There is a really good article at Salon.com this week by Laura Miller. She offers advice to the novelist on how to write better books. In her piece she mentions a Guardian article called Ten Rules for Writing Fiction which is really good, too. If you aspire to write a novel or are already a novelist, you might find both pieces interesting.
Here is a brief excerpt from Laura Miller’s piece:
Readers are what every novelist really wants, so isn’t it about time that a reader offered them some advice? I’ve never written a novel, and don’t expect to ever do so, but I’ve read thousands. Here are my five recommendations for the flailing novice:
1. Make your main character want something.
2. Make your main character do something.
3. The components of a novel that readers care about most are, in order: story, characters, theme, atmosphere/setting.
4. Remember that nobody agrees on what a beautiful prose style is and most readers either can’t recognize “good writing” or don’t value it that much.
5. A sense of humor couldn’t hurt.
She explains each point in the article. Read it here and let me know what you think.
Buy my novel, Seeking Sara Summers, here.
