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Course Name:Thirty Day Novel

Todays Topic: Lesson 1: Getting Started

Lesson 1: Getting Started

You can write a novel of at least 50,000 words in thirty days even ifyou have a day job, a social life, and children. I know this because Ihave all three with bells on, yet still write every week and getpublished. In this first lesson, I'll discuss being a writer, schedulingyour writing time, finding inspiration, and staying motivated. Then

we'll start writing over the other lessons. Follow our advice and youllhave a book in one month!

Use other books from your local library or courses onwww.emailcollege.co.ukto supplement the points made over theselessons and enhance your writing. These all offer techniques toelevate your use of characters, settings, plots, and themes, withgenre-specific and literary information. Good luck in this courageousjourney. Express yourself. That's what writing is about.

Being A Writer

If you're like most writers, you've always wanted to write, feltcompelled to express yourself, and wished to make a difference in theworld by inspiring, entertaining, or otherwise affecting your readers.Writing fulfils a need for most writers. It can be lonely at times,exciting at others. Because we expose ourselves when we write, ittakes courage. We face and overcome our insecurities each time wesit to write at our desk, in the local coffee shop, or under a big tree atthe park. Writing is often a solitary activity, so it's important forwriters to connect with other writers once in awhile, because only

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another writer can truly empathise with the emotional challenges ofexpressing ourselves in this form, offering our artistic efforts to anunknown audience who may criticise our work. It's natural to takethese criticisms personally.

I encourage you to write something every day even when you're notworking on a novel. I also encourage you to continue to read a varietyof fiction and non-fiction. As well as entertaining and enlighteningyou, reading serves as subconscious writing lessons. If you haven'talready, you can begin to pay conscious attention to the ways yourfavourite authors describe characters and settings and how they use

dialogue and show thoughts. Everything you read or have read willinfluence your writing to some degree. For this reason, I recommendthat you don't read anything too similar to what you're currentlywriting to avoid subconscious mirroring or copying.

Scheduling Your Writing

If you plan to write for money, sticking to a writing schedule isimportant. To successfully complete this course, it's essential. Forsome writers, this discipline gives them the push they need to followthrough with their ideas when the energy that accompanied thatinitial spark has waned.It's a good idea to set aside a block of time towrite when you are most alert and least likely to be interrupted or

distracted. In order to complete your 50,000 words by the end of thiscourse, you'll have a quota of 1,667 words per day, weekendsincluded. If you choose to take weekends off, you'll write about 2,273words per day.

I recommend making writing part of your routine every day. You maychoose to do it all in one sitting, break it up into several blocks, orwrite when you can throughout the day. The longer you can spend at a

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stretch without becoming mentally exhausted, the better for thedepth of your story and the success of reaching your goal. Where youwrite may greatly influence your ability to keep at it. If you are easilydistracted, you may do better in a back bedroom or at the library. Butif you don't do well in isolation, your kitchen table or a booth at acoffee shop might be a better choice. Some libraries offeraccommodation for writers such as desks or cubicles. Writing may feeldifficult at times, but it should always be enjoyable. The emotionalpain you experience while facing a mental challenge in writing shouldbe approached in the same way as physical pain in an athleticchallenge.

Finding Inspiration and Staying Motivated

Ideas come from everywhere. They pass through your mind constantlyas you use your senses to experience the world. They come fromthings you see and hear now and in your thoughts and memories. Thetrick is tuning in to their presence, recognising them as youexperience them, and recording them before you lose them. Oncethey're caught, their growth is limitless. Once you've focused on anidea, have written it down, and have exhausted that first rush ofinspiration, it's time to get to work. Staying motivated in the face ofyour doubts may be the most difficult work. I don't know an author orartist who does not have to battle their insecurities in order tocomplete their works. You may imagine that once one is published orotherwise recognized, insecurities and doubts will disappear.Unfortunately, no, because the work is a personal expression of the

author and personal expressions open us up to feelings ofvulnerability.

The best defence against our doubts is to keep working. Stick to yourwriting schedule. Write something every day. New inspiration couldhit at anytime. Take short breaks from your writing when exhaustionthreatens. I recommend taking a walk, but don't forget to take a

notepad with you.

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While you write your first draft, focus on recording the ideas, events,

dialogue, descriptions, etc. that you want to go into your novel. It'snot important, at this stage, to worry about the shape of your novel orthe exact words used. Some of your story will come out perfect thefirst time you write it, but most of your early writing will serve tostimulate your imagination and move your story forward.

Whether or not you count character and setting descriptions and backstory as part of your word quota is up to you. Don't worry if you're notsure where to begin or what your story will be about. Just startwriting. Focus on quantity for now. Don't worry if you don't know whatform to put your words into. Describe your characters, where thestory takes place, the situation, anything at all that will happen orinfluence what happens in your novel.

Exercises

Complete the first 6,250 words of your novel.

Beginning today, and continuing for thirty days, you will write 1,667words each day (or 2,273 words each day if you take off two days eachweek.)

Meeting your quota each day is essential to completing your 50,000-word novel in thirty days

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Lesson 2: Your First Draft

While you write your first draft, focus on recording the ideas, events,dialogue, descriptions, etc. that you want to go into your novel. It'snot important, at this stage, to worry about the shape of your novel or

the exact words used. Some of your story will come out perfect thefirst time you write it, but most of your early writing will serve tostimulate your imagination and move your story forward.

Developing Ideas

An idea that sparks your imagination is exciting. You write as fast asyou can to capture the idea. It may start with an interesting person,place, or event, then your imagination runs with it. After a short time,or a long time if you're lucky, your pen slows. Where do you go now?

Have you come to a dead end? Is this writer's block? Maybe it wasn'tsuch a good idea after all. Don't give up! When you reach this point,change direction. Look at what you've written. Who are yourcharacters? What do they look like? Start asking them questions. Whatdo they want? (This is important.) What have they been through? Askthem anything you want to know. They'll tell you who they are. Someauthors are so in tune to their characters in this way that they claimtheir characters write the story for them.

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Where does the story take place? What does it look like? Pay attentionto the details of the image in your mind. Use all your senses: sight,sound, touch, taste, smell, and emotional feeling. Does the settinghave a mood? Is this a real place or an imaginary one? If it's a realplace, your readers expect you to portray it truthfully. What's goingon? Why is it happening? What events led up to it? What's going tohappen next? If you're not sure, ask "what if...?" Try out somepossibilities.

Writing Quantity and Quality

For the purpose of your goal to write a novel in thirty days, thequantity of your daily achievement is equal, if not more important, toits quality. Your motto is "keep writing at all costs." Push yourself tomeet your daily word quota even if you don't know where your story isgoing.

There are many things to explore while writing a story. How did yourcharacters meet? What are their relationships to one another. If youwere telling someone about each of them, how would you describethem? What happened in their lives before they arrived where (intime) they are now. What do they want most in life? The more youknow behind the scenes, the better your scenes will be.

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What about your settings? Why did you choose them? Use all yoursenses to describe the surroundings. How do the settings affect themoods and actions of the characters? Do the settings mirror orcontrast the moods of the characters? Why are you writing this story?Is there a lesson you are consciously, or subconsciously, trying to getacross? What are the characters' learning about life? What do theywant? What are they trying to achieve? What are they trying toovercome? What would happen to your characters if they didn't get

what they want? (This is important.)

Choosing Viewpoint and Tense

Who is the main character? From whose point of view should you tellthe story? (From whose eyes will your readers see the story?) Should itbe told in first- or third- person? (Will the story be told by or aboutthe main character?) Or will you try something more unusual likesecond-person or omniscient third-person? I'll define these termsbelow. Also consider what tense you will write your story in. Past

tense is most common as most stories told have already happened.Present tense may give your story a more active feel.

First-Person. Using this viewpoint, one of your characters tells thestory using the word "I." He tells us what he did, saw, thought, etc.

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This character could be the main character or another character whotells the main character's story. First-person may feel the most naturalto you as the teller of your story, because it's the way you experiencethe real world, but this viewpoint can be limiting because we can onlysee and otherwise experience the story through one person's eyes. Youwill need to be creative to include information relevant to the storythat was experienced by other characters when they were away fromthe first-person narrator.

Third-Person. Using this viewpoint, a narrator tells the story using thepronouns "he," "she," and "they." He tells us what the characters did,saw, thought, etc. In modern third-person storytelling, the narrator islimited to one character's viewpoint at a time. Third-person may feelthe most natural to your readers, because it's probably the mostcommon way to tell a story.

Second-Person. Using this viewpoint, you address the reader as "you."You tell them what they are doing or thinking. It's used most often innon-fiction, and often in present tense. You use this viewpoint as away to try to get inside the readers' heads.

Omniscient. Using this viewpoint, a narrator tells the story usingpronouns as in third-person, but is not limited to one character'sviewpoint at a time. This narrator can hop from one "head" to the

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next, telling us what one character thinks, then what another thinks.He sees all and knows all. Third-person omniscient is considered old-fashioned.

First- and Third-person are the most common viewpoints from whichto tell a story, but don't let that discourage you from using anotherviewpoint if it better serves your story. Don't be afraid to experiment.

In first or third-person stories, you can alternate the point of viewbetween characters, but you should avoid changing viewpoints withinthe same chapter. I'll discuss book and chapter divisions in the nextsection.

Planning and Organising - Scene. Chapter. Book. Novel.

A scene is the smallest division of a novel. Each scene describes anevent. The event advances the story by focusing on character, plot, ortheme. Each scene contains a beginning, middle, and ending withinitself, as does each chapter, as does the entire novel. Scene changesindicate changes in event, setting, time, etc.

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A chapter is a group of scenes (or events) that combine to form alarger mini-story with a beginning, middle, and ending. Chapterdivisions may indicate changes such as viewpoint, situation, setting,

time, etc.

A book is a group of chapters. This division isn't always used. It mightbe used to separate different periods in a character's life such asbefore and after a major life event or before and after a change in acharacter's outlook on life.

A novel is a group of books or chapters. It contains the entire storyfrom beginning to end.

The idea of planning and organising your novel may seemoverwhelming at first, but all you really need to focus on is one scene(one mini-story) at a time. You can write the entire story this way,but it helps to have some idea where you are going. Sometimes you'llknow, sometimes you won't, and sometimes you'll be surprised. Thenatural progression of your story is instinctual for most writers, thoughyou may move the parts around as you complete more of your noveland your understanding of your story increases.

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Making Changes

What if you realise that something you've written won't work withwhere your story is going? Or you think of something that should havehappened to make your story stronger and more meaningful? Whilewriting the first draft, avoid slowing your momentum by going back todo heavy rewriting. For now, just go back and make a note, asummary, of the change you want to make. If you cut large portionsout of your story, I highly recommend pasting those portions into anew document and saving them.

You might choose to edit each scene as you complete it, but I don'trecommend editing too thoroughly at this stage because you maydecide to change something later and your time is better spentmoving forward with your story. If you choose to edit as you go, try toread through your scene as if you were a reader encountering it forthe first time. While you read, note any ideas you have for improvingit. Do you enjoy what you are reading? Make sure you've stayed in the

same person and tense throughout the scene. Does each line advancethe story through the development of character, plot, or theme? Ifwords are only there because you liked the way they sounded, perhapsthey should be cut. Don't hesitate to cut parts of your story that aren'tdoing their work, but don't throw them away. Save them for later orfor another story.

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Exercises

Complete 12,500 words of your novel. Write about your story.

Consider keeping a writing or theme journal while you write yournovel.

Do you know why you are writing your story?

What will your readers learn about life from your story?

Write down any connections or recurring symbols that you noticedeveloping in your story. Is it a genre story? (Can it easily becategorised as a romance, science fiction, western, etc.?)

Lesson 3: Characters

Whether you consider your novel to be plot-driven or character-driven, your characters have great influence on your plot. Theirpersonalities determine how they react to the events they encounter.In a character-driven novel, the story focuses more on the charactersthemselves than on what they do and what happens to them.

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Creating New Characters

We relate to the inner conflicts of characters more than to their outerexperiences, because they do and say things for which we don'tnormally have the courage. They experience things beyond the scopeof our common lives. Your readers want to meet characters who arerealistic, but not ordinary. They want to share experiences withcharacters who are larger than life, and who are memorable becauseof distinctive traits such as nervous habits or unique hobbies andinterests.

You may begin with a physical image of a character in your mind, aline of dialogue, or a role. To discover more about this character, askher questions. What does she look like? How does she feel aboutherself? What do other people think about her? What kind of home lifedid she have? Where did she grow up? How did she get herself into thissituation? What does she most want in life? Etc., etc., etc. Ask heranything you want to know. Chances are that she has an answer for

you.

Once you know quite a bit about your characters, ask yourself why

your readers should care about each character. Most readers relate tosuffering. But they don't want your characters to suffer for no good

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reason. They want them to struggle and succeed in some way, even ifit's not by reaching the goal they strove toward. Give your character anoble goal, then make them suffer for it. By the end of your story,your characters, particularly your main character, must have changedin some way.

Rather than grouping characters into good and bad, try to see them

each more realistically as people who have good and bad sides to theirpersonalities. Even "bad" characters should evoke some sympathy fromyour readers. "Good" and "bad" behaviour is more realistically theresult of each character's awareness level of themselves and thosearound them. Did they have time to think about what they weredoing? What kept them honest or what lead them astray?

Basing Characters on People You Know

It's impossible not to base characters, at least in part, on the people

in your life (especially yourself), but it's important to make sure thatyour characters don't resemble those people too closely. If the personyou base your character on is healthy and attractive, give yourcharacter physical flaws, change her hair colour, change heroccupation, or give her a different personal history. Change herenough so that no one you and she know will recognise her.

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You may know a lot about your characters because you know a lotabout the people you base them on, but don't stop there. Once you'veprotected the identities of the people in your life by mixing up and

disguising their recognisable traits, use your imagination to fill in theblanks where the real people end and the characters begin. What dothey think about? Why do they do the things they do? What do theywrite in their diaries? What are their deepest secrets and desires?

Delineating Characters

Similarities among characters are ok unless those shared traits make itdifficult for readers to keep each character separate in their minds.Give your characters distinctive traits that set them apart. For

example, if both your main character and a secondary character havelong, brown hair, consider changing one's hair colour. If twocharacters share similar histories, determine whether this similaritysupports the story or confuses readers. How do each of yourcharacters regard themselves? Though they may seem similar on thesurface, they are probably much different on the inside. Emphasizethese differences by showing ways each character interprets their ownthoughts and feelings.

Will your readers be able to tell who is speaking by the way thatindividual characters talk? They should be able to, but avoid the useof accents or dialects in your dialogue. It's easier for the reader to

imagine an accent if you tell them that the character has one ratherthan if you try to sound one out in your writing. If your dialogue

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doesn't sound natural, take time to listen to people speak. Don'tforget to include the physical gestures, both universal and unique,that go along with speech.

You should have only one main character (or in some cases, one maingroup). All other characters support or influence this character insome way. Being aware of each character's level of importance in the

story will help you determine who deserves the most focus which willfurther differentiate your characters.

Exercise

Character Writing

Complete 18,750 words of your novel.

Create a chart that shows how your characters are related to one

another.

How does each character influence the main character?

Rank your characters from the main character down to the secondary,supporting, and bit part characters

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Lesson 3: Characters

Whether you consider your novel to be plot-driven or character-driven, your characters have great influence on your plot. Theirpersonalities determine how they react to the events they encounter.In a character-driven novel, the story focuses more on the characters

themselves than on what they do and what happens to them.

Creating New Characters

We relate to the inner conflicts of characters more than to their outerexperiences, because they do and say things for which we don'tnormally have the courage. They experience things beyond the scopeof our common lives. Your readers want to meet characters who arerealistic, but not ordinary. They want to share experiences withcharacters who are larger than life, and who are memorable because

of distinctive traits such as nervous habits or unique hobbies andinterests.

You may begin with a physical image of a character in your mind, aline of dialogue, or a role. To discover more about this character, ask

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her questions. What does she look like? How does she feel aboutherself? What do other people think about her? What kind of home lifedid she have? Where did she grow up? How did she get herself into thissituation? What does she most want in life? Etc., etc., etc. Ask heranything you want to know. Chances are that she has an answer foryou.

Once you know quite a bit about your characters, ask yourself whyyour readers should care about each character. Most readers relate tosuffering. But they don't want your characters to suffer for no goodreason. They want them to struggle and succeed in some way, even ifit's not by reaching the goal they strove toward. Give your character anoble goal, then make them suffer for it. By the end of your story,your characters, particularly your main character, must have changedin some way.

Rather than grouping characters into good and bad, try to see themeach more realistically as people who have good and bad sides to theirpersonalities. Even "bad" characters should evoke some sympathy fromyour readers. "Good" and "bad" behaviour is more realistically the

result of each character's awareness level of themselves and thosearound them. Did they have time to think about what they weredoing? What kept them honest or what lead them astray?

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Basing Characters on People You Know

It's impossible not to base characters, at least in part, on the peoplein your life (especially yourself), but it's important to make sure thatyour characters don't resemble those people too closely. If the personyou base your character on is healthy and attractive, give yourcharacter physical flaws, change her hair colour, change heroccupation, or give her a different personal history. Change herenough so that no one you and she know will recognise her.

You may know a lot about your characters because you know a lotabout the people you base them on, but don't stop there. Once you'veprotected the identities of the people in your life by mixing up anddisguising their recognisable traits, use your imagination to fill in theblanks where the real people end and the characters begin. What dothey think about? Why do they do the things they do? What do theywrite in their diaries? What are their deepest secrets and desires?

Delineating Characters

Similarities among characters are ok unless those shared traits make itdifficult for readers to keep each character separate in their minds.Give your characters distinctive traits that set them apart. Forexample, if both your main character and a secondary character havelong, brown hair, consider changing one's hair colour. If twocharacters share similar histories, determine whether this similarity

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supports the story or confuses readers. How do each of yourcharacters regard themselves? Though they may seem similar on thesurface, they are probably much different on the inside. Emphasizethese differences by showing ways each character interprets their ownthoughts and feelings.

Will your readers be able to tell who is speaking by the way that

individual characters talk? They should be able to, but avoid the useof accents or dialects in your dialogue. It's easier for the reader toimagine an accent if you tell them that the character has one ratherthan if you try to sound one out in your writing. If your dialoguedoesn't sound natural, take time to listen to people speak. Don'tforget to include the physical gestures, both universal and unique,that go along with speech.

You should have only one main character (or in some cases, one maingroup). All other characters support or influence this character insome way. Being aware of each character's level of importance in thestory will help you determine who deserves the most focus which willfurther differentiate your characters.

Exercise Character Writing

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Complete 18,750 words of your novel.

Create a chart that shows how your characters are related to oneanother.

How does each character influence the main character?

Rank your characters from the main character down to the secondary,supporting, and bit part characters

Lesson 5: Writing Techniques

Once you've got your basic story idea down, it's time to make it morepowerful by raising the stakes, pushing the characters, and using thesetting to full advantage.

Raising the Stakes

If your characters don't get what they want, what will happen?Something terrible? I hope so, because if not, why does it matter to

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your readers if your characters reach their goals? It has to matter agreat deal to your characters and to your readers. Your charactersshould feel that life is not worth living if they don't reach their goals.Alternately, the world should be changed for the worse, or othercharacters should suffer, if your characters don't get what they want.

When you imagine what will happen to your characters if they don't

get what they are struggling toward, it should be the worst thing youcan imagine. Raise those stakes to the highest possible level. Askyourself what exactly would be lost if your character didn't reach hisgoal. Is it a significant enough loss for the readers to care enough tokeep turning pages?

In order for high stakes to matter, the character, himself, must alsomatter to the readers. We don't necessarily care about any oldcharacter running for his life. He must have already been madesufficiently sympathetic by the time his stakes are introduced.

Pushing the Characters

Write your characters into a corner. I know that you like yourcharacters, but I want you to push them, to make them suffer for the

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good of your novel. I'm not asking you to write a depressing story, I'masking you to challenge your characters. Your readers want to seeyour characters, who they have come to care about, fully achievesomething. They want to be impressed, moved, and inspired whenyour characters face huge internal and external challenges, and comeout alive. "Push," is the magic word. Push your characters ineverything they do to evoke an emotional response from your readers.If you find that an action isn't doing that job, what action would makeit more meaningful? Push.

Using the Setting

The setting should support what's going on in the scene. It should actas a character in itself. Use it as a metaphor for how your charactersare feeling or what they are doing. For example, let the forcefulwater that tugs at your character's feet threaten to pull her off therock she's sitting on while she fears that she's losing control of her life.Rather than describing an entire room or landscape, focus on thespecific details so that they imply the larger setting.

For example, rather than telling your readers that the moonlightshowed through the window, tell them that each piece of silverwarebeside your main character's dinner plate imprisoned a tiny moon.(Does your character feel that she is trapped or that she is losing partsof herself as the moon has?)

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Exercise - Complete 37,500 words of your novel. List ways you canraise the stakes, use settings as metaphors, and push your charactersto evoke stronger emotional responses from your readers.

Editing and Polishing

It's more important to focus on getting your story down than oncreating fine writing.

But now that you've got the hang of writing for quantity, let's look atwriting for quality.

If by some miraculous feat you've already completed your first draft,put it away for at least a couple of weeks. During this time, take abreak from writing, read a novel, or begin a new project. Whateveryou do, resist the urge to read and edit your novel. This time awayfrom your story will give you an objective ear from which toexperience your story as a first reader would.

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After several weeks, take out your novel and read through it as youwould a novel written by someone else, but don't change anything yet.As you read, note the things you wish to change, questions that werenot answered, goals that were not reached, or problems that were notresolved.

Making Changes

Before you delete or throw out anything, I highly recommend keepinga copy of the sections you remove from your novel. You may decide

later to put them back in, to use them somewhere else in your novel,or to use them in another novel. Below are several tips to keep inmind when analysing your story for needed changes.

Narration.

Show don't tell. What do various emotions look like? Be specific. Show,rather than tell, the reader what is happening during importantscenes. Save telling for passages of time (between important scenes)where nothing exciting happens. For example, rather than telling your

readers that your main character was angry, show them how hejumped to his feet and threw his glass at another person in the room.

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Dialogue.

Nothing brings your characters to life like dialogue. Read yourdialogue aloud to make sure that it sounds natural. Also make sure

that it serves the purpose of advancing the story. Keep your dialoguetags simple. "He said" and "she said" are all you need. Whispering andshouting are ok if necessary, but avoid other descriptive tags such as"he laughed," "she demanded," etc, because they are often repetitiveand call attention away from the dialogue. Tags can be omitted if it'sclear, without them, who is speaking. You shouldn't need to explainyour dialogue. It should speak for itself.

Thoughts.

Take care not to overuse interior monologue. If a character'sbehaviour or what he says makes it clear what his thoughts are, omitrepetitive thought descriptions.

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Characters.

Introduce your characters gradually through action, reaction, anddialogue rather than from long descriptions that slows the story. It'simportant to let your readers get to know your characters in thepresent before delving too deeply into the past via flashbacks, etc.Try to introduce your characters' histories only when they are needed.Distribute this information in smaller pieces throughout your story ifpossible.

Point of View.

Be sure that you use your chosen point of view consistently, and thatyour chosen point of view is the most appropriate choice for yourstory.

Repetition.

Know what you are trying to accomplish with each scene, chapter,etc. of your story, so you can avoid using multiple sections of the bookto repeat a purpose. Also avoid overusing words or fictional devicessuch as flashbacks.

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Passage of Time.

It may be more effective to cut from place to place than to detailevery moment between.

Action.

Use active verbs. He jumped. She shuddered. The tree spread itsbranches. Avoiding verbs.

Voice.

As you tell your story, be yourself. If you try to write like yourfavourite authors, you run the risk of sounding contrived.

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Choosing First Readers

It's not a bad idea to get someone else's opinion about your book, butbe sure that the person you choose understands what you want fromthem. Do you want to know how they feel about the story or do youwant grammatical or organizational advice? Do you want to know ifthey like your characters? Be sure that your first reader will be tactful

in their responses to your book. Also be sure that this person is notsomeone to whose opinion you are overly sensitive. Take thecomments of your reader as suggestions that you may or may notfollow.

Exercise - Complete 43,750 words of your novel. Keep writing. Readthrough relevant sections of your text books.

Preparing Your Manuscript.

In general, your manuscript should be plain and easy-to-read. It shouldbe printed in black ink on white, letter-sized paper. The text shouldbe in a common font, double spaced, with a one-inch margin on all

sides. Individual agents and publishers may have specific guidelines forthe format of your manuscript.

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Finding an Agent or Publisher.

There is little more to the process of finding an agent or publisherthan locating a listing in a directory such as Writer's Handbook. You

can purchase a copy at most bookstores or reference it at the library.The tough part is figuring out which agent or publisher (of thethousands listed) will be most receptive to your book proposal so youdon't waste your time or theirs with the submission process. Beforeyou submit your manuscript, carefully check over the agent orpublisher's submission guidelines provided in the directory.

Using an agent is optional, but may be significantly beneficial becauseagents know the publishing industry well, and editors will be morereceptive to viewing the work of an author represented by an agent.Most agents will accept unsolicited query letters in which you proposeyour story idea. If the agent contacts you with his interest, he'll likely

ask you to send either an outline, sample chapters, or the completemanuscript. Writer's Handbook offers tips for query letter writing andcontacting an agent.

Waiting for a Response.

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Agents and editors are busy people. You may wait months for a

response to your query letter. During this time, redirect yourattention to a new project. Most listings in Writer's Market give anapproximate response time. After this time as passed, you may send afollow up letter in which you describe your original query and includea self-addressed, stamped reply postcard or envelope as you did withyour original query.

Concluding Thoughts

You've reached the end of this course, and hopefully you're close to

reaching your goal of completing a 50,000-word novel in thirty days.

Even if you haven't reached the 50,000 mark, any work toward

completing your novel is an achievement. Don't give up. At this point,you may find that your story is complete at 50,000 words, or you mayfind that it requires more words.