Table of Contents
Introduction - Why a planned novel is more likely to succeed. What this book is and how to use it. Start now.
Index to resources - Complete index to the Thumbnail notes, creative games and Block busters. Tricks to make you do the work properly. Rescue remedies for your sprawling draft.
1 Why people start novels and don't finish
My abandoned book - a cautionary tale. Why I developed a plan. Why novels get abandoned.
The method in more depth. FAQs - Why a system can help you be more creative, not less
Your personality type and how it affects the way you write. Secrets to help you take control of your inner critic. Tailor the system to your needs. To resurrect your abandoned manuscript.
Importance of taking a break to get critical distance.
2 Before you start the manuscript - Aims at this stage. What you're ignoring.
Task 1 Shaping your inspiration. Nurturing your ideas
Task 2 Starting this specific novel. Putting flesh on the initial idea. Character. Genre. Filling in the blanks. Plot thickeners. The wish-not list. Make a working library
Task 3 Focused research. How to research. The hat game
Task 4 A structural survey for your novel. The cards game. Fill in the blanks. Writing a novel based on your own experiences. Sub-plots. Keeping your plot focused. Got enough plot? Assessing an existing draft or partial draft. Know your ending
Task 5 Detailed synopsis. Making major and drastic changes.
Aims recap. Ready to start the actual text
3 The first draft - Aims at this stage. What you're ignoring.
Task 6 How to free your muse and turn off your inner critic. Danger time for writer's block. Cognitive behaviour techniques to beat negative thinking. Rules for this stage. Show not tell.
How to deviate without losing your way. Block busters, including creative games for when you don't know what to do. How to keep yourself at the desk when you're not in the mood. Targets and other writing incentives. Emergency rescue library. A soundtrack for your novel. Prepare for tomorrow. Make a personal details file. Ignore the timeline. The Outtakes file. Aims recap.
Task 7 Before you look at your manuscript again.
4 Before you rewrite - How rough your manuscript will look and why that's good. Your novel is now a new creature. Characters take over.
Task 8 The beat sheet game. How to take control of pace, tone, story mechanics, arcs, beginning, middle, end, tensions, sub-plots, purpose of each scene, timeline, themes, characters.
Making changes. Mission statement for rewriting. If you need to fundamentally re-plan. Assessing an abandoned manuscript. How the beat sheet helps you write a much better novel. Aims recap. Ready to rewrite.
5 The rewrites. Aims at this stage
Task 9 Revising your manuscript. Viewpoint, format and voice. How to use the beat sheet. If you get stuck. The Outtakes file. Targets. The beginning. Dialogue. Smart revision alerts - facts, consistency, timeline, show not tell, relics of your previous draft. Kill your darlings. Spelling etc. Chapter beginnings and endings. How to deviate from your beat sheet.
Are you sure you've finished?
6 Sending your novel to seek its fortune.
The publishing business. Give your novel the best chance you can. Getting feedback. Friends or professional critics? How to use criticism. Sending it out. Agent or publisher?
Task 10 Your submission package. Make a 100,000-word novel into a 1,000-word synopsis. Extreme summary - the 50-word pitch. Dos and don'ts of the cover letter.
Full index