How to Write a Novel

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An image of footballers all watching in amazement as a soccer ball flies into the goal, to invoke the theme: "equipped with these tools, any author can achieve their writing goals and stun those around them."

Writing Goals

What are your writing goals? Do you have dreams of winning the Pulitzer prize? Writing a bestseller or an Academy...

Prehistoric cave archeological cave carving of six men in a boat used to symbolize the deep meaning of a 6-word memoir

6-Word Memoir

Writing a 6-word memoir might feel impossible at first, too restricting, maybe even unfair. You might think, How do you...

Painting escaping criticism by Caso utilized here to suggest a feeling that learning constructive criticism and how to employ it appropriately will allow the author to escape criticism effectively

Constructive Criticism

One of the most important skills you’ll learn as a writer is how to take constructive criticism.  Feedback is an...

Pictured: a café that has a sign out front that employs alliteration and immediately evokes a strong feeling that answers any reader who asks the question: "What is alliteration?"

What Is Alliteration? (And How to Use It in Your Writing)

One of the best pieces of writing advice I ever got was: read your work aloud. When you do, you...

A child feeling sand for the first time is one of the images we understand to be evocative of sensory details.

How to Use Sensory Details in Your Story

Your goal as a writer is to immerse your readers fully in your story, to help them experience what it...

An evocative image that suggests to the writer reading this blog that good screenwriting classes should evoke a sense of childlike learning joys.

Screenwriting Classes: What to Look for

Whether you are new to the craft of screenwriting, or perhaps stuck somewhere in the middle of your manuscript, the...

A woman in a red dress looking pensively to the corner of the frame to dramatize the difficulty of how to plan a novel
Blog
Alan Watt

How to Plan a Novel

Learn how to plan a novel by balancing creative intuition with a structured 90-day schedule, from initial inquiry to finishing your first draft.

Read More »
Blog
Alan Watt

How to Plot a Novel

Balance your character’s wants and needs if you want to learn how to plot a novel by using a central dilemma to turn events into a fleshed out story.

Read More »

Recent posts

A woman in a red dress looking pensively to the corner of the frame to dramatize the difficulty of how to plan a novel

How to Plan a Novel

Learn how to plan a novel by balancing creative intuition with a structured 90-day schedule, from initial inquiry to finishing...

How to Plot a Novel

Balance your character's wants and needs if you want to learn how to plot a novel by using a central...
how to write a novel

How to Write a Novel: Step by Step

“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” – W. Somerset Maugham There...

how many words in a novel

“How Many Words in a Novel?”

How many words long should your novel be? The short answer is . . . as long as it needs...

novels vs books

Novels vs Books — What’s the Difference?

The words “book” and “novel” are sometimes used interchangeably. But they actually mean different things. In this article, I’ll describe...

novel outline

How to Outline Your Novel in 5 Steps

Each writer has their own process. Some writers (often called pantsers) believe that outlining their novel limits their creativity, while...

novel structure

The Essential Guide to Novel Structure for Writers

A novel’s story structure is an essential aspect to creating a compelling narrative. While the beginnings of a story emerge...

novel

What is a Novel? Definition, History, and Key Characteristics

We use the word novel casually, as if it simply means “a long story,” but a novel is defined by...

Genres

Novel Genres: Top 9 Fiction Categories

When talking about your writing project with a friend, one of their first questions will likely be “What is the...

12 Maxims of The 90-Day Novel

12 Maxims of The 90-Day Novel

Have you thought about your creative goals for this coming year? If you’re planning to write your novel, here are...

Sell Your Novel to the Movies

Sell Your Novel to the Movies

When I did a book tour for my first novel, someone asked, “Have you sold the film rights?” And when...

Writing Fiction: Letting Go of Our Story

Writing Fiction: Letting Go of Our Story

“Danger lies in the writer becoming the victim of his own exaggeration, losing the exact notion of sincerity, and in...