Good stories don’t happen by accident.

I have the privilege of reading a great many original scripts, as well as beta reading novels, and have seen far too many writers who blither ahead with half an idea and not much thought until they run out of words and stop. You can write a novel like this (and you can write a successful novel like this), but unless you’ve been incredibly lucky your editorial process is going to be a total nightmare.

Instead of trying to write a good novel by accident, it is essential that you include an element of analysis to help you get from beginning to end: from question to answer, essentialy. You have to earn your ending.

Wow, that was a posh opening. Let’s try again.

Ever got to the end of a story and thought “bouf”, then instantly forgotten the book. There’s a reason why this happens. In this article I’m going to explain why.

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