Product Description

Many aspiring and experienced novelists toss out hundreds of pages (and waste valuable time) before they have a workable first draft of a novel. With Karen Wiesner's book, those days are over. In this guide, readers will find:

-A systematic method for completing a detailed first draft in just thirty days -Sure-fire methods to reduce time-intensive rewrites and avoid writing detours -Comprehensive, detailed, and interactive worksheets to make the process seem less like work and more like a game

Flexible and customizable, this revolutionary system can be modified to fit any writer's approach and style.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39326 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 216 pages

Customer Reviews

Not For the "Weak"
This books is definitely not for those who need to write by the seat of their pants. It is for those who enjoy plotting and those who are serious about the organizational flow and skills needed to plot a novel of ANY genre. If you don't enjoy plotting, this book is not for you. Being a part of a group with over 2000+ writers, it is pretty much a given that those who dislike plotting will not be converted, nor should they be.

If you are a plotter, however, then this book has some very valid and excellent points. As I learned with my first completed manuscript, revising and going back and not only editing but changing large sections of the prose because I hadn't outlined fully and things didn't work is a PITA. I would much rather make changes to a 100 page outline then a 360 page novel. This is one of Karen's main points.

After reading and implementing techniques from this book, I had the pleasure to take a workshop from Karen, based on this book. She explained this approach, answered all our questions and reinforced that her worksheets do not need to be completed her way. Every writer has to find their way. As stated in the book, if you'd rather plot using paragraph summaries or free-flow writing, as opposed to the worksheets, then use them. Most writers (semi-new to experienced) probably already know this--at least if they've spent any time writing and learning with others and not just themselves.

I enjoyed this book and seeing how meaningful it is to have a fully detailed outline I highly recommend it to those who love to plot.

Excellent For New and Seasoned Writers Alike
Karen Weisner has a deceptively simple system that she has used to get published and stay published as an author. Lucky me, she has chosen to format that system into something the rest of us can use and adapt to our own work.

Karen gives us easy to use worksheets for each step in forming a detailed picture of the work we want to create. Personally, I have been one of those make-it-up-as-I-go-along writers my entire life, and while I could come up with some decent ideas for stories and even entire sections of them, I would inevitably stall and abandon project after project. Not a very good way to get published.

This method is so much better. Far from the staid, rigid outlines of English Class term papers, this system lets you create a fluid, adaptable outline that is easily translated into the story you want to write. You're not limited to writing in sequence, though the suggestion is to get as far along with outlining your chapters in order as you can. If you get stuck part way through, you can work on writing the already outlined chapters, or writing scenes for later chapters, for example. This is great for me, because I often get scene ideas in my head long before I'm ready for them to occur in the story. Now I can create them, and work them in as I'm ready for them.

I find it very simple to create my own worksheets, and once you have them set up you can adapt them into your own templates. Some of the details Karen needs may not be what I need or you need, and that's the beauty of it. Karen isn't telling anyone to write exactly like she writes; she encourages writers to make the system personal and adapt it to fit their own projects. While some people may think "Well, what do I need her book for, then? I could just make up my own sheets." I say this: I always vaguely knew I needed some kind of outlining system even while I struggled with the unstructured way, but again, I didn't know where to begin. This book gives you that beginning. It gives you the bones of a good, easy to use method and lets YOU take it where you need it to go.

I was fortunate enough to participate in an online workshop with Karen Weisner on this method and receive personal answers to my questions, in conjunction to delving into the book. She is very generous with both her time and advice, and the tone of her book reflects that about her. As soon as I began Karen's system, I found myself invigorated and refreshed with respect to my writing, and new ideas seemed to pop up every day. I'm currently working on my novel using the "First Draft" method, and I feel confident for the first time ever that I will have a completed manuscript done and ready to try and publish within a reasonable time.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a fresh approach to writing.

Mostly Helpful
First Draft in 30 Days is an excellent way for anyone such as myself to apply some structure to their writing. The hardest thing for me when writing is to organize myself, and so far thanks to this book, I've been able to accomplish a lot more with my manuscript. My only complaint is that a few of the author's instructions are a little vague and hard to follow, such as the ones on pages 37-40 concerning Summary Outline, Miscellaneous Scene Notes, and Closing Scene Notes. However, I have found the benefits far outweigh any drawbacks and I recommend this book to anyone that struggles as I do with organzing their stories into something coherent and readable.