WRITE YOUR NOVEL: Tips from a NYT Bestseller

Introduction and Lesson 1

 Write Your Novel:

 Tips from a Bestseller

 CJ Lyons

NOTE: I’ll be uploading parts of this how-to book every Thursday. If you’d like to buy the complete book it’s available on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004XTWZA2  (and was previously published as No Rules, Just WRITE!)

Copyright 2011, CJ Lyons

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

Library of Congress Case # 1-273031561

INTRODUCTION

 I'm CJ Lyons. And I'm a writer …

 If you're like me and would need a twelve-step program to stop writing, then you've come to the right place.

 I don't like rules. I don't like people telling me what to do. I don't like complex formulas or graphs or charts I have to consult because that's the "right way" to create a compelling story.

 I've taken everything I've learned about the essence of good storytelling and I've distilled it all into a few simple concepts. Things so easy that by the time you've finished this book and practiced using these techniques, you'll be able to not only craft a great story, but also to complete your novel.

 In fact, by the end, you'll be saying: “Wow! This is so easy. It makes so much sense. I can use this every day I write!”

 Whether you're a writer who plots ahead of time (a plotter) or a writer who flies by the seat of their pants (a pantser), there are three secrets that can lead to your success.

 With those secrets also comes valuable knowledge that will help you improve your skills, build your own unique voice, finish your story, and craft a marketable piece of fiction.

 We'll get to those three secrets (and more) in a moment. First, who the heck am I and why should you listen to anything I say?

 Here's the official version:

 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of twenty-one novels, former pediatric ER doctor CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge Thrillers with Heart.

 Winner of the International Thriller Writers’ coveted Thriller Award, CJ has been called a "master within the genre" (Pittsburgh Magazine) and her work has been praised as "breathtakingly fast-paced" and "riveting" (Publishers Weekly) with "characters with beating hearts and three dimensions" (Newsday).

 Learn more about CJ's Thrillers with Heart at www.CJLyons.net

 To summarize, I spent seventeen years as a pediatrician practicing in ERs, Trauma Centers, and even rural community clinics before leaving to become a full time writer in 2006. Life as a pediatrician is all about teaching—in fact, that was one of the things I missed most when I left medicine.

 I quickly learned that the same talent I brought to medicine, distilling complex subjects into easily understandable language that allowed my patients and their families to act and take control of their disease—these basic teaching skills—translated nicely into writing.

 Since teaching my first writing class in 2004, I have now taught over 1,000 students. Most important of all, I've also learned a lot along the way from my students and fellow authors.