How to Write a Novel: From Idea to Book: Books for Writers, Book 14

Books for Writers #14

by Joanna Penn

It might not be in the way that you expect, but when you hold your book in your hand and say, “I made this,” something will shift. The process of getting to that point will light a spark in your creative soul and help you discover unexpected aspects of yourself. It will be one of the things you are most proud of in your life. This book will help you get there. I’m Joanna (J.F.) Penn, award-nominated, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 18 novels and novellas with nearly a million books sold in over one hundred countries. This book will help you write your first novel, or improve your creative process so you can write more books and reach more readers. It covers mindset, ideas and research, aspects of craft, how to write a first draft, and work through an editing process to a finished book. You will Conclusion If you want to (finally) write your novel, then buy How to Write a Novel today.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Crafts

Audible Audio

Published July 26, 2022

About the author

Joanna Penn writes non-fiction for authors and is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling fiction and memoir author as J.F. Penn. 


She’s also an award-winning podcaster, creative entrepreneur, and international professional speaker. She lives in Bath, England with her husband and two British shorthair cats, and enjoys a nice G&T.


See also Goodreads author's profile as J.F. Penn.

Reviews

[Nina ( picturetalk321 ) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read so many how-to books on writing. Why this is my top favourite (alongside Chris Baty's Plot? What Plot?):

Joanna Penn is a discovery writer. Most how-to booka are written by planners. I'm not a planner and Joanna Penn's advice is so freeing for me.

Joanna Penn allows for diverse approaches and ways of doing things. She gives you her personal way of doing things, outlines others' approaches and always ends with: you've got to find out what's right for you. I love that. So many books claim to have the golden answer to everything (if you follow my special technique, you'll succeed, and only then etc ) but this book outlines options for you.

The writing style is clear and to the point. The tone is generous and positive. The production values are high, as I've come to expect from Penn's books. Crisp white paper, large clear font, strangely huge quotes that take up an entire page (but they sort of grew on me) and a colour title page!

[Sarah ❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a good overview. The advice and anecdotes in this book would I think be most helpful for people who are just getting started with their writing journey, who maybe have an idea but have never actually made an attempt. The tone is very optimistic while being realistic and well-rounded. For me personally, I found the discussion of writing tools and the editing and rewrite process (towards the end of the book) to be the most helpful, but the breadth of what is covered here is great for someone just starting out.

[Taron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great overview with lots of information and personal know-how from Penn who never fails to disappoint. Just what I needed to read to help get me motivated to do the first edit of my novel!

[L.G. Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinarily well put together. Joanna combines a decade+ of real-world indie author experience & all the advice she's heard from speaking with hundreds of other novelists. If your looking to enhance your writing craft look no further, this book's so incredible that I'm going back now to take notes :)

Cheers,
-Lg, The Rogue of Space

[Tiffany Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joanna Penn shares her substantial breadth of experience and knowledge to help walk authors through writing a novel, from the approach to the planning to the nitty-gritty of drafting and editing. A practical, straightforward, eminently useful guide.

[Alyssa Kuron · Rating 5 out of 5]

The latest book for authors by Joanna Penn is extremely thorough, easy to follow and covered an awful lot of ground. It may have overlap with so many other books out there, but Joanna presents the content from her own viewpoint (perfect for fans of her Creative Penn podcast and other books!) and is a great compilation of so many aspects of novel writing. It’s surely a book I will come back to time and again on my own writing journey.

In particular, I love, love, loved all of the examples throughout the book. I happen to have a fair amount of overlap with the author in the types of books I read and television shows I watch, so the examples were particularly relevant and informative. I mention this, specifically, because I’ve read other ‘craft’ type books and find the examples either outdated, uninformative (e.g., overly literary/cerebral books that don’t appeal to me) or lacking examples altogether. Joanna did a fantastic job in this regard and I wanted to mention it in case this matters as much to others as it does to me.

I highly recommend this book!

[Zoe Langley-Wathen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although my writing genre is memoir, I've been dipping in and out of How To Write a Novel for around ten months now. It's been useful on many levels. It includes practical advice for many areas, such as whether to plot, how to research, self-editing, choosing an editor, working with beta readers and simply how to get motivated. The author also shares more about the typical structure of a novel, looking at how to engage readers and giving the reader a checklist of points to consider.

The wisdom in Joanna's advice is clear but concise throughout the text, but he expertise is highlighted further within the summary questions at the end of each chapter. I found the full list of questions collated at the end of the eBook particularly helpful, so I didn't have to keep flicking through the book to find them. The resources and bibliography is extensive and will give you many opportunities for further reading around your topic of interest.

In a nutshell - this book is not just for novel writers, as most of the writing craft tips and the practical advice can be applied to nonfiction too. For memoir, I still need to apply the rules of character arcs for example. Otherwise it would be boring!

[Peter Springer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I especially like Joanna Penn's approach in this book because she embraces the idea that there is no exact way one has to write a novel. Though Penn is more of a discovery writer (pantser), she doesn't try to force what works for her onto the reader. This book would be equally helpful for those who are plotters. While she shares her writing process throughout, she repeatedly emphasizes that authors must find what works best for them.

At the end of each section, she recaps the main points, asks the reader specific questions to make them think about their process, and includes a wealth of helpful resources to get more information. Beginning and experienced writers will benefit from this organized and thoughtful book.

One particular metaphor connected with me was that the first draft is like Michelangelo's statue of David. Like the great sculptor, the writer's job is to "cut away the extraneous material."

[Judith Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing a book is a hairy scary idea. If you've started, it's easy to quit. If you haven't started, it's easier never to begin. But there is a way to approach writing a book, and even better, getting it done, and it starts with reading How To Write A Novel. Joanna Penn shares practical information that you can apply right away, without a lot of woo-woo or mumbo jumbo. I like learning about forming habits and making use of real tools to get my job done. But best of all, I love Joanna Penn's personal stories--her own ups and downs, and authentic and honest insights--that will stay with you and motivate you to keep writing. I can't recommend this book highly enough!

[Chelsea Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! I’ve read probably a dozen or so books about the writing craft, including Story Genius and Save the Cat Writes a Novel. But this book was the most accessible and actionable.

The audiobook was great and I’m counting down the days until my paperback and workbook come in. Each section has thought-provoking questions that I’m excited to explore, and they weren’t the typical questions I’ve read about in most other books.

With the plethora of novel writing book, this one was truly unique. Highly recommend!

[Jan Sayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect companion for writing that novel — should you ever decide to take the plunge. The format and layout of this book is perfect — plenty of space for notes (I confess I write notes in my books) — clean, easy-to-read layout and great chapter headings. You can find everything you need to guide you and stimulate you through your writer's journey. Resources listed at the end of each chapter and a comprehensive bibliography at the end. If you are buying one book to help you write your novel, this is the one!

[Nancy Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is identical in layout and structure to How to Make a Living With Your Writing. If you enjoyed that book, you’re likely to feel similarly about this one. Nothing is discussed in depth. It is meant to be a general overview of the topic, and it succeeds at giving the reader an introductory understanding of what it takes to pen a novel. I would have enjoyed more detail, but I found this to be helpful nevertheless.

[Barbora Jirincova · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a great book summarizing everything you need to know to begin writing. Some chapters are a little repetitive if you are familiar with the authors' other books. However, as a stand-alone book, this one is informative and readable, and it has one thing that other self-help writing books don´t.
It conveys enthusiasm and makes you believe that you can and must write if it is what your heart tells you to do.
And that is exactly what authors need to read as often as possible.

[Zoe Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful and Practical

Very helpful and full of practical advice, busting with insights, wisdom, and her own personal experience and recommendations. I have never written a book, but now have the tools. Thank you.

[Jamey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read quite of few in this genre as I've tried to get my first novel finished and this is the best, most complete, and informative of all of them. Add in the plethora of information that she provides on her podcast and you can't go wrong following Joanna Penn wherever she goes!

[Own Damn Hero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joanna provides multiple options on how to work towards your writery goals and I love me some options.

[A.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the rare craft books from a discovery writer. Seriously, there are so few of them. But like everything else Joanna Penn does, it is well written, informative and incredibly helpful.

4 stars

[Julie Thorpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be insightful and knowledgeable and just what I needed to inspire me and get me back on track. Really helpful, thankyou :)

[Bryan Rice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great and simple read on how to write a novel. Great inspiration and motivation to write.

[Tab · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful/helpful. I found that I already know or apply many of the suggestions already, so I hope that reflects positively on me in the future.

[John Smart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok

[Elise Overd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely some good ideas and worth a read. Readable cover to cover but good to refer to as a kind of as-and-when-needed guide.

[S N Little · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been so incredibly helpful for me as a new author, for both my confidence as well as helpful tips about structure, research and character development.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read for writers.

[Ivaylo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredibly useful for any aspiring writer. Joanna's advice is not only good but extremely valuable, deserving to be heard and applied when writing our first book.

[James Hooton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Joanna's style of teaching in this book - very up-to-date and I'd say applicable to most new writers.
It was fun as well and I will return to it time and time again.