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Fast Draft Your Manuscript and Get It Done
Do you struggle to complete your writing?
Have you had trouble meeting deadlines?
Or do you simply want to write faster and enjoy the process while doing so?
If so, then Fast Drafting is for you.
Fast Drafting is a proven set of techniques and strategies that can be applied to any piece of writing from blog post to novel. Tested over the author’s decades-long career as an author and educator, the Fast Drafting Method is easy to learn, customizable for your needs, and designed to get results quickly. Fast Draft Your Manuscript: And Get It Done Now.
About the series:
Don’t just write…write for success! From award-winning author and educator Joan Bouza Koster comes a revolutionary series of guides showing you the steps that helped her writing not just land an agent and book deal but win praise from readers and literary tastemakers. Whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction, romance, thriller, or historical, this series delivers behind-the-scenes tips, inspiration when you need it most, and the flexibility to fit your writing career. Write with confidence and write for success.
Have you had trouble meeting deadlines?
Or do you simply want to write faster and enjoy the process while doing so?
If so, then Fast Drafting is for you.
Fast Drafting is a proven set of techniques and strategies that can be applied to any piece of writing from blog post to novel. Tested over the author’s decades-long career as an author and educator, the Fast Drafting Method is easy to learn, customizable for your needs, and designed to get results quickly. Fast Draft Your Manuscript: And Get It Done Now.
About the series:
Don’t just write…write for success! From award-winning author and educator Joan Bouza Koster comes a revolutionary series of guides showing you the steps that helped her writing not just land an agent and book deal but win praise from readers and literary tastemakers. Whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction, romance, thriller, or historical, this series delivers behind-the-scenes tips, inspiration when you need it most, and the flexibility to fit your writing career. Write with confidence and write for success.
80 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 26, 2020
15 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
About the author
Joan Bouza Koster
15 books17 followersWhen she is not writing in her studio by the sea, Joan Koster lives an 1860s farmhouse stacked to the ceiling with books. In a life full of adventures, she has scaled mountains, chased sheep, and been abandoned on an island for longer than she wants to remember.
An ethnographer, educator, and award-winning author who loves mentoring writers, Joan blends her love of history, and romance into eye-opening historical novels about women who shouldn’t be forgotten and into romantic thrillers under the pen name, Zara West. She is the author of the award-winning romantic suspense series The Skin Quartet and the top-selling Write for Success series. She offers numerous writing workshops every year.
Joan Bouza Koster blogs about forgotten women at JoanKoster.com, about everyday life during the Civil War at AmericanCivilWarVoice.org, about romance at ZaraWestRomance.com, and about writing at Zara West’s Journal -zarawest.me.
An ethnographer, educator, and award-winning author who loves mentoring writers, Joan blends her love of history, and romance into eye-opening historical novels about women who shouldn’t be forgotten and into romantic thrillers under the pen name, Zara West. She is the author of the award-winning romantic suspense series The Skin Quartet and the top-selling Write for Success series. She offers numerous writing workshops every year.
Joan Bouza Koster blogs about forgotten women at JoanKoster.com, about everyday life during the Civil War at AmericanCivilWarVoice.org, about romance at ZaraWestRomance.com, and about writing at Zara West’s Journal -zarawest.me.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 11, 2021
Do you have a project that you have been planning for months or years to start, but you have not found the time or oomph to do it yet? Then sit down with your idea, a notebook, and this workbook, and you will be well on your way within hours or days. It will get you excited about your book all over again, and it will give you the tools to get from inspiration to words on the page, and even a completed manuscript. Koster’s step-by-step tips and experience make the difficult task of writing a whole book into a walk through a pleasant garden.
Each chapter starts with the kind of quote you might want to write down and put on your fridge or office cork board, by writing greats such as Terry Pratchett, Stephen King, and Octavia Butler.
Ms. Koster’s writing is concise, useful, and rings with her decades of experience as an author and professional writer. She ranges from the practical — which apps can help you, and how each one works — to the psychological fine points of how mental preparation and visualization can help you reach your goals. Her advice even covers salient yoga knowledge to help you keep your body healthy and anxiety down, and what to do about family members who aren’t respecting your space.
Joan Koster is the most vibrant and exciting writing teacher I have ever met. A few years ago, I identified her as a mentor for my own writing career, and I’m delighted that she is sharing her wisdom and experience so brilliantly and accessibly with all writers through this short but incredibly usable book.
Each chapter starts with the kind of quote you might want to write down and put on your fridge or office cork board, by writing greats such as Terry Pratchett, Stephen King, and Octavia Butler.
Ms. Koster’s writing is concise, useful, and rings with her decades of experience as an author and professional writer. She ranges from the practical — which apps can help you, and how each one works — to the psychological fine points of how mental preparation and visualization can help you reach your goals. Her advice even covers salient yoga knowledge to help you keep your body healthy and anxiety down, and what to do about family members who aren’t respecting your space.
Joan Koster is the most vibrant and exciting writing teacher I have ever met. A few years ago, I identified her as a mentor for my own writing career, and I’m delighted that she is sharing her wisdom and experience so brilliantly and accessibly with all writers through this short but incredibly usable book.
October 27, 2020
I’ve read a number of books and articles about the writer’s craft. All of them contained at least one helpful suggestion. Fast Draft Your Manuscript and Get It Done Now (Write for Success, Book 1) by Joan Bouza Koster (a/k/a Zara West, author of The Skin Quartet) is quite short and covers one topic only: how to turn out a first draft quickly and efficiently, and how to revise it afterwards. On this topic, it is stuffed full of excellent advice for writers at all stages of their career, whether they write fiction or non-fiction.
Will every tip work for every writer? Probably not, but I’ll bet most writers will find at least some of them helpful: different kinds of outlining (one of which I can use), tracking progress, eliminating distractions, and getting over the “roadbumps”, the dreaded writer’s block.
As a seat-of-the-pants writer who has never outlined anything, I was interested to see if Ms. Koster’s techniques would work for me. The answer is, yes. I’ve already begun incorporating some of the things I learned from Fast Draft Your Manuscript now that I’m starting my seventh novel.
The next time an aspiring writer asks, “I have this idea for a book but how do I get started?” or “How can I stay motivated to finish my novel?”, this is the resource I’ll recommend.
I received a free ARC in exchange for a fair review.
Will every tip work for every writer? Probably not, but I’ll bet most writers will find at least some of them helpful: different kinds of outlining (one of which I can use), tracking progress, eliminating distractions, and getting over the “roadbumps”, the dreaded writer’s block.
As a seat-of-the-pants writer who has never outlined anything, I was interested to see if Ms. Koster’s techniques would work for me. The answer is, yes. I’ve already begun incorporating some of the things I learned from Fast Draft Your Manuscript now that I’m starting my seventh novel.
The next time an aspiring writer asks, “I have this idea for a book but how do I get started?” or “How can I stay motivated to finish my novel?”, this is the resource I’ll recommend.
I received a free ARC in exchange for a fair review.
January 11, 2021
The first book in Joan Bouza Koster - Fast Draft your Manuscript (Write for Success) series and a fabulously structured 'how to' get your writing act together! - whatever the purpose of the writing. How to take the information floating in your head, prepare an outline (main topic and purpose) and then GO into the FLOW - just get the words down, spelling, grammar, incorrect words cliche's - mistakes and all. Then follow Joan steps to first - put it away - then come back with new eyes, revise, amend, adjust and edit. Building a strong and solid writing routine, using available editing, timing and wordcount devises to your advantage and to practice and practice various 'sprinting exercises - for warm-up - or to flush out specific scene's or areas of your writing that needs adjustment - or fine-tuning. I thoroughly enjoyed trying out some of the techniques and practises and look forward to reading more of Joan's books in this series. As a registered ARC reader, I highly recommend this book to assist with any form of writing, from short blogs to full-blown mammoth series.
January 12, 2021
The first book in Joan Bouza Koster - Fast Draft your Manuscript (Write for Success) series and a fabulously structured 'how to' get your writing act together! - whatever the purpose of the writing. How to take the information floating in your head, prepare an outline (main topic and purpose) and then GO into the FLOW - just get the words down, spelling, grammar, incorrect words cliche's - mistakes and all. Then follow Joan steps to first - put it away - then come back with new eyes, revise, amend, adjust and edit. Building a strong and solid writing routine, using available editing, timing and wordcount devises to your advantage and to practice and practice various 'sprinting exercises - for warm-up - or to flush out specific scene's or areas of your writing that needs adjustment - or fine-tuning. I thoroughly enjoyed trying out some of the techniques and practises and look forward to reading more of Joan's books in this series. As a registered ARC reader, I highly recommend this book to assist with any form of writing, from short blogs to full-blown mammoth series.
October 28, 2020
Fast Draft Your Manuscript came into my life at just the right time. (Don’t you love when that happens?)
In her description of who would benefit from her fast drafting technique, the author outed several bad habits I have developed while writing three novels and two novelettes. I edit as I go. I procrastinate. I hit speed bumps and crash land.
I am going to try her method for a fast first draft with my next novel. I have my detailed character profiles and have researched the external plot conflict for my next novel. As soon as I finish my plot outline, I’m diving in.
In her description of who would benefit from her fast drafting technique, the author outed several bad habits I have developed while writing three novels and two novelettes. I edit as I go. I procrastinate. I hit speed bumps and crash land.
I am going to try her method for a fast first draft with my next novel. I have my detailed character profiles and have researched the external plot conflict for my next novel. As soon as I finish my plot outline, I’m diving in.
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July 14, 2024A wealth of information
This book was great, there were tons of tips, examples and tools mentioned and linked for quick look up. Joan's attention to detail and everything that goes into writing anything. Can't wait for the dedicated revision book as the tips at the end of this one provided a fantastic step by step guide of what to do.
If you write, or want to write, you need this book!
This book was great, there were tons of tips, examples and tools mentioned and linked for quick look up. Joan's attention to detail and everything that goes into writing anything. Can't wait for the dedicated revision book as the tips at the end of this one provided a fantastic step by step guide of what to do.
If you write, or want to write, you need this book!
November 26, 2020
I read this book at the exact right time, as I’m drafting my new novel. There are SO many excellent and inspiring tips and suggestions in this book that I’ve already put into practice. I totally recommend this guide for fast drafting, especially if you’re an edit-as-you-go, slow writer (like me!) and want to try a new approach.
July 22, 2021
Loaded with tips and resources. Motivating.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews