Product Description

Eliminate that “where to begin?” trepidation that can ruin the novel-writing process. The You Can Write a Novel Kit gives you all the tools you need to turn your idea into a salable novel.

Veteran novelist James V. Smith breaks down the novel-writing process into easy, manageable steps and provides you with five distinct guided notepads to help you put your story together. They include:

• Scene Development: Outline your crucial scenes to keep your story on track
• Master/Major Character: Know what makes your main characters tick and how they move your story forward
• Minor Character: Make sure each supporting player has a real part to play
• Chapter Log: Maintain continuity from scene to scene and chapter to chapter
• Revision Tracker: Keep notes on what you want to revise and how you plan to go about it

Plus, with the You Can Write a Novel instructional book, you can refine your fiction techniques using Smith’s timeless writing advice and strategies, such as an idea-scoring system, forty cardinal writing rules, and much more!

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23845 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-27
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 208 pages

About the Author
James V. Smith, Jr., has published more than a dozen novels, including the six-book series Force Recon. His latest novels, the Delta Force series written under the pen name John Harriman, use the full range of the new pacing tools introduced in this little helper. He’s a former combat soldier, helicopter pilot, newspaper writer and editor, national award-winning columnist, and magazine editor.

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Customer Reviews

All about PROCESS
If you actually want to get writing, this book is for you.

This book isn't a mystical cheerlead on the gift of writing, or a drawn-out analysis on the basic elements of fiction. This book is all about seat-in-the-chair/fingers-on-the-keyboard process! And not a long, drawn-out process of lengthy character biographies and overwhelming multi-page outlines. Too many books obsess over "the writing before the writing." This book is all about getting focused and then getting writing.

If you're ready to really produce something - not just dream about it - this book will help you do it.

I was skeptical till I tried it and surprised to found out how easy it was to get started! It's an excellent value - one of the most practical and useful books on novel writing that I own - and a definite keeper.

Endings First
I'd like to add to the many reviews of You Can Write a Novel by bringing up what I consider to be the best advice in the book--the best advice I've received in a long time. Smith advises you to write the ending first.

Instead of starting at the beginning, typing thousands of words, suddenly finding yourself lost, then, naturally, abandoning the project, you're advised to plot your novel ahead of time. Then you're to begin writing at the best part, the end.

By writing a strong climax early on, you will clearly see where your novel is going, and you will be able to foreshadow effectively. Honestly, this one professional tidbit has helped me to finish my first story in a long time (a short story, granted, but the advice crosses over).

Smith shows you how to zoom out and see your novel as a whole, to write it out of order--always tackling the parts that inspire you most, first, above all others--and to fill in the lesser scenes later.

It almost makes writing fun. (Many of us don't write for fun, but out of compulsion.)

I'm currently reading another book about novel writing that's twice as long and less than half as effective. You Can Write a Novel by James Smith is short, HELPFUL, and enjoyable. This guy wields words with humor and authority. He makes me want to write a novel, which previously I'd feared. I couldn't imagine how to tackle such a project.

He'll make you beleive that you can, too.

A decent book on fiction writing...
James V. Smith's "You Can Write A Novel" is written for the first-time novelist looking to create a salable manuscript. Smith offers a number of valuable tips that I haven't seen in similar how-to books. One of them is to practice writing out select paragraphs of best-selling authors. In doing so, you can learn a lot about proper sentence structure, good dialogue, and powerful, action-packed sentences. The book is worth reading in order to pick up anything, just one tip that will help improve your writing. However, if you can only buy one book, I would suggest "Stein on Writing", "The First Five Pages", or "Writing the Breakout Novel" instead.

Britt Gillette
Author of "Conquest of Paradise"