STATUS of WRITE THIS WAY:
- I have reviewed 3 of the 4 manuscripts returned by my proofreaders.
- I have contacted Author's Mentor regarding the convertion of Write This Way into Kindle and Nook formats.
- Write This Way has received wonderful endorsements. Scroll down to see what they have to say.
- The prices will be LOW--probably around $5.00.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT WRITE THIS WAY:
Ellen C. Maze, owner of The Author's MentorAuthor of Rabbit: Chasing Beth Rider and The Judging
Suzanne Hartmann has been a true God-send. With her help, my first novel became a sure-fire bestseller and two years later is consistently a Top-Rated book on Amazon. Sure, my story compels people, but if it weren't for Suzanne's help before publication, I am sure my novels would never have reached the bookstore. Suzanne not only critiqued my work, but she taught me how to see and fix my own errors! I recommend her to everyone who writes, and I am 100% confident that she can help you, too.
Terry Burns, literary agent for Hartline Literary
Author of over 40 books including “A Writer’s Survival Guide to Publication”
Just because somebody cooks a good hamburger doesn’t mean they can open a restaurant and just because somebody has a good story in their head doesn’t mean they can write it in such a manner that it can be published. Agents and editors see hundreds of such offerings each month and obviously there isn’t room for all of them so the competition is very stiff. In this book Suzanne does a good job of walking the author through the basics. All successful authors have gone through the process of learning their craft and we can all use all the help we can get polishing that submission to where it can compete.
Author of Polar Bear Plunge, available soon from White Rose Press
This book is laid out so well, writers will have the information at their fingertips. Chicago Manual of Style drives me nuts because you have to "know" and understand what you're looking for before you can go to it to understand what you're looking for. You know what I mean? So, Write This Way is going to be such a help tool. Love it!
K.M. Weiland – Author of Crafting Unforgettable Characters, as well as several historical novels
This brilliant little e-book offers the foundational elements of novel writing in a fun, easy-to-read list format that breaks down the information into bite-size pieces. It's a fast read that's sure to have novelists walking away ready and able to apply these important principles to their own work.
Liberty Speidel – Pre-published author
This brilliant little e-book offers the foundational elements of novel writing in a fun, easy-to-read list format that breaks down the information into bite-size pieces. It's a fast read that's sure to have novelists walking away ready and able to apply these important principles to their own work.
Liberty Speidel – Pre-published author
Children's Book Reviewer at CCBReview
Write This Way is a useful tool for beginning and experienced writers alike. You will want to keep this book handy as you work on your multitude of manuscripts. The information is invaluable to the writer, and is presented in an easy to understand manner—which is useful for those of us without a degree in English! Because I have read her blog since its inception, Suzanne has helped me polish my writing to a point where I'm ready to submit to agents.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART ONE – BEFORE YOU START WRITING
Chapter One – Evaluate and Outline
Chapter Two – Review Dialogue
Chapter Three – Review Punctuation
Chapter Four – Review Comma Rules
Chapter Five – Review Point of View
Chapter Six – Show Instead of Tell
PART TWO – WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT
Chapter Seven – Writing Chapter One
Chapter Eight – Start Chapter One With…
Chapter Nine – Don’t Start Chapter One With…
Chapter Ten – While You Write
PART FOUR – LEARN FROM OTHERS
Chapter Eleven – Join a Critique Group
Chapter Twelve – Read Books on the Craft of Writing
PART THREE – REVISE, REVISE, REVISE
INITIAL CHECKLIST
REVISION ONE: GRAMMAR ISSUES
Chapter Thirteen – Uses of “Was”
Chapter Fourteen – Participial Phrases
Chapter Fifteen – Filtering
Chapter Sixteen – Weak Words
Chapter Seventeen – Weasel Words/Phrases
REVISION TWO: STRUCTURAL ISSUES
Chapter Eighteen – Evaluate Where the Story Should Start
Chapter Nineteen – Make Sure Every Scene Has a Purpose
Chapter Twenty– Details, Details, Details
Chapter Twenty-One – Does Your Middle Sag?
REVISION THREE: FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
Chapter Twenty-Two – Check Your Goals, Motivation, and Conflict
Chapter Twenty-Three – Final Polishing
COMPLETE CHECKLIST
OUTLINE/
EXTENDED TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART ONE – BEFORE YOU START WRITING
CHAPTER ONE – EVALUATE AND OUTLINE
1) Allow Yourself to Make Mistakes
2) Know What Type of Writer You Are
3) Use Some Type of Outline
4) Do a Brain-Dump
CHAPTER TWO - Dialogue
1) Dialogue Formatting
2) Dialogue Punctuation
CHAPTER THREE - Punctuation
1) Ending Marks
2) Ways to Mark a Pause
CHAPTER FOUR – Comma Rules
1) Comma Usage When Joining Independent Clauses
2) Use Commas in a Series
3) Comma Usage with Dates and States
4) Comma, Semi-Colon, or Period
5) Use Commas to Set Off Introductory Dependent Clauses
6) Use Commas to Set Off Introductory Prepositional Phrases
7) Use Commas to Set Off Participial Phrases
8) Use Commas to Set Off Interrupting Elements
9) Use Commas to Set Off Non-Restrictive Clauses
CHAPTER FIVE - Point of View
1) Types of Point of View
2) Stay in the Character’s POV
3) Don’t Head-Hop
CHAPTER SIX – Show Instead of Tell
1) Motivation/Reaction Units
2) Let the Characters Interact with Something
3) Integrate Action into Character Descriptions
4) Integrate Action into Setting Descriptions
5) Show Emotions with Action
6) Show Physical Features with Action
7) Resist the Urge to Tell
PART TWO – LEARN FROM OTHERS
CHAPTER SEVEN – Join a Critique Group
1) Be Willing to Learn
2) You Will Learn More from Honest Feedback that Feel-Good Fluff
3) A Sample Method for Getting the Most out of Your Critique Group
CHAPTER EIGHT– Read Books on the Craft of Writing
PART THREE – WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT
CHAPTER NINE – Writing Chapter One
1) Chapter One Is Extremely Important
2) Don’t Try to Write the Perfect Chapter One in the Draft
CHAPTER TEN – Start Chapter One With…
1) The POV of a Protagonist
2) The Inciting Incident
3) Something Exciting
CHAPTER ELEVEN – Don’t Start Chapter One With…
1) An Infodump
2) A Backstory Dump
3) A Description
CHAPTER TWELVE – While You Write
1) Do Your Research
2) Give Your Characters Weaknesses
3) Be Mean to Your Characters
4) Wrap Up All Loose Ends
PART FOUR – REVISE, REVISE, REVISE
INITIAL CHECKLIST
REVISION ONE: Grammar Issues
CHAPTER THIRTEEN – USES OF “WAS”
1) Passive Voice
2) Progressive Tenses
3) Other Uses of “Was”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN – Participial Phrases
CHAPTER FIFTEEN – Filtering
1) Filtering a Character’s Senses
2) Filtering a Character’s Thoughts
CHAPTER SIXTEEN – Weak Words
1) Wimpy Verbs
2) Adverbs
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN – Weasel Words/Phrases
1) There is/There was
2) Stood there/Sat there
3) That
4) Two Prepositions in a Row
5) Repetitions
6) Legalese
7) Qualifiers
8) Small Movements
9) Dialogue Tags
REVISION TWO: Structural Issues
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN – Evaluate Where the Story Should Start
1) Consider Your First Three Chapters Disposable
2) Starting Too Soon
3) Starting Too Late
CHAPTER NINETEEN – Make Sure Every Scene Has a Purpose
CHAPTER TWENTY – Details, Details, Details
1) Are Your Descriptions Detailed Enough?
2) Are Your Action Scenes Detailed Enough?
3) Have You Included all of the Senses?
4) Do You Have Action Beat in Your Dialogue?
5) Have You Layered in the Emotions?
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE – Is Your Middle Sagging?
1) Add a Subplot
2) Add Additional Obstacles
3) Intensify the Tension and Conflict
REVISION THREE: Final Considerations
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO – Check Your Goals, Motivation, and Conflict
1) Check Your Characters’ Goals
2) Check Your Characters’ Motivations
3) Check the Level Conflict and Tension
CHAPTER TWENTY- THREE – Final Polishing
1) Revisit Your Hook
2) Do a Final Read-Through
COMPLETE CHECKLIST