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Nanowrimo

Inside The Spec Pile: Novel No-Nos To Avoid In Your First 3 Chapters

Novel No-Nos To Avoid The first three chapters are the main event when it comes to your novel submissions. (Want to know what else you should submit with your first three chapters? CLICK HERE). Yet as any script reader, sifter, intern or agent’s assistant can tell you, the average first three chapters simply don’t hit the mark. These ‘novel no-nos’ can be varied, so I’m going to list the most common here with links to help. Ready? Then let’s go … 1) Starting with the weather Uh oh! This is one of classic author Elmore Leonard’s Top 10 Writing Rules. Remember:… Read More »Inside The Spec Pile: Novel No-Nos To Avoid In Your First 3 Chapters

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5 Things You Can Do If Writing Becomes Overwhelming

When Writing Becomes Overwhelming Has writing become overwhelming and got you stressed out? We hear you. While you might have initially pursued writing as a career because it’s something you love, that doesn’t mean that it’s always fun and games. When you are a little too devoted to something, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and place too much pressure on yourself to succeed. So, if you’re feeling like writing is overwhelming and you just can’t anymore, this article is for you! We’ve got some helpful tips to get you out of your funk and get those creative ideas flowing again.… Read More »5 Things You Can Do If Writing Becomes Overwhelming

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5 Things I Learned From Writing 50k Words Of A Novel In Just 1 Month

How To Write 50K In 1 Month Earlier this year I finally got round to writing a novel (91k words) and absolutely loved the whole process. As November appeared on the horizon, I decide to take the challenge of writing 50K of a new novel in November. That works out at around 1,667 words every single day. I made it to 50K and came in at just over 52 thousand words! So here are five thing I learned while doing the challenge. Ready? Let’s go … 1) Preparation is key In the weeks leading up to November I plotted the… Read More »5 Things I Learned From Writing 50k Words Of A Novel In Just 1 Month

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8 Spot-on Ideas To Make Your Book Cover More Eye-Catching

Your Book Cover Wanting to make every effort to make your book stand out from the undeniably huge crowd is something everyone wants for greater success. Choosing a book cover that is unquestionably eye-catching is one of the best ways to do this. Fortunately, you can use a few strategies to create a cover image that stands out from the crowd. And to help you out in the process of creating the magic, we outlined eight ideas that make your book cover eye-catching. Read the article to find out more as we gathered everything from accents to typography to everything… Read More »8 Spot-on Ideas To Make Your Book Cover More Eye-Catching

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5 Top Tips For Converting Your Screenplay Into A Novel

Screenplays –> Novels So you’ve written a screenplay, then bust a gut to get it financed and produced … But two years later you’re still no further on. Don’t give up just yet! You’ve created characters and a story so why not use this as your template and convert your script to a novel? Here are five tips to help and inspire you converting yours. Ready? Let’s go …  1) Take Back Control  A film is a story told in pictures and a screenplay is really a set of short-hand instructions rather than a complete work of art. Film is… Read More »5 Top Tips For Converting Your Screenplay Into A Novel

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10 Common Mistakes People Make Marketing Their Book You Should Avoid

Book Marketing is TOUGH I don’t care what anyone says: the hardest part of the process is book marketing! Knowing where to start is difficult, which is why knowing what NOT to do can really help. So when Jenny got in touch asking about writing a post on this topic, I bit her hand off! Here’s some gold dust tips for you Bangers … over to you, Jenny! All About Book Marketing You don’t need me to tell you that writing a book is hard work. The process of taking it from the initial idea into a fully-fledged novel you… Read More »10 Common Mistakes People Make Marketing Their Book You Should Avoid

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3 Steps To Writing, Editing & Submitting Your Novel

Writing, Editing AND Submitting (Or Self-Publishing!) Your Novel  B2W is best known for its screenwriting advice, but being a novelist and author myself, I also love to write and read about the art of novel writing, too. So, with lots of you Bang2writers out there resolving to write a novel then, here’s my top tips on getting yours written, edited AND out there! Enjoy … 1) Writing Your Novel DYK? Writing a novel is HARD! Le duh. The good news is, there’s a plethora of help online to get us through the process. Here’s some popular B2W articles with the… Read More »3 Steps To Writing, Editing & Submitting Your Novel

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Top 5 Solutions When You’re Stuck on Your Novel

How To Get Unstuck On Your Novel Are you stuck on your novel? Have you tried several different approaches, only to end up stuck again? I experienced this with my most recent novel, The Beached Ones. It took me years to get past that stuck place. Talk about frustrating! I thought I was going to have to give up on the story. You may be feeling the same way. If so, I’m here to tell you: I got through that stuck place and went on to win a publishing contract for the book. You can too. When You’re Stuck on Your… Read More »Top 5 Solutions When You’re Stuck on Your Novel

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Self-Publishing Should NEVER Be A Last Resort. Here’s Why

Self-Publishing Versus Traditional Publishing ‘I want an agent and a traditional publishing deal, but I guess I can always whack it up on the Kindle as a last resort.’ If I had a £1 for every time I heard this from a wannabe novelist, I would be hella rich by now. It seems as if new authors think self-publishing is the bottom of the pile, the ‘easy’ option if you will. It’s the thing you do when you have no other options left. The last resort. Ugh. Oi, Writers: NO! As most veteran Bangers know, I work with writers. The… Read More »Self-Publishing Should NEVER Be A Last Resort. Here’s Why

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Top 3 Useful Tips For Getting Your Book Written

Useful Writing Tips One of the most useful writing tips I ever heard was ‘know your own industry’. The more familiar we are with what’s gone before us, the more likely we will hit the bullseye ourselves. This is one of the main remits of this blog, in fact. As any veteran reader of this site knows, I love to think about what iconic writers did in the past. Veteran author Ernest Hemingway apparently said ‘the first draft of anything is always shit’. He is also thought to have said, ‘the only kind of writing is rewriting’. Whilst he was… Read More »Top 3 Useful Tips For Getting Your Book Written

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11 Awesome Tips To Beat Writer’s Block

B2W’s Quick Tips To Beat Writer’s Block  Need to beat writer’s block? I feel ya … It can seem like the hydra, ready to rear one of its seven heads when you least expect it! Supersadface. But what if I told you that you CAN beat writer’s block and it’s easier than you think?? Try these quick tips for size … 1) Try Free Writing Lots of writers get blocked because they’re trying to be perfect … but perfectionism is a disease! Like the infographic suggests, avoid it by trying free writing. This is when you set a timer and… Read More »11 Awesome Tips To Beat Writer’s Block

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29 Ways To Stay Creative

Getting Creative It can be really difficult to stay creative at the best of times … and it’s safe to say these are NOT the best of times! After a year of the pandemic and multiple lockdowns all over the world, writers may be feeling burned out (I know I am). Of course, rest is important. If you feel you can’t go on, now is a great time to take stock and let the well replenish. I will be doing this over Easter, so the B2W site will be taking a short break. (Don’t panic though … You can still… Read More »29 Ways To Stay Creative

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