Matt Gemmell's Trouble With Writing

How to meet the reader's expectations and give your book its best chance.

What to include before and after the story itself.

The arty parts of writing don't need to be engineered up-front.

How to edit your manuscript, and why you'll need other pairs of eyes to help you.

The best way to approach your first draft, and guarantee you'll finish it.

How to outline your story before starting, to make the writing process easier.

Stories should tell lies that are truer than real life allows.

Details in fiction aren't about adding information, but rather creating the appearance of knowledge and truth.

You should only start thinking about chapters after you've written the first draft of your book.

There's no need to avoid prologues and epilogues, as long as you don't let them get in the way of the story.

Stories have a common and intuitive structure, and it's a useful tool for writing a novel.

Always use the right tools for each stage of the creative process.

The deep magic of writing consistently is to make the task very boring.

A full plan, or no plan at all, can each be appropriate for different authors or works.

Noticing story ideas is a skill you can learn, as is finding the emotional centre of a tale.

Inspiration is something that comes after you start work, not a prerequisite for it.

Getting into a working mindset, and striving to be a writer every day.

What the Trouble With Writing is about, and why you can absolutely write a novel.