What are some books that will teach me how to write a novel?

What are some books that will teach me how to write a novel?

Other urls found in this thread:

amazon.com/Immediate-Fiction-Complete-Writing-Course/dp/0312302762
twitter.com/SFWRedditGifs

One cannot learn to write a novel.

One is inspired.

Why do you need a book? You just think of a story and write it down lol

The Portable MFA

The Making of a Story

>muh unique artistry

You don't need a book, you just need a general idea of fundamentals from reading lots of books. Focus on character, don't write if you don't have a reason to write a story.

Ideas are fucking shit, it's whats inside the story that matters more, and that all depends on how much time you spend on your craft and how many drafts you go through.

Also you are going to be shit because you will be writing purple as fuck for your first 5 years.

more than inspired, i'd say compelled. however, certain books can indeed help you with aspects of writing a novel. i'd say stay away from the How To books as a general rule and study novel structures on your own. the structure will typically stem from the story you're inspired/compelled to tell.

i also recommend Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. it's a good start and gives you a general idea about the process. the book also gives you a heads up on what to avoid as a beginner, what typically works, what doesn't, etc. disregard your opinion of King's fiction, this is the book he should be remembered for.

Reading books like that is a bit like doing a MFA. You get nuts and bolts but you don't actually learn how to understand novels.
Here's what you do: get your favourite book, read it, reread it, and on your second reread make notes about how the author uses the elements of the book to create a novel.
Do this with a few different books.
As you do it you'll understand more and more. You'll see patterns. You'll see common techniques. You'll get an understanding for how other people do it.
Understand novels in the same way carpenters do tables. The same way doctors do bodies.
Then start to write yourself, using those principles. Don't think you learn how to write and you're set for life. You write one book, and then what have you learned? You've learned how to write that book. Then write a second book. Continue onwards. Never think you know anything. You know nothing. Until you do. Then you will know how to write a novel. This won't help you at all when you're learning how to write n+1 novel, because you don't know how to write that novel yet. You learn as you go.
There is no easy way to learning to write.
Get to work or learn how to write screnplays or some shit.

>it's a good start and gives you a general idea about the process.

You should also say that the process King describes is different than what works for others - King doesn't really plan, he "uncovers" the story as he writes it, which is what describes that process in his book. Personally I believe his books suffer from that approach - his endings are always hamfisted because he has written himself into an unplanned corner and can't be bothered changing the story before.

Immediate Fiction.

amazon.com/Immediate-Fiction-Complete-Writing-Course/dp/0312302762

Post yo temp email if you want the .PDF

oh absolutely. novel writing is really a whatever works game. i figure King's way is a good a place as any to start because it puts less stress on the beginning writer technique-wise - plotting, character dev, etc. - and just gets him/her to write when an idea for a long form narrative inspires/compels him/her to do so. the finer nuts and botls can be learned along the way.

as for King's novels, imust admit the last one i read was The Green Mile is chapbook form and haven't read much of him after but half of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon before giving up on it. oh wait, i read Joyland. indeed, it suffers from what you mentioned.