There are any number of books around offering help with the writing of your novel. Some are excellent, some are next to worthless. No book is going to write the novel for you - you have to do that yourself, and it will require discipline, commitment, courage, and hard work. But there are books which are useful - I've reviewed a few in my time and top of my current list are Paddy Kitchen's "The Way to Write Novels", and this book by Nigel Watts. While Kitchen will give you a big motivational boost and keep you determined, Watts offers a first class analysis of the problems and challenges you will face, offering practical, digestible advice to help you deal with these.

Watts deconstructs the novel, looking at every aspect, from plot to characterisation, from the function of storytelling to the management of conflict, from subplot and symbolism to the eight-point arc. This is a sophisticated piece of analysis, yet an analysis which is readily accessible to the reader. Kitchen's most telling points are to suggest that you should only begin writing your novel after you've lived with the idea for some time and still haven't lost interest ... and then to encourage you to give yourself permission to actually make a start. Watts' major contribution is to provide you with the tool box to start tinkering with your novel once you do start writing it. Kitchen kick starts your efforts, Watts gets you up, running, and able to fine-tune the product. Both offer practical lessons and exercises to stimulate you and get your creative gears turning.

Watts' writing is very readable. He will take you into some of the theory and psychology of the novel - remember, it really only exists once someone starts reading it - but he does not obscure his message or make it dense with academic reference. This is a book you should keep beside your notes and your work in progress, a book you can refer to stimulate your own self-criticism of your writing. Criticism and self-criticism are good if they are constructive and help you improve, but the first step is that you should enjoy the process of writing. Nigel Watts will give you the advice and the self-confidence to be self-critical. What you do after that is, of course, up to you. But if you are writing a novel, or have plans to do so, then read this book from cover to cover! ( )