How to Write Best-Selling Fiction

Description

Most people think the way to write a best seller is to have a lot of talent and even more luck. And when you look at the stories behind massively successful breakouts, it certainly does feel that way. Consider that Harry Potter got published because the chairman of Bloomsbury happened to give his eight-year-old daughter the first chapter. There’s no denying that’s a good bit of luck. But underneath the lucky break is the solid foundation for a book that utilizes all the elements of a successful story: a lively plot, relatable characters, and a strong structure. There are scenes that jump off the page, dialogue that makes a reader laugh, and a style that resonates with all audiences. As you will learn, there is a recipe for success, and luck may be the least important ingredient in creating a best seller. Professor Biography......Page 3 Table of Contents......Page 5 Course Scope......Page 7 Lecture 1. Tell Me a Story......Page 10 Types of Fiction......Page 11 Seven Critical Success Factors of Fiction......Page 13 Ten Characteristics of the Writing Life......Page 14 Lecture 2. Anatomy of a Best Seller......Page 19 Your Character’s Fight against Death......Page 20 Your Character’s Strength of Will......Page 22 The Reader’s Bond with the Character......Page 24 A Writer’s Pyramid......Page 25 Lecture 3. Developing Ideas......Page 28 Getting Ideas for Novels......Page 29 Ways to Spark Your Creativity......Page 31 Developing Your Novel Idea......Page 33 Lecture 4. The LOCK System: A Foundation for Your Novel......Page 39 L is for Lead......Page 40 C is for Confrontation......Page 45 K is for Knockout......Page 46 Lecture 5. Structuring Your Novel......Page 48 The Three-Act Structure......Page 50 To Outline or Not to Outline......Page 52 Mythic Structure......Page 54 Lecture 6. Act I: The Disturbance......Page 57 The Disturbance......Page 58 The Care Package......Page 60 Trouble Brewing......Page 62 The Argument against Transformation......Page 64 The First Doorway of No Return......Page 65 Lecture 7. Act II: The Arena of Conflict......Page 67 Confrontation, or the Arena of Conflict......Page 68 The Mirror Moment......Page 69 Pet the Dog......Page 72 The Second Doorway of No Return......Page 73 Lecture 8. Act III and Resolution......Page 76 Mounting Forces......Page 77 The Q Factor......Page 78 The Final Battle......Page 80 The Transformation......Page 81 Resonance......Page 82 Lecture 9. Jump-off-the-Page Characters......Page 85 What Makes Characters Memorable......Page 86 Crafting Villains and Secondary Characters......Page 89 Creating a Series Character......Page 91 Lecture 10. Bringing Characters to Life......Page 94 What You Need to Know about Your Characters......Page 96 Encouraging Diversity in Your Characters......Page 98 Add Spice with Secondary Characters......Page 100 Naming Your Characters......Page 101 Describing Your Characters......Page 103 Lecture 11. Point of View......Page 105 Omniscient Point of View......Page 106 First-Person Point of View......Page 108 Third-Person Point of View......Page 111 Lecture 12. The Essentials of Dazzling Dialogue......Page 115 Dialogue in Fiction and in Real Life......Page 116 What Dialogue Can Do for Your Novel......Page 117 Using the Fear Factor......Page 120 Dialogue and Subtext......Page 122 Lecture 13. Tools for Talk......Page 127 Parent, Adult, Child......Page 128 Dialogue Attributions......Page 130 The Side Step......Page 131 Saying the Opposite of What’s Expected......Page 132 Curving the Language......Page 133 Rules for Punctuation......Page 134 Compressing Dialogue......Page 136 Using Silence, White Space, and Inner Monologue......Page 137 Lecture 14. Voice and Style......Page 140 What Is Voice?......Page 141 Voice and Attitude......Page 142 Getting into Character......Page 143 Showing or Telling?......Page 145 Writing Great Descriptions......Page 147 The Telling Detail......Page 148 Lecture 15. Make a Scene......Page 150 What Makes a Scene?......Page 151 The Emotional Beat......Page 152 The Hook......Page 153 Building Tension in Scenes......Page 156 Lecture 16. Subplots and Parallel Plots......Page 160 Subplots versus Parallel Plots......Page 161 Managing Multiple Parallel Plots......Page 163 The Personal Subplot......Page 165 The Romantic Subplot......Page 166 The Thematic Subplot......Page 167 Lecture 17. Deepening the Reader’s Emotional Experience......Page 169 Emotion in Fiction......Page 170 Going Inside the Character......Page 171 Using Inner Conflict to Deepen Emotion......Page 172 Using Metaphor to Deepen Emotion......Page 174 How Details, Memories, and Dreams Deepen Emotion......Page 175 Theme in Fiction......Page 176 Lecture 18. First Pages That Grab the Reader......Page 179 Prologues, Disturbances, Mood Setting......Page 180 Common Opening Mistakes......Page 184 Cop an Attitude......Page 187 The Chapter 2 Switcheroo......Page 188 Lecture 19. Revising Your Novel......Page 190 First Pass......Page 192 Digging Deeper......Page 193 Writing and Polishing the Second Draft......Page 197 Getting Feedback......Page 200 Lecture 20. Blunders and Baloney......Page 203 Happy People in Happy Land......Page 204 Clumsy Flashbacks......Page 206 Predictability......Page 210 Rendering Character Thoughts......Page 211 Lecture 21. Getting Published......Page 215 Pros and Cons of Traditional Publishing......Page 216 Writing the Query......Page 217 Getting an Agent......Page 219 Negotiating the Publishing Contract......Page 223 Lecture 22. The Self-Publishing Option......Page 227 Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing......Page 228 Think like a Publisher......Page 229 Write like a Pro......Page 231 Quality Control......Page 232 The fifth unbreakable law for self-publishing success is simply this: You must repeat the process over and over for the rest of your life. Self-publishing is a volume business. The more good work you put out there, the better you are going to do. And why......Page 233 The Business of Self-Publishing......Page 234 The Successful Authorpreneur......Page 235 Lecture 23. Marketing Your Work......Page 238 Finding New Customers......Page 239 Marketing through Social Media......Page 241 Using Short-Form Fiction as a Marketing Tool......Page 245 Lecture 24. Conquering the Mental Game of Writing......Page 247 Dealing with Writer’s Block......Page 248 Beating the Envy Trap......Page 251 The Need for Validation......Page 252 Managing Expectations......Page 253 Setting the Mood......Page 254 Finding Inspiration......Page 255 Bibliography......Page 257 Movies Worth Studying......Page 262 Image Credits......Page 263