Writing a Novel From Beginning to End Series:
Inspiration:
How should a book start?
How do I make sure my book has the right kind of main character?
How to make sure your novel has the right cast.
What's the best way to plot a novel?
Tips for writers who don't work well with outlines
How to Write a Great First Scene
How Should Chapter One End?
How To Write Chapters Two and Three of Your Novel
Writing The Middle of Your Book: Test #1
How to Let Your Characters Move The Story Forward
How to Write A Big Middle Scene
When You're Stuck In Your First Draft
Sending Your Characters Back Home
Why Your Novel Needs An "All Is Lost" Moment
How To Set Up Your Character's Final Test
Writing The Climax Of Your Story: Your Character's Final Test
How do I make sure my book has the right kind of main character?
How to make sure your novel has the right cast.
What's the best way to plot a novel?
Tips for writers who don't work well with outlines
How to Write a Great First Scene
How Should Chapter One End?
How To Write Chapters Two and Three of Your Novel
Writing The Middle of Your Book: Test #1
How to Let Your Characters Move The Story Forward
How to Write A Big Middle Scene
When You're Stuck In Your First Draft
Sending Your Characters Back Home
Why Your Novel Needs An "All Is Lost" Moment
How To Set Up Your Character's Final Test
Writing The Climax Of Your Story: Your Character's Final Test
Inspiration:
Characters
Plot
Settings
Fantasy/Sci-Fi:
Realistic:
Writing Techniques
How to Cope When You're Stuck In Your First Draft
Does My Book Need a Prologue?
Does My Book Need An Epilogue?
How To Show Your Story In The First Sentence
Dialogue Tags vs. Action Beats
How Bad Can A Useful Bad First Draft Be?
Does My Book Need a Prologue?
Does My Book Need An Epilogue?
How To Show Your Story In The First Sentence
Dialogue Tags vs. Action Beats
How Bad Can A Useful Bad First Draft Be?
Editing
Punctuation and Grammar Rules
Professional Matters
A Day In the Life of an Agent
How To Give a Good Critique
Preparing To Get Your Manuscript Critiqued
How To Give a Good Critique
Preparing To Get Your Manuscript Critiqued
Worksheets, Lists, and Checklists
Self-Editing Checklist
A Timeline Tool
Self-Editing Dialogue Checklist
Character Traits Brainstorming List
Character Phobias Brainstorming List
Character Hobbies and Skills Brainstorming List
Weasel Words and Phrases
Historical Periods
Please report broken links or typos to Stephanie: Stephanie(at)GoTeenWriters.com
A Timeline Tool
Self-Editing Dialogue Checklist
Character Traits Brainstorming List
Character Phobias Brainstorming List
Character Hobbies and Skills Brainstorming List
Weasel Words and Phrases
Historical Periods
Please report broken links or typos to Stephanie: Stephanie(at)GoTeenWriters.com
Thank you so much for adding this in! You have saved me from repeatedly scrolling through the archives or trying to remember specific keywords on Google to find blog posts.
ReplyDeleteJade
We thought it might be useful! We'll keep adding to it too.
DeleteDo you by chance have any guides to writing scenes and connecting scenes?
DeleteCan you be a little more specific? By writing scenes, do you mean, "What should be in a scene?" and by connecting scenes, are you talking about showing transitions in time or something else?
DeleteThought I saw something new up there...thanks!
ReplyDeleteBecause of my curiosity and checking out the new page, I went back and read "Why I've Decided to Stop Setting Writing Goals" and "How to Cope When You're Stuck in Your First Draft." Both were immensely helpful for me today, because I'm trying to decide what to do about NaNo. I've inevitably hit the middle where I didn't plan much (okay, pretty much nothing for the next five chapters). So it's like, "Well...I know this needs to happen, but I don't know how."
And I've also been really busy lately. So, even though I've been trying to write, I haven't been getting more than around 500-1000 words a day, and I was feeling badly about it. So the post about writing goals or lack thereof was super encouraging today. Thank you once again! I'm still not sure what to do about this--do I keep writing through or try something new for me and skip the section, then come back to it later? Do I take a break?--but these two posts were helpful. :)
Thanks for this list, it's really helpful!
ReplyDeleteThis is amazing. Now I know exactly where I need to go when I need advice and tips. Thank you Stephanie & Jill!
ReplyDeleteTHIS IS AWESOME. THANK YOU SO MUCH. :D
ReplyDeleteI start to edit in January (new year, new things) and need to prepare a little. ;)
'Writing the Action/Fight Scene' is broken. Please fix. Please.
ReplyDeleteFixed! Thank you :)
Deletehttp://goteenwriters.blogspot.com/2012/04/writing-actionfight-scene.html
Your link to the How to Get in the Way of Good Ideas page brings me to What is a High Concept Pitch? Did you mean to do that, because I really need the other page.
ReplyDeleteThank you! All fixed :)
Deletehttp://goteenwriters.blogspot.com/2014/07/how-to-get-in-way-of-good-ideas.html
Hey! I'm trying to write a first page. I know what I want. I want to start with a description (spiny, black palm trees against a soft sky), and then I want my MC to go for a walk, but...for some reason, I can't get past that description. I can't make him just get up and go! I don't know why this is so hard for me, but it's discouraging. I really want my story to move along! I guess I have trouble following Anne L's advice and just writing something bad.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I would be so eternally grateful if one of you would make a print-out First Chapter outline. Thanks, you guys! LOVE YOU!
The thing is that first chapters are more of a gut thing than a, "Here's how every book should start," type of thing. Certainly there are some guidelines that can help (I'll link to some posts below) but if I were you, I would pull a dozen or so books off your shelf. Some you've read, some you haven't. Read the first chapters of all of them and analyze them. What was the author trying to do? What intrigued you? What makes you want to read more or what makes you not care at all?
DeleteReading a lot of first chapters and writing a lot of first chapters is really the only way to make progress. Hopefully some of these posts might help:
http://goteenwriters.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-makes-good-first-chapter.html
http://goteenwriters.blogspot.com/2014/01/two-ingredients-for-great-first-chapter.html
http://goteenwriters.blogspot.com/2013/02/7-things-you-need-in-beginning-of-your.html
http://goteenwriters.blogspot.com/2014/10/where-to-start-shans-thoughts.html
http://goteenwriters.blogspot.com/2014/01/ten-ways-to-start-novel.html
I dont know if one of those subjects covers this but, How do you simplify a plot AND THEN add sub-plots to that main plot?
ReplyDelete~ a lost first novelist
I know this is several months late, but this post might help if you're still around.
Deletehttp://goteenwriters.blogspot.com/2013/09/how-to-add-to-your-plot-after-youve.html
Thank you SO MUCH FOR THIS!! It is a really big help to just have to scroll down the list to find something. I am new and I have already gone through most of the list!
ReplyDeleteYou literally have all the questions I could ever think of! Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteThis is very helpful, thanks!
ReplyDeleteI have a suggestion, though:
I really like the writing prompts (even though I get to many of them very late :)) and it would be nice to have something like this but for prompts.
Hey everyone! I feel really overwhelmed with all this writing stuff... I think I know what to do, but I feel like there are so many little details, so many things I have to think about!!! How do I get out of this???!!!
ReplyDeleteSide questions:
1. What program do you use to write? to format the chapters, and make sure that the text is the way you want it, header and footer?
2. What posts should I start with when I write a book? There are so many, and I don't know what to look at first. I am in the process of writing the storyline, but I have already looked in depth at the characters and their backgrounds. What do I do next??
Thanks for everything you guys!
~ fUtUrE fAmOuS aUtHoR.... kEILAh
Hi, Keilah!
DeleteIt's really normal to feel overwhelmed. If you've already spent some time getting to know your characters, you're far ahead of where I was when I started writing my first novels!
Some writers enjoy plotting everything out. If that's you, some posts that you might find helpful are:
http://goteenwriters.blogspot.com/2016/08/how-to-write-synopsis-for-your-novel.html
That would be for if you want a more general kind of outline. If you want to get really specific, these posts might help you:
http://goteenwriters.blogspot.com/2016/03/wewritebooks-post-7-10-types-of.html
http://goteenwriters.blogspot.com/2016/03/wewritebooks-post-8-choosing-plot.html
Regarding formatting. The industry standard is Word, and that's what Jill, Shannon, and I all use. Jill made a handy video on how to format your manuscript:
http://goteenwriters.blogspot.com/2012/10/how-to-format-fiction-manuscript.html
I hope these links are helpful, Keilah! Remember your main goals at this stage should be to write and have fun!
Thanks Mrs. Morrill! I like getting to know my characters, because I feel that will help me write from her perspective better. I love reading books in the first person, and I want to imitate that. I am very specific, and love detail, so thanks a lot, those really helped! I've been learning that if I write too specific of a storyline, then I'm kind of restricting myself, so I think at first, I'll try a more general approach and see how it works out. I'm new at this (as you can probably tell) and I'm trying to find what works for me the best. Thanks for all you do here on Go Teen Writers! Love and blessings, Keilah
DeleteThis list is so awesome! Thanks so much you guys for doing this! :D I come to the page a lot when I'm stuck with my writing, and I usually get new inspiration when I'm on here. :) Thanks again. :)
ReplyDelete<>Jessica<> :)
Are there any posts about how to use dialogue well and tips for writing conversations that are necessary to the plot?
ReplyDeleteHello, Stephanie! I'm not a teen, I'll be 67 next month, but that doesn't change the fact that your site is filled with fabulous information! Good info for writers of all ages.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to let you know that the link for Part Two of How to Develop Your Story Idea Into A List of Key Scenes - Part One and Part Two takes us to your Home page, and not to Part Two. Because I'm a Plantser (a hybrid Pantser/Planner) this was especially interesting for me. Took a little digging to find Part Two, but it was well worth it!As a Pantser, I "pants" my story until I find out What It's About. Then I need to figure out what I need to get from where I am and what I have to where I need to go. So the list of key scenes and the descriptions will be very helpful in doing that.
Once again, I commend you on a really great site! I figure it doesn't matter where you find the information if the information is good, and yours is one of the best!