  A NOVEL IN A YEAR
was
published in hardback by Simon & Schuster UK in June 2007. The
paperback is out now.
The German edition was published by Autorenhaus in October 2008.
The American version was published by HarperCollins US in January 2009.
'Writers have always banded together informally to read and criticise
each other's work, agonise together, support each other and quietly
stab each other in the back. It is not normal to spend most of your
life in a room on your own making up stories. I think we deserve all
the help we can get.'
Based on Louise Doughty's highly successful newspaper column, A Novel in a Year
takes a clear-eyed, frank and funny approach to the practicalities of
novel writing and being a novelist. Designed to be read a chapter a
week, Doughty discusses issues such as finding time to write and
crafting first lines through to plot construction and narrative
viewpoint. Practical writing exercises at the end of every other
chapter show you how to build ideas to form the raw material for a
book. A Novel in a Year is a witty, gritty and honest look at technique from a working novelist who takes no prisoners.
'Of all the trophy books I returned from the Hay festival with, the
most popular borrowing request from friends has been Louise Doughty's
generous and inspired how-to guide, A Novel in a Year. In it she
addresses the most common problems faced by budding authors in a
direct, practical and honest fashion.'
Mariella Frostrup, Open Book, BBC Radio 4
Listen to the full radio interview with Louise Doughty here.
'Stuck in a rut with your novel? Louise Doughty has written a
no-nonsense guide that could help... Doughty didn't set out to offer a
blueprint of novel writing but instead showed some ways into the maze.
(Or out of it for people who had started but got stuck). She set
exercises to generate ideas and material, included instructive
anecdotes about how writers write and gave tips on plot, character
devlopment and structure. Her no-nonsense adivce included warnings
about how hard it is... and canny advice to concentrate on producing a
good book before worrying about publishers and agents... witheringly
dismissive of literary snobs who condescend budding writers, she is
proud of democratising and demysitfiying the writing process.'
Hampstead & Highgate Express
|
A breathtakingly honest and down-to-earth guide to writing a novel, encouraging and inspirational.
Victoria Hislop
[Doughty's]
voice throughout is warm and encouraging, with an engaging line in
self-deprecation. I loved the bit where she advised someone working on
a novel about dragons to 'go to the local woods and find the sort of
tree his dragon liked to sit on, or rock, or whatever.' She can afford
that comically dismissive 'or rock, or whatever' because she has
already dispensed a very wise hint about what she nicely calls 'lateral
'research'.
The Guardian
This
book does for fiction-writing what Lynne Truss did for punctuation. If
you only buy one book about the novel-writing process, make it this.
Jill Dawson
Doughty is a successful novelist with experience of writing and teaching, and she offers many words of wisdom... spend an enjoyable hour or two with this book, then get on with some writing.
Scotland on Sunday
If you fancy writing your own bestseller then this is the book for you. Based on her highly successful newspaper column, this guides you through the writing process and spills the beans on some tricks of the trade.
Woman magazine
|
|
