How to Write a Novel: A Practical Guide to the Art of Fiction
by Anonymous
(PDF)
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
THE OBJECT IN VIEW
An Inevitable Comparison 3
A Model Lesson in Novel-Writing 5
The Teachable and the Unteachable 9
CHAPTER II
A GOOD STORY TO TELL
Where do Novelists get their Stories from? 12
Is there a Deeper Question? 14
What about the Newspapers? 17
CHAPTER III
HOW TO BEGIN
Formation of the Plot 25
The Agonies and Joys of "Plot-Construction" 28
[viii]Care in the Use of Actual Events 31
The Natural History of a Plot 35
Sir Walter Besant on the Evolution of a Plot 40
Plot-Formation in Earnest 43
Characters first: Plot afterwards 45
The Natural Background 47
CHAPTER IV
CHARACTERS AND CHARACTERISATION
The Chief Character 50
How to Portray Character 52
Methods of Characterisation 55
The Trick of "Idiosyncrasies" 58
CHAPTER V
STUDIES IN LITERARY TECHNIQUE
Narrative Art 63
Movement 66
Aids to Description: The Point of View 67
[ix]Selecting the Main Features 70
Description by Suggestion 73
Facts to Remember 75
CHAPTER VI
STUDIES IN LITERARY TECHNIQUE—CONTINUED
Colour: Local and Otherwise 79
What about Dialect? 84
On Dialogue 86
Points in Conversation 91
"Atmosphere" 94
CHAPTER VII
PITFALLS
Items of General Knowledge 96
Specific Subjects 98
Topography and Geography 100
Scientific Facts 101
Grammar 103
[x]CHAPTER VIII
THE SECRET OF STYLE
Communicable Elements 105
Incommunicable Elements 110
CHAPTER IX
HOW AUTHORS WORK
Quick and Slow 116
How many Words a Day? 119
Charles Reade and Anthony Trollope 122
The Mission of Fancy 127
Fancies of another Type 129
Some of our Younger Writers: Mr Zangwill, Mr Coulson Kernahan, Mr Robert Barr, Mr H. G. Wells 132
Curious Methods 134
CHAPTER X
IS THE SUBJECT-MATTER OF NOVELS EXHAUSTED?
The Question Stated 138
"Change" not "Exhaustion" 142
Why we talk about Exhaustion 145
[xi]CHAPTER XI
THE NOVEL v. THE SHORT STORY
Practise the Short Story 154
Short Story Writers on their Art 159
CHAPTER XII
SUCCESS: AND SOME OF ITS MINOR CONDITIONS
The Truth about Success 164
Minor Conditions of Success 169
APPENDIX I
The Philosophy of Composition. By Edgar Allan Poe 175
APPENDIX II
Books Worth Reading 201
APPENDIX III
Magazine Article on Writing Fiction 205
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