Teach Yourself

I just started reading a book in the Teach Yourself range. This one is called Get Started In: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy by Adam Roberts. Honestly, it's off to a cracking start.

The book contains exercises that have already led to story drafts. As I reach the halfway point of this book, the focus shifts more onto writing a novel. I'm really excited for it.

There's a technique in this book that's really helped me so far. That is to set out your novel as twenty different chapters, divided into three different acts. Using this technique has really helped me to see my novel as a whole project rather than just an idea.

I did not divide my novel into twenty chapters. Instead, I went for forty shorter chapters. But the spirit is the same. For the first time, I feel really confident that I can finish this novel. All I have to do is sit down and write it.