How To Write A Novel Chapter By Chapter: A Complete Guide To Outlining, Plotting And Editing Any Novel

by Neil Black

Struggling to figure out how to structure your novel? Then this book is for you.
How To Write A Novel Chapter By Chapter is the clear, practical novel-writing blueprint that takes you through every stage writing a novel—chapter by chapter, beat by beat. Written by acclaimed novelist and writing mentor Neil Black, this guide explain and applies proven the Classic Novel Structure system that can be used for any genre, any novel.

Inside this book, you’ll

Outline, write and perfect your novel chapter by chapter, beat by beat, from initial idea to fully edited manuscriptFully understand Classic Novel Structure, the foundation of long-form storytelling, in order to powerfully plot and redraft your narrative Properly structure, pace and sequence scenes and chapters Create intriguing opening chapters, great inciting incidents, subtle midpoints and dramatic climaxesExpertly structure acts, quests and subplots, character arcs and conflictsReal-world examples from Pride and Prejudice and Gone Girl applied to every beatPractical exercises and insider industry tips and experience throughoutA free, downloadable Master Document and a versatile 20-chapter blueprint to confidently outline and revise your novel
"What Neil doesn’t know about structure isn’t worth knowing." — Emma Flint, author of Little Deaths and Other Women

Whether you’re just starting or stuck mid-story, this book equips you to craft a novel that holds readers from page one—and keeps them turning pages.

Start your novel-writing journey today. Click ‘Buy Now’ to starting writing your novel chapter by chapter.

161 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 12, 2024

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised by the amount of information in this book, but not in an overwhelming way at all. Each chapter takes you step by step through the novel writing process. It’s like having someone hold your hand through it. I read a lot of books and I’ve never come across the method used here, which is easy to use and follow along. I was pleasantly surprised by the book as it was well written and formatted. I started writing my novel but read through the book once. I’ll be referencing it again as I get further into my writing. I enjoyed the authors insights and appreciated the well written and easy steps for those of us that need it.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Terry F · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful source for one of the most common outlining structures for the author of fiction writing. The author explains the outline and book structure linearly. He breaks it down by acts, chapters, and scenes or beats. He explains what size each chapter should be by the percentage of the book and the place in the book where key events typically occur in books.

There are non-mandatory exercises, and he compares his outlining structure by including where they occur in two well-known works.

I will refer to this book, and I believe I will use it frequently as a reference.

I received an advance review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Amanda Hyback · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super helpful Recommended Reading for Novelists

This book goes through how to use classic novel structure to structure your novel and how to write chapter by chapter to fulfill. This is a very helpful, detailed guide of how to write your novel. It’s the first of two books in this series. The second one focuses on how to write a novel in 90 days, while using classic novel structure. This book just gave me more ideas of how I would structure my novel as it demonstrated the use of classic novel structure in two well known books, making the concepts easier to envision.

[R. Hollis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!

I was not expecting to enjoy this, figured it would be more like your typical boring textbook. Nope! And I especially love how each section is illustrated from Pride and Prejudice... Austen is awesome! Could not have chosen a better book to dissect as a guide, and this does that beautifully. If you want your book to have the kick of a classic, you need this.

[Desiree Trott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I have a goal to start writing my own novels this year. I have so many ideas swirling around in my head! When I saw the opportunity to review this book I jumped at the chance to organize my thoughts.

[Jeanéva Christie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resource
This book drills down into how you add various elements of a story throughout your novel. I found the discussion of red herrings and foreshadowing particularly enlightening.