#1 Every year, millions of books get published. Most get ignored. Ask yourself: Why does the world need your book?
#2 Pretend that you’re a reader, and ask yourself: Why should I care? Why should I invest my money—not to mention my time, which is even more valuable—in reading your novel?
#3 Your hero needs to be someone we can relate to, who we can understand. We don’t necessarily have to like him, but we have to care.
#4 Give us a sympathetic hero with a goal we can relate to, and the strength of will to pursue that goal at all costs, and you’ve got the makings of a great story.
#5 There are many books on structure out there, and varying theories about the precise form story structure should take. But you must have the basics down, or your novel will not be successful.
#6 Good stories must have suspense. We want to see our hero struggle, to succeed, to fail, the end goal always in doubt.
#7 Knowing where to begin and end your chapters is an art. Every chapter should begin with a hook. Every chapter should end with a cliffhanger.
#8 Authors with experience in theater or film tend to write better dialogue. Why? Because acting and writing dialogue are one and the same craft.
#9 In real life, constant tension is exhausting. We look for a way–any way, good or bad–just to end the tension, and let life return to normal. So it goes against our natural inclinations to write a story of constant tension, constant conflict, constant suspense. But…we don’t read fiction to watch the paint dry. We read fiction because we want drama.
#1 Every year, millions of books get published. Most get ignored. Ask yourself: Why does the world need your book?
#2 Pretend that you’re a reader, and ask yourself: Why should I care? Why should I invest my money—not to mention my time, which is even more valuable—in reading your novel?
#3 Your hero needs to be someone we can relate to, who we can understand. We don’t necessarily have to like him, but we have to care.
#4 Give us a sympathetic hero with a goal we can relate to, and the strength of will to pursue that goal at all costs, and you’ve got the makings of a great story.
#5 There are many books on structure out there, and varying theories about the precise form story structure should take. But you must have the basics down, or your novel will not be successful.
#6 Good stories must have suspense. We want to see our hero struggle, to succeed, to fail, the end goal always in doubt.
#7 Knowing where to begin and end your chapters is an art. Every chapter should begin with a hook. Every chapter should end with a cliffhanger.
#8 Authors with experience in theater or film tend to write better dialogue. Why? Because acting and writing dialogue are one and the same craft.
#9 In real life, constant tension is exhausting. We look for a way–any way, good or bad–just to end the tension, and let life return to normal. So it goes against our natural inclinations to write a story of constant tension, constant conflict, constant suspense.
But…we don’t read fiction to watch the paint dry. We read fiction because we want drama.