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.
Author(s): James Scott Bell
Series: The Great Courses
Publisher: The Teaching Company
Year: 2019-04
Language: English
Pages: 264
Tags: TTC, TGC, Writing
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
