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How to write a novel....

Got a question/comment about the business of writing or about the publishing industry? Here's your place to post it!
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Anna Elliott
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Post by Anna Elliott » Wed July 8th, 2009, 5:48 pm

[quote=""Chatterbox""]I just wish that there was a sure cure for a wandering and unfocused brain.[/quote]

Well, I can at any rate tell you that the cure is NOT to be 8 mos. pregnant! I sit down to work and feel like my thoughts are trying to wriggle their way to the surface through a bowl of Jell-O! :)

Author of the Twilight of Avalon trilogy
new book: Dark Moon of Avalon, coming Sept 14 from Simon &Schuster (Touchstone)

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Chatterbox
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Post by Chatterbox » Wed July 8th, 2009, 7:28 pm

My agent just called with nibbles about a ghost writing gig for another business book. I've just done one of those, but this guy could afford to pay me outright, so I'm thinking of doing it... I don't know what the freelance market is going to be like when I finish the Wall Street opus, and it will take me a few months to get my next narrative NF proposal together. Ho hum. Who said the writing life would be fun and glamorous??

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LoveHistory
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Post by LoveHistory » Wed July 8th, 2009, 9:40 pm

[quote=""Anna Elliott""]Well, I can at any rate tell you that the cure is NOT to be 8 mos. pregnant! I sit down to work and feel like my thoughts are trying to wriggle their way to the surface through a bowl of Jell-O! :) [/quote]


I so remember that! I can't do math when I'm pregnant. Don't remember about whether I can write or not. Having children has been terrible on my previously razor-sharp memory.

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Margaret
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Favourite HF book: Checkmate, the final novel in the Lymond series
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Post by Margaret » Wed July 8th, 2009, 10:07 pm

"Holy-bat-s :eek: t-panic!!"
I think this deserves a prize for Best Use of an Emoticon in a Post.

Interesting article. It's very different from other writing tips lists that I've seen, and makes some good points.
Browse over 5000 historical novel listings (probably well over 5000 by now, but I haven't re-counted lately) and over 700 reviews at www.HistoricalNovels.info

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robinbird79
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Post by robinbird79 » Wed July 22nd, 2009, 10:47 pm

I am very glad I stumbled my way into this thread. As I have something I've been trying to work at for a few months now but I've come to the realization that I don't know where I want my main character to go!!

When I am writing, I tend to write out the "major" events, etc. and then go back later and connect them together. May not be the best way to write but when I get an A-HA moment, I have to get that written out or loose it completely (which happens all the time while running around after a 22 mth old boy).
Currently Reading: Crown in Candlelight, R. H. Jarmen

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Anna Elliott
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Post by Anna Elliott » Thu July 23rd, 2009, 2:08 am

Robinbird, have you tried the word processing program Scrivener? It's a fantastic application designed specifically for novel writers. And it definitely helps me keep my thoughts organized while running around after my two and a half year old! :) You can write up your main events in pieces and then lay them out as though on a bulletin board to get a sense of the plot--what's there and what's still missing.

Author of the Twilight of Avalon trilogy
new book: Dark Moon of Avalon, coming Sept 14 from Simon &Schuster (Touchstone)

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http://www.annaelliottbooks.com

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stu1883
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Post by stu1883 » Thu July 23rd, 2009, 3:59 am

[quote=""Anna Elliott""]Robinbird, have you tried the word processing program Scrivener? It's a fantastic application designed specifically for novel writers. And it definitely helps me keep my thoughts organized while running around after my two and a half year old! :) You can write up your main events in pieces and then lay them out as though on a bulletin board to get a sense of the plot--what's there and what's still missing.[/quote]
Scrivener looks great - I only wish it was Windows compatible!

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Margaret
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Preferred HF: Literary novels. Late medieval and Renaissance.
Location: Catskill, New York, USA
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Post by Margaret » Thu July 23rd, 2009, 8:13 pm

You can do the same thing with index cards and a pen or pencil!
Browse over 5000 historical novel listings (probably well over 5000 by now, but I haven't re-counted lately) and over 700 reviews at www.HistoricalNovels.info

Chatterbox
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Post by Chatterbox » Thu July 23rd, 2009, 8:58 pm

Margaret, yes, theoretically. But it takes longer to make handwritten notes on index cards; you invariably run out of the damn things when you need them and, if you're like me, you misplace critical ones while working on them.

Had I known about this program (Scrivener), I probably would have bought a Mac laptop last summer instead of another Windows-based system. It would have made managing the mountain of information and data for the book I'm working on vastly easier. Trying to work with lots of pieces of paper makes me weep with frustration -- literally. I have a stack of papers that is four feet high; three dozen spreadsheets and approx a foot-long stack of index cards in a box.

So this may actually tip the balance in favor of a Mac for the replacement to the current laptop, which is literally falling to pieces. (keys coming off the keyboard...)

Anna, zero danger of trying to do any of this while 8 months pregnant! I do have friends that have produced books and babies in the same year. The one thing on which they all agree is that labor was less painful than the book process.

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SarahWoodbury
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Post by SarahWoodbury » Thu July 23rd, 2009, 8:58 pm

Yes, but that would require handwriting something, of which I am no longer capable :) My husband designed a database for me that allowed me to organize my dissertation, with all its resources, quotes, etc., but it doesn't really work for a novel. I've tried some other software (free downloads) but not really been impressed.

Back to MS word, I guess!

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