Essential Guide to Writing a Novel

James Thayer
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Oct 3, 2025 • 24min

Episode 185 - The keys to musical writing.

The three most important words in our fiction are, "Story, story, story."  But we can also shoot for lovely, musical language that makes each sentence and paragraph a pleasure to read.  Here are thoughts on how to add music to our sentences.Support the show
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Sep 26, 2025 • 27min

Episode 184 - Skipping the dull stuff in our plot.

In his famous ten rules of writing, Elmore Leonard says that we shouldn't write things readers tend to skip.  What are those things?  How can we avoid writing them?  Also, should our story have  theme and, if so, how can we present it?Support the show
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Sep 19, 2025 • 28min

Episode 183 - A key to making our sentences forceful.

What do Ernest Hemingway, Cormac McCarthy, and Elmore Leonard have in common?   Powerful stories, yes.  But also lean and forceful sentences.  Here's how they do it.  Also: in our plotting,what's an acceptable coincidence and what's a weak, story-ruining coincidence?Support the show
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Sep 12, 2025 • 24min

Episode 182 - Things to think about as we write the end of our story.

After months and month if writing, we'll near the end of our story.  Our novel is almost finished.  Here are things we should consider as we wrap up our story.  Also, for many of us editing our own story isn't as fun as writing.  Here are thoughts on how we can make sure we edit enough, and how we know when to quit editing.Support the show
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Sep 5, 2025 • 26min

Episode 181 - A critical difference between scene and summary.

Why should almost all of our story be scenes rather than summaries?  Here's how we can avoid summaries and instead write moment-by-moment real-time scenes in our fiction.  Also: here are perhaps the most beautiful sentences ever written in fiction.Support the show
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Aug 29, 2025 • 27min

Episode 180 - The critical distance between the reader and the action.

The reader is like a camera as the scene unfolds.  Where should that camera be?  How far away from the characters and the action?  Here are thoughts on authorial distance, about the benefits of placing the camera--the reader--near or far.  Plus, how Charlotte Bronte worked. Support the show
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Aug 22, 2025 • 27min

Episode 179 - The critical writing techniques all in one episode.

Here are the most important fiction writing techniques boiled down to twenty-five minutes.  I've talked about all these elements in prior episodes but sometimes it's useful to hear things again.  This episode is a refresher.Support the show
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Aug 15, 2025 • 28min

Episode 178 - How to make readers laugh.

We may be writing a comic novel or we may want to add humor to our thriller or romance or horror or literary novel.  Humor adds a strong element to most any story.  Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas: “Funny how?  I mean, funny like I'm a clown?  I amuse you?  I make you laugh?"  Well, yeah.  Let's see how we can make readers laugh.Support the show
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Aug 8, 2025 • 28min

Episode 177 - The description double duty technique.

Good descriptions of characters should do double duty: they can let the reader know what the character looks like and the description can also suggest something about the character's personality.  Here are examples and thoughts on double duty descriptions.  Also, how Alice Walker works. Support the show
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Aug 1, 2025 • 25min

Episode 176 - Inventing a fabulous title.

The title is the book browser's first impression of our novel.  The title should tempt the browser to pick up and open the book.  Here are thoughts on how we can give our story a strong, enticing title.  Also, how do famous authors edit their own manuscripts?  Maybe we can learn from them the best way to self-edit our stories.Support the show

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