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<\/p>\nI have a feeling that, deep down inside, everyone who reads dreams of someday cranking out their own book. Just in case that’s a new year’s resolution of yours, I thought I’d run a series of posts over the next few weeks containing reviews of books and courses that helped take me from dreamer to full-time writer.<\/p>\n
This week, I’ll start off with the most important part — learning to write! Without further ado, here are some great resources to help take you from scribbler to novelist.<\/p>\n
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Start with structure<\/strong><\/p>\n Even if you’re a pantser (someone who writes books by the seat of your pants) rather than a plotter (someone who writes outlines), understanding basic story structure is key. Great starter books include:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Leveling up with details<\/strong><\/p>\n Once you’ve written your first novel and are no longer daunted by the idea of making a story hang together from beginning to end, you’ll be ready to level up with some of these more laser-focused writing books. Here are the ones that have helped me grow over the years:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Edit down to a polished draft<\/strong><\/p>\n Finally, the part that is taking me the longest to learn — editing. While I do use a proofreader to catch those last few thorny mistakes and sometimes pay a developmental editor\/beta reader to catch big-picture flaws, an author really needs to know how to do at least some of this herself. A couple of books that really helped me out here are:<\/p>\n Actually, as I look at the two measly books included in this section, I can see why editing still gives me fits — I need to do more reading on the subject! I hope you’ll use the link to facebook below to comment on what other books or courses you recommend.<\/p>\n\n
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