Comments on: Why Your Novel Isn’t Written Yet

By: Apolo Drakuvich

Apolo Drakuvich — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:29:19 +0000

Well…I’m going to be a bestselling author. A nice little article, but I still will dream and aim for the top.

If you are going to dream, dream big!

By: Larry Brooks

Larry Brooks — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:55:52 +0000

Totally agree with the overriding truth here: it’s up to me. From there, though, it gets positively psychological.

The initial post says that writing a novel is “probably one of the easiest things in the world to do.” I do understand the intention of that, but when put another way — equally true — there’s a whole new context in place: writing a publishable novel is not remotely easy. In fact, it’s one of the toughest things you can do really well.”

Writing conference honchos don’t like hearing that one spoken out loud. But it’s true. And going deeper into the truth is where one understands, and overcomes, the hesitance to start writing your novel. Because like most things in the arts, and athletics as well, the pros make it look easy. And when we say we want to “publish,” we are saying we want to turn pro.

Doing surgery is easy. Flying an airplane is easy. Building a house is easy. Easy to complete, at least. But the patient dies, the plane crashes and the house crumbles… unless you know what you’re doing. And simply reading novels does not impart that knowledge.

So… do want to write a novel? Do you want to finish what you start? Do you want to stand a chance at publishing it? Then the best advice you’ll ever get is this: learn the craft. From the bottom up, from the inside out. Reading and emulating is indeed part of that process. But a smaller part than studying the craft.

Hope this helps.

Larry Brooks´s last blog post…Writing Better Fiction: Inside the Six Core Competencies

By: James

James — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:44:16 +0000

@ Kathy – Too funny; I just went to read your post you put up.

Everyone: Kathy thinks we know what we’re doing… please enlighten her

By: Giving Credit Where It Is Due! : ( | 10 Minute Writer

Giving Credit Where It Is Due! : ( | 10 Minute Writer — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:34:24 +0000

[...] Somebody thought of this before me! [...]

By: Kathy Grubb

Kathy Grubb — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:32:46 +0000

OH! I thought I made this idea up!!! I have five little kids and the ONLY way my novel is getting done is if I squeeze in little bits here and there.

I’m crediting you on my site.

Thanks for having such a great resource. I’m sure I’ll refer to you often.

Kathy Grubb
10minutewriter.com

By: 6 Weeks

6 Weeks — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 03:11:07 +0000

[...] of these people for encouraging me to do this, people like the Men with Pens who encourage us to write our novels, like Michael Martine for the kick in the pants to try a starter blog, or Christine O’Kelly [...]

By: Allison

Allison — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:58:09 +0000

@ Brett - I believe I have heard of them in passing, but thanks for reminding me about them! That's definitely something that I can look into once I have the time to put something together. Allison's last blog post..Taste and Create 5

By: Brett Legree

Brett Legree — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 04:15:44 +0000

@ Allison (again!) - of course, you could also offer a choice between e-book and print on demand. I have seen a few who do that, so you could think about going that route. Brett Legree's last blog post..rapid prototyping life 2.0

By: Brett Legree

Brett Legree — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 04:06:01 +0000

@ Allison - well, I think that myself I would prefer to be able to buy a bound copy of some kind as opposed to an e-book they'd print themselves. Perhaps you could look at lulu.com as an option? (If you're not familiar, and you might be, so if so, apologies, but they have lots of print on demand options and I'm considering them for some of the stuff I'm writing.) Brett Legree's last blog post..rapid prototyping life 2.0

By: Allison

Allison — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 02:48:54 +0000

@ Brett - Very, very good points. About a recipe book, would people prefer something like that to download as an eBook or to buy from the store as a *real* book? Personally I prefer to buy a physical copy, because when I print out recipes they always get something on them and then the ink gets blurred, but I suppose you could just print it out again... Allison's last blog post..Taste and Create 5