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Book Review: What's Wrong with your Novel? And How to Fix it by Elizabeth Bailey

categories: Book, Self-Editing Fiction, Editing Your Novel, Editing a Novel, Self-Editing, How To Edit, Fix Your Novel, Editing Made Easy, Edit Your Book, Writing Help, Help for Writers, Advice for Writers, Writing Advice

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Elizabeth Bailey

about this book: After years of critiquing books for new and somewhat experienced writers, I thought it was time to put together a handbook about the most common problems that arise in first drafts. What's Wrong with your Novel? And How to Fix it is the result.

It's intended to make it a lot easier for writers, especially those struggling to make their novel publishable, to see what might not be working and to give them a simple guide to sorting it out to make it better.

One can so easily get lost in a morass of advice about the tricks of the craft. There's all sorts of terminology bandied about. I've known writers to be bogged down by the anxiety that they haven't got the "inciting incident" or the "arc" or some other idea about novel writing they've picked up. Nothing wrong with these terms. They all make sense. But they might not help to make life simple.

The thing is, what you've got with a first draft is a bunch of characters running around getting themselves into trouble and trying to get themselves out of it. Basically that's what all novels are about. So let's look at what happens to them and whether the story has got enough oomph and power to keep the reader turning the page.

That's all a well-written book is about. It grips the reader and holds them glued to the story. The tricks of the craft help you to achieve just that. Page Turning Quality. This guide is designed to help you find out which ones are not working and get them going so they do work.

So if you have a first draft that doesn't feel right, this book can help you!

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Novel Writing Made Easy

Superbly written and organized What's Wrong with your Novel? and How to Fix It discusses the basic elements of storytelling through the eyes of an experienced author. Elizabeth Bailey provides detailed guidance in constructing a novel and how to keep the reader enthralled as the story unfurls. Authors new to fiction or experienced scribes will find this book an invaluable resource. Before initiating your next writing endeavor you would be wise to consult this excellent reference. It could make the difference between a book that languishes or one that flies off the shelf. [by Mark Davis]