Nail Your Novel: Draft, Fix & Finish With Confidence. A Companion Workbook

by Roz Morris

Overview

You’re writing a novel… Unlock your full potential and finish like a pro When Roz Morris first published Nail Your Novel in 2009, writers of all stripes devoured her 10-step process for drafting, fixing and finishing. This workbook enlarges that process, guiding you to:
* tame your inner critic
* devise compelling characters and surprising plots
* find resonance
* hit your essential genre/non-genre notes
* find your best method for drafting and polishing
* craft a standout title
* write a slick synopsis and sales pitch
* organise and complete your research tasks

And much more.

Use on its own or alongside the original book for extra depth.
This book is a contract with yourself. Draft, fix and finish with confidence. Get your copy now.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940156010653
Publisher:	Roz Morris
Publication date:	03/09/2019
Series:	Nail Your Novel
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	179 KB

About the Author

STOP PRESS! Roz Morris's novel Lifeform Three is a finalist in the People's Book Prize, general fiction category. NEW RELEASE! Not Quite Lost: Travels Without A Sense of Direction. 'An ode to the quiet places you never dreamed would tell you a tale.' Out now. Roz Morris writes fiction and essays about unusual ways we can be haunted and how we seek people and places we belong with. Her work has been profiled by The Guardian, Literature Works, the Potomac Review, Rain Taxi and BBC Radio. Her fiction has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide, although you won't have seen her name on the covers - she began her career in secret, ghostwriting fiction for big-name authors. Now she's coming out of the shadows. Her own novels have been described as 'profound tales and compelling page-turners', with fine-honed language, unforgettable characters, and gripping, unusual storylines. Plaudits include a top-ranked title in the American Library Journal programme, a longlisting for an international award alongside Neil Gaiman and a finalist position in the People's Book Prize 2017. She is a writer, journalist, fiction editor and the author of the Nail Your Novel series for writers. She teaches creative writing masterclasses for The Guardian newspaper in London and is also the author of a series for writers - Nail Your Novel. If you want to get to know her a little better, drop in at www.rozmorris.wordpress.com and her blog www.nailyournovel.com - where she keeps a regular diary of challenges she's tackling in her writing

Table of Contents

Introduction

Become a finisher

Make time to write - Find your method role models, Make the most of thinking time,

When block strikes: reboot your muse

Befriend your inner critic

Strategies to get your critical sense on side

Task 1: shape your inspiration

Origin statement for your book

Task 2: develop your idea

In-depth questions to build protagonists, antagonists, motivations, plot, setting, time period, genre expectations, special worlds, inciting incidents, main twists, originality, endings, conflicts, point of view, removing ideas that don’t fit, refining exercises, research list, instant plot thickeners

Task 3: using your research

The hat game to encourage creative and flexible thinking

Task 4: create story events

The cards game for detailed outlining and resting your plot, checking subplots, topping up your research list, seeking resonance and dramatic contrast, recycling and reincorporating, checking character motivations, assessing an existing draft, brainstorming the right ending

Task 5: your detailed outline

For those who like outlines

Task 5½: an active break

To gain critical distance — and what to do in the meantime

Task 5¾: check your outline

Questions to make sure your outline is robust; prompts to help you discover untapped potential

Task 6: ready to write

Planning where and when you’ll write, how you’ll get in the mood, measuring progress, beating common problems, problems you can safely ignore

Task 7: another active break

Useful tasks to do while your manuscript cools off

Task 8: diagnose the problems

The beat sheet method for smart revision, controlling the timeline, flaws to look for and how to spot them at a glance, getting clarity if the book is different from the book you intended to write, restructuring without stress, assessing an abandoned manuscript

Task 9: rewrite with confidence

Creative decisions to double-check, strategies for smart revision, how to use the beat sheet, important details checklist, discovering your best process

Titles workshop

Now you know the book inside out, test and refine your title

If you have to take a break

How to minimise the loss of flow if you have to put the novel aside

Task 10: reaching readers

Decide your best publishing path, find critical feedback, condense your novel into an effective synopsis, write an impactful sales summary, write a strong pitch letter to agents, publishers, reviewers and other publishing professionals

Ideas to keep for future novels

A proper home for the ideas you couldn’t bear to scrap

Master research list

A planner to keep track of all your research tasks and sources

Editorial Reviews

'On my shortlist of indispensable writing books.' - Lisa Cron, literary agent, UCLA writing coach and author of Wired For Story.



'A wonderful guide to the bones of writing a novel. A writing buddy in a book' - KM Weiland, writing coach and speculative fiction author



'A how-to guide that actually tells you how' - Catherine Ryan Howard, author and blogger



'This book is a gem' - Pelican



'Packed full of practical advice for any novelist, whether just starting out, stuck half way or finished but lost. They say the last 10% of a book takes 90% of the effort. This book makes it effortless.' Tom Evans



'Concrete tasks to get words onto the page' - Ann Marie Gamble



'If published writers received a £ for every person that says to them 'I could/want to/am trying to/ write a book: how do you go about it?' - then they wouldn't need to write for a living any more...

Here is the one-stop (slim and modestly priced) volume I invariably recommend in such circumstances - and not just as a fob-off, but as a compendium of perfectly distilled professional wisdom. Therein lies all the aspiring author needs to get started - and just as importantly persevere with and finish. There's also a wealth of wisdom for the non-novice too, because Ms Morris is the real deal and a world away from the usual 'expert in rags offering to tell you how to win the lottery'. As a best-seller, albeit under other names, she knows what she's talking about and any author, from starter to veteran can benefit from listening to her. Or in this case, reading her pearls of wisdom. In short, highly recommended.' - John Whitbourn, Victor Gollancz award winner



' Roz Morris IS the Creative Midwife' - Heather Mitchell



'This is a book full of originality and creativity and warmth: it's like having your own personal cheerleader. I have rescued a project I've so far spent 2 years on but was going to bin as too unwieldy, and have even broken through writer's block to write more words than I usually do. I'm enjoying the process - thanks to Roz, writing's become fun again. Highly recommended.' - Miss Chinaski



'This book is brimming with useful practical advice. There isn't any padding to try and justify an extortionate cover price. It's not a lecture by the headmaster; it's one on one tutoring with your favourite teacher. This little book is an invaluable read if you're a new or inexperienced writer.' - M Ryan



'Roz Morris's friendly advice, logically organised, presented kindly, and based on heaps of experience, has given me the courage to keep going and the confidence that I'll be able to knock my book into perfect shape, using simple but clever tools and concepts. I'm particularly looking forward to using her beat sheet to give my debut novel a structural survey and re-engineer it as necessary.

It's a book that will now have a permanent place on my shelf of how-to books for writers, and I'm sure I'll dip into it again and again,' - Debbie Young



'Does exactly what it sets out to do. I had old drafts for a novel which were in a mess. Within the last couple of months, and using these techniques, I have got my outline in order, have a clear direction for my novel, and am now adding 1500 words a day (in my evenings as I work full time) to my first draft. I have tried various writing manuals, but many tell you what you should be doing without telling you how. This gives you useful techniques that are completely practical. Cannot recommend enough.' - Amazon customer

From the Publisher