Nail Your Novel: Why Writers Abandon Books and How You can Draft, Fix and Finish With Confidence by Roz Morris

Following the Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival I am still immersed in all things writing. Therefore bookaholics brings you another book on writing. This is the second book I have bought in the Nail Your Novel series and I am glad to say that this book was a useful as the first Nail Your Novel: Bring Characters to Life which I reviewed recently. Before you think I am turning into some sort of Roz Morris groupie, I have reviewed both because I think they are excellent books and well worth telling people about.

This book takes you through every aspect of novel writing from coming up with the first idea to publishing. Each step is carefully explained in a way which is helpful without being patronising. There are tips and tricks throughout the book and a number of exercises and games which will help you develop as a writer. These include some which can be used to overcome writers block. Whatever our feelings about games, sometimes it is useful to put our inhibitions aside and see what happens. Some of our best ideas come from this. I certainly intend to give them a go. 

Planning is covered as is writing the first draft. This then leads seamlessly to writing the second draft and editing. I particularly liked the section on the beat sheet which can help you to ensure everything in the novel is in the right place. The other section which stood out for me was that on writing the cover letter and synopsis. This is detailed and clear and cleared a lot of things up for me. I will be using this every time.

Although this book would be most useful for those starting their first novel it does not leave out authors whoa re further into the writing process. There are a number of sections on adapting the ideas for developing and polishing your book. Roz Morris herself is an experienced writer and she has used these techniques extensively. This means that they are tried, tested and proven. Therefore, this makes this another highly recommended book in the withers arsenal.

That's it for this week. I have a crime novel ready and waiting to be read so that's where I'm headed. Tune in soon for the review from the bookaholic.