Writing a First Novel: Reflections on the Journey

by Karen Stevens

In this inspiring collection of essays, a range of award-winning, established and newly published writers offer highly personal accounts of their creative processes. Authors reveal the anxieties, considerations and discoveries that shaped their own first novels, arming new writers with practical advice, focus and inspiration. The book's final section presents the perspectives of an agent, a publisher and an author on the business of publishing a first novel.

Writing a First Novel offers an illuminating read for both aspiring and seasoned writers. It contains contributions

- Hanif Kureishi
- Valerie Martin
- Johanna Skibsrud
- David Vann
- Maile Chapman
- Edward Hogan
- Kishwar Desai
- Wena Poon
- Alison MacLeod
- Andrew Cowan
- Jane Rusbridge
- Isabel Ashdown
- Helon Habila
- David Swann
- Soumya Bhattacharya
- Jane Feaver
- Hannah Westland
- Helen Garnons-Williams
- Lionel Shriver

Genres: Writing

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 8, 2013

Reviews

[John Vanderslice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an intriguing collection, covering almost (almost) everything from soup to nuts, but from the perspective of accomplished novelists looking back on the experience of writing their first novel. The individual stories are pretty eye-opening and worth reading all on their own. First-time novelists may or may not find similar experiences in the writing of their own books, but the essays make for good preparation regardless. The book is organized into five major sections, each taking on a significant concern in novel writing: 1) inspiration and getting started, 2) research in novel writing, 3) finding the right voice for the novel, 4) finding the right form for the novel, and 5) the business of publishing. The essays that make up the latter section were all very helpful, but one caveat from the U.S. side of the Atlantic: I'm not sure too many American agents are actually looking for as discursive a query letter as the British agent who wrote the essay seems to prefer. American agents, from my experience, want everything as cut and dried as possible. (For better or worse.) I worry that the example letter include in that essay could lead American writers astray. Small potatoes, though, given the excellence of the whole collection.

[Christine Ku · Rating 3 out of 5]

I borrowed this as part of my Dec dedication to non-fiction on writer self-helps. After reading the foreword, I already realised this is not a writer self-help but I kept on reading. I think my ultimate giveaway from this book are that every writer is different and that every writing project is different so that it doesn't get easier as you write more books and might even get harder. But oddly enough, I find that gratifying instead of horrifying. I usually grade books based on some sort of objective quality (or objective subjective quality as I like to call it) but here I'm awarding stars based purely on my feelings.

[Kelly Lynn Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is broken down into five parts: inspiration, narrative structure, voice, revision, and the business of publishing. Not every essay hits it out of the ballpark, but they are all good and a few are exceptional. I especially enjoyed the three essays in the last section, the business of publishing. One was written by a literary agent, one by an editor, and one by an author who has published many books over the past 20 years. Essays by literary agents on their work aren't super rare, but essays by editors are pretty uncommon. Their inclusion makes this feel like a whole book, as it goes from the initial idea to publication. The two essays by the lit agent and the editor also provide insight into the business of publishing.

[Angel Serrano · Rating 3 out of 5]

El libro está separado en cinco partes. Cuatro referidas a cómo escribir la novela (inspiración, investigación, voz y forma) y la quinta que habla de su publicación. Los autores de los artículos son novelistas que explican su experiencia personal sobre cada uno de los episodios tratados.