Novel Writing Software

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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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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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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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Thumbnail image for Fiction Technique Tip: Writing with Clarity and Precision

Fiction Technique Tip: Writing with Clarity and Precision

Polish up your writing with these easy tips. 1. Seek and destroy clichés: butter-soft leather, a mighty oak, a trusted servant. 2. To show habitual action, use the past tense rather than would. Not “Each morning he would walk to the Y and swim twenty laps,” but “Each morning he walked to the Y and [...]

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Thumbnail image for Your NaNoWriMo Manuscript: Making Adjustments

Your NaNoWriMo Manuscript: Making Adjustments

You did it—you finished a manuscript by the end of NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, but it falls short of your goal of 50,000 words. This often happens: novelists find themselves typing “The End,” only to realize their word count is too short. Here are some tips for adding additional pages to your novel without [...]

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Fiction Makeover Contest Winners

We are pleased to announce the winners of The Marshall Plan® Fiction Makeover Contest. 2 Grand Prize Winners Hannah Cobb for Mortis James Montgomery Jackson for Bad Policy Ms. Cobb and Mr. Jackson each won: A copy of The Marshall Plan® Novel Writing Software A copy of The Marshall Plan® for Novel Writing Ebook Our [...]

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