Knowing how to approach your plot will help you work out many things in the rest of your work, from what to research, to chapter length and even the impact of your ending.
Most stories can be classified as plot-driven or character-driven (and sometimes a mash-up of the two). But what do these terms really mean? A lot of websites provide conflicting definitions and examples, but here’s what it boils down to…
After nine years of rejection from publishers, Eimear McBride’s debut, A Girl is a Half Formed Thing, won the 2014 Bailey’s Prize on Wednesday. But the Irish writer won’t be the last to laugh in the face of those publishing houses who won’t take a punt on an experimental or challenging novel.
From Gertude Stein and William Burroughs to recent rags-to-riches writers such as JK Rowling and Cassandra Clare, there have been brutal rejection letters to accompany most bestselling novels. Here are extracts from some of them…
At the height of the Harry Potter novels’ popularity, I asked a number of people why those books in particular enjoyed such a devoted readership. Everyone gave almost the same answer: that author J.K. Rowling “tells a good story.” The response at once clarified everything and nothing; of course a “good story” can draw a large, enthusiastic (and, at that time, impatient) readership, but what does it take to actually tell a good story?
“And imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present.” ― John Green Truth be told, hope is a two edged sword. If is not accompanied by action, if it’s not the thing that keeps you moving forward, in spite of pain and fear, then it’s the most painful thing in the world. To hope but not act on that hope…
These authors found that success wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, and sometimes even regretted writing their books in the first place.
Guest blog by Gillian McAllister:
“When writing a novel we become blind to its flaws. An author friend and I like to joke that we would and also really wouldn’t like to erase our memories and read our work afresh. In the absence of memory wiping, here are five ways I ensure there are as few typos as possible at the point when I press ‘send’…”
via Five final steps before sending off a draft | The Bath Novel Award
Check out the latest writing competitions by following this link…
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