But Wait…There’s More to Writing a Novel

Readers, I'm so thrilled to bring you a very special guest today! Author of the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series & USA Today and Amazon Bestselling Author and friend Lois Winston! (Be sure to leave comments to enter her giveaway!)

Would you expect to grab a clarinet for the first time and immediately play Rhapsody in Blue? Or lace up toe shoes for the first time and immediately dance Coppélia? Or pick up a paintbrush for the first time and immediately create a museum-worthy masterpiece?

Of course not!

Yet countless people think that just because they “have an idea” for a novel, all they have to do is sit down in front of their computer and pound out a bestseller. Writing is hard work. Musicians, dancers, and artists first take music, dance, or art lessons to learn the basics. They then spend years taking more lessons while continuing to practice to develop and hone their skills and talent.

For some reason, although most people understand that success in other creative endeavors takes years of discipline and commitment to achieve, they don’t think the same applies to writing a novel. After all, they’ve been reading and writing since kindergarten. How hard can it be to translate that idea in their head onto paper?

Easy-peasy, right? Until they send out their precious firstborn, soon-to-be bestseller to agents and editors, only to receive back countless rejections. If they hear back at all. Nowadays, most agents and editors only reply if they’re interested in a book. Otherwise, they simply hit the Delete key, assigning the query to their virtual circular file.

I wrote for ten years before I sold my first book. Although some authors have been lucky enough to sell their first book sooner, I’ve since learned that ten years is about the average amount of time it takes for most writers to make their first sale. I’ve since gone on to publish twenty-four novels and five novellas, including my award-winning and bestselling Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series. Embroidered Lies and Alibis, the fifteenth book in the series, recently released.

Crafting a novel is more than just knowing your ABCs and having read other works of fiction. You first need to learn how to develop characters, giving them both internal and external goals, motivations, and conflicts. You need to learn about structure and plot arcs. How to avoid information dumps. How to write dialog that advances the story and is devoid of chitchat. When to describe and when description is nothing but filler because filler is bad and a quick route to rejection.

Do you know the difference between passive voice and passive verbs? Do you understand point-of-view and how to avoid head-hopping? Do you even know what head-hopping is? You can’t avoid something you don’t know or understand.

But wait…there’s more…

After you’ve learned all the above, you next need to educate yourself about the conventions of the genre you want to write. Writing science fiction is quite different from writing a sweet romance. Writing historical novels is quite different from writing contemporary novels. To be successful, you need to meet reader expectations. Even in the broad umbrella of mystery fiction, there are subgenres that are quite different from one another. For example, the language and violence acceptable in a thriller would never fly in a cozy mystery.

And still more…

After you’ve done all that, you still have more to learn. You can’t just send an email to an agent or editor stating that you’ve written a book, and you’d like them to represent you or buy your book. They’ll immediately hit the Delete key. You need to learn how to write a query letter and a synopsis that will make them want to read your manuscript.

Even if you were a straight-A student throughout high school and majored in English literature in college, chances are, you weren’t taught much of what you need to know to write a saleable novel. Most of us have had to educate ourselves through how-to books, conferences, workshops, and writing organizations.

If you’re one of those writers with a burning desire to become a novelist and can’t imagine life without writing, then keep writing. But save yourself a lot of time and heartache by first learning how to write right.

Post a comment for a chance to win a promo code for a free audiobook of any of the available Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries or Empty Nest Mysteries.

Embroidered Lies and Alibis-blurb

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 15

A Stitch in Time Could Save a Life…

When Anastasia’s mother Flora is offered a free spa vacation from Jeremy Dugan, a man connected to her distant past, Anastasia and husband Zack suspect ulterior motives. After all, too-good-to-be-true often spells trouble. Their suspicions are confirmed when the FBI swoops in to apprehend Dugan. However, Dugan isn’t who he claimed to be, and his arrest raises more questions than answers.

The Feds link Dugan to a string of cons targeting elderly single women across the country, but his seemingly airtight alibi leaves investigators stumped. Then, shortly after his release on bail, he’s kidnapped. A certain segment of New Jersey’s population is known for delivering deadly messages, and the FBI believes Dugan received one of them.

Meanwhile, bodies begin showing up in the newly created public garden across the street from Anastasia and Zack’s home. With two baffling crimes, no clear suspects, scant evidence, and every possible motive unraveling, both the FBI and local law enforcement are once again picking Anastasia’s brain. This time, though, her involvement is far from reluctant. Will she stitch together enough clues before she or someone she loves becomes the killer’s next victim?

Craft project included.

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USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Learn more about Lois and her books at her website www.loiswinston.com. Sign up for her newsletter to receive an Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mini-Mystery.