Numbering:
Numbering covers both the numbering of drafts that you
end up rewriting (important so that you can tell them apart, and please, don’t
forget to back them all up) but do bear in mind that you are going to have to
let it out into the world at some stage, and numbering the pages, and chapters
that you are working on when making notes in your notebook (otherwise how will
you know where you are?).
Notes:
All notes at this stage, should be clear and concise,
no matter what format you are using for editing your novel, the notebook,
printed chapters (I’m using both of these right now), or on the computer and a
comment or sticky note program, make sure that your notes to your self are
clear.
For me that means listing the page number, the
paragraph number, and the word before and after whatever needs correcting. I am
using the strikethrough feature to eliminate words and sentences from my novel,
I am underlining words to be added, and using the asterix to say where some
passages might need to be moved.
It is a long process, but you know what, it’s worth
it, and it is fun.
Novel
Length:
Just and FYI, A novel should be (according to some)
60,000wds, or more, a Novella should be around 40,000 wrds, and less than that
can be viewed as a short story. 80,000 wrds to 120,000 wrds are tomes, and can be
feasibly used as doorstops.
Novel
Description:
When you have edited down your novel,
and are waiting for the beta readers to get back to you, why not try this
little exercise…write the book description that will appear on the back of your
novel, this should be about 100 wrds long, and answer the following questions:
1. What
are the major plot points and conflicts?
2. Who
are your main characters?
3. Why
do you think your novel is interesting?
4. Why
do you think it is appealing?
5. Who
do you think this novel will appeal to?
Practice makes perfect if you are
feeling that you haven’t quite got the knack of it.
Never
End a Chapter by Solving Something:
Leave the solving of things to the very end of the book
when everything should be tied up. If you simply must solve something do it in
the middle of the chapter but ensure that your characters think this is the
end, but it really is not. Leave a piece of string that can lead to the
unravelling of this solving and towards the final solving at the end of the
novel.
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