Looking to write your breakout success as a novelist but lacking the motivation to put pen to paper? National Novel Writing Month comes to the rescue with a simple yet seemingly daunting task: write a 50,000 word novel from scratch during the month of November. As the organization, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, points out, it’s about quantity not quality. Not that your work should be sub-par, but NaNoWriMo believes that by encouraging quantity in a short time, writers will be required to lower their expectations, which in turn encourages them to take risks with the written word. So forget the sheer volume of words (which equals about 175 pages) and just let the words pour. You might just be surprised at how easy it is!

We’ve compiled a list of resources that will guide you in the novel writing process, as well as editing and pitching. Happy writing!

Blythe Camenson and Marshall Cook – Your Novel Proposal

Loren D. Estleman – Writing the Popular Novel

James N. Frey – How to Write a Damn Good Novel

Elizabeth Lyon – The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit

Bob Mayer – The Novel Writer’s Tool Kit

Robert C. Meredith and John Dennis Fitzgerald – Structuring Your Novel

Sol Stein – How to Grow a Novel

Nigel Watts – Writing a Novel