Category Archives: Write Your Novel Step by Step

What’s Your Novel About? This might seem an easy question to answer because you’ve been thinking about your story quite a bit and know the essence of what you want it to be pretty well. Yet if a friend asks … Continue reading →

By Melanie Anne Phillips By necessity, authors are so focused on what they are putting into their stories that they often don’t think about what isn’t there.  Yet the early stages of story development only create a framework – a … Continue reading →

By Melanie Anne Phillips In this story development tip, your goal is to be able to write a single sentence that expresses the essence of what your story is about. Having a core concept will provide you with a creative … Continue reading →

By Melanie Anne Phillips In this excerpt from my book, Write Your Novel Step by Step, I outline the four stages of writing a novel that confront every author. Step 1 – Stages of Writing a Novel Writers often begin the … Continue reading →

Of all your cast, there is one very special player: the Main Character. Your Main Character is the one your story seems to be about – the one with whom your readers most identify – in short, the single most … Continue reading →

Congratulations! Over the last few steps you’ve learned a tremendous amount of information about your characters’ attributes, self-image, outlook, and personal issues. With all the work you’ve done, you probably have more characters than you need or want. Still, by … Continue reading →

We all have personal issues – trouble with co-workers, family difficulties, unfulfilled hopes or dreams or a moral dilemma. Though it is not necessary, every character can benefit from having a personal issue with which it must grapple or a … Continue reading →