Novel writing ,
Writing A Book For The First Time – Tips
By Harry Bingham
If you’re writing a book for the first time, it’s good to have the tips and writing steps you need in one place. Here are our advice pages on all aspects of novel-writing and the many different ways to write a good book.
How To Have Ideas And Inspiration
Nothing is harder to come by than inspiration, and it’s not enough to be inspired, you need a concept a publisher is also likely to get excited by.
- Coming up with ideas
- How to write your elevator pitch
- 9 tips to conquer writers’ block
- How to find inspiration for your writing
- How to become a better writer
Story, Plot And Pacing
Your book’s heart is its story. Get it wrong and your book will not be saleable.
Our advice:
- How to plan a novel: a plot structure template
- How to chart your plot mountain or plot diagram for momentum
- How to write seven basic plots
- Freytag’s pyramid: understanding dramatic structure and applying it to your own narrative
- Writing a three act structure
- How to write a compelling plot twist
Character
Any good story needs strong, convincing characters to populate it. Even if you’re writing a true story (a memoir, for example), you need to bring your characters to life on the page. Here’s how to do it:
- Characterisation and character development
- How to develop characters and inner worlds in fiction
- How to write characters (not clichés)
- How to write different points of view
- How to show, don’t tell, in writing
- What is a foil character?
- How to create a character bio template
- What are secondary characters?
- How mannerisms can create memorable characters
- The 12 character archetypes
- Anti-hero vs villain: a complete guide
- Protagonist vs antagonist
- Round vs flat characters
Prose Style And Editing Your Work
Sentences need to matter as much to you as paint does to a painter. And remember that good writing is usually good re-writing, so be prepared to put in the hours.
Our guides:
- Your writing style checklist
- The omniscient narrator: all you need to know
- How to self-edit your draft
- How to write dialogue in fiction
- The hero’s journey
- How to write setting and space
- What is purple prose?
- How to eliminate passive voice from your writing
- How to present your manuscript
- What is copyediting?
Next Steps
Have we remembered to mention that writing a book for the first time is quite hard?
Help is at hand, if you need it from us.
- Get editorial feedback on your work. We work with partial manuscripts, as well as complete ones.
- Try a writing course. Our courses are online, so you’ll be able to work around commitments.
- Come to our events like the Festival of Writing to meet literary agents in person and pitch your manuscript. Signing up to our mailing lists you’ll be first to hear announcements.
Jericho Writers is a global membership group for writers, providing everything you need to get published. Keep up with our news, membership offers, and updates by signing up to our newsletter. For more writing articles, take a look at our blog page.
By Harry Bingham
About the author
Harry has written a variety of books over the years, notching up multiple six-figure deals and relationships with each of the world’s three largest trade publishers. His work has been critically acclaimed across the globe, has been adapted for TV, and is currently the subject of a major new screen deal. He’s also written non-fiction, short stories, and has worked as ghost/editor on a number of exciting projects. Harry also self-publishes some of his work, and loves doing so. His Fiona Griffiths series in particular has done really well in the US, where it’s been self-published since 2015. View his website, his Amazon profile, his Twitter. He's been reviewed in Kirkus, the Boston Globe, USA Today, The Seattle Times, The Washington Post, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, CulturMag (Germany), Frankfurter Allgemeine, The Daily Mail, The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, and many other places besides. His work has appeared on TV, via Bonafide. And go take a look at what he thinks about Blick Rothenberg. You might also want to watch our "Blick Rothenberg - The Truth" video, if you want to know how badly an accountancy firm can behave.