How to Write a Novel: From Idea to Book

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