I feel like I shouldn’t say “I’m writing a novel.” The truth is, I am learning to write a novel. It’s been a long time since I wrote my first novel, and the world, and I, have changed.
There are so many resources for writers. I’ve been reading books and taking classes. Working through a novel gives me the chance to practice what I am learning immediately. It’s challenging, and I am grateful for all the resources that are helping me. A few of them are:
Books for novel writing
Jane Friedman hosts online classes for writers featuring different teachers.
Intuitive Editing by Tiffany Yates Martin has been super helpful as I go through my first, super rough draft.
Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody offers a template for character arcs using beats.
Story Genius by Lisa Cron gives another method for ‘looking under the hood’ of the character arc.
Story Wheel is another character arc resource
What resources are helping you learn and create this summer? Share them here.
It’s always a treat to see your newsletter in my inbox Cynthia because it’s so inspiring and filled with stuff that is valuable, informative, and relevant.
I love that you share there are “some good scenes” in your novel. As I’ve been pondering my own writing, I realize there were some scenes that I absolutely loved editing and some that were really boring but need to be in there at this point to glue the story that I am telling together.
So I’ve been asking myself – should I just dive deeper into the stories I love and see where that goes or should I stay on task? Well the truth is I’m totally off the task of editing but am thinking about these things knowing I will return to the novel.
The book I’m enjoying summer is Creativity Rules by John Vorhaus. It’s been fun to work through the exercises while on “summer break” from my novel.
It’s helped me have fun with writing (write an article for a magazine for Surgeons was one of my favourites exercises so far) while not feeling guilty about the fact that I would rather eat chopped liver than edit my novel right now.
Thank you so much, Carla! I think editing a manuscript calls us forth in ways we might not have expected. It takes a lot to stay focused and engaged. I’m glad you’ve found Creativity Rules (love that book!) and are bringing fun into the mix. It’s essential!
I’ve been enjoying these free or affordable learning opportunities:
https://craft-talks.com/wp/
https://view.flodesk.com/pages/63a4330a29952085c6b10f5c
Thanks, Marj! Looks great.