writing and trying to accomplish what you want to accomplish. If you want to publish a novel, do whatever you can to do it.

Write your novel and edit it until you feel it’s perfect. Have a few trusted friends read it and give you some constructive criticism. Send out some query letters to agents and do everything you can to get it published. If you get some poor reactions and you feel like the novel won’t work decide if you feel like it really is good enough to publish and self-publish it, if not, move onto the next novel.

Don’t stop doing what you love. If you really want to succeed, giving up is the worst way to do it. Keep writing and editing, writing and editing, and you just may accomplish your dreams!
- Samantha Asher