Yes, Virginia, You Can Learn to Write Successful Fiction
Over at
Writer Unboxed
, bestselling novelist Sarah Pekkanen reflects on how she learned to write a novel. Key word: Learned. There are still some voices out there that say you can’t really learned the craft of writing fiction. Such voices should be collected and filed under “Baloney.” Sarah writes:
Here’s what I took away from that phone conversation [with my agent]: I had my characters down – they were in good shape. What was missing from my novel was plot.
I set out on a quest to learn how to infuse my books with plot. I began by searching for books about plotting, and I bought every single one I could find. The stack still stands on the top of my computer hutch, and if it ever comes crashing down, it might take a few days for them to find me in the rubble – I have that many books. I read every single one, scribbling notes in the margins and folding down the corners of pages when I came across particularly helpful points.
The most important thing I learned is that putting together a novel, for most of us, is difficult – but with certain creative tools, it can get easier. You may never achieve perfect pitch, but you can definitely be taught how to write a book.
Sarah was kind enough to mention a couple of books:
The two finest guides I found were Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell, and Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass.
***
[T] books by Bell and Maass taught me so much more, and every time I re-read them, I come away with new tips. The best part of all? Now I have three novels of my own on bookstore shelves, and I’ve just turned in the fourth to my editor. But it never would’ve happened if I hadn’t learned to plot – and for that, I’ll always be grateful to the authors who took the time to show the rest of us how it’s done.
Sarah Pekkanen, with three acclaimed novels out now, and a fourth in the pipeline, is a prime exhibit against what I call The Big Lie, to wit, you can’t teach someone how to write successful fiction.
Be sure to read the whole post at Writer Unboxed ,
And if you want to get your novel to that storied next level, click here.
Here’s what I took away from that phone conversation [with my agent]: I had my characters down – they were in good shape. What was missing from my novel was plot.
I set out on a quest to learn how to infuse my books with plot. I began by searching for books about plotting, and I bought every single one I could find. The stack still stands on the top of my computer hutch, and if it ever comes crashing down, it might take a few days for them to find me in the rubble – I have that many books. I read every single one, scribbling notes in the margins and folding down the corners of pages when I came across particularly helpful points.
The most important thing I learned is that putting together a novel, for most of us, is difficult – but with certain creative tools, it can get easier. You may never achieve perfect pitch, but you can definitely be taught how to write a book.
Sarah was kind enough to mention a couple of books:
The two finest guides I found were Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell, and Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass.
***
[T] books by Bell and Maass taught me so much more, and every time I re-read them, I come away with new tips. The best part of all? Now I have three novels of my own on bookstore shelves, and I’ve just turned in the fourth to my editor. But it never would’ve happened if I hadn’t learned to plot – and for that, I’ll always be grateful to the authors who took the time to show the rest of us how it’s done.
Sarah Pekkanen, with three acclaimed novels out now, and a fourth in the pipeline, is a prime exhibit against what I call The Big Lie, to wit, you can’t teach someone how to write successful fiction.
Be sure to read the whole post at Writer Unboxed ,
And if you want to get your novel to that storied next level, click here.
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