101 Habits of Highly Successful Novelists by McAleer, Andrew -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Cover Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Foreword Introduction Contributors Part I: PASSION

Chapter 1: A Portra it of a Novelist

1. Being Creative and Original 2. Being a Natural Storyteller 3. Being a Natural Observer 4. Embracing Solitude 5. Having a Driving Reason to Write 6. Believing You’re Talented Enough 7. Being a Voracious Reader 8. Being Passionate about the Craft 9. Being Passionate about Novels

Chapter 2: Commitment

10. Understanding the Downside of being a Novelist 11. Committing to a Career, not just One Novel 12. Having Precise Goals, not just Wishes 13. Holding True to Your Dreams 14. Being Professional 15. Being Willing to Work Hard 16. Setting a High Standard of Excellence

Part II: CREATIVITY

Chapter 3: The Creative Process

17. Finding Inspiration 18. Coming up with Ideas 19. Exploring the World 20. Being Open to Experiences 21. Studying the Market 22. Knowing What Makes a Great Story 23. Writing about What You Love 24. Writing about What You Know 25. Joining a Writer’s Group 26. Attending Writing Classes and Workshops

Chapter 4: The Writing Environment

27. Finding Time to Write 28. Finding a Place to Write 29. Assembling Your Writing Tools

Chapter 5: The Writing Process

30. Developing Your Imagination 31. Doing Your Research 32. Becoming Possessed by the Story 33. Nurturing Your Creativity 34. Recording Your Ideas as Soon as they Appear 35. Collaborating 36. Outlining Your Story 37. Choosing Your Point of View 38. Plotting 39. Finding Your Pace 40. Getting the Basics Down 41. Creating Characters 42. Writing Dialogue 43. Making Conflict Work for You 44. Writing a Few Chapters at a Time 45. Discovering the Ending

Part III: DISCIPLINE

Chapter 6: The Writing Hab it

46. Setting Reasonable Goals 47. Making Writing a Pleasure 48. Writing Through the Blahs 49. Exercising Your Body 50. Finding Time to Recharge 51. Getting A Good Night’s Sleep 52. Making Your Health a Priority

Chapter 7: The Challenges

53. Writing Through Your Fears 54. Silencing Your Inner Critic 55. Dealing with Distractions 56. Annihilating the Time Burglars 57. Making Sacrifices to Write 58. Enjoying Times when You’re “Not Writing” 59. Overcoming Procrastination 60. Facing the Blank Page 61. Overcoming Writer’s Block 62. Sticking with It 63. Meeting Deadlines 64. Coping with Rejection 65. Not Being Afraid to Fail

Chapter 8: The Editing Process

66. Completing Your First Draft 68. Asking for Feedback 69. Letting Your Manuscript Steep 70. Writing a Pitch Synopsis 71. Asking Other Authors for Blurbs 72. Sending off Your Manuscript 73. Developing a Track Record 74. Accepting Criticism 75. Trusting Your Instincts 76. Saving Everything

Part IV: THE BUSINESS

Chapter 9: Networks

77. Learning from Other Writers 78. Shopping for an Agent 79. Writing a Query Letter 80. Working with Your Agent 81. Working with Editors 82. Having Mentors 83. Becoming a Mentor Yourself 84. Not Burning Your Bridges 85. Building Your Reputation 86. Being Courteous 87. Not Being Difficult to Work With

Chapter 10: The Publishing Business

88. Learning about Publishing 89. Promoting Yourself 90. Seeking Online Reviews 91. Creating a Website 92. Venturing into Online Publishing Markets 93. Knowing the Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing

Chapter 11: Your Readers

94. Targeting Your Readers 95. Not Underestimating Your Readers 96. Not Boring Your Readers 97. Writing for Yourself

Chapter 12: The Future

98. Not Taking It Too Seriously 99. Trying New Things 100. Keep Writing, No Matter What 101. Continuing to Learn and Grow

Epilogue