Nail Your Novel - Why Writers Abandon Books and How You Can Draft, Fix and Finish With Confidence

by Roz Morris

By bestselling ghostwriter and book doctor with a top London literary consultancy 'This book should be used as a text in writing courses''There are shedloads of books on how to write novels, and a lot of them are longer and considerably less useful''I wish I'd had this book a long time ago''The author has a proven track record as a writer of fiction, as opposed to writers of "how to write" books'Are you writing a novel? Do you want to make sure you finish? Will you get lost and fizzle out? Will you spend more time reading about how to write than actually getting the words down?Most books on novel-writing will make you read hundreds of pages about character arcs, inciting incidents, heroes’ journeys. It’s great to know that – but while you’re reading about it you’re not writing your book. And what these books don’t tell you is how to use this learning and get the job done.Nail Your Novel is a writing buddy – and mentor - in a book. In 10 easy steps it will tell to shape your big idea and make a novel out of it*how to do your research and how to use it*how to organise your time. *how to plot and build characters*when you’re going to hit problems and what to do about them*how to write on the days you don’t feel inspired*how to reread what you’ve written and polish it. Along the way, Thumbnail Notes give tutorials about storytelling and storycraft – strictly when you need them. The author has written nearly a dozen novels that have made it into print – and this is how she did it. You don’t even need to read the whole book before you get started. You read a section, then do as it says. And, once you’re finally satisfied, Nail Your Novel will tell you how to sell it to publishers and agents.You’ve dreamed of writing a novel. Don’t procrastinate with another theory book. Don’t launch in, get stuck and throw your hard work in a drawer. Nail your novel. About the authorRoz Morris has nearly two decades of experience writing novels and helping floundering authors find their way. She is a senior book doctor for a major literary consultancy in London, writes fiction under her own name and has ghostwritten bestselling fiction for high-profile writers with major publishers, including Random House, Puffin and Mammoth.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference, Ebooks, Crafts

184 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

What do I read? Fiction that cares about characters AND plot. Although I'm a sucker for beautiful language, I like a story too, dammit. I'm a slow reader because I'm easily trapped by lovely sentences and ideas, and when I enjoy a book I'm reluctant to leave its world behind.
I live in London with my writer husband, and our house is mostly decorated with bookshelves - so much so that different rooms are devoted to different categories, like a shop. My study, where I'm writing this now, is the fiction room - and when I look up from my keyboard it's a pleasure to see the spines of novels that have been important to me.

I'm a journalist, ghostwriter, editor and writing coach, and I'm also coming out from behind the ghosting curtain with novels of my own.

I've got eight books in circulation (books that I can admit to, that is!) Four are about writing - the Nail Your Novel series. I also have three nailed novels. My Memories of a Future Life is a contemporary reincarnation story with a twist that asks as many questions as it answers. Lifeform Three is a science fiction fable in the tradition of Ray Bradbury. Ever Rest is an exploration of how we live after we lose the most important person in our world. And I have a book of true travel tales, Not Quite Lost: Travels Without A Sense of Direction.
Ever Rest will be published on 3 June 2021.

Sign up for my newsletter https://tinyurl.com/rozmorriswriter

Reviews

[Emma Sea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this so useful I ordered it in paperback as well.

I feel bad when other people try books I 5-starred and find them much less beneficial, because book money must be spent wisely and frugally, so let me add a caveat to my rating: I am a rank beginner with very poor skills who knows absolutely nothing about anything and fucks up in every conceivable way pretty much all the time. The book I'm working on now, I've been working on for 15 months and I still don't have a first draft. Your Milage Will No Doubt Vary.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was it worth the two cappuccinos I paid for it? Yes, but almost entirely because of the comforting message that when writing it's completely normal to feel that: "it's rubbish, I can't get into it today (and tomorrow, and the rest of the week), there's this small logistical problem that sabotages everything, I've messed up a simplistic scene, how why when DOUBT SO MUCH DOUBT, this was supposed to take mere moments and not all morning, is this the moment where I give up the pretense that I'm doing this "for fun", should I even bother writing in English, because obviously I'm FAILURE impersonated," etcetera etcetera.

Though I'm taking off a star for the shocking lack of advice on how to deal with numerous obsessive trips to the kitchen when stuck in the middle of a scene.

The advice itself wasn't particularly eye-opening and eye-popping. However, maybe I should try writing a first draft without fixing spelling errors and prettifying sentences as I go. But chances are... I...just...can't. For a far more elaborate review, see Caro's review

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource for any author – whether you are a new writer just starting out or an experienced writer who is struggling to make sense of a large and messy abandoned draft. It’s a hands-on exploration of how to split the mammoth task of writing a novel into manageable chunks.
The step by step advice on what to get right and what to ignore at each point of the journey was really useful.
As we find with lots of books that deal with writing craft, not everything will be for everyone, but there are many useful points/elements that writers can benefit from.

[Hot Mess Sommelière ~ Caro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moments of brilliance off-set by ramblings of a mediocre author.

I'm too lazy to write a novel, but I read and beta-read quite a lot, so that's bound to make one curious. This self-help book for floundering first-time writers adresses the important and often neglected topic of how to actually finish a book. Yes, yes, everyone has a (sometimes terrible) novel inside of them, and some people can even write well, but how do you translate your briliant idea not only into a first riveting chapter but to an entire book without getting distracted, losing hope or starting to hate your own book?

Stephen King, writer of many bestsellers, never adressed this topic in his famed "On Writing" which propagates that nearly everyone can write competently when they use the English Grammar correctly. This point wasn't very enlightening to me, so I decided to pursue the topic further.

Roz Morris is a ghost writer of what I believe to be mediocre main stream fiction. She clearly isn't brilliant (to be fair, I don't believe King to be brilliant either and he calls himself "competent", which must be true), but quite structured. Being structured is of course in many ways better than being brilliant, as brilliant might be an idea but structure gets the job done.

Morris has a few strong points which commend this book:
- she motivates the potential writer
- she points out possible grievings and doubts and how to overcome them
- she gives reasonable advice on how to slog through
- her "games" that create and double check structure are helpful and seem like they would save A LOT of time (I would recommend getting the book for that alone)

However, there are some drawbacks in the book that a writer should be aware of:
- Morris, like King, is an advocate for mediocrity. Her work caters nearly exvlusively to writers of second or third rate fiction, while ignoring that even good writers might profit from structure. In fact, brilliant writers often suffer from terrible writer's block or make some pacing mistakes that are overlooked for the sake of the masterpiece of prose it is. Adapting this book to the needs of a really talented author might be a little harder and warrants ignoring some well-meant but silly advice meant for writers who aren't competent enough to break rules.
- the examples given in the book make Twilight look like a brilliant book
- Morris seems to believe that a third person omniescent narrator isn't legit, which is bullshit. 3rd person Omni might not be en vogue right now, but it exists and Dumas made a beautiful job of it in his works.
- the part on revisions is features redundant advice like "check the facts, timeline, grammar" which should be obvious to eberyone in possession of a brain
- while Morris introduces the Beat sheet, which isn't half-stupid, the potential writer is left alone to flounder away with all other aspects of revision, with about fifty pages of the book telling me to do this, do that, but not how to make it smarter/less time intensive.

In short, Morris has a well-structured system for the first draft. It's fool-proof and anyone could follow this system and come out with an actual first draft. However, Morris fails at making the same systematic effort for the revisions, leaving most of the work to the writer's instinct or judgment, while working off a very obvious checklist.

Bottom line: Morris system is helpful even for authors who already finished their first draft, because the advice makes a sound, workable first draft with a sound, high and low story instead of a messy jumble. The book is great for that alone, but I would consult a second book for revision or even devise my own system for a revision that does more justice to the draft. All in all, this book is more practical and to.the point that King's book, which is hailed as the bible.of writers but really didn't tell me anything new.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly good read. This little book focuses less on craft and more on the process of banging out a first draft and then rewriting. It assumes you already understand the basics of plot, dialogue, discription, etc. It's a very quick read with some interesting ideas I hadn't seen before.

[StarMan]

IN SHORT: If you need a few rounds increasingly long (but productive) planning exercises before actually starting to write your novel, then this is the book for you.

Probably 4-5 stars for a certain type of writer--I'm talking Plotters, perhaps with a touch of OCD. Maybe more like 2 to 3 stars for Pansters and non-outliners. Neverthless, includes several ideas, and some may apply to your writing struggles.

If there was something I liked most, it was the handful of thought/writing exercises that might help you get un-stuck.

As to what I did not love: the ideas/plans here are described in some detail--but few actual visual examples are provided. I felt like I was given 50 ideas, but only shown 3 of them.

VERDICT: Unrated (read & decide yourself). I'm not sure the methods inside are for everyone, but some I hadn't seen before. If nothing else, they beat staring at a blank page, or avoiding writing altogether.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nail Your Novel is a book I've returned to time and again. It's packed with a ton of practical advice - from the initial brainstorming to structure to focusing your research and fleshing out the story, Roz Morris covers all the essentials for successful novel writing.

Roz offers tips for planning your novel, using a series of simple, yet effective exercises. There are games for overcoming writer's block and advice on how to keep your butt in the chair and writing on the days when you just don't feel like it.

Of all the writing how-to books I've purchased over the last couple of years, Nail Your Novel is the one I reach for first. It contains the nuts and bolts of planning, drafting and revising, is well-structured and easy to read and the tasks easy to commit to (hey, those games are a lot of fun!). I recommend this book above all others.

Always reluctant to mark something like this as read, because it's more of an on-going read and always useful.

[Victoria Mixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roz Morris is an experienced ghostwriter who chose to self-publish her handbook on the craft of writing. But the techniques and advice in this book would do well for any publisher. Morris knows her stuff.

The wish-not list.
The hat game.
The cards game.
The beat sheet game.
How to manage the internal critic every step of the way.

Throughout her book, Morris simply and succinctly provides original, concrete methods for turning an amateur daydream into a professional novel. She's warm, open, and entertaining.

And she's teaching her professional secrets.

[Kressel Housman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m really glad I bought a copy of this book because it has tips and exercises for every stage of the writing process. It was all right to read through for inspiration, but it’s really more of a reference book. Having said that, my reaction to it is similar to my reaction to more general self-help books: I tried the exercises, I had a little trouble with them, and then I felt bad about myself because I have to do things my own way, even if the one in the book may be better. Specifically, I found out just how much my tendency to word-polish has bogged me down. It’s very hard to move forward in your story if you keep correcting what you’ve already done, but I can’t seem to help getting compulsive about phrasing.

She says the main goal of the first draft is to show, not tell. Personally, I find I have to tell the story to myself first before I can begin showing it. So inevitably, that means I’m rewriting as I go. I can’t see doing it any other way. Perhaps that’s why I proceed at such a slow pace. But she cites the author Graham Greene as someone whose daily word count was a “low” 500 per day because he edited as he went. I’ll be checking out his books soon, G-d willing.

But I did try her “card game,” and perhaps eventually, I’ll do her “beat sheet.” The piece of advice that’s sticking with me the most is that in the first draft, don’t be subtle. You can let yourself be “on the nose.” Chances are, what’s obvious to you isn’t obvious to the reader, and if it is, you can always dial things back in revision.

So overall, the book was a help, though not the be-all-end-all salvation I was dreaming of. Perhaps no single book on writing can be. So I’ll just keep plugging away. But I *will* be going back to this one. And perhaps, as I advance more in my story, I’ll find it even more useful.

[tappkalina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll definitely use this book, especially with editing and rewriting.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roz Morris really hit the nail on the head as to why novelists don't complete their novels and elaborated beautifully on how to pick up the process towards completion. Even for those who don't have an incomplete MS, this guide also illustrates how to begin and follow through with writing a novel. Very well-written and encouraging. I found the explanations and expansions to be very helpful, especially with the advice given on how to comb through a former MS with a beat sheet for flow, continuity, and finding what scenes work. Morris does give great examples of some of the points illustrated in the work, but I'm surprised there wasn't an inclusion of a sample beat sheet or notes about the practice in a visual format. Still, I think both for the price and the content offered, this is a very handy guide, and one I'll certainly return to in my writing pursuits.

[Dean Winstanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're stuck in a rut and not getting anywhere on that first manuscript this book offers great advice that shows you were you're probably going wrong. It's a good length too, sticking only to the vital points which are written in a clear and honest way.

Anyone who's started a novel will relate to the problems which are pointed out in this book and the author offers great advice to get around those issues and to get your manuscript to its final stages before publication. Great read.

[Raptori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the most useful book on writing that I've had the pleasure of reading.

It details a concise, comprehensive, and flexible approach to the act of writing a novel - rather than a re-hash of the typical advice on how to write well - complete with ways to make planning, drafting, rewriting, and creating synopses a breeze as well as effective tactics to overcome writer's block. This will definitely be a favourite reference of ours in the future!

[Rebecca Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It's straightforward and easy to follow. Morris' idea's make complete and utter sense and I can't wait to get started implementing them, especially the cards one.

You can use this book whether you are just starting a novel, thinking about a novel or wanting to redraft your novel. You'll wonder why you didn't read it sooner.

[Katrina Sizemore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. Roz Morris' strategies are liberating and easy to follow. I've revisited this book a number of times while struggling to work through my current novels. This is a definite staple on my writing craft bookshelf.

[Lisa Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Working on my first novel, I was looking for a book that would help me with the whole writing process. I'd read books about various areas of craft and technique, many of which were helpful but, as I passed the halfway mark on my first draft, I was looking for something that would help me through the revision process. Roz Morris's Nail Your Novel proved to be just the ticket.

I found that this book does not simply duplicate the tips I'd gleaned from other books, but gives me different ways of thinking about each task in the process of writing. The most valuable aspect of the book seems to be her emphasis on focusing on the right tasks at the right point in the process -- for instance, not obsessing over minute details of craft when you're working on the first draft (called "rough" for good reason), or how to plan & develop your raw ideas before even beginning the first draft. At each point in the process, she reminds you of what your aims should be *at that stage* and what sort of things you should ignore until later. You can tell that, not only has she written a goodly number of novels herself, but she has learned from her experience how to make optimal use of each stage in the writing process.

This book can be a great help to any writer who either thinks of writing as an "event" rather than a "process" (pantsers!) or who finds him/herself getting bogged down at some point. The author gives lots of very practical tips for getting "unstuck." On the other hand, if you're looking for someone to walk you through things like creating a plot that works, or refining your dialogue, you should look elsewhere -- this book simply isn't trying to do that. On the other hand, Morris has another "Nail Your Novel" book soon to appear, on "bringing your characters to life" -- I'm looking forward to that one!

[Ben. Newland · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short book, which I think is a good sign in a writing craft self-help book. I picked this up last year on the recommendation of Jason Black, a Book Doctor I worked with on my novel "Magic Bullets". I got a few pages in and gave up because it seemed like I'd have an easier time taking her advice about a new novel instead of an existing one.

So, back into it I go as I prepare to write the next novel! I blasted through the book and am now going back to use her step-by-step process for preparing to write the first draft. That's a first for me, as my previous attempts at noveling used the "I've got an idea I'll just start writing now" approach. Apparently this works for some authors. I ended up getting pretty bogged down as I tried to think of what might happen next while I also tried to write.

So, good stuff so far. I'd love to talk to you about it more if you're in the same situation I'm in. Its a short, inexpensive, and useful volume to have, and the author is a prolific tweeter if you'd like to check her out there too, @dirtywhitecandy.

[Ronel Janse van Vuuren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent guide to get you from forming ideas to the final version of your story – and beyond.

The author has managed to convey different approaches to planning and plotting without saying “this is the only way”, which helped me to refine my own approach to planning and plotting stories.

“Writers write well when they feel confident and comfortable. But it also helps to know you can finish, and that when you encounter problems you can sort them out.” Love that.

An essential writing guide that I wish I had stumbled upon sooner.

[Roz Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buy print copies from Amazon.com http://ht.ly/3MWBC
Outside the US buy from Lulu http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback...

On Kindle:
US - http://www.amazon.com/Nail-Your-Novel...

UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nail-Your-Nov...


Have to give it 5 stars because I'm its mummy.

[Ilana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting ideas for the fiction writer. Regardless of the writing experience, character crafting is never easy and this book succeeds to offer important suggestions for creating strong and authentic literary personalities.

[Jacqueline Mudge-Cooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a book I didn't know I needed so much. Now I just wish that I had this book a lot sooner. This book explained how the writing craft, works as a craft. I would recommend this book to everyone who is interested in writing in more than just a hobby.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ordered Nail Your Novel for my sister and she said its really good.

[LATOYA JOVENA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unimpressive.

[Cal Bowen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Waste of time and money

I paid for this one. Some of these books contain ideas ... Some contain tips ... Some contain inspiration ... This one contained none of the above...

[Katia M. Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok, a fair few logical points to help you work your way through writing your novel. Although I can't help but think these are the methods that best suit Roz Morris and not necessarily everyone. For instance, the 'don't edit as you write your first draft' thing. While I understand it would be a terrible idea to keep going over the same thing over and over again and never actually getting anywhere, I don't see how fixing a typo or two is going to cause a major issue. Personally, If I am writing and I typo something, I feel (I did it just then, I typo'd feel to 'fel'. I fixed it, took a second and did not disrupt my flow of thought) it makes the document easier to read if I fix it. I'm not talking about fixing huge swathes of grammar or word choice, just typos that hold up the text. I suppose the idea is to simply let everything fall out of your head onto the page without having to worry about thinking about it until later. Unfortunately my brain does not work that way, lol. If I notice it, it'll bug me and stop me working, unless I'm doing a specific stream of consciousness timed exercise.

I like the idea of using cards to get main ideas down. I'm not a very good planner, I'm more of a pantser and realise this is why I get bogged down in the middle of things I write, so I am looking to fix that issue. I've tried mind mapping programs and spread sheets and all sorts, I get bored with them. It's not that my ideas are boring, I find the actual action boring...I'll stick this here, then this bit comes next, and oh, hang on, need another box there, join that up with this one...My brain is going too fast for that kind of crap. But if I write a few words down on an index card, chuck it into a pile and move onto the next one, that's not so bad, I can deal with that. Once the ideas are out of my head I can then stop and sort them out into what I want. It's weird, because I am quite happy to sit down and plan out non-fiction work, but with my creative work I have an issue.

Overall, I felt this book was quite instructive. Not everything will be for everyone, but most people will take away useful things from it.

[Graham Downs · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this is a book about plotting, and I'm a confirmed, committed Panster....

At least, I used to be!

Nah, just kidding -- I'm still a Pantser, but having said that, there's a veritable TRUCKLOAD of good advice in this book. So much information, delivered in really easy to digest and implement chunks. I'm definitely going to give it a try.

Bearing in mind that this book is a bit old now (it was published in 2011), there's only a tiny reference to self-publishing at the end. But even if you don't ever intend to go for a traditional publishing deal -- I don't -- I kinda like what the author said about the synopsis. Even if you're self-publishing, it could be useful to go ahead and write a full synopsis as though you were going to pitch to an agent, for two reasons:

1. Because writing that synopsis gives you one last chance to spot issues with your story, in terms of plot consistency, timelines, pacing, etc. And every little bit helps in that department.

2. Because when you condense 100k-word novel into a thousand-word synopsis, you're putting your brain in "summarising mode", and you're going to need to be in that frame of mind when you want to write your blurb, which will require you to condense that thousand-word synopsis even further, into 50 words that can go on the back cover and the retailers' websites.

2.1. And you should probably write that blurb even if you're NOT self-publishing, because those 50 words also become how you answer people when they ask you what your book's about.

I hope Ms Morris doesn't mind me including that spoiler, but really, this book isn't about how to get published. That's a relatively small chapter at the end. It's about how to get your novel finished... well, I'll let you know in a few months whether it achieved that goal, but right now, it's looking promising.

Click here to find out where you can get a copy: https://books2read.com/u/4DEKRd

[Gry Ranfelt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book for picking up anywhere in the writing process and going through the advice and exercises she gives. A lot of it is really comprehensive and easy to follow. It is somewhat condensed, so there are many concepts in writing that you'll miss out on if you're a new writer. I got a lot out of reading it because I've already read a ton of other writing books, so when she off-handedly referred to something, I typically got it. For a new reader, that may be problematic.
That being said - if you've read a lot of other writing books, this is a really good addition to your shelf. It compacts it all into some hundred pages and gives you a really easy guide on how to use it for the different steps in the writing process. She also adds a lot of new, interesting ways of working with your story that are worth trying out.

[Maria Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nail Your Novel (NYN) by Roz Morris is a writer’s resource book with many good suggestions on how to break writer's block and improve a book. NYN has lots of exercises (at the end of each chapter) for the reader to test his/her knowledge.

While reading NYN I experienced several ‘ah, ha’ moments as I was able to identify weak spots in my writing.

NYN is a good reference book and may be used while brainstorming a WIP. Ms. Morris gives the reader good recommendations and easy-to-follow instructions.

I give Nail Your Novel 3 stars.

[Cee Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Valuable guide to writing and polishing a novel

Great stuff ! I used this book against my completed national novel writing month manuscript and it has been invaluable !

The book very clearly outlines a plan to help a writer plot and write an entire novel. It also details some clever tricks to manage editing and testing the story structure of the first draft.

The final chapter of the novel deals with tips on writing a synopsis, when to send to a publisher and advice on using editing an critique services.

Great book !

[Rick Graf · Rating 4 out of 5]

With more than two decades of experience as a professional writer and editor, the author of this five-book series is well-versed in the issues that face anyone who seeks to publish a novel. Her no-quite attitude reverberates throughout “Nail Your Novel,” the first self-help book in her series. I recommend the book to veterans or newbies because they will find solid advice on how to overcome obstacles, especially the proverbial brick wall—writer’s block.