how to write a novel in 100 days - john coyne.doc

5/24/2018 How to write a novel in 100 days - John Coyne.doc

How many times have you finished reading a novel and said, I could have writtenthat book. You know what? Youre right. ll of us, I believe, carry at least onenovel around in our heads or our hearts. !ovelist "oni #orrison $ut it this way% Iftheres a book you really want to read but it hasnt been written yet, then you mustwrite it. &riting a book is no easy task. !evertheless, every day another book is

$ublished. In '((), according toBooks in Print, '.* million book titles were in $rint. "he

number of books $ublished in '(() alone was '+, in the -nited tates. o,why not you?

What you need

I believe that if you can write a sim$le /nglish sentence 0after all, thats what/rnest Hemingway wrote1, are alert to the world around you, and want to write asalable novel 2 really want to, not 3ust kind of want to 2 then you can do it. Idont think anybody ever became a writer by going to a worksho$, reading a book,or even reading this article. &riting comes from something internal in a writer.However, this article will save you time, $oint you in the right direction, and hel$

you write a novel in ' days or less.


Possible?

It works. Ive done it myself several times. I know what it means to s4uee5e in an hour or two a day 0or night1 of writing. Itis not easy to write a novel, not when you have a full time 3ob, family, andres$onsibilities, but it can be done. #ost writers, in fact, have had to carry on two

lives while they wrote their novel. 6ut once you sell your first book, than maybeyoull be in the $osition to 4uit your day 3ob and devote the rest of your life towriting full time.

Great writers have done it

Yes, you have a 3ob. Yes, you have a family. !either have sto$$ed great writers inthe $ast. "he $oet &allace tevens was a vice $resident of an insurance com$anyand an e7$ert on the bond market. "he young ".. /liot was a banker. &illiam8arlos &illiams was a $ediatrician. 9obert :rost was a $oultry farmer. Hart 8rane

$acked candy in his fathers warehouse, and later wrote advertising co$y. te$hen8rane was a war corres$ondent. #arianne #oore worked at the !ew York ;ublicickey worked for an advertising agency. rchibald #acirector of the ffice of :acts and :igures during &orld &ar II.

Drawing from pure emotion

&hat makes a writer? ;erha$s it is a single incident 2 one that ha$$ens early inlife and sha$es the writers sense of wonder and self@awareness. "ake the case of =osA aramago, the first ;ortuguese@language writer to receivethe !obel ;ri5e in


advice, or wisdom or a task for you to do to get your book written. It is what youneed to do each day for the ne7t hundred days to write your novel.

Day 1

"he greatNew Yorkereditor and writer, /.6. &hite, said when acce$ting the!ational #edal for ecide how much time you will s$end writing each week,and then do it. #any would@be novelists defeat themselves because they set aschedule but then dont stick to it. 6e realistic in the time you $lan, and then live byit.

Day 3

In the first week, decide u$on the story you are going to write. You might not workout every detail, but today you are going to begin the $rocess. You are not going to


$rocrastinate 2 $rocrastination is your enemy. #atisse advised his students, Ifyou want to be a $ainter, cut out your tongue. "he time has come to sto$ merelytalking about writing your novel. Det started $lanning it now.

Day 4&hat kind of novel a$$eals to you? &hat really gets your 3uices flowing? Is it agood murder mystery, science fiction, a thriller, romance, general fiction? lice #unro is considered by many to be the best short@story writer in the/nglish language. Her books sell about *, co$ies a year. he is a writer otherwriters admire for her technical skills and the $urity of her style. he is also knownfor the com$le7 structure of her stories. ty$ical lice #unro story might begin ata $oint that most writers would consider the end, then 3um$ to a time ten yearslater, then back again. 6ut what is most interesting about lice #unro 2 who lives

in a small town in southern 8anada 2 is that her stories are about ordinary $eo$le%their secrets, their memories of acts of violence, their se7ual longings. "hink of what to write from what is around you, from what you know and careabout.

Day 5

It doesnt matter what kind of book you decide to write. "here are no rules otherthan that the story has to be very, very interesting. It can be e7citing, scary, fun,

funny or sad 2 but it must not bore the reader.

Day 6

naly5e and learn. "ake your favorite novel of the ty$e that you want to write andread it again, as if it were a how@to manual for becoming a millionaire. "hen read itagain, breaking the book down into sections. utline the action on large sheets of

$a$er that you $in to your office wall.

Day 7

lthough there are no rules about story ideas, I would offer you one caution% thinksmall. ne of the worst mistakes most beginning novelists make is thinking big,trying to come u$ with an end@of@the@world story, in the belief that big is better."hats not true. Eee$ your story idea small and focused.


Day 8

Imitation can lead to originality. >o short e7ercises imitating different styles. "ryon a do5en voices until you find one that fits. $e the sure hand of a master. 6ut

remember this% write from your own e7$erience. Your e7$erience is uni4ue. s=ohn 6raine, author ofRoom at the Top, wrote, If youre to be heard out of allthose thousands of voices, if your name is going to mean something out of all thosethousands of names, it will only be because youve $resented your own e7$eriencetruthfully.

Day 9

>ont be afraid to write down scenes or sections that dont lead anywhere. >ont

discard them if they arent leading anywhere. :ollow the advice of =oan >idion.he $ins them on a board with the idea of $icking them u$ later. Fuite early in hernovel,A Book of Common Prayer, she says, she wrote about 8harlotte >ouglasgoing to the air$ort. It was a cou$le of $ages of $rose that she liked, but shecouldnt find a $lace for it. I ke$t $icking this $art u$ and $utting it in different

$laces, she writes, but it ke$t sto$$ing the narrativeG it was wrong everywhere,but I was determined to use it. he finally found a s$ot for it in the middle of thebook. ometimes you can get away with things in the middle of the book.

Day 106efore we leave the $roblem of finding your story, let me debunk another clichAabout novel writing% &rite only about something you know. Youre heard that before. Its nonsense. "om8lancy had never been a submarinecommander before he wrote The Hunt For Red October. nd its a safe bet that9ichard 6ach had never been a seagull before he wroteJonathan Livington

!eagu"". Instead of writing about something you know, you can write about somethingyou love. It doesnt matter what it is, 3ust love it. :or e7am$le, rthur

Dolden,author of#emoir of a $eiha, had lived in =a$an and was working for an/nglish@language maga5ine in "okyo when in '( he got the idea for#emoir. In'(), after earning a creative writing degree from 6oston -niversity, he beganresearching geishas and discovered a subculture with its own strange rules. Ittook him ten years and several drafts before he sold the book to lfred . Eno$ffor JK,.

Day 11

6egin by writing about what you know, if not the novel itself, then somethingabout the $lace or $eo$le in your novel. Its a lot easier to get started on your book


if you are writing about $eo$le, $laces, and things with which you have alreadygrown familiar.

Day 12

;ick your characters first, as they are harder to $ick than a story. &hen writing, the $lot may or may not change, but the characters will develo$and have a life of their own. s your characters develo$, theyll take on distinct

$ersonalities, and as with good friends, youll know in certain situations what theywill or will not do. #ystery writer akley Hall says that a writer must listen to the demands of hischaracters, who, as they begin to come to life, may insist u$on a different fate thanthe givens seem to re4uire.

Day 13

Det a bunch of K by L cards and $ut each characters name at the to$. !e7t, thinkabout the role each $lays in your story, and what kind of $erson each is% age,education, $lace of birth, hot@headed, funny, fat, ugly. &hat are their 4uirks? >othey wash their hands K times a day? >o they hear voices? re they kind to kids

but love to torture cats? ;ut it down, $ut down so much that you finally come to

know these characters intimately. lfred Hitchcock would write down his sceneson inde7 cards, one scene to a card. "hat way, as he said, by the time he was readyto shoot the film, he was already done. ome characters will be ma3or ones, around whom the story will $ivotG otherswill $lay bit $arts, but these will be critical too, as every $layer must have a reasonfor being in the story. If they dont have a reason for being in your novel, theyllslow down the story, and slowness bores readers.

Day 14

#ost novels are written to a formula, es$ecially bigbest sellers. :or e7am$le, =ohn 6aldwin, co@authorof The %"eventh P"ague& A 'ove" of #edica"Terror( develo$ed a sim$le formula that he used tostructure his novel. His ten@ste$ formula is%

'. "he hero is an e7$ert.

. "he villain is an e7$ert.*. You must watch all of the villainy over


the shoulder of the villain.+. "he hero has a team of e7$erts in various

fields behind him.

K."wo or more on the team must fall inlove.

). "wo or more on the team must die.L. "he villain must turn his attention from

his initial goal to the team.. "he villain and the hero must live to do

battle again in the se4uel.(. ll deaths must $roceed from the

individual to the grou$% i.e., never saythat the bomb e7$loded and 'K,

$eo$le were killed. tart with =amie and

u5y were walking in the $ark with theirgrandmother when the earth o$ened u$.

'.If you get bogged down, 3ust killsomebody.

#ore about formula. &hen /rnest Hemminwaystarted as a young re$orter for the Eansas 8ity tar,he was given a style sheet with four basic rules%

M -se short sentences.M -se short first $aragra$hs.M -se vigorous /nglish.

M 6e $ositive, never negativesked about these rules years later, he said, "hosewere the best rules I ever learned in the business ofwriting. Ive never forgotten them. !o one with anytalent, who feels and writes truly about the things heis trying to say, can fail to write well if he abides bythem.

Day 15>evelo$ your characters and your $lot together. You cant do one well without theother. Your characters are not wooden $eo$le who 3ust dro$$ed magically out ofthe sky. "hey are critical elements of the drama you are creating. "hey must dosomething logical or illogical 0which is what $lot is all about1 that adds to yourstory, and moves it to its ultimate clima7. !ever, never se$arate characters from

$lot.

Day 16


"he reader has to believe that your characters e7ist or could e7ist 2 and they needto be distinctively drawn. nd nothing better defines characters than their actions,their $ur$ose in life. "heir $ur$ose may be good or evil. It doesnt matter. ll thatmatters is that the reader sees their actions and $ur$ose, believes them, and iscontinuously interested in them.

>o not write a story $eo$led with a cast of thousands. &rite a tale about one,two or three memorable characters, all of them filled with $ur$ose.

Day 17

You need a strong $rotagonist. #ost writers have a $roblem with creating acharacter who is larger than life, fully develo$ed, and a consistent $rotagonist. 9emember, your $rotagonist is your storys ma3or character. "his is the $erson

with whom your reader will identify. You want your readers to care about your$rotagonist. He or she is your new best friend.

Day 18

:igure out who you need in the story and what they do together or to one another,and the story does to them. re they all $ulling together in one direction? re they

$ulling in si7 different directions? sk yourself the critical 4uestion% &hich would

be most interesting to the reader? "hats the real litmus test of characterdevelo$ment and $lotting. &ill the reader be interested? &ill the reader care? "o be successful in character and $lot develo$ment, you need to make hardchoices. You need to be ruthless with your characters and your story. &hos in,whos out? &hats in, whats out? :rankly, here is where a lot of first@time novelists sto$ dead. "hey cant bringthemselves to choose. "hey become fascinated or $araly5ed by the $ossibilities. >ont you dare do that. 6e brutal. "ry different choices, of course, but move thestory forward event by event, bringing each character along with you. s eachevent unfolds, each character must react to it. =ust as they would in real life. If a child is hit and killed by a car, the drivers life is changed forever, the

$arents lives, the lives of the brothers and sisters, friends, even the crossing guardand bystanders. You have to decide what the changes are. You must decide. "his isyour chance to $lay Dod 2 and if youre going to write you must $lay that role.Dod is in the details, and Dod decides the course of the novel.

Day 19

Eee$ asking the 4uestion, why? s you reach the end of the second week ofdefining characters, you will have a stack of K7L character cards that s$ell outintimate details about the $ersonal life of each and every character in your story,


down to their waist measurement and favorite color. "he novelist Nladimir!abokov com$osed all of his novels on inde7 cards.

Day 20

Your voice is your voice. Your style is your style. >ont attem$t to soundlike some famous writer. #any beginning writers feel that they have to addsomething to their voice on the $rinted $age. &ho you are on the $age is whoyou are in life, 3ust as so$histicated, 3ust as worldly, or not. It doesnt matter. Eee$writing and kee$ cutting away at the awkwardness that might cree$ into yourwriting. 6e a natural. s the :rench novelist, :rancois 9enA de 8hateaubriandwrote, "he original writer is not one who imitates nobody, but one whom nobodycan imitate.

Day 21

;re$are a rough outline of the storys action from 8ha$ter ne through to the end. !ovelist Eatherine nne ;orter $ut it this way, If I didnt know the ending of astory, I wouldnt begin. &rite down the last $aragra$h of your novel and $ut it in the drawer. t the endof a hundred days, lets see how close you came to following your imagination.

Day 22

>o nothing 2 absolutely nothing 2 on your novel in terms of actual writing untilyour $lotting 0along with your characters and their roles in the drama1 is com$leteand down on $a$er. >o not fall victim to that old author line% I 3ust start out with a basic idea and acou$le of characters. I never know where Im going. I let the characters tell the

story for me. "hat may work for brilliant and e7$erienced novelists, but most of usneed a clear road ma$ if we arent going to get ourselves and our readers ho$elesslylost.

Day 23

Hang the cards and outline you have develo$ed around your office or room so that

they can be easily read.


Day 24

well@written $age@turner that is more character@ than $lot@driven and has a clearbeginning, middle and end is what editors 0and readers1 want.

Day 25

You now have made%'. a commitment. a working schedule*. a story idea+. a cast of characters

K. a detailed $lot of the entire story).

a short descri$tion of what your novel isabout.

Day 26

et a goal for your self to write at least four $ages a day. "hat is *O*K words,double@s$aced. ome days youll write one $ageG others youll write 'K $ages. "ryto average at least four $ages a day.

Day 27

Your novel is a work of fiction, but that doesnt mean your facts dont need to bestraight. !othing turns a reader off 4uite as fast as a wrong fact. nd nothing givesa story the ring of authenticity like the right fact or detail. -se the Internet forresearch. Its fast, easy, and ine7$ensive. /very library in the world is o$en to you.

ialogue has a $ur$ose. It $ushes the story forward.

It kee$s the reader tuned in to the story, and makes a $erson feel at the heart of theaction. "herefore, dont describe distant events second hand. ;ut the reader in the


middle of your storys action and your dialogue will sing naturally. Eee$ your talkefficient and forceful. nd always make certain the reader knows who is s$eaking.

Day 29


&hen using characters to $resent clues, dont forget body language. !onverbalsignals can communicate much more effectively than words. sk any two lovers.

Day 35

"ry writing first in longhand, then on a com$uter. "his will give you two $asses atthe $rose before you start editing.

Day 36

im for one startling image on each $age. :or e7am$le, try and match this image ofa sunrise at sea by ;hili$ 8a$uto in The )oyage%

golden shimmer a$$eared where the hori5on was su$$osed to be, then ared sun $ushed u$, like the head of some fiery infant bulging out of the grayseas womb 2 water giving birth to its o$$osite element.

Day 37

>ont overwrite 3ust because technology lets you do it. "he mechanics of thecom$uter and the internet make everything easier, from research to writing torevising. Eee$ thinking small. &e all think that movies and baseball games are toolong. &hat about books? ;ublishers and editors will tell you% conte7t determineslength. =ust remember that The $reat $atbyis only $ages long.

Day 38

&ithout descri$tions the reader doesnt have a sense of $lace and time and mood2 all critical for your story. 6ut with too much, your story will bog down and get

boring. Det in. Dive the telling detail. "hen get out. >ont drown in yourdescri$tions 0or your research1. 8reate a world where your characters can live and

breathe, but not vegetate.

Day 39

Ideas, new and uni4ue 2 thats what sur$rises, satisfies and $leases readers. tayaway from the tried and true. &rite with imagination.


Day 40

9ick 6ass, one of our finest stylists, says that fiction writers 2 like masons 2re4uire both $ower and $recision to construct a good story. Youve got to lay the

stones one on to$ of the other so they fit together, but youve got to have thestrength to lug them around.

Day 41

hirley =ackson, as the mother of four children and wife of a college $rofessor,rarely had time to write during the day. Yet when she sat down at her desk at night,a story like "he


nton 8hekhovs remarkably sim$le advice was this% If a gun hangs on the wall inthe first act of the $lay, it must be discharged before the end. You have to lookat the total work with that $iece of advice in mind and cut out anything that doesnthel$ the story com$lete itself.

Day 46

It is emotionally costly to write well. >ancers, for e7am$le, know that theyCre goingto have bloody feet. ;ianists know that theyCll have to $ractice until the $ain in theirfingers makes them cry. &riting a novel is not like writing a letter. &riting a novelis mentally e7hausting, far harder than a nine@to@five 3ob. &hen you write a novel,you live the lives of your characters.

Day 47

In '(L(, at the age of , =essie ay after day, week

after week, she wrote in longhand the story of her life, noting down the watershedevents% births, deaths, one marriage, three wars, one flood, as well as the things that

3ust struck her fancy, like the first time she saw


Day 48

;ersistence is what is re4uired. !ovelist Harlan /llison once said that if anybodycan sto$ you from being a writer, then dont be one.

Day 49

"he gifted writer =o@nn #a$son, who has $ublished a half do5en novels, believesthat writers should have a $hysical hobby. omething that takes you away from

books and criticism, because it teaches you, it informs you, and it changes yourwriting.

Day 50

"he novelist and $oet =ames >ickey, talking to students near the end of his life,said, I dont mean to sell the $oet so long or at such great length, but I do this

$rinci$ally because the world doesnt esteem the $oet very much. "hey dontunderstand where we are coming from. "hey dont understand the use for us. "heydont understand if there is any use. &e are the masters of the su$erior secret, notthey. !ot they. 9emember that when you write.

Day 51

#ost successful writers have had unha$$y childhoods. >ean Eoont5, for e7am$le,was the only child of a $hysically frail mother and a violent, alcoholic father whotwice tried to kill himself and was eventually committed to an institution.Instability was a constant in his family. "his terrible childhood stirred a $assion for

books in Eoont5. ne of his very first memories stemmed from a $eriod when his mother washos$itali5ed for several months. t the age of * or +, Eoont5 was ke$t by one of herfriends, who, every night, would tuck the little boy into bed, give him an ice creamsoda and read him a book. Eoont5 connected these sensations of safety andha$$iness with storytelling. "his has stayed with him. Eoont5 has read The 4ind in the 4i""o+by Eenneth Drahame at least Ktimes, relishing the theme of friends $ulling together to overcome the bad guys.Eoont5 credits books for showing him at the age of ( that not all families were likehis. I am a driven adult child of an alcoholic, says Eoont5. "oday he works si7

days a week, arriving at his desk by L%* a.m. He writes until dinner, ski$$inglunch.


6ut what does one do who hasnt had an unha$$y childhood? /rnestHemingway once said that writers have to have had a terrible childhood, or at leastthink that they did.

Day 52:. cott :it5gerald said% 8haracter is action. 8haracters do not o$erate in a vacuum. "heir actions usually involve other

$eo$le, and these interactions are what make u$ scenes. :ull scenes, half scenes,and narrative $assages are the building blocks for constructing a unified story line.

Day 53

>uring the making of the film B:riendly ;ersuasionB 2 from a novel by =essamyn&est, &est remembers director &illiam &yler, saying, B&eve got to get onemore R&ill he? &ont he?B into this.B s a writer, &est tended not to do enough ofcreating that tension, which is what readers want.

Day 54

Do to the library and browse through books on food and gardening. uthors ofthese books describe smells, tastes, touches, and even sounds in $recise detail.&hen writing, always mention scents and tactile sensations. Dood descri$tionobserves all the senses.

Day 55

elect your details. s #ark "wain said% -se the right word, not its secondcousin. 9emember that verbs are the strongest $arts of any sentences. s 9ita #ae6rown $uts it, Nerbs blast you down the highway.

Day 56

trunk and &hite in The %"ement of !ty"emake this $oint% If those who havestudied the art of writing are in accord on one $oint it is on this% "he surest way toarouse and hold the reader is to be s$ecific, definite, and concrete.


Day 57

"ake a break from your novel. "ake either a day off, or a week. fter this $eriod,youll see your work with a fresh eye.

Day 58

9emember that novels can be light on $lot and short on style, but flesh@and@bloodcharacters with believable traits and motivations can save any book by gaining thereaders sym$athy.

Day 59

"heres an old adage in writing% >ont tell, show. It means, dont tell us aboutanger, show us. &e then will read and feel the anger. >ont tell the reader what tofeel. how the reader the characters and situation, and that feeling of anger 0orsorrow, love, honesty, 3ustice, etc.1 will awaken in them.

Day 60If you have written five $ages a day for the last ) days, you have written about(, words. It is time to begin to rewrite and edit your novel.

Day 61

You have written a$$ro7imately * $ages.

6ut are these $ages a novel?>o they have a beginning, a middle, and an end?9e@read your novel and ask yourself% Have I raised a 4uestion or $resented a

$u55le, and then solved it?If you can give a satisfactory answer to this 4uestion, then continue.

Day 62

>o a s$ell check of your book.


Day 63

;rint out your book.

Day 64

;lace the book in a safe $lace and leave it alone for two weeks.

Day 65

!ow that youCve been away from it for a while, it is time to start editing your novel.6efore you start, remember what =ames !. :rey says inHo+ to 4rite a 1amn$ood 'ove"5 "hink of a clima7 as the target and the rest of your story as the flightof the arrow. It is time to review the flight.

Day 66

Do back and read the whole novel from start to finish, noting lines and $hrases thatare awkward, but kee$ reading. >ont bother to rewrite, not yet.

Day 67

>o chunk editing. 8ut away from the bone of the story. Do cha$ter by cha$ter andget rid of all your darlings as &illiam :aulkner called e7cessive $rose.

Day 68

9e@read your $ages 2 one at a time 2 out loud to hear any awkward sentencestructure.


Day 69

Do back and cut out one e7cessive meta$hor or simile from each $age. s :. cott:it5gerald $ut it, You never cut anything out of a book you regret later.

Day 70

8ut out one ad3ective or adverb in each $aragra$h.

Day 71

9e@read your novel again and look 3ust for the cliches. 8ut% one fell swoo$,$retty as a $icture, in my minds eye, right as rain.

Day 72Det rid of unnecessary 4uestion marks, e7clamation marks and $arentheses.

Day 73

Det rid of e7cessive use of foreign words or $hrases, the ina$$ro$riate use of fancy

words, vulgar language or images, or gra$hic blood and se7.

Day 74

Det rid of meaningless $hrases and 3argon such as% coming from, networking,furthermore.


Day 75

9ead your novel into a ta$e recorder and then $lay it back while following thewritten te7t.


do need to know what is $hysically im$ortant about each character. -se the fivesenses to get your characters down on $a$er.

Day 81

You need a climactic scene at the end of your book, a scene that resolves theconflict.

Day 82

9e@read the endings of your favorite novels. How does your book match u$?

Day 83

"he short story writer 9aymond 8arver said he knew a story was finished when hefound himself going through it once and $utting commas in, then going through itagain and taking the commas out. Is that how you feel?

Day 84

&rite a one@$aragra$h descri$tion of your novel.

Day 85

&rite one $aragra$h about yourself.

Day 86

Presenting your book.:ollow these instructions closely%


M ;rinted on 'S@by@'', standard @$oundbond white 0not high@gloss1 $a$er.

M !o three@hole@$unched $a$er.M ;ages not bound in any way.M ;rinted on a laser or ink@3et $rinter 2 no

[email protected] '@$oint@ty$e font.M >ouble@s$aced, with one@inch margins..M !umber the $ages consecutively from title

$age to last $age of te7t.M ll new cha$ters start halfway down a new

$age.M !o mention of rights or co$yright.

#entioning co$yright labels you as an

amateur.

Day 87

;rint out your novel.

Day 88

>ont mail your novel yet. It is now time to research and find the right agent tore$resent you.

Day 89

"o begin the agent search%M 8heck the acknowledgement $ages of

books similar to yours to look for thenames of the authors agent.

M sk other writers for recommendations.M -se the :riendly gents list in the

9esources of this newsletter .M -se the Internet and key in such words as

writer, author re$resentation, agent.


Day 90

elect a few agents and send each a letter which begins 2 as a$$ro$riate%

I recently read TTTT, which is a wonderful book, and saw that you are TTTTsagent.

r%

#y friendSac4uaintanceTTTTTT, who is re$resented by you, suggested you asa $ossible agent for my book.

r%

I read your article inTTTTTT about the book business, and was ho$ing thatyou might consider me as a future client.

dd the $aragra$h youve written about yourself, and then the $aragra$h aboutyour novel.

Day 91

In seeking an agent, remember that youre an unknown 4uantity and the to$ agentsare loaded with clients. im at those in the middle of any listing of agents. nd besure they actually re$resent the genre of novel you have written.

Day 92

&rite a brief syno$sis 2 one $aragra$h, no more 2 of your novel. #ake it strongand lively. "his is an im$ortant sales tool.

Day 93

#ake a $hotoco$y or $rint out the first fifty $ages or so of your novel. "ry to leaveoff at a $oint where the reader will want to know more of the story.


Day 94

6uy a sturdy, $added 3iffy bag. osound $rofessional. >o not say, I always wanted to be a writer . . . or I can write

better than the 3unk I see . . . If you are sending your manuscri$t to more than one agent at the same time, you

#-" tell them that this is a multi$le submission. /ither an agent will read it4uicker or not at allG either way, youCll get an answer sooner. In the 3iffy bag, $ut 1 the fifty $ages or so of your novel, 61 your letter to theagent, and 81 a U' / for the agentCs re$ly. 0You will not get the fifty $ages

back.1

Day 96

Det a :ed/7 mailer of the right si5e and $ut your 3iffy bag in it. >ont cut cornershere. onCt e7$ect to hear anything for two months.

Day 98

6uy yourself a drink. muse yourself by thinking about who who should star in theblockbuster movie.


Day 99

9emind yourself that you still have to wait for two months minus a day. >o not callthe agent. If two full months $ass and you hear nothing, then you can write a brief

note of in4uiry.

Day 100

9emind yourself that everyone 2 everyoneV 2 gets re3ected. "he stories areendless. #argaret #itchell6$one 4ith the 4ind7(>a$hne du#aurier 6Rebecca7(=ose$h Heller 6Catch8997( te$hen Eing 0his first four novels1,

and on and on.

Day 101

tart your ne7t novel.

how to write a novel in 100 days - john coyne.doc

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