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This Year You Write Your Novel by [Walter Mosley]

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This Year You Write Your Novel Kindle Edition

by Walter Mosley (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.6 425 ratings

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"A straightforward, friendly guide for aspiring writers" (Los Angeles Times): No more excuses. With award-winning author Walter Mosley as your guide, you can write a novel now.
"Let the lawn get shaggy and the paint peel from the walls," bestselling novelist Walter Mosley advises. In this invaluable book of tips, practical advice, and wisdom, Mosley promises that the writer-in-waiting can finish their novel in one year.

Intended as both inspiration and instruction, this book provides the tools to turn out a first draft painlessly and then revise it into something finer. Mosley teaches you how to:

Create a daily writing regimen to fit any writer's needs -- and how to stick to it.
Determine the narrative voice that's right for every writer's style.
Hook readers with dynamic characters.
Get past those first challenging sentences and into the heart of a story.
And much more.

"No-nonsense advice that is sure to set beginning writers along the righteous path to real authorhood." --Seattle Post-Intelligencer

ISBN-13

978-0316065412
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Little, Brown and Company
Publication date

September 11, 2008
Language

English
File size

903 KB
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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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000S1LVLI
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little, Brown and Company (September 11, 2008)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 11, 2008
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 903 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 91 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #51,403 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #11 in Two-Hour Education & Reference Short Reads
- #15 in Creativity Self-Help
- #20 in Two-Hour Self-Help Short Reads

Customer Reviews:
4.6 425 ratings

About the author

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Walter Mosley

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Walter Mosley is one of America's most celebrated and beloved writers. His books have won numerous awards and have been translated into more than twenty languages.

Mosley is the author of the acclaimed Easy Rawlins series of mysteries, including national bestsellers Cinnamon Kiss, Little Scarlet, and Bad Boy Brawly Brown; the Fearless Jones series, including Fearless Jones, Fear Itself, and Fear of the Dark; the novels Blue Light and RL's Dream; and two collections of stories featuring Socrates Fortlow, Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, for which he received the Anisfield-Wolf Award, and Walkin' the Dog. He lives in New York City.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

425 global ratings

5 star		71%
4 star		19%
3 star		9%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Sandy R. Jimenez

Excellent manual and roadmap for getting it done.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 3, 2023

Verified Purchase

Mosley has written a succinct and practical handbook for how to write a first draft.
It spares no difficult truth; it contains no unnecessary information.
Buy it, follow Mosley's counsel and write that first novel.

perfectly compact knowledge

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 17, 2023

Verified Purchase

This bare bones approach is very helpful to get started on your novel or to get a refresher and strength your writing tools. It’s a guide that lets you consider your writing routine and where to make improvements.

Brian Zimmerman

The writing book that worked for me

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 17, 2022

Verified Purchase

I have read many books on writing, some of them excellent. Reading some of the lukewarm or critical reviews that people have written about this one, I get it. There's nothing earth-shattering here. There are gems scattered throughout, though. The bits most valuable to me come near the beginning and near the end, where Mosely lays out his writing process, explicitly. For whatever reason, this one worked for me. It helped me see a way forward, and now I am actually doing it. If you want to write fiction but feel that something is standing in your way, I strongly recommend this book. It's only about a hundred quick pages anyway -- what do you have to lose?

3 people found this helpful

Quick Novel Basics from a Great Writer

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 24, 2021

Verified Purchase

Mosley doesn't waste time in this quick book on the craft of writing. He sets out some great get-started info and trusts the soon-to-be-writers reading his book to take his advice. With 27+ novels to his credit, Mosley could easily overload us by sharing just a fraction of what he knows, but instead, he chooses to share only what he believes a beginning novelist *needs* to know. By choosing his material carefully he avoids intimidating, paralyzing, or discouraging new writers. That decision makes him more than just a great writer. It makes him a great writing teacher.

9 people found this helpful

Kindle Customer

Solid beginner’s guide to writing a novel...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 26, 2020

Verified Purchase

I bought this book for my cousin who is hip deep in a long story that looks as if it may becoming a novella. As he has never had any writing workshop experience, I thought he might it useful and in fact he has so.

Though I’m not thrilled by Mosley’s explanation of the show-tell conundrum, it’s okay as far as it goes and is probably a useful rule of thumb for the beginner. That said, there is much to like about this slim volume.

Not many writers of Mosley’s caliber would bother to write a guide for the beginning writer. It’s to Mosley’s credit that he did so—and did so well.

Mosley has written another book—Elements of Fiction—which I have not read but which I assume is a companion volume to this one.

13 people found this helpful

The Year of Living Dangerously

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 30, 2010

Verified Purchase

I was conducting research in a small library recently when I stumbled upon this book on the craft of writing. Over the years, I've read numerous books on novel writing and eventually published three mysteries, utilizing the techniques I gleaned from these books. But finding a craft book by another mystery writer was a real treat. I sat down and read it and then later purchased a copy for my home library.

This book lays it out for the novice, or professional who is just looking for a little refresher training or motivation, and succinctly delivers the core of how to complete a novel in a year. This is on my top 5 list for delivering the best advice you can get from a real champion. Without exception, I would highly recommend this book. And, if you're interested in screenwriting, you may also benefit from Bill Johnson's non-fiction craft book, "A Story is a Promise", which delves into the craft as well as the emotional connection that we expect stories to fulfill that Mr. Mosley also touches on. Mr Mosley provides an easy no nonsense approach at how a book gets written, and how anyone with a strong desire can accomplish the task.

Doc Macomber, Author -- "The Killer Coin", "Wolf's Remedy", "Snip"

6 people found this helpful

Much Said In So Few Words

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 15, 2012

Verified Purchase

My 1st thoughts on receipt of this book was, "is that all?" Yes, volume wise, it's that small. In fact, it's the smallest "How-to" book on novel writing I have (& I have 22+ of them); and probably the smallest out there (102 pages) in print. The authors wordsmithing is straight and simple. No dithering. No fluff. From the intro passages onward, you can't shake the feeling of an unseen finger, pointing a "It's you I'm speaking to" air coming out of the book. It's a fast read, yet, there's no sense of hurry about it; taking its time to hit all the basic high notes: from an admonition + encouragement, to needed tools (both physical and mental), to the elements of fiction, to the how-to opening of the very 1st sentence. Not to forget that he gives easy to follow examples as you read along. All packed in just 102 pages.

I wrap this one up by quipping that you'll end this book not wanting it to end. And after you've put it down, its words will linger, hanging over your heart, making you NOT to think that your going to write your novel this year, but KNOW that you are.

25 people found this helpful

Every writer should read this book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 6, 2022

Verified Purchase

Fabulous book - every writer should read and reread this book before they write another novel.

One person found this helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Tarah E. Mcdonald

Not helpful

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 16, 2021

Verified Purchase

This is one of many such books.Either you disciline yourself to write, structure, edit, re-write etc or you don't. After that, whether you have anything saleable is another story.

Mr. F. I. Dudaniec

Does what it says

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 14, 2010

Verified Purchase

There's no easy path to writing a 'good' novel and Mosley tells you that up front. This book prepares you for the mindset you will need and helps steer you into the starting blocks with confidence and enthusiasm. Mosley is a great writer. His guidance is simple and well illustrated. This isn't a step by step writing by numbers kind of book though. The author knows too well that 'good' literature is not made that way.

2 people found this helpful

Nergelag

Excellent

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 27, 2010

Verified Purchase

An excellent book from one of my favourite authors. This describes the components of writing a novel in a very easy to understand way. It also gave a good perspective on how the other authors I read have put their books together.

2 people found this helpful

Carpenter

Super little book for budding writers

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 23, 2017

Verified Purchase

A hugely encouraging little book. So glad I got a copy.

One person found this helpful

Dianne Dawe

but it's good information.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on September 23, 2014

Verified Purchase

Haven't used the info yet, but it's good information.

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