Troubleshooting Your Novel: Essential Techniques for Identifying and Solving Manuscript Problems

Description

Take your story to the next level of excellence! You've completed the first draft of your novel--now what? Chances are, it's not perfect...at least not yet. In order to increase your chances of getting a literary agent, selling your manuscript to a publisher, or garnering an audience for your self-published work, you need targeted, practical instruction on tackling the problem areas and weak spots in your story. You need Troubleshooting Your Novel. In this hand-on, easy-to-use guide, award-winning author Steven James provides helpful techniques and checklists, timesaving tricks of the trade, and hundreds of questions for manuscript analysis and revision. You'll learn how to- .ADJUST elements of story progression, from causality, tension, and setbacks to plot twists, climaxes, and endings. .DEVELOP authentic, riveting characters by exploring their attitudes, desires, beliefs, and more. .LEARN narrative techniques for elements such as dialogue, flashbacks, suspense, voice, subtext, and flow. .ENSURE reader engagement by aligning with their expectations, fulfilling promises, and instilling trust. .CHECK issues with context and continuity. You owe your book more than just a polish and a proofread. Strengthen your story, prepare it for the marketplace, and make it the best it can be with Troubleshooting Your Novel.

Steven James is the bestselling, critically acclaimed author of ten novels. He has a master's degree in storytelling and is a contributing editor to Writer's Digest. His groundbreaking book on the craft of writing, Story Trumps Structure, was released in 2014. Best known for his intense thrillers, he has received more than a dozen honors and awards for his novels including three Christy Awards for best suspense. His book The Queen was a finalist for an International Thriller Award. Suspense Magazine praises his forthcoming novel, Checkmate, as, "A perfectly crafted hard-hitting, intense thriller," and Publishers Weekly calls James "[A] master storyteller at the peak of his game." When he's not writing, trail running or watching science fiction movies, he teaches creative storytelling around the world.