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How
to Write a Blockbuster
The first edition of this self-help guide had the strap line ‘…and
make millions!’ but that, thank heavens, has now
been removed. It was a rash enough enterprise in the first place
without any
additional wild promises. And in case you’re wondering, I didn’t
volunteer for the job. Allison & Busby asked me if I would
write the book as one of their Writers’ Guides, and after
an extended period of indecision and self-doubt I thought, why
not?
I decided if I was going to do it, it had to be fun – for
me and for the reader, whether or not that reader was an aspiring
writer. I was pretty sure of two things: one was that advice for
writers can only hope to focus the mind – provoking violent
disagreement is just as valuable as getting heads nodding sagely;
the other was that the person who stood to learn most from the
exercise was me. Unpacking a process which has become second nature,
and which involves so many psychological games, is an eye-opener
and extremely instructive.
While acknowledging that if there were rules for writing blockbusters
everyone would be doing it, I set out to cover all aspects of producing
a BIG book – from first inspiration to successful promotion,
not overlooking the tricky psychological side of writing. Self-motivation,
a system of rewards, dealing with rejection and keeping the neighbours
at bay are equally, if not more important than style, plotting,
research and characterisation, because without them you won’t
even get started!
I much enjoyed writing HTWAB, and even refer to it myself from
time to time. Ever heard the expression ‘You know what you
think when you hear what you say…’?
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