How To Write a Novel

Writing a novel will change your life.

It might not be in the way that you expect, but when you hold your book in your hand and say, “I made this,” something will shift.

The process of getting to that point will light a spark in your creative soul and help you discover unexpected aspects of yourself. It will be one of the things you are most proud of in your life. This book will help you get there.

I’m Joanna (J.F.) Penn, award-nominated, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 18 novels and novellas with nearly a million books sold in over one hundred countries.

This book will help you write your first novel, or improve your creative process so you can write more books and reach more readers. It covers mindset, ideas and research, aspects of craft, how to write a first draft, and work through an editing process to a finished book.

You will discover:

Part 1: First Principles

Why are you writing a novel?

What has stopped you from completing a novel before?

Principles to keep in mind as you create

Part 2: Ideas, Research, Plotting, and Discovery Writing

How to find and capture ideas

How to research your novel and when to stop

Outlining (or plotting)

Discovery writing (or pantsing)

What are you writing? Genre

What are you writing? Short story, novella, or novel

What are you writing? Stand-alone, series, or serial

Part 3: Aspects of a Novel

Story structure

Scenes and chapters

Character: Who is the story about?

Point of view

Dialogue

Plot: What happens in the story?

Conflict

Openings and endings

Setting and World-building: Where does the story happen?

Author voice

Theme

Book or story title

Language versus story and tools versus art

Part 4: Writing the first draft

Attitude to the first draft

How to write the first draft

Dictate your book

Write fast, cycle through, or write slow

Writer’s block

Writing tools and software

When is the first draft finished?

Part 5: The Editing Process

Overview of the editing process

Self-editing

How to find and work with a professional editor

Beta readers, specialist readers, and sensitivity readers

Editing tools and software

Lessons learned from editing my first novel after more than a decade

When is the book finished?

Conclusion

If you want to (finally) write your novel, then buy How to Write a Novel today.