LAURENCE MACNAUGHTON

Tag: writers

  • The One Thing You Must Do to Get Published

    As a writing coach, it’s my job to help people get a little perspective on their story problems.  Recently, a client asked me to help him out with his first novel.  He’d gotten halfway through and stalled out.  I put together a laundry list of ways to fix his various story problems — and then…

  • How Do I Finish My Novel?

    Q:  Hi, I’m trying to write a novel about two people who meet by accident and then discover that they share an element of their two dark pasts.  I have a few general story ideas, but nothing concrete.  I know where I want to start my novel and where I want it to end, but…

  • What Is Copyright, Exactly?

    What is copyright? Want to protect your work against copyright infringement without convincing literary agents and publishers that you’re a complete amateur? (Or worse, a paranoid loon?)  Here are a few simple points to remember. Basically, copyright protects the embodiment of an idea in a tangible form.  That can mean a published book (or movie,…

  • How To Write a Book from One Image

    Got writing questions?  Get answers! Q:  I have this singular, compelling image that keeps getting stuck in my mind, and it has inspired me to write my novel.  But it’s just one scene, really.  Is there any way I can develop a story from that?  Can you give me any idea how to write a…

  • Free Writing Websites

    Learn how to write a novel the right way. Wait, don’t tell me, let me guess — you, dear reader, want to learn how to write a novel!  (Well, the fact that you’re on a web site called “You Can Write A Novel” conveniently gives it away.)  I’ve always believed that when you want to…

  • Your 3 Writing Personalities: the Surprising Truth

    Can the E-Myth show you how to write a novel? In The E-Myth Revisited, bestselling author Michael Gerber doesn’t breathe one word about how to write a novel.  But the priceless wisdom in these pages might change how you think of yourself and your writing process. In a nutshell, the E-Myth puts forth the idea…

  • How To Make A Disastrous Booksigning Event A Success by J.A. Konrath

    Author J.A. Konrath I happened across this writing article by J.A. Konrath recently at  Backspace, The Writer’s Place.  I remember reading it years ago, probably in Writer’s Digest somewhere.  Joe really knows his stuff when it comes to literary agents, publishers and how to write a book.  So check this out; it’s a great piece…

  • I Want to Teach You How to Write a Novel

    Over the last few years, I’ve met and interviewed a bunch of authors at different stages in their career, from the very beginning to the very top.  In one case, I had the privilege of hanging out with a debut author the same day he discovered he’d hit the New York Times bestseller list.  As…