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Overview
Just Write It
Can you survive in genre fiction publishing if you don't outline, if you go AWOL from character interviews, if you go cross-eyed at color-keyed plot charts, if you would rather clean a sewer than write a synopsis?
Whether you're indie, traditional or hybrid, the answer is yes. A veteran bestselling author shares how she's survived and thrived through 50 books and 30 years in publishing.
USA Today bestselling author Patricia McLinn, who has taught writing from Australia to Washington, D.C., presents practical, proven and hard-won tips and tools for those who don't write "right."
"An excellent book for writers. Great ideas that you can take away... or leave at the table. Patricia McLinn lets the reader know what has worked -- and not worked -- for her. And that every book can be different." -- 5-star review
Also by Patricia McLinn
Word Watch: A Writer's Guide to the Slippery, Sneaky and Otherwise Tricky.
"Word Watch does for the common man or woman what Theodore Bernstein's The Careful Writer does for the scholarly intellectual. Far more extensive than Bernstein, having been created over the course of years, it's a valuable reference and a good read rolled into one." - 5-star review
"Keep it handy on your desk. Take it along for casual browsing ... Read four or five entries a day to give your brain a good workout -- and your spirit a good laugh." - 5-star review
"A Fun Frolic Through the English Language" - review headline
About the Author
Kentucky-based Patricia McLinn is the author of more than 50 published books, including Word Watch. Her fiction titles include mysteries, romantic suspense, contemporary romance, historical romance and women's fiction. They have topped bestseller lists and won numerous awards. She also is host of the Authors Love Readers podcast.
McLinn received a BA in English Composition from Northwestern University, adding a master's in journalism from Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism in her fourth year. She became a sportswriter at a time when women doing that were rare, starting at the Rockford (Ill.) Register-Star and becoming assistant sports editor at the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer before moving on a 20-year career at The Washington Post.
A past president of the indie authors' group Novelists Inc., McLinn has taught writing courses and spoken about writing and the publishing business from Melbourne, Australia, to Washington, D.C., including being a guest speaker at the Smithsonian Institution.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9781944126506 |
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Publisher: | Craig Place Books |
Publication date: | 04/08/2019 |
Pages: | 120 |
Product dimensions: | 5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.25(d) |
About the Author
McLinn wanted to be a novelist not long after she learned to read. She received a BA in English Composition from Northwestern University, adding a master's in journalism from Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism in her fourth year.
McLinn became a sportswriter at a time when women doing that were rare, starting at the Rockford (Ill.) Register-Star and becoming assistant sports editor at the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer before moving on a 20-year career at The Washington Post.
A past president of the indie authors' group Novelists Inc., she has taught writing courses and spoken about writing and the publishing business from Melbourne, Australia, to Washington, D.C., including being a guest speaker at the Smithsonian Institution.
Now living in northern Kentucky, McLinn loves to hear from readers through her website, Facebook and Twitter.
Table of Contents
PART I: Why Writers Who Don’t Write Right Need a Survival Kit
Good? Bad? Definitely Old Days
Beginning of a Quest
PART II: First Item in Your Survival Kit: A Teeter-Totter
Pressure to Write Right
Plotting Math
Stupidly Stubborn vs. Profligately Pliable
(Cautiously) Experiment With Outlining
Tips on Experimenting
Not Outlining Is Not Irrational
The Catch — You Knew There Had to Be One
What I Used to Say & a Slight Update
PART III: What’s in the Survival Kit: The Big Picture
COURAGE: Learn your process
ADVENTUROUSNESS: Keep honing your process.
RESPECT: Trust your process.
PART IV: Filling Your Survival Kit
Plotting
What Comes to Me and How
Scenes and Parts of Scenes
Elements of a Theme or Thread
Layers
Miscellaneous Chunks
Retroactive Plotting
Moving Around
Finding Stuff
Finding Your Own Structure
The Structure-Seeker’s Journey
Brainstorming
Characters
What About Character Charts?
Organizing as You Go
Organizing Files for Every Book
Organizing Files for Some Books
Binging vs. Chipping Away
Ways to Get Yourself to Write
Mind Games
GUILT
One Last Tool