Writing Fiction for Dummies

Klappentext Discover the tricks of the trade for writing compelling and concise fiction. Whether you've never written fiction before or are looking to brush up your skills and learn new techniques for crafting your words, this book gives you savvy advice on navigating the writing process. Zusammenfassung A complete guide to writing and selling your novel So you want to write a novel? Great! That's a worthy goal, no matter what your reason. But don't settle for just writing a novel. Aim high. Write a novel that you intend to sell to a publisher.

Auteur

Randy Ingermanson is the award-winning author of six novels. He is known around the world as "the Snowflake Guy," thanks to his Web site article on the Snowflake method, which has been viewed more than a million times. Before venturing into fiction, Randy earned a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the University of California at Berkeley. Randy has taught fiction at numerous writing conferences and sits on the advisory board of American Christian Fiction Writers. He also publishes the world's largest e-zine on how to write fiction, The Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine. Randy's first two novels won Christy awards, and his second novel Oxygen, coauthored with John B. Olson, earned a spot on the New York Public Library's Books for the Teen Age list. Visit Randy's personal Web site at www.ingermanson.com and his Web site for fiction writers at www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com. Peter Economy of La Jolla, California, is a bestselling author with 11 For Dummies titles under his belt, including two second editions and one third edition. Peter is coauthor of Writing Children's Books For Dummies, Home-Based Business For Dummies, Consulting For Dummies, Why Aren't You Your Own Boss?, The Management Bible, and many more books. Peter also serves as Associate Editor of Leader to Leader, the Apex Award-winning journal of the Leader to Leader Institute. Check out Peter's Web site at www.petereconomy.com.

Texte du rabat

Writing a novel can be a daunting process -- it will challenge you, stretch you, and change you. Whether you've never written fiction before or are looking to brush up your skills and learn new techniques for crafting your words, Writing Fiction For Dummies gives you savvy advice on navigating the entire writing process and turning your ideas into a well-written, marketable book.

• Establishing an ideal writing environment -- discover how to set aside enough time and an ideal location for your writing

• Getting ready to write fiction -- pinpoint your location on the road to publication, and set your strategic and tactical goals to get your novel published

• Discovering the principles of writing powerful fiction -- build a realistic story world, envision unique and exciting characters, craft the layers of your plot, and grow a theme organically

• Editing and polishing your story and characters -- put on your editing hat and analyze your characters, scrutinize your story structure, and edit your scenes to get your novel in tip-top shape

• Getting published -- learn how to write query letters and book proposals that will ignite an agent's or editor's enthusiasm and help sell your novel to the right publisher

Open the book and find:

• Your strategic roadmap to getting published

• Help in choosing your category

• Tips for building a believable plot

• Guidelines for creating three-dimensional characters

• Examples of storylines that spotlight a novel's high concept

• Pros and cons of various publishing methods

• Advice on finding the right agent and publisher

Résumé
A complete guide to writing and selling your novel So you want to write a novel? Great! That's a worthy goal, no matter what your reason. But don't settle for just writing a novel. Aim high. Write a novel that you intend to sell to a publisher.

Contenu

Introduction. Part I: Getting Ready to Write Fiction. Chapter 1: Fiction Writing Basics. Chapter 2: What Makes a Great Story? Chapter 3: Finding Your Audience and Category. Chapter 4: Four Ways to Write a Great Novel. Chapter 5: Managing Your Time ... and Yourself. Part II: Creating Compelling Fiction. Chapter 6: Building Your Story World: The Setting for Your Story. Chapter 7: Creating Compelling Characters. Chapter 8: Storyline and Three-Act Structure: The Top Layers of Your Plot. Chapter 9: Synopsis, Scene List, and Scene: Your Middle Layers of Plot. Chapter 10: Action, Dialogue, and More: The Lowest Layer of Your Plot. Chapter 11: Thinking Through Your Theme. Part III: Editing and Polishing Your Story and Characters. Chapter 12: Analyzing Your Characters. Chapter 13: Scrutinizing Your Story Structure. Chapter 14: Editing Your Scenes for Structure. Chapter 15: Editing Your Scenes for Content. Part IV: Getting Published. Chapter 16: Getting Ready to Sell Your Book: Polishing and Submitting. Chapter 17: Approaching Agents and Editors. Part V: The Part of Tens. Chapter 18: Ten Steps to Analyzing Your Story. Chapter 19: Ten Reasons Novels Are Rejected. Index.