How to Write Best-Selling Fiction
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
kfajs aslkjf;laskjfa;lkesfhj kfajs aslkjf;laskjfa;lkesfhj kfajs aslkjf;laskjfa;lkesfhj Topic Subtopic kfajs aslkjf;laskjfa;lkesfhj. Literature & Language Writing How to Write Best-Selling Fiction Write to How “Pure intellectual stimulation that can be popped into the [audio or video player] anytime.” How to Write —Harvard Magazine “Passionate, erudite, living legend lecturers. Academia’s best lecturers are being captured on tape.” Best-Selling Fiction —The Los Angeles Times Course Guidebook “A serious force in American education.” —The Wall Street Journal James Scott Bell Novelist and Writing Instructor James Scott Bell is an award-winning novelist and writing instructor. He is a winner of the International Thriller Writers Award and the author of a best-selling book on writing, Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot That Grips Readers from Start to Finish. He is also the author of numerous novels. Mr. Bell has taught novel writing at Pepperdine University as well as in writing seminars across the United States and many parts of the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United Kingdom. THE GREAT COURSES® Corporate Headquarters 4840 Westfields Boulevard, Suite 500 Chantilly, VA 20151-2299 USA Guidebook Phone: 1-800-832-2412 www.thegreatcourses.com Professor Photo: © Jeff Mauritzen - inPhotograph.com. Cover Image: © Need Image Credit.. Course No. 2533 © 2019 The Teaching Company. PB2533A Published by THE GREAT COURSES Corporate Headquarters 4840 Westfields Boulevard | Suite 500 | Chantilly, Virginia | 20151‑2299 [phone] 1.800.832.2412 | [fax] 703.378.3819 | [web] www.thegreatcourses.com Copyright © The Teaching Company, 2019 Printed in the United States of America This book is in copyright. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of The Teaching Company. i James Scott Bell Novelist and Writing Instructor ii HOW TO WRITE BEST-SELLING FICTION ames Scott Bell is an award-winning novelist and writing instructor. He is a winner of the International Thriller Writers Award and J the author of a best-selling book on writing, Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot That Grips Readers from Start to Finish. He received his BA in Film Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he studied writing with Raymond Carver, and his JD with honors from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. A former trial lawyer, Mr. Bell now writes and speaks full time. Mr. Bell is a prolific author. His works include the Mike Romeo thriller series (Romeo’s Rules, Romeo’s Way, and Romeo’s Hammer), the Ty Buchanan legal thriller series (Try Dying, Try Darkness, and Try Fear), and the novels Your Son Is Alive, Don’t Leave Me, Blind Justice, and Final Witness. He has written several popular writing books, including Just Write: Creating Unforgettable Fiction and a Rewarding Writing Life; Conflict and Suspense; and The Art of War for Writers: Fiction Writing Strategies, Tactics, and Exercises. Mr. Bell has also published How to Write Dazzling Dialogue: The Fastest Way to Improve Any Manuscript; Write Your Novel From the Middle: A New Approach for Plotters, Pantsers and Everyone in Between; Super Structure: The Key to Unleashing the Power of Story; How to Write Pulp Fiction; and How to Make a Living as a Writer. Mr. Bell served as a fiction columnist for Writer’s Digest. He has taught novel writing at Pepperdine University as well as in writing seminars across the United States and many parts of the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United Kingdom. ■ iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Professor Biography . i Table of Contents ............................. iii Course Scope ................................1 Lecture Guides Lecture 1. Tell Me a Story ........................4 Lecture 2. Anatomy of a Best Seller..................13 Lecture 3. Developing Ideas ......................22 Lecture 4. The LOCK System: A Foundation for Your Novel ...33 Lecture 5. Structuring Your Novel...................42 Lecture 6. Act I: The Disturbance................... 51 Lecture 7. Act II: The Arena of Conflict ............... 61 Lecture 8. Act III and Resolution ...................70 Lecture 9. Jump-off-the-Page Characters ...............79 Lecture 10. Bringing Characters to Life ...............88 Lecture 11. Point of View ........................99 Lecture 12. The Essentials of Dazzling Dialogue ......... 109 iv HOW TO WRITE BEST-SELLING FICTION Lecture 13. Tools for Talk....................... 121 Lecture 14. Voice and Style...................... 134 Lecture 15. Make a Scene ...................... 144 Lecture 16. Subplots and Parallel Plots ............... 154 Lecture 17. Deepening the Reader’s Emotional Experience.... 163 Lecture 18. First Pages That Grab the Reader ............173 Lecture 19. Revising Your Novel................... 184 Lecture 20. Blunders and Baloney.................. 197 Lecture 21. Getting Published .................... 209 Lecture 22. The Self-Publishing Option .............. 221 Lecture 23. Marketing Your Work.................. 232 Lecture 24. Conquering the Mental Game of Writing....... 241 Supplementary Material Bibliography................................251 Image Credits .............................. 257 1 HOW TO WRITE BEST-SELLING FICTION COURSE SCOPE he goal of this course is to teach you what it takes to be a successful novelist in today’s competitive marketplace. The course covers T a broad territory—from getting great ideas all the way through completing and publishing a novel. Throughout the course, the seven critical success factors of best-selling fiction are examined in detail. 1. PLOT. You will learn about the LOCK system, a set of principles that guarantees a solid plot every time. What makes for a compelling lead character? What are the three types of leads, and how can you create a bond with the reader? You’ll learn about the two types of objectives and how to make them crucial to the lead character. You’ll also learn about the engine of great fiction, confrontation, and the secrets of a knockout ending. 2. STRUCTURE. The pillars of perfect structure, every time, will be examined, beginning with an opening disturbance and then thrusting the lead character through two doorways of no return. Along the way, you will learn about such devices as the care package, pet the dog, and mounting forces. Most important is the unique and innovative insight provided by the magical midpoint moment. 3. CHARACTERS. You will discover how to create memorable, jump-off-the-page characters and how to show convincing character change (the character arc) without seeming melodramatic. You will also learn the secret of orchestrating a cast of characters, the way to use minor characters for spice, and techniques for creating more secrets, mysteries, and tensions between the cast. 2 HOW TO WRITE BEST-SELLING FICTION 4. SCENES. The building blocks of the novel are the scenes. You will learn how to write organic scenes that are connected to the overall story and how to apply the elements of structure. Both action and reaction scenes will be covered, and you will be given the tools—such as the fear factor—that guarantee strong readability. 5. DIALOGUE. Dialogue is the fastest way to improve a manuscript. You will discover the essentials of dialogue, along with specific tools and techniques you can apply immediately. Topics include compression, orchestration, conflict and tension, and subtext. 6. STYLE. The elusive concept of voice—something all agents and editors say they want but are unable to define—is covered. You’ll learn the three-part construction of voice as well as various ways you can unlock it in every novel. 7. THEME. You will discover that theme, or meaning, is what gives a novel added depth. Within each of these areas, there are other critical matters of craft that are covered in detail, including the following: ? POINT OF VIEW: The primary modes and how to keep them consistent so that the reader is fully invested in a character. ? EMOTIONAL DEEPENING: Ways to take the readers on a more satisfying story ride by going further inside the characters, including the antagonist. ? COMMON BLUNDERS: The most common mistakes that agents and editors see in manuscripts and how to correct them. COURSE SCOPE 3 The course also covers the two main publishing options open to writers today: the traditional route and the self-publishing route. You’ll learn about the pros and cons of each so that you can make an informed decision about which is best for you. Once you have a book available for sale, the challenge of marketing presents itself. You will discover the single most important marketing factor, along with the other methods that work best. The goal is to keep you from wasting too much writing time pursuing less-than-advantageous marketing strategies. The course ends with one of the most important overall considerations for the writer of fiction today—the mental game—with the goal of helping you become more productive as you move forward in your career. ■ TELL ME A STORY Lecture 1 Lecture 1 TELL ME A STORY 5 ver since humans began speaking to each other—and probably sometime before that, with grunts and gestures—we have been E telling each other stories. Regardless of the delivery system of stories—whether oral, print, or electronic—storytelling has always been a craft. Certain fundamentals of that craft have proven to work time and time again. And this means they can be learned, studied, absorbed, practiced, The famous writer and applied. Once you master Somerset Maugham the fundamentals, you’re free once said, “There to improvise and try different things. But if you’re ever at are three rules for a loss for why something isn’t writing a novel. working in your fiction or Unfortunately, how to make something work better, the fundamentals will no one knows always be there for you.