How To Write A Novel

Almost all writers (and non-writers) feel that they have the great novel in them somewhere just waiting to burst forth. But writing a novel is such a mammoth task and just the thought of sitting down and putting 50,000 to 150,000 words on paper can seem harder than pushing a boulder up a hill.

Even non-fiction writers often think of attempting a book, but again they’re faced with the same dilemma of where to begin with such a massive word count.

So where do you begin?

It’s hard to sit down and write most days even if the project in hand is less than a thousand words. The word ‘self-discipline’ is easy to say but it’s not always so easy to do, especially when the project is such a long one.

I too was faced with the same dilemma once but eventually I was the proud owner of a 75,000-word manuscript.

But in the beginning the thought of sitting down with a blank sheet of paper (or computer screen) and thinking up what to write and how to write it was overwhelming.

So how did I do it?

Well, first I surfed the internet far and wide for any writing sites that had articles on novel writing and then I hungrily devoured every word on the pages.

But during my searches I came across loads of sites with authors offering courses on novel writing and most of them even promised personal tuition and guaranteed that by the end of the course I would have a completed novel. They even offered help with finding a publisher or agent.

But I was sceptical. It all sounded too good to be true, and as they say, if something sounds too good to be true then it usually is. All the adverts made it sound as though even the most inept writers in the world could have a published novel just by following their advice. Hmmm. Surely, I thought, the first thing a writer needs is talent, and if the story-telling ability isn’t there then no amount of advice in the world is going to make it magically appear.

Also what put me off was the cost. Most of these courses cost $300 or more. One of them cost nearly $1,000. but, the advert screamed, the author of the course WAS offering his personal telephone number so all students could ring him if they needed personal help. What more could he offer? Well, maybe it might sound great to be able to call him at anytime, but he lived in America which would be no help to me as I can’t afford call someone in the USA every week, which is probably what he was counting on.

Then just as I was about to give up hope I came across a really interesting web site.

It was writequickly.com which was offering Nick Daws' course, ‘Write Any Book in Just 28 Days...or Less’. This course had no personal one-to-one tuition but it was a complete course on a CD and cost less than $50USD (£30GBP).
It also came with a no-quibble 100% guarantee so I knew I had nothing to lose. If I followed the course and I didn't have my manuscript written in 28 days, I'd just ask for a refund.

I signed up immediately because I was eager to get started on my novel, and the CD arrived in the post a few days later. And guess what? By following his course I had a manuscript in my hand 28 days later.

To read my personal review of this course, go to http://writeaholics.net/reviews/wabreview.html.

I personally recommend this writing course to anyone who wants to write a book, whether it's fiction or non-fiction. You can be an author in under in month, which is a great feeling, believe me.

Good luck my writing friend.