How to Plot a Novel

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How to Plot a Novel

The process of writing a novel can be mysterious and daunting. If you're ready to take the plunge, these tips will help you plot your book in record time. Plotting is the process of exploring your characters and setting, seeing where they might go in the story. You'll need to have a solid idea of who your heroine or hero is and what makes them tick before you begin writing. Knowing the overall theme of your book will help you determine the direction that your plot should take while keeping you focused while you write.

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Anxiety . . . What is it Good For? An Excerpt from Pitch Like Hollywood

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Anxiety . . . What is it Good For? An Excerpt from Pitch Like Hollywood

I had the privilege of reviewing an advance copy of Pitch Like Hollywood: What You Can Learn from the High-Stakes Film Industry by Peter Desberg and Jeffrey Davis. The following is an excerpt from (pp. 109-115, McGraw Hill, February 2022).

The reason anxiety feels so horrible when you’re pitching is simple: You haven’t read the manual. You’re not using it the way it’s evolved since a saber-toothed tiger first chased Homo erectus.

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Story Planning: Three Ways to Get Started

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Story Planning: Three Ways to Get Started

A few years ago I wrote a series of 12 blog posts about story planning. They were quite detailed and seemed to get a lot of views on Pinterest, so I ended up combining them into what I called “The Ultimate Guide to Planning a Novel.” I had written the posts over 12 days with each day focusing on a different step in the story planning process.

These days, I tend to want to plan my novels a little quicker than 12 days, so I thought I’d write a follow-up post and share some of the strategies I use now.

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How I Published Ten Books in One Year

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How I Published Ten Books in One Year

About two years ago, I was chatting with Becca Syme, creator of the Better Faster Academy while taking the course “Write Better Faster.” The course—which I highly recommend along with Becca’s “Dear Writer” books and super helpful YouTube videos—uses CliftonStrengths to determine what will work best for writers based on their individual strengths.

When I had my one-on-one session with Becca, I remember saying, “I have no desire to write a book a month. That’s just not me.” Well, two years later, I’ve continued learning about my CliftonStrengths report and it turns out, it is me!

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Why I Chose to Self-Publish My Memoir and Forgo the Traditional Route

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Why I Chose to Self-Publish My Memoir and Forgo the Traditional Route

* The following is a guest post by Linda Jämsén

When I first began writing my newly released book, Odyssey of Love: A Memoir of Seeking and Finding, I wasn’t sure I wanted it to see the light of day. My father had recently died, and writing was solely a therapeutic refuge in which I would escape into the manuscript. Did I really want to share parts of my personal life, including the demise of a long-term relationship, psychic sessions, and my romantic encounters overseas?

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Book Review: Odyssey of Love by Linda Jämsén

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Book Review: Odyssey of Love by Linda Jämsén

When Linda doesn’t receive the marriage proposal she had long been expecting from her boyfriend on her 41st birthday, she reluctantly visits a psychic, Angelica, who predicts that Linda will soon leave him for a romantic and music-filled Odyssey in Europe. There, a “Russian icon” will lead to her future husband, a “tall man with glasses.”

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