This Year You Write Your Novel (Hardcover)

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Key Phrases: intuitive writer, Bob Millar, Lance Piggott

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School—Mosley offers motivation and instruction, wisely defining success in narrow terms: if writers-to-be follow his advice, they will be able to produce a first draft in only three months, and a competent novel in a year. At first that might seem like a tall order, but there is no mention of penning a masterpiece or best seller, just establishing a good, honest start on the long road to honing their craft. The author covers all the basics in a succinct and workmanlike fashion: narrative voice, character development, metaphor and simile, plot and story, editing, rewriting, research, and more. In addition to his many professional tips and practical advice, Mosley has one mantra: write every day—without fail, every day, no excuses. It doesn't have to be more than a few hours per day, but it does have to be every day. A guide to writing a novel may not be needed by many teens, but some will want precisely that, and this book will serve them well. Far more teens are likely to gain a precise view into the mystery of how novelists go about their work, and how they employ the many building blocks of fiction to produce a polished work of art.—Robert Saunderson, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

It would be nice to report that the veteran novelist packs a lot of useful information into this slim writer's guide. Unfortunately, there is little here that isn't common sense (write every day), or tips most would-be writers will have already read in somebody else's book (the difference between merely telling the reader something and showing him). Mosley, author of the Easy Rawlins mysteries and several fine stand-alones, sets out to show us how we can write a novel in a year, but instead of insight into the mind of a master storyteller, we are given facile advice ("don't stop writing for any reason") and grade-school English lessons (the difference, for example, between metaphor and simile). While the book is gracefully written, it is almost entirely lacking in any concrete, fresh advice that isn't available in countless other places. One leaves the book wondering why Mosley wrote it if he didn't have anything new to say. A real disappointment, which is not to say that the Mosley name won't generate a certain amount of demand. Buy cautiously. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (April 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316065412
• ISBN-13: 978-0316065412
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #277,799 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Listen To A Master Storyteller..., April 8, 2007

By	Angelia Menchan "acvermen.blogspot.com" (Florida) - See all my reviews

This Year You Write Your Novel by Walter Mosley is a practical step-by-step guide for beginning writers. The chapters and sub-chapters are broken down in a format that is easy to follow and to understand. Mr. Mosley's strongest message is that a writer must write every day at a prescribed time to be a writer. He hammers home this message very strongly. He goes so far as to say that a writer should allow the paint to peel from the wall and the grass to grow tall. All that matters is the writing. I am not sure if that would work for most writers. But his intent is understood, writers must write.

What appealed to me most was the chapter entitled, `Learning to Write Without Restraint'. He expounds upon how important it is to write what is in you, what naturally flows from your head and your heart. He indicates that the only voice in your head should be your own and your characters. Otherwise, in his opinion, if you write your novel trying to temper your muse, you will not have done your best work.

This Year You Write Your Novel covers several writing techniques. Narrative styles, showing versus telling, character development and simple writing suggestions abound in this writing guide. There is a chapter on facing rejection. He makes it clear how he, a writer who has penned twenty-seven books, still faces rejection on a regular basis. This book humanizes the writing experience. Also, appealing is the conversational tone of his instructions. This how-to-book read as smoothly as a novel.

I would recommend this non-fiction writing guide, especially to beginning writers. It is a guideline for writing your first novel in a year. However, many seasoned writers could benefit from many of the insights offered.

Angelia Menchan
APOOO BookClub

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quick rundown of the essential tools that any aspiring novelist will need., May 29, 2007

By	Bookreporter.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

In THIS YEAR YOU WRITE YOUR NOVEL, Walter Mosley attempts to tell readers "everything I know about novel writing in less than 25,000 words." He succeeds brilliantly in this valuable little book that should take its place alongside THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE and ON WRITING WELL on the bookshelf of any aspiring writer and those interested in how novels are put together.

Mosley is the author of 27 books, including 10 in the acclaimed Easy Rawlins private detective series. But he also has tackled literary fiction in books like RL'S DREAM and THE MAN IN MY BASEMENT, as well as science fiction and nonfiction books about politics and current events.

Writing is first and foremost a craft. It's not an art, although great writers like Mosley can raise it to an art form. As a craft, writing has certain rules specific to each genre that must be followed and practiced over and over again by all writers. This book deals with the novel-writing process and provides a quick rundown of the essential tools that any aspiring novelist will need.

But this is more than just a guidebook. Anybody who has worked as a professional writer long enough is familiar with the conversation with a stranger that usually begins by them saying, "I have a great idea for a novel..." And the professional writer listens respectfully and nods sympathetically. But in the back of our minds we know that rarely, if ever, will that person write an actual book.

Despite popular misconceptions, writing a book is not just something you can sit down and bang out "one of these days when I get the time." The great newspaper columnist Red Smith once said, "Writing is easy. You sit down at a typewriter and cut open a vein."

Mosley understands this and knows that writing is more than a great idea for a story. Writing requires discipline. And writers write. It's as simple and complicated as that. Mosley says here, "The only thing that matters is that you write, write, write. It doesn't have to be good writing. As a matter of fact, most first drafts are pretty bad. What matters is that you get down the words on the page or the screen..."

Mosley suggests writing 600-1,200 words a day, seven days a week, and spending at least an hour or an hour-and-a-half each day writing or editing. He correctly points out that by doing this you will have the first draft of a 60,000-word book done in three months.

Writing is a craft, and the only way you master a craft --- whether it's making shoes or hitting a major league curveball --- is to do it over and over and over again. Even Hall of Fame hitters took batting practice everyday.

Mosley points out another key thing: writing a novel is linked to your unconscious. "The most important thing I've found about writing is that it is primarily an unconscious activity...The connections, moods, metaphors, and experiences that you call up while writing will come from a place deep inside you. Sometimes you will wonder who wrote those words."

That is the magic of the writing process. Anybody who has ever written a novel knows that part of the joy of writing is discovery. Your characters always surprise you, even though you are the one who created them and know their destinies. And after a while, if you are really in the zone of your story, you start looking forward to seeing what your characters will do and say today, as if they were old friends stopping by for a visit. If you can be surprised, delighted or shocked, so too will the reader.

Mosley spells out the essential elements of how to write fiction, from the narrative structure you choose to the difference between the story and the plot to the development of character and multiple characters' arcs. He writes about the vital importance of learning to edit your words and seeking the music in your prose. Like a patient doctor, Mosley breaks the novel down and shows us what the X-rays mean in a short and easily understandable style.

This is a wise book. Mosley writes, "What you must always remember is that the novel is more experiential than it is informational. Your reader might learn something, but most of what they learn is gained through what they are shown about the lives and circumstances of the characters therein."

And like the good doctor, Mosley does not sugarcoat the writing life or promise you a bestseller. "Writing in America can be a lonely experience. It is not a revered occupation (unless you write the script for some blockbuster movie). Most Americans are not interested in the unpublished writer."

And here he addresses the biggest misconception about the writing life: that you just get the words down and the world will beat a path to your printer and you'll be on easy street.

Mosley says, "At this moment in my career, after publishing twenty-seven books and at least as many short stories, I still get rejected on a regular basis. Recently I wrote a story that every major magazine rejected. After going to the major presses, I went to the smaller ones. Nobody will publish it --- nobody. So don't despair --- accepting rejection is part of the job description."

In THIS YEAR YOU WRITE YOUR NOVEL, Mosley does what every great writer does: he tells the truth. And that truth is best summed up in this sentence: "Greatness lies in the heart of the writer, not in technique." Sure it's a tough business. It's even tougher today in the age of corporate media that demands instant success. But it's that shot at greatness and the sheer joy it brings that make people write novels.

For them, and for anybody interested in the writing process, this is an indispensable, hopeful book. Be prepared to take notes and read it multiple times.

--- Reviewed by Tom Callahan

51 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nothing New, March 24, 2007

By	Thriller Lover (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I've read a lot of books on writing, and THIS YEAR YOU WRITE YOUR NOVEL is nothing special. This is a remarkably short book (under 100 pages) about the craft, that contains little information that I haven't seen already in countless other writing books. Mosley is a fine writer, and this book contains some useful tips, but it's not worth paying hardcover price for unless you're a hardcore Mosley fan.

I've found some other books that are far superior to this one. My advice is to try SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS by Renni Browne and Dave King, THE FIRST FIVE PAGES by Noah Lukeman, ON WRITING by Stephen King, PLOT AND STRUCTURE by James Madison Bell, CHARACTERS AND VIEWPOINT by Orson Scott Card, and TECHNIQUES FOR THE SELLING WRITER by Dwight Swain.