Useful Resources That Will Get You to Write & Finish Your Novel!

The author, James N. Frey, is a very-well known American author and also a teacher of writing workshops. His experience as a teacher really stands out in both of his manuals.

In "How to Write a Damn Good Novel I", he does a great job of narrowing down the structure of a good novel to its essentials in a light, engaging, and very easy-to-read tone.

The book takes you through the stages of writing a book from coming up with a premise, building great characters, developing conflict to how to handle your first rewrite.

He doesn't teach you how to write; he simply teaches how to construct a story that will be interesting and saleable, and how to take a good story that you've written and find its flaws. It is both invaluable and entertaining.

And if you enjoyed the 1st book in the series, then I would recommend buying its sequel "How to Write a Damn Good Novel II". It provides advanced techniques for dramatic storytelling. Frey shows the writer how to build suspense and create more interesting characters. He teaches the writer how to avoid common writing traps.

With this combination, you should be on the right track of finishing your novel wityh satisfaction.

Now, you got in your possession a very good how-to-write manual that covers the basics, you have read it and you are now ready to write your novel.
Now it is time to go more into depth.

At this point, my advice is to read books that are more focused on a specific subject. One of the best series to do this job that I found is the "Write Great Fiction" series from the Writer's Digest collection. The titles are:

1) Plot & Structure
2) Character, Emotion & Viewpoint
3) Description & Setting
4) Dialogue
5) Revising and Self-Editing (a new addition from last year)

My personal favourite is "Plot & Structure".

Each book has been written by an accomplished author. The reviews are very good. They are clear, coherent, practical, and immensely useful to any student of the craft. The authors' approach is 'wide' because they cover several dimensions to various topics, so you should find tips and tricks specific to your writing abilities and habits.

Each volume provides an in-depth, thought-provoking look at its subject matter.

I have included below the three books I prefer.