So… You want to write your own book? Congratulations!
If you have been thinking about writing a book, and to be specific, a novel, it means that you either have an idea for a story, or love storytelling and writing and want to come up with a story.
No matter where you are in your writing journey, there is one thing that a lot of writers, even the more seasoned ones, sometimes forget: like any other craft, writing can be perfected with practice, but you will go nowhere if you don’t know what to practice.
Aka, you need to know at least a little bit of theory and technique.
Talent is important, but trust me when I tell you that talent on its own will take you nowhere. You need to know how to create a good story, how to give dept to your characters, how deep your worldbuilding needs to be, and so on. It doesn’t mean that you have to follow the rules by the dot, but knowing what makes the majority of good stories successful, will help you understand how to make your own story successful too.
I am not telling you to enroll in University and study Creative writing, ok? There are many resources, both free or extremely cheap, that can help you learn about writing and storytelling.
Here’s some of my favorites.
#1 Save the Cat by Blake Snyder
If you have been searching for writing resources, you definitely came across this book. Save the cat is originally a screenplay writing manual, there are also multiple versions now for different kind of media, but the original one does the job just as well for any kind of writing. It is fun, very straightforward, and sheds light on a very important, character-focus point that elevates your story: a good character needs a “save the cat” scene.
#2 On writing by Stephen King
This memoir written by one of the most proficient and successful writers of our times is a great read, filled with many valuable information. If you want to learn from one of the best, to get your story to his levels, this is a phenomenal choice you can start from.
#3 Story by Robert Mckee
Another screenwriting manual, I know. But it is so worth it! This book is filled with pure gold! It is definitely denser than Save the cat, it took me several months to go through it because the kind of information you get needs to be elaborated slowly. There is a reason if this book has become a staple for any storyteller trying to perfect their craft.
#4 Jerry Jenkins Youtube Channel
This is totally free! You can find videos filled with knowledge about writing from a New-York Times bestseller, and guess what? If you go over to his website, you can get free guides to download! It is a gold mine, seriously. So, if you are looking for a “Writing a book for beginners” kind of resource, this one is what I advise you to start from.
#5 Schnee Youtube Channel
This one is a great resource for characters planning. This channel does incredible and in-depth analysis of fiction, focusing on movies and tv shows, and looking at the way some of the best characters are written and placed inside the story. If you didn’t know about it, check it out. Besides being highly entertaining, it is also extremely educating.
That’s all! I’ve been using these resources to get back into writing and actually develop a system that works for me. Again, learning about writing technique has nothing to do with following rules, but more to do with perfecting your craft to create your own voice, by learning what has made some writers successful, so that you can find your own perfect steps to writing a book
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