How to Write a Brilliant Novel: The Easy Step-By-Step Method of Crafting a Powerful Story (Go! Write Something Brilliant) by Susan May Warren Page B

brainstorming of plot. You’ve already done this!
    Pre-Week 2 : Further research, the cementing of characterization and Premise writing. Sometimes, a chapter–by-chapter summary of the book helps at this time. We’ll be talking about this in the “Publish” section.
    Note: There are people who take months in prewriting, and I don’t count that as actual novel writing time. They live with their characters in their minds for a while, having conversations, trying on names and attire until they have them just so, and then they embark. During this time, do enough research to get your story plausible and outline the major plot twists in the story. I always write a synopsis at this point, as a guideline.
    Then I write my first chapter .
    Week 1: Starting day. First, gather your research material around you. Use lots of those big, brightly-colored paper clips so you can bookmark pages. Have a notebook handy. Open up a new file and call it something terrific like “Susie’s Super Suspense Book One.” Okay, you don’t have to use my name, butI suppose if you want to . . . . Then, open up a new doc and title it: Chapter 1.
    At this point, you’re going to turn off your nasty internal editor, the one that tells you things are not grammatically correct, or that you’re using a word no one has heard of before. You’re just going to write . Splash the words onto the page. Ignore the red and green squiggles. Just write . A cup of hot cocoa helps, and I’m a big fan of mood music. If you get to a point where you need to do more research, put in something plausible, and denote it with an asterisk (*), which is shorthand for I’ll get back to it . Don’t disrupt your writing flow. If you have a word you hate, yet can’t find the right one, asterisk it! If you can’t remember a character’s name or eye color, asterisk it! When you’re done with your manuscript, you’ll read through each chapter, do a search for the asterisks, and change them when you’re mind isn’t cluttered with story.
    But what if I come up with a great story thread half way through the scene? Should I stop and go back and fix it?
    NO! Did you hear me? NO! Make a what? Asterick ! Start writing the story from this point on with your new story thread. Make a note in your notebook to go back and add in or tweak that story thread after you’ve finished the book. Seriously. It’s your story. No one will read it until it’s done.
    Right now you want to is just keep writing, just keep writing . . . .
    Once you’ve finished your scene, Save . And then open a new Word document, label it CHAPTER 2 (or maybe Chapter 1, scene 2), and make a few notes about how you’d like to open this scene, or what you want to accomplish. The strategy is to jumpstart your mind the next time you sit down.
    Then close the computer. Stand up. Stretch. Dance through the house shouting, “I finished Chapter 1! I finished Chapter 1!” Go to bed, and pray for words for Chapter 2.
    If you want, you can spend the weekends doing more research, or going back and rereading any points you wanted to refine.
    Weeks 2-12: Keep doing this for the next twelve weeks. You’ll be surprised at how disciplined you get, and how fast the words flow out. How empowering it feels to say, “I’ll get back to all those asterisks later!”
    When you write the final chapter, take a weekend break. Take your poor family out for dinner, for Pete’s sake! You’ll spend the next two weeks adding in those astounding story threads, re-writing, fixing all the green and red squiggles, and doing a rough edit, then a thorough edit, and then a polish. Okay, it might take you longer than two weeks. But your story is done . It’s out of your brain. And you can say, … “Hey! I wrote a book in three months!
    Don’t panic. I don’t expect you to go through How to Write a Brilliant Novel andwrite your own in twelve weeks. I’m just showing you how it could happen.
    Take it at your own pace. But look up