Novel Writing

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Fiction Technique Tip: The Reaction Section

In The Marshall Plan® novel writing system, there are two units of story action: the action section and the reaction section. The action section is where your story’s action takes place; one of your viewpoint characters seeks to achieve a short-term, or section goal that she thinks will take her closer to achieving her overall [...]

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Thumbnail image for Vital to Your Novel: 3 “Surprises”

Vital to Your Novel: 3 “Surprises”

An important part of The Marshall Plan® novel writing system is building into your story at least three “surprises.” A surprise is an especially dramatic event that occurs in the “failure” phase of sections in these three places in your story: at the end of the Beginning (or one-quarter of the way through your story) [...]

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Fiction Technique Tip: Writing Clearly

As you write your novel, always remember that it is for your readers. That sounds obvious, yet many novelists are not considerate of their readers. What do I mean by being considerate? Simply making sure everything is clear. 1. When you begin a new section or chapter, make it instantly clear: which character you’re writing about [...]

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Breaking Bad Writing Habits

Most of us have a bad habit or two. Do you sometimes chew with your mouth open? Interrupt? Leave your socks on the floor? Writers can have bad habits, too. A bad writing habit is something a writer does unconsciously that in some way lessens the reader’s enjoyment of the text. Here are some bad [...]

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Anticipating Trends

When deciding what kind of novel to write, it’s not always smart to pick a genre that’s currently hot. By the time your novel is written and on submission to editors, that genre may have gone cold. Some genres appear to be eternally hot—vampire fiction, for instance—but everything cools off eventually. You’re always safer trying [...]

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When Genres Collide

Anyone familiar with my novel writing system or my views on fiction writing in general know I stress targeting a specific genre when tackling a novel. Is it a romance? A mystery? A science fiction novel? A Western? I stress this simply because editors stress it, and I’m all about not only writing novels but [...]

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Thumbnail image for 10 New Year’s Resolutions for Novelists

10 New Year’s Resolutions for Novelists

I will decide on one genre of novel—the genre I most enjoy reading—and stick with it. I will study novels in this target genre to get a good idea of the kinds of stories they tell. I will work hard to come up with a story idea that fits my target genre yet is fresh [...]

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