The Novel Project: A Step-by-Step Guide to Your Novel, Memoir or Biography
Graeme Simsion
‘Writing is easy: all you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.’ That’s one way to do it. But you risk finding yourself blocked and directionless, with a manuscript that may never be finished staring back at you.
This book is about another approach, based on established theories of creativity and design—and on the experience of authors who have adopted a more structured and reliable process. It could have been called What They Don’t Teach You in Writing School because, rather than focusing on prose, it covers the entire writing process, from premise to proofreading, as a step-by-step project.
Instead of waiting for the blood, you’ll approach each day with clarity and purpose, progressing steadily toward the best book you’re capable of. Easy to follow, practical and highly entertaining, The Novel Project is a masterclass from an author who started his writing career at fifty and whose novels have sold millions of copies around the world.
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andThe Novel Project
‘In this hands-on, practical guide to crafting a novel, Simsion takes the reader methodically through each stage of production from developing a concept and finding a structure to brainstorming the story and refining each draft.’
‘[Simsion’s] tone is encouraging, and he shares fragments from early stages of his own development process, which demonstrate how much these ideas can grow and change over time for any writer…This book would best serve those who might already feel comfortable with the creative elements of writing—generating ideas, crafting sentences—but who are looking for direction on structure, or on time management when approaching a longer project. Possibly the neatest thing The Novel Project achieves, by the end, is making writing a novel seem—if not easy, or fast—achievable.’
‘If you’re one of the many people wondering if they have a novel in them, but feeling overwhelmed by the process, then Graeme Simsion has written the book for you. The author of the internationally bestselling Rosie trilogy will lead you step-by-step through it…[The Novel Project] is uplifting and encouraging.’
‘Eminently absorbing, encouraging and inspiring for the novice…Simsion is sometimes disarmingly candid about discovering what worked and didn’t work for him…[He] says the writer must move from seeing creativity as unpredictable magic to seeing it as an aspect of thinking that can be managed, if not always summoned at will, and he has practical suggestions for summoning it.’
‘Simsion takes pains to ensure that the reader is on the path to success, explaining the theory behind some of the more popular structures of writing…Overall, this is a helpful, clear and effective guide to the writing process.’
