Title: How to
Write A Book (even if you never have)
Author : Bridget
McNulty
Genre: How To /
Non-Fiction
How to Write a Book (even if you never have) is
the brainchild of Now Novel co-founder Bridget
McNulty – a culmination of all the advice and tips she's been
sharing with the Now Novel writing community over the last year. It’s a
fantastically helpful resource for anyone wanting to write their first book, a
guide for all those who love writing and want to tackle the Mount Everest of
writing projects (a novel) and a reference for writers at any stage of their
careers who need reminding of the building blocks of novel-writing: ideas,
mood, theme, plot, setting and characters. It’s also, quite simply, a great
read.
Find out more about the Now Novel online novel-writing process at www.nownovel.com
Excerpt
The importance of
motivation and discipline in writing a novel cannot be underestimated. Without
these two qualities, the most talented novelist in the world will not be able
to complete a book.
Writing a novel is a
matter of putting words down on a regular basis. It doesn't have to be daily,
but it needs to be regular enough that you have created a habit and have a good
sense of where you are in the book each time you sit down to work on it again.
The good news is that motivation can be increased and discipline is a skill
that can be learned.
In this chapter, we
offer a number of tips that can do just that. You can learn to motivate
yourself and stay disciplined through activities like morning pages as well as
through working with mentors. You can even make Monday, the worst day of most
people's weeks, work for you.
Writing a novel is a
marathon and not a sprint. Whether you devote an hour in the morning or evening
to your writing or set aside a few hours every weekend for the next few months,
it is slow and steady progress that will take you to the finish line and not a
single burst of furious activity.
Motivation does not mean that you will never doubt your novel; the
secret to motivating and disciplining yourself to go the distance is to persist
through doubt. When you can continue writing your novel despite your fears and
worries about it or other distractions, you will succeed in finishing it, and
the following chapter will show you how.
Review
This book is an AMAZING asset for someone thinking about writing, someone in the process of writing, or even someone who has been writing for a while!
The tips and and tricks in this book will really help you on your writing journey. My favorite chapters were on characters, motivation, and the publishing process. For me, I feel like those were the most important for where I am in my writing process. How To Write A Book breaks down the steps you need to take in order to write a good book and be a successful author. Chapter 7, which focuses on motivation, was by far the one that spoke to me the most because right now I'm having a hard time staying motivated. I've let myself be so critical of my writing and the book I just recently published that I've allowed myself to get discouraged and some days I find it hard to even write a few sentences. McNulty's tips on staying motivated have given me a new perspective on things and I believe are going to help me stay on the right track.
I'm so glad that I was given the opportunity to review this awesome book. It is is such a wealth of information and guidance on how to write. I recommend this to anyone in the writing world, regardless of where they are at in their writing journey. And I also recommend that you check out McNulty's website, NowNovel.com. I've used it in the past and there is even more information, tips, and tricks for you to use to help you as a writer in progress.
About The Author
Bridget
McNulty is a writer and editor with a passion for helping people write novels
(even if they never have). She studied Creative Writing at Franklin &
Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and went on to publish her first
novel, Strange Nervous Laughter, in South Africa with Struik
Publishers and in the USA with St Martin’s Press. Since then, she has
co-founded an online novel-writing process, NowNovel.com, that
helps aspiring writers start – and finish! - their books, and founded a
diabetes lifestyle magazine, Sweet Life, that focuses on the positive side of
the condition. She lives in Cape Town, South Africa, with her husband and son,
and spends her days reading, writing and drinking tea.
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