LET'S TALK ABOUT

WRITING
A BOOK
FOR ASPIRING AUTHORS

BY MARCELLE ITEN

WWW.MARCELLEITEN.COM
 CONTENTS
Introduction 04

Chapter I
05
Coming Up With a Story Idea

Chapter II
08
Developing Your Story Idea

Chapter III
13
Plotting

Chapter IV
19
Creating a Scene-by-Scene Outline

Chapter V
23
Writing Draft 0

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 CONTENTS
Chapter VI
25
Editing (Round 1 - Developmental)

Chapter VII
34
Beta Readers

Chapter VIII
37
Editing (Round 2 - Feedback)

Chapter IX
39
Editing (Round 3 - Line & Copy)

Chapter X
40
Proofreading

41
Conclusion

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INTRODUCTION

LET'S WRITE THAT BOOK!

When I first set out on the quest of writing a book, I went looking for a how-to
guide that would provide me with the golden formula. Trust me when I say, I
scoured the internet for it. All I wanted was a step-by-step guide complete with
bullet points, fancy (but easy to understand) charts, and an even easier to follow
writing schedule. Is that really too much to ask?

Apparently, yes.

What I found instead was a bunch of vague articles on writing, ranging from
helpful but incomplete to entirely incomprehensible. While some definitely
provided valuable tips on craft and mindset, none were exactly what my type-A
brain was craving. Therefore, I decided to create it myself.

This guide is the result of that research and it is my hope that in following it, you
will find the clarity and guidance you seek.

A quick disclaimer: What all the other 'Writing 101' articles got right is that writing
a book is no easy task. It requires the development of a consistent writing
practice, openness to feedback and learning, and A LOT of patience - because,
let's be honest, a good amount of the work you will produce is going to be absolute
trash. That's the point! No one is born knowing how to write perfect prose or a
perfect story, but with enough effort and dedication, you can get pretty good.

The following steps are what worked for me. What works for you might be
different, so feel free to switch up the order of steps or skip ahead to the ones you
find relevant.

Make it yours!

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CHAPTER I

COMING UP WITH A STORY IDEA

The Elements of a Story Idea

I've said this before and I'll say it again - stories are everywhere. Coming up with
the story idea is the simplest and least time consuming part of the process. If
someone tries to sell you their idea, or have you write it and split the profits, say
"thanks, but no thanks. I will come up with my own." Let's take a look at how to do
just that!

Every story idea has the following three elements:

Plot - The actions & events of the story

Characters - The people who perform the actions and experience the events
Setting - The place & time wherein the actions and events take place

These will provide the bones for your story. You can begin with a very simple
description of these elements and flesh it out later on. Below are two example
story ideas from popular books you've probably read or heard of.

Example 1: Percy Jackson, a troubled twelve year old boy, finds out he is a
demigod and must attend a special summer camp for kids like him. At camp Half-
blood, he meets other demigods and is assigned a quest that takes him across the
United States to retrieve Zeus's lightning bolt, which has been mysteriously
stolen.

Example 2: When her little sister is chosen for the Hunger games, Katniss
Everdeen must volunteer to attend the death games herself. In the capitol, twenty
four tributes must fight for their lives while the whole country watches.

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CHAPTER 1

Now, as for how to begin developing a story - you can begin with any of the three
elements.

Beginning with your story's characters means you first figure out what type of
person/creature you would like to write about.
Example: You want to write a story about a group of misfits with magic
powers OR about a blood-thirsty butcher's gentle daughter OR a traitorous
knight with a penchant for taking things that aren't his.

Beginning with setting means you first figure out the type of place you would
like to write about.
Example: You want to write about a world where pirates roam the seas
between kingdoms OR about a realm where magic is tied to people's voices
OR a vast desert where assassins train for special assignments.

Beginning with plot means you first figure out the main conflict of the story
you'd like to write about.
Example: You want to write about a devastating war OR about the fall of a
great empire OR the creation of a blood pact between two opposing tribes.

Below are a few examples of ways to get inspired!

SONGS MOVIES BOOKS

Listen to songs that fit Play with what-if Read a few books that
the "vibe" of the book scenarios, some of the are in the same
you want to write best books are genre/targeting the
retellings of other same population you'd
Come up with scenarios stories! like to write for
that fit your favorite
songs What if a character Notice what kind of
from x movie was put in scenes draw you in the
What kind of story a different scenario? most and plan a book
would this song be that will allow you to
played in? What if x had happened write plenty of those
instead? scenes!

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CHAPTER 1

Take five minutes to brainstorm ideas. Write every single one down without
judgement, no matter how ridiculous you think it is. When the time is up, read them
again.

Is any of them calling to you?

Do any sound exciting to write about?

If yes, move on to step 2 (aka Chapter 2 in this guide). If no, keep brainstorming
and repeat the process as many times as you need.

Sometimes it takes more than a few tries to get it just right. However, you don't
need a perfect story idea. In fact, I would argue you don't even need an original
story idea. If there is a book or movie you really enjoy, you can use it as inspiration
(e.g. If you love The Hunger Games, you can decide to write a dystopian story with
a strong female main character about a government that abuses it's people).

Before you call it "plagiarism," think about how many books fit that description...
That's right, thousands!

Everything is like everything else. Suzanne Collins didn't invent corrupt

governments, just the same as Stephanie Meyer didn't come up with the concept
of Vampires. If you are determined on writing something entirely original, you are
going to drive yourself mad.

What will make your story original is its unique combination of characters,
settings, and plot, as well as how they interact with one another. The important
thing is that you craft a story that feels true to YOU and work on it until you're
proud to attach your name to it and send it off into the world.

Recommended Reading

Here's a few books that I wish I had read BEFORE I started doing any serious work
on my own story:

Story Genius by Lisa Cron

2 - 3 books in the genre I want to write - practice reading like a writer!

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CHAPTER II

DEVELOPING YOUR STORY IDEA

Once you find a story idea that you are excited about, it's time to go deeper. This is
the part where you do the heavy world-building and character work. You can start
with whichever you're most excited about, to help keep your momentum going.

Developing Your Characters

I like to start by creating an excel document titled 'Characters,' where I input the
following table and fill it out with what I already know. You can, of course, do this
on any other writing program you favor (like directly on Scrivener) or even on pen
and paper, which I've heard many writers say helps romanticize the practice.

Character Name Role Notes

Hero-type but not

Character 1 - Main Protagonist
obnoxious

Tragic backstory -
Character 2 - Main Antagonist want readers to
empathize

Secretly a traitor - in
Character 3 - Main Love Interest
love with antagonist

Will die in the first

Character 4 - Side Protagonist's Parent
half of book 1

I note down whether they are main characters or side characters, what their role is
in the story, and any additional notes I have about them that might be useful to my
future self (as exemplified above).

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CHAPTER 2

The next step is to create character profiles for each of your characters. You might
be able to get away with making these just for your main characters, but I suggest
making one for each character that will appear in more than one scene in your
story. I use the template from Scrivener, which contains the following prompts:

Name
Age
Location - I usually fill this in after I've done some major world-building
Role in Story
Goal
Physical Description
Personality
Occupation
Habits/Mannerisms
Background
Internal Conflicts
External Conflicts
Notes

Basically, all you have to do is answer each prompt. You could write anywhere from
a single word to multiple pages for each. It's up to you!

Remember, you can always come back to it after doing some world-building.

Let's Talk Writing Apps!

There are thousands of writing apps out there that promise to help you organize
your work/plan your book, so picking one can seem incredibly daunting. The good
news is there is something for everyone! The even better news is that I already did
the work of checking out over 50 different options and one consistently stood out
as the best (in my humble opinion).

Drumroll please... It was Scrivener!

Scrivener is a word-processor (like Microsoft Word or google docs) that was

created specifically for authors. It comes with built-in character profile & setting
templates, an outliner that allows you to plan out chapters scene-by-scene, and
space for your book-related research.

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CHAPTER 2

It comes with a non-consecutive 30 day free trial, after which you pay a one time
fee of $49 to use it for the rest of your life! I highly recommend getting it if your
budget allows.

Now, we move on to world-building.

Note: You could easily start with world-building and do character work afterwards,
or even begin with plotting and iterate once you have developed your story
enough. The order of things doesn't matter as much as making sure you put in the
work and think through all of these items carefully. So, if starting with one isn't
working, switch it up and try starting with another.

World-Building

This is the part a lot of people get stuck at because they don't know where to
start, or worse, they don't know when to stop. The thing about world-building is
that it'll suck you in. It's like a snowball effect, the beginning is hard, but there
comes a point when continuing is simply easier that stopping. That's what you
need to look out for, because even helpful things can become destructive when
they morph into procrastination.

So, where to begin?

There's so many things to think about, when it comes to creating an entirely new
world, or even re-shaping the one we already know into something that works for
your story. Therefore, I suggest using a template (I'm all about making things
easier for myself. Work smarter, not harder and all that...).

You can simply look up "World-building questions," and answer the ones you find
useful. Although, if this is your first time writing a book, you might not know
exactly which ones will be useful. If that's the case, here's an amazing resource:

https://www.imagineforest.com/blog/world-building-questions/

This resource lists questions to help you think through the different aspects of
your fantasy / sci-fi / dystopian world. The questions are separated into the
following categories:

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CHAPTER 2

1. General
2. Landscape
3. Environment
4. People
5. Technology
6. Economy
7. Politics
8. Legal System
9. Culture
10. Military
11. Education
12. Health
13. Entertainment
14. Food & Drink

Once you have answered all questions (or enough that you feel comfortable with
your world), it is time to create a map. You could also do this before answering the
questions. Again, the order of things doesn't matter much, just do what feels right.

I like using Inkarnate for fantasy maps - https://inkarnate.com/ and @writerkatek

on TikTok has amazing, easy-to-follow videos on how to use it.

Another option is drawing the map yourself (I didn't because I can't draw, but if
you can, that's awesome!). All you need is a basic sketch. Remember, this is only
for you, to help you write your story. If you want to include a map in your book, that
would be designed and drawn AFTER you finish the book, preferably by a
professional.

Once you finish making your map, you can go back into your character profiles and
fill in the name of the city/country/state/district/region that each character is
from.

A final note about maps: Even contemporary novels can benefit from the creation
of a map, it might just be easier to make it AFTER you write your first draft. Once
you're done with step 5 (writing draft 0), you can read through your story and draw
a map of the places your characters frequent! It'll help you keep descriptions
consistent and avoid little mistakes (like mentioning it takes a character 20 mins
to get to work by car and later in the story having them walk there in five minutes).

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CHAPTER 2

Iteration is key.

You want to be going back and forth updating world-building info and character
info whenever something new comes up.

The last step for world-building is creating 'place' profiles for each of the major
cities/regions in your story. I use the Scrivener template, which has the following
prompts:

Name of Setting
Location in Map
Role in Story
Related Characters
Season
Unique Features
Description
Sights
Sounds
Smell
Notes

You only need to fill these in for the cities/regions that will be a part of your story
and you can always come back and fill in more details if you find that one place is
suddenly becoming important later on.

Note: When I said you should be careful of getting sucked in, I meant it! World-
building should help you make sense of your setting and prepare to write your
story. If you find yourself falling into the trap of trying to figure out ABSOLUTELY
EVERYTHING about your world before you start writing, STOP.

This is all just prep work, the real work of writing is yet to begin. It's okay if you
don't feel 100% ready before you start, most of us don't. You shouldn't put off
writing the story until you're "done" world-building, because world-building
NEVER ENDS. If you've done everything I've mentioned, trust me, you're ready.

It's time to move on...

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CHAPTER III

PLOTTING / OULINING
This is the part where you figure out
what is actually going to happen in
your story. Some authors prefer to
start by brainstorming a bunch of
scene ideas and potential plot lines
and later figuring out which ones work
and how to fit them into a coherent
narrative. If that's what you feel more
comfortable with, awesome! That's a
great first step. Once you have a solid
set of potential scenes and a pretty
good idea of what your basic plotlines
will be, you can jump ahead to Step 3.3.

I, on the other hand, find it easier to

start by writing down what I already
know (aka what I figured out during
Step 1) and building on it. I will detail
how to do that in Steps 3.1 - 3.4.

Step 3.1 -"What I know"

Begin by writing down everything you

already know about your story and
focus on things that will affect the plot
(e.g. character arcs, journeys, recurring
themes, etc).

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CHAPTER 3

Example 1: The story follows Percy Jackson as he discovers he is a demigod

and the son of Poseidon. He must go to Camp Half-blood, a special summer
camp for demigods, where he will train and meet new friends. The gods of
Olympus are fighting. Percy goes on a quest to help the gods. In order to
complete his quest, he must defeat several ancient creatures from greek
mythology.

Example 2: Katniss Everdeen lives in a poor region of a country controlled by a

corrupt government. At some point there was a war and the government won.
They have instituted a competition, where one person from each region must
fight to the death as a reminder of the brutality and futility of fighting. Katniss'
sister is chosen for the hunger games, so she must volunteer to take her place.
Katniss will become the symbol of the rebellion against the government.

Some things you might notice from the previous examples are that a) they are
vague and incomplete, and b) some things are not exactly like the books. That's
because the things you think you know about your story tend to change and grow
as you develop your idea.

Step 3.2 - Plot Structure

Then, you can begin expanding your idea by figuring out the structure of your
story. I tend to favor the three act structure, which looks like the following image:

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CHAPTER 3

It might look a little intimidating, at first glance, but you only need to tackle one
piece at a time. You can go in order or start by filling in whichever events you
already know (see example below).

Beginning: Description of the characters' life as it normally is.

a. Percy Jackson goes on a school trip to the museum
b. Katniss hunts for food in District 12

Inciting Incident: Something happens that disrupts the character's routine and
sets off the events that make up the rest of the story. This is usually where the
main character sets their goal.
a. Percy is attacked by a monster, who steals his mom, and must go to Camp
Half-blood
i. goal: Get his mom back
b. Katniss' sister is chosen for the hunger games and Katniss Volunteers
i. goal: Win the hunger games

Climax of Act 1: The event that marks the end of the beginning.
a. Percy Arrives at Camp Half-Blood
b. Katniss Leaves for the Capitol (where the hunger games are held)

Obstacles: Events or people (relationships) that get in the way of the main
character achieving their goal.
a. Percy is assigned a quest to retrieve Zeus' stolen lightning bolt from the
underworld & he gets attacked by many monsters on his way there
b. Katniss must train & impress the people of the capitol so she will have
sponsors during the games.

Midpoint: Usually involves a big twist that increases the stakes.

a. Percy gets stuck in a casino and loses track of time, his timeline for
retrieving the bolt is fast approaching
b. Katniss is almost killed by the careers

Climax of Act 2: Event that marks the beginning of the end. The final battle or
final conflict is about to begin.
a. Percy confronts Hades in the Underworld
b. Katniss and Peeta make it to the final 3 and face off against the other final
tribute

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CHAPTER 3

Climax of Act 3: The final climax, when the goal is achieved.

a. Percy finds out who truly stole Zeus' lightning bolt and they engage in a
final fight. He retrieves his mom.
b. Katniss and Peeta threaten to eat poison berries if they are not allowed to
survive together

Wrap up: Tie up any loose ends and set up the next book (if applicable).
a. Percy promises to return to Camp Half-Blood and is betrayed by someone
he considered a friend (set up for next book).
b. Katniss and Peeta are crowned as victors and they are told that the
government is not happy with the way things ended and they are gonna be
watched closely (set up for next book).

End: Pretty self-explanatory...

Step 3.3 - Fill In The Gaps

Now, it's time to develop your plot and make sure your character arcs fit in there
nicely. The most helpful way I have found of doing this is asking myself "what
would have to happen in order for [insert event] to happen?" and "how/why would
this happen?"

Example 1:

Event 1: Percy Jackson goes on a school trip to the museum

Event 2: Percy is attacked by a monster

What would need to happen in order for Event 1 to move seamlessly into Event 2?

Maybe one of Percy's teachers is a monster in disguise...

Why would one of Percy's teachers be a monster?

Demigods must be relatively rare, especially ones born to such a powerful god.
Therefore, the monster might've been sent to that school specifically to get to
Percy

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CHAPTER 3

Who would want to get to Percy?

And so on...

Example 2:

Event 1: Katniss is out in the forest hunting for food

Event 2: Katniss' sister is chosen for the hunger games and she volunteers

What would need to happen in order for Event 1 to move seamlessly into Event 2?

Maybe that day is the day the government picks the tributes from each district
and at a certain time, all people must gather at the town square for the
choosing of the tributes.

Why would Katniss volunteer to go in her sister's stead?

Because she loves her and knows her sister has no chance of winning (she is
very gentle and young). Also, Katniss is a natural protector so her first instinct
when her family is threatened is to protect them however she can.

And so on...

The point is to continue developing your story this way until every event leads to
the next and you have a coherent narrative. You can spend as much time as you
need to plan out your story, but remember that the goal of this step is not
necessarily to have a perfect outline, but simply to have a coherent one.

Step 3.4 - Iterate!

Finally, you want to make sure that your characters are changing and growing
based on the events that are happening to them. In other words, you have to make
sure your character arcs didn't fall to the wayside in the process of developing
your plot.

In order to do this, I suggest tracking your character's journey throughout the

story. There are multiple ways to do this...

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CHAPTER 3

You could highlight every scene in which your character is personally affected
by an event and write down what effect it will have on them.
Another option is to write out a few paragraphs about each character's journey
and keeping them handy for when you begin planning out each specific scene
in the next step.

Below is a useful template for keeping your character arcs straight while you write
(fill in for each character - unless their roles are too small to be relevant).

Explanation of your character's upbringing, highlighting the

Background
events that have made them who they are.

List of traits that your character currently displays + strongly held

Starting Point
beliefs that guide their actions.

Explanation of how key plot points change your character. Does it

Obstacles
bring them closer to or farther away from their end point?

List of traits your character displays at the end of the story +

End Point
explanation for why they changed or didn't change.

Once you have your character arcs figured out, you can create your final outline!

One thing to keep in mind is that a strong foundation will help you reduce the
amount of rewriting and heavy-editing you do later on, so it's in your best interest
to get to know your characters and world very well before you jump into writing.

Recommended Reading

One book that I wish I had read BEFORE making my scene-by-scene outline is:

Save The Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody - This book is an adaptation of
Save The Cat! by Blake Snyder created specifically for novelists. It details the
key story "beats" that are usually hit in every novel and is a magnificent
resource for all writers!

We will do a deep-dive into Brody's adaptation in Chapter 6 of this guide.

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CHAPTER IV

THE SCENE-BY-SCENE OUTLINE

I have my scene-by-scene outline to
thank for the fact that, in all the
months it took to write my first draft, I
never once experienced writer's block.

Let's begin with some simple, but very

important, explanations:

Scene = a portion of the story in

which characters engage in
dialogue or/and activity.

One chapter can be made up of a

single scene (less common) or
multiple (more common).

scenes are usually between 500 -

2000 words, though the length is
extremely variable.

Don't worry, you don't need to know absolutely everything that will happen in your
book in order to make a scene by scene outline. Although, this part of the process
does involve a lot of creativity.

I would suggest by starting with a chapter guide (i.e. an outline with a brief (or
long) explanation of what will happen in each chapter).

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CHAPTER 4

Example 1: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

CH1 - Percy goes on a school field trip to the metropolitan museum of art. His class
walks around the area with ancient Greek and Roman art. Grover and Mr. Brunner
are introduced. Percy's friend Grover is getting picked on by a bully (Nancy
Bobofit). Percy stands up to the bully and accidentally uses his water-related
powers against her. A teacher (monster in disguise) witnesses the scene and takes
Percy aside, presumably to chastise him. The teacher transforms into a Fury and
attacks Percy. Mr. Brunner appears and helps Percy defeat the Fury.

CH 2 - Everyone acts as if the teacher that Percy fought and defeated at the
museum never existed. He is very confused. Grover and Mr. Brunner start acting
weird. Percy gets into another fight with the bully and gets expelled. He overhears
Grover and Mr. Brunner talking about him and mentioning the incident at the
museum. Percy confronts Grover, who admits to being Percy's protector.

CH 3 - Percy's mom, Sally, is introduced. She is very sweet but married to a

grotesque and abusive man named Gabe. Sally decides to take Percy to Montauk
beach so they can spend some time together. Grover appears at the beach and
tells Percy he is in danger. Percy discovers Grover is a satyr.

...

Example 2: The Hunger Games

CH1 - Katniss wakes up at home in District 12. Her mom and sister are introduced.
She goes out hunting for food and because she is the main provider of the family.
Katniss meets Gale, her friend (love interest 1), in the woods. They discuss running
away but decide against it. They catch fish and go to the black market to sell it.
The hunger games are explained because today is the reaping day (when tributes
get chosen). Before the reaping begins, the mayor explains the history of the
games. The reaping begins and the first name is drawn: Primrose Everdeen,
Katniss' sister.

CH 2 - Katniss volunteers as tribute. The boy tribute is selected and Peeta (love
interest 2) is introduced. Insert backstory about Katniss' life in District 12 and the
first time she saw Peeta.

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CHAPTER 4

CH 3 - Katniss says goodbye to her family. The journey to the capitol begins.
Katniss and Peeta have dinner with Effie and Haymitch, who will be their mentor
for the games. Haymitch is a drunk.

...

You get the idea. The summaries don't have to be perfect. Chances are, you will
end up changing up the content or even the order of them at some point. However,
now that you have them, you can begin creating your scene-by scene outline,
which is basically just a fleshed out version of the chapter-by-chapter outline.

All you have to do is break down each chapter into its respective scenes and note
the key components of each scene. You can add notes or any information you think
you might find useful once you get to writing. For example, you could add pictures
of a setting from your Pinterest board to make it easier to describe the space
later.

The main things I recommend including in your scene-by-scene outline are the
following:

A description of the action(s) in the scene, including the topic of conversation

if there is dialogue
A list of characters who will be present during the scene
A note of where the action or conversation is taking place

Example - Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

1. Chapter 1
Scene 1 - Percy sits next to Grover on the bus.They're on their way to the
Metropolitan Museum of Art for a school trip. Nancy Bobofit is introduced.
She messes with Grover and Percy feels bad for him.
Scene 2 - Percy's class walks through the Greek and Roman art exhibits
and Mr. Brunner tells them facts about the pieces' history. He explains the
story of how the Greek gods defeated Kronos. Mr. Brunner tells Percy he is
a promising young man, which confuses Percy as he has dyslexia and
ADHD.

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CHAPTER 4

Scene 3 - The students are taken outside for lunch and Nancy Bobofit
comes over to where Grover and Percy are hanging out by a fountain. She
picks on Grover again. This time, Percy gets very angry and something
weird happens, the water in the fountain grabs Nancy. Percy isn't sure what
happened but the students who witnessed the scene are whispering and
looking at him weirdly. A teacher, Ms. Dodds, who is also chaperoning the
tip along with Mr. Brunner, tells Percy to follow her. Percy thinks she will
punish him.
Scene 4 - Inside the museum, Ms. Dodds begins acting very strange and
suddenly transforms into a Fury (she grows bat wings and big yellow
fangs). Mr. Brunner appears and tosses Percy a ball point pen, which he
uncaps. The pen becomes a sword. Percy battles the Fury and wins. The
monster dissolves.
Scene 5 - Percy returns to he fountain and finds that nobody remembers
Ms. Dodds. Grover tells Percy their teacher is named Ms. Kerr, but Percy
knows something weird is happening.

Note: Yep! It's a lot of work, especially if you're writing a longer novel.
Nonetheless, I promise, it's worth it. It will save you so much time, in the long run.

If you're anything like me, you're probably itching to start writing... Luckily, that's
exactly what comes next!

Now, as for where/how to create your scene-by-scene outline, you can use
Scrivener, Microsoft Word, Google docs, or good ol' pen and paper.

If you're interested in using Scrivener, here's a great tutorial:

https://embowman.com/2012/a-scrivener-tutorial-outlining/

Recommended Reading

A book to give you a first look into what publishers and agents are looking for in a
manuscript:

The Author's Checklist by Elizabeth K. Kracht

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CHAPTER V

WRITING DRAFT "ZERO"

The reason I call it "Draft 0" is because the purpose of it is simply to put the story
on the page. Think of it as you telling the story to yourself. You don't need to worry
about how beautiful your prose is or whether your sentences are perfectly
structured.

Do NOT edit as you go.

One of the main reasons why some many of the people who set out to write books,
never complete them is because they worry too much about writing perfectly. The
chances that you will be able to write a perfect book on your first try are...slim.
That's why editing is a thing!

"A finished rough draft

is worth much more than
a perfect first chapter"

It's not a big deal if your Draft 0 doesn't read very smoothly or elegantly. It isn't
meant to. Anne Lamott has a fantastic essay titled "Shitty First Drafts," in which
she argues for the need to let go of worries about quality.

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CHAPTER 5

She says we should embrace the idea that the work we produce in the beginning
must be messy and terrible in order to pave the way for future brilliance once you
move into second and third draft territory. Trust me, she knew what she was
talking about.

Now, as for how to actually get writing, I have two pieces of advice:

Set a schedule and do your best to stick to it.

Choose a designated time & space for it. Light a candle, grab a coffee, keep
some water on hand... Do anything you need to do to make it feel special.
Don't let yourself burn out. You don't need to be writing 5,000 words a day
(unless that's what feels natural). Slow and steady wins the race,
remember?

Stray if you need to.

If inspiration hits and you want to write scenes that weren't in your original
outline, write them!
If you're bored out of your mind writing some of the scenes you planned,
scrap them!
Your outline is meant to help you, not hinder you.

Come back once you've finished your first draft (aka Draft 0).

Productive Procrastination

Staying the course and getting the story down is essential because it will help
strengthen a very important will-power muscle that you'll need throughout your
entire writing career. Nonetheless, it doesn't help us to pretend like
procrastination isn't part of the human experience. Thus, it is best to be prepared
for when the urge hits by setting some ground rules / allowances for yourself!

For example:
It's ok for me to not write on days when I REALLY don't feel like it as long as I
still manage to hit my word count goal for the week.
I can use 1/4 of my designated writing time per week to curate a playlist for my
main character OR create a Pinterest board for my novel OR work on my author
platform.

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CHAPTER VI

EDITING ROUND 1
(DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING)
Alright, you've developed a writing
practice and have managed to grind
out the first draft. At this point, there
are two common traps that you want to
be careful not to fall into. I'll explain
them both below:

Trap 1 - Thinking you're done

You set out to write a book and you

wrote one. That must be it, right?
WRONG! You are not done. In my
opinion, you're only about halfway
there. If you stop now, you miss out on
the opportunity of realizing your
story's full potential.

Trap 2 - Thinking you're a shitty writer

because your draft is shitty

Spoiler alert, even the most talented

and successful writers start off with
shitty first drafts. it's their diligence
and quality-oriented editing that turn
those shitty drafts into memorable and
impactful bestsellers.

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CHAPTER 6

So, let's recap: You are NOT done and you are NOT a shitty writer just because
your draft is shitty. Now that we got that out of the way, let's get into how to take
that draft from shitty to 'hey, this is actually pretty good' territory.

There's three main types of edits I focus on during this stage: Character-driven,
story-driven, and theme-driven.

Note: Before you make any edits, re-read your entire manuscript. Feel free to take
notes on any plot holes, inconsistencies, or glaring mistakes.

6.1 Character Work

The goal of doing character work now is to expand on your characters'

personalities and conflicts in a way that will support the theme of your book as
well as build tension and relationships between them. With that in mind, I suggest
revisiting your character profiles (yes, all of them) to add the following
information:

Need
Figure out what exactly your character needs in order to be happy and feel
fulfilled. This is usually not something the character knows, at least not at the
beginning of the story.

Example: Percy Jackson needs to learn who he is and find the strength that comes
from embracing your true self. In other words, he needs to stop thinking of himself
as a troubled kid who is nothing more than his dyslexia and ADHD.

Want
This, on the other hand, is what your character thinks will make them happy. It's
the thing they are working towards or hoping for, and it's usually not the same as
the need. If you're writing a positive change arc, your character will eventually
realize that what they have been pursuing is not what they truly need and will shift
their goals accordingly.

Example: Percy Jackson thinks what will make him happy is not getting expelled
and being able to fit in and cruise through the school year unnoticed.

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False Belief
The lie that your character believes that is holding them back from aligning their
wants and needs. What belief is keeping them from finding true happiness and
success?

Example: Percy believes he is a troubled kid, who can't help but getting expelled.
He thinks having dyslexia and ADHD makes it impossible for him to accomplish
what other students can accomplish and means he is destined to fail.
Once you are clear on your characters' goals and motivations, you will probably
begin to see where conflict might arise between them. That's good! You need a fair
amount of conflict between characters to carry a story.

The next step is to deepen your understanding of each character in order to figure
out how they would react to every plot point in the story. There are 5 questions
that can help you do this:

Who are you?

Answer in first person as if it was the character speaking. You want to
know what this character thinks of themselves. It doesn't need to be the
same as what others think of them or even what you, as the author, think of
them. Simply, figure out what aspects of themselves they would highlight
if someone were to ask them this question.

How do you react when something doesn't go as planned?

This is where you figure out if your character's response is fight or flight or
something else (i.e. panicking, seeking counsel, getting angry, blaming
themselves, etc).

What are your secrets?

All three-dimensional characters have secrets. This is not to say that they
are living a lie or using a fake name. Secrets can be as simple as 'I don't like
this other character but act as if I do because that's what's expected from
polite society'.

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CHAPTER 6

Their secrets could be related to their goals (e.g. they pretend to have one
goal in mind but are actually secretly pursuing another), motivations (e.g.
their goal is known to others but they have ulterior motives for wanting it
that others don't know), identities (e.g. they're lying about who they are or
what they've done), opinions (e.g. they're pretending to agree with an idea
but actually think the opposite), etc.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Try to be specific. When it comes to strengths, think about the traits that
make them uniquely prepared to face the challenges of the story, and
when it comes to weaknesses, think about the traits that could get in the
way of them achieving their goals.

How does your journey support the thesis/theme of this story?

We will work on developing your theme later, so you can come back to this
once you have a clearer understanding of your story's themes.
If you feel like you already have a solid grasp on your story's theme, write a
few sentences about how your character's journey is related to it.

Once you have a solid understanding of who your characters are and why they
matter to your story, you're ready to use that information to determine what their
reactions should be to each story beat. I suggest moving to step 6.2 and then
returning to this, as it will provide the groundwork for you to build on.

Jump ahead to step 6.2

Once you have completed step 6.2 and figured out your plot, it's time to add to
your character profiles (again). All you truly need are a few notes to keep in mind
for when you're making written edits. The simplest and quickest way to track
these (that I have found) is to create a character reaction chart.

I got the idea from www.writeonsisters.com, so I will direct you to their site for this
one. they also have hundreds of other amazing blog posts about character
development and plot devices that are worth checking out!

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CHAPTER 6

For a template and explanation on how to create a character interaction chart, go

here:
http://writeonsisters.com/writing-craft/character-development-the-reaction-
chart/

6.2 Plot Work

The goal of all plot-driven developmental edits is to strengthen the flow of your
narrative and patch up any plot holes you may have missed while writing Draft 0.

The natural first step is for you to understand the structure of your story. Luckily,
effective story structures have been widely researched, and American
Screenwriter, Blake Snyder, wrote an entire book on the golden formula for
storytelling. His book, which you might have heard of, is titled 'Save the Cat!' and
provides highly valuable insights into how to best structure a story.

Snyder provides a blueprint for structuring stories based on the idea that all
stories should go through 15 'beats,' each of which proves essential to your
overarching narrative. It sounds a little complicated, but it's really simple in
practice. The first thing you'll need to do is figure out which beats you already
have in your story and whether they are in the appropriate place.

Save The Cat! - Story Beats

Act I - The Beginning

Opening Image – 0% to 1%
A single scene beat that shows what the protagonist's life is like before the
inciting incident changes the course of their life.
Example: Katniss wakes up in her small cottage in District 12 and reaches for
Prim, but finds her gone.

Theme Stated – 5%
A single scene beat in which someone other than the protagonist makes a
statement that hints at the theme of the story (aka what the protagonist will learn
along the way).

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CHAPTER 6

Example: Gale tells Katniss that they should run away together but they
decide against it because they are both responsible for their families. It is the
first musing of rebellion against the unfairness and oppression of the Capitol.

Setup – 1% to 10%
A multi-scene beat throughout which the protagonist's initial goal (the want we
discussed in section 6.1) is established. Side characters can also introduced during
this time.
Example: The time between when Katniss first wakes up and when Effie reads
off the names of the chosen tributes.

Catalyst – 10%
A single scene beat, otherwise known as the inciting incident. It is the event that
happens that changes the course of the protagonist's life and sets the story in
motion.
Example: The moment when Prim is chosen as the female tribute for District 12
and Katniss volunteers to take her place.

Debate – 10% to 20%

A multi-scene beat where the protagonist questions whether they should go
through with something. It's meant to show the protagonist's reluctance to
change.
Example: Katniss says goodbye to Gale and wonders whether she has any
chance of coming out of the games alive as she is unsure she could ever kill
another person. She doesn't want to participate in the games but doesn't know
what else to do.

Act II - The Middle

Break Into Two – 20%

A single scene beat where the protagonist decides to do whatever they were
debating (go on the journey, accept the task, etc).
Example: Katniss promises Prim that she will try to win.

B Story – 22%
A single scene beat where an important character is introduced.

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CHAPTER 6

This is a character or characters who will help the protagonist learn the
theme/lesson throughout the story. It could be a mentor, a love interest, an
antagonist, or even a friend.
Example: Katniss meets Peeta, Haymitch, and Effie.

Fun and Games – 20% to 50%

A multi-scene beat that shows the protagonist engaging in their quest and
interacting with their new environment/task. Think of this as the part that would
provide most of the scenes for the trailer if your story was a movie.
Example: Katniss meets the rest of the tributes, she trains for the hunger
games, and then they begin.

Midpoint – 50%
A single scene beat where there is either a 'false victory' or a 'false defeat'. It is a
moment that increases the stakes, like the introduction of a new deadline or a plot
twist.
Example: Katniss is inured and discovers that Peeta has allied himself with the
Careers.

Bad Guys Close In – 50% to 75%

A multi-scene beat where internal and external conflicts escalate either in a
positive direction (aka the protagonist goes through a series of wins) or in a
negative direction (the protagonist goes through a series of failures).
Example: More tributes are picked off by the careers but Katniss begins
scoring some wins. She allies herself with Rue and they destroy the Careers
supplies.

All is Lost – 75%

A single scene beat where something happens that pushes your protagonist over
the edge and to their lowest point yet.
Example: Rue is killed and Katniss is unable to save her.

Dark Night of the Soul – 75% to 80%

A multi-scene beat where the protagonist is at their lowest and reminisces on
what has brought them to this point.
Example: Katniss mourns Rue and is overcome with emotion after having killed
someone for the first time.

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 CHAPTER 6

Act III - The End

Break Into Three – 80%

A single scene beat where the protagonist realizes what they need to do to solve
their internal and external problems.
Example: The game-makers announce that there can only be one winner and
Katniss realizes they have been toying with them the whole time. She decides
it's time to call their bluff and rebel by threatening to eat poison berries so
there will be no winner at all.

Finale – 80% to 99%

A multi-scene beat where the protagonist uses what they have learned to solve
their internal and external problems.
Example: Katniss raises the berries to her lips and the game-makers fold. The
hunger games end and Katniss and Peeta are crowned as victors, but
Haymitch warns them that President Snow is angry at their act of rebellion.
Their life becomes a performance in which they must convince the public that
they are madly in love so the poison berry incident will not be interpreted as
outright rebellion.

Final Image – 99% to 100%

A single scene beat where the reader can see how much things have changed
since the beginning of the story.
Example: Katniss boards the train back to district 12, where she will now live in
wealth at the victor's village.

Note: The % shown next to each story beat refers to the point of the book that
Snyder suggests each story beat should take up. To figure it out for your story,
just multiply the percentage by the total word count or total number of scenes in
your novel.

Once you've figured out which pieces are missing from your story, go ahead and
brain storm ideas on how to add them. Try to be specific about what scenes need
to be added, deleted, or changed.

6.3 Theme Work

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CHAPTER 6

Think of the theme of your story as the life lesson that your protagonist needs to
learn by the end of the novel.

A well crafted story will hint at the theme in Act I, put the protagonist through
things that will lead them to question their previously held beliefs and examine
their flaws in Act II, and have them face their fears and prove that they have
learned their lesson in Act III.

Lucky for you, figuring out the theme is not as hard as you might think. If you have
already done a deep dive into your protagonist's character, chances are, you
already know the theme, even if you don't realize it.

In Step 6.1, you figured out the lie that your character is telling themselves, the
false belief they hold. That, coupled with the character's need, is what will help
you determine the theme.

Example:
Lie: Percy Jackson believes he is a troubled kid who will never amount to
anything
Need: He needs to discover his true identity and start believing in himself
Theme/Lesson: Identity - the importance of believing in oneself.

Amazing! You've figured out what edits need to be made. You know what happens
next... Go make those edits and come back when you have a finished Draft 1.

Recommended Reading

A few books to guide you through the editing process because many authors claim
it is the hardest part of writing...

Intuitive Editing by Tiffany Yates Martin

Author in Progress by Therese Walsh & The Writer Unboxed Community

Note: If you haven't already, this is a fantastic time to start building your author
platform (aka getting your name out there and building some buzz around your
book). It's never too early to start building a community of engaged readers.

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CHAPTER VII

BETA READERS
A beta reader is simply someone who
will look over your manuscript and
provide feedback based on their
experience reading it. You might not
think you need beta readers and, in the
end, that's a choice you have to make
for yourself. All I can say is that
receiving external feedback is a
wonderful way to check whether the
magic in your head was successfully
translated into magic on the page.

It can be pretty hard to be objective

about our own writing because we, as
the author, have a lot of additional
information about the story that may
not be on the page. Thus, I do
recommend getting your story read by
at least 3-4 people before you send it
out into the world.

Here's everything you need to know if you do decide to use beta readers:

What do beta readers do?

Beta readers will read your manuscript and offer feedback. That being said,
they're not to be confused with editors, proofreaders, or sensitivity readers,
each of which provide a different service.

How many beta readers should you have?

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CHAPTER 7

You could have any amount you want, but keep in mind that you are hoping to
integrate their feedback (if it's valuable), so anywhere over 5 tends to get a
little chaotic for me.

Where to find beta readers?

If you have friends or family who are avid readers and enjoy the genre you
write, you could ask them to beta read your novel.
You can ask colleagues or people from your writing groups in exchange for
beta reading their projects.
You can find beta readers on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or Twitter by
posting a brief description of your book and using the hashtag
#betareaderswanted or #betareadersneeded.

How to choose the right beta readers for your story?

Choose people who enjoy reading books in your genre and are already avid
readers.
You don't want your beta readers to get hung up on things that are just
standard practice in your genre (like not liking your story because there's
no magic, but you're not writing fantasy).
You want your beta readers to be representative of the people who will
likely be drawn to buy your book.
Make sure you choose people who are committed to reading your story
within a reasonable timeline, otherwise you might be waiting for that
feedback a really long time.

How to use beta readers?

Once you've identified the right people to beta read your manuscript, make
sure to tell them what specific kind of feedback you're looking for and give
them a realistic timeline to read your story and come up with that feedback
(usually 2-3 weeks).
The easiest way to make sure you get the type of feedback you want is to give
your beta readers a list of questions, such as the following:
Were you bored at any point in the story?
Which characters did you like & which did you dislike? Why?
Were you confused at any point?
Did you laugh or cry at any point?
Where you satisfied with the ending? Why or why not?

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CHAPTER 7

Once your manuscript is off with your beta readers, you can still improve your
story on your own by brushing up on your writing skills and your knowledge of
storytelling techniques. It's also a great way to pass the time instead of sitting
and worrying about what your beta readers will think of your story...

I recommend picking up any (or all) of the following books:

Before and After the Book Deal by Courtney Maum

Wired for Story by Lisa Cron
The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr
Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes
Merchants of Culture by John B. Thompson
How to Market a Book by Ricardo Fayet

If your writing is dealing with a subject matter you are not an expert on or have no
firsthand experience with, I highly recommend hiring sensitivity readers. These
are people who have lived experience in the topic you are dealing with or belong to
the marginalized communities your characters are representing. They will assess
your manuscript with a particular issue of representation in mind and provide
feedback on whether you have managed to address the subject in an accurate and
respectful way that will not cause further harm.

To find sensitivity readers, you can simply look up "sensitivity readers +

[subject/identity you're looking for]".

Below are a few additional resources for finding sensitivity readers:

https://beekian.wordpress.com/2017/07/06/marginalized-editors-and-
sensitivity-readers-list/
https://readingasiam.blog/sensitivity-reader-services/
https://fireflycreativewriting.com/sensitivity-readers
https://www.dotanddashllc.com/sensitivity-reading
https://www.writingdiversely.com/directory

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CHAPTER VIII

EDITING ROUND 2
(FEEDBACK)
This is the part where you read the feedback you received from your beta readers
and your sensitivity readers and figure out what and how to incorporate it.

My first piece of advice is *don't try to incorporate feedback immediately as it

comes in.* Chances are you will receive feedback from some beta readers before
others and be tempted to jump right into editing. However, you will likely find that
the things that worked for some beta readers will be what irked others. Remember
that everyone's reading experiences will be different and the feedback they
provide will be based on that individual experience. Thus, your role as the author is
to compile the feedback and analyze it for patterns and trends.

The easiest way of operationalizing the feedback you receive is to start by

compiling it in a spreadsheet.

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CHAPTER 7

I suggest breaking the feedback up into four categories:

Typos/grammar
Inconsistencies/plot holes
Characters
Pacing

Most feedback will likely fall somewhere within those categories, but if you have
any additional comments, you can have an 'other' category. Once you have
separated all your feedback into the different categories, you can begin making
note of any patterns or trends.

Did multiple beta readers flag the same scene as boring (pacing issue)?
Did multiple beta readers say your protagonist is too unlikeable (character
issue)?

In addition to noting down trends, you should also look for any "objective"
feedback, which refers to those comments that highlight issues that everyone can
agree are a mistake.

Did you describe a character as blonde in Chapter 3 and then as a redhead in

Chapter 20 (inconsistency)?

Finally, you can read through the rest of the feedback and begin making edits. You
must decide which category of feedback to tackle first and keep in mind that the
changes you make in one might impact another.

Beginning with fixing typos and grammar mistakes might feel good because
they're usually quick fixes, but if you have any major plot or character related
edits to make, you might end up deleting or changing the scenes with the
typos and fixing them will have been a waste of time.

Note: Remember that you don't need to address every single piece of feedback.
It's okay to put aside the feedback that you don't feel is valuable as long as you
genuinely considered it. If you disagree with a piece of feedback or feel like
incorporating it would be doing your story a disservice, don't use it! After all, the
point of incorporating feedback is to enhance your story, not to change it to the
point where it no longer feels yours.

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CHAPTER IX

EDITING ROUND 3
(LINE & COPY)
Once you have processed and What is the atmosphere of the
incorporated the sensitivity and beta passage?
reader feedback, it's time for a final Are the words I'm using accurately
round of editing! This is the one, where reflecting that tone and
you evaluate your writing sentence-by- atmosphere?
sentence and word-by-word, making Do my sentences flow naturally?
sure that it is conveying the correct Is my dialogue natural or stunted?
meaning and connotation for your Would this character speak like
story. this?
Am I over-describing or under-
Here's where you fix any and all typos describing?
and grammar mistakes as well as any Am I using simple or lofty
issues with punctuation. language?
Did I mean to use this kind of
Keep in mind that line editing is more language?
of an art than a science and will require
practice to get good at. You need to be You're not gonna catch everything, but
asking yourself questions about how it's important that you are as thorough
the language itself is working in each and thoughtful as you can. If you are
sentence and whether it fits the overall aiming for traditional publishing, your
tone and of your story based on the manuscript will likely go through a few
passage's tone and atmosphere of your more rounds of editing with an external
story. editor, but you need it to be as polished
as possible if you want to land an
As you read your manuscript, keep agent. If you're self-publishing, this is
these questions in mind: your final round of edits, so you want to
bring your manuscript as close to
What is the tone of the passage? perfect as possible.

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CHAPTER X

PROOFREADING
Proofreading is the final step of the
writing process. This is the part where
you read your manuscript one last time
and look for any mistakes that you
didn't catch on previous editing rounds.
It might feel redundant (because it is),
but it's incredibly important.

Make sure to keep an eye out for:

Run-on sentences
Typos or grammar mistakes
Inconsistent spelling of names,
places, made-up words, etc.
Missing or unnecessary comas
Capitalization errors
Inconsistent verb tenses

You might also want to consider hiring

a professional proofreader, if it's within
your budget.

Don't forget to format your book

according to agents' specifications if
you're querying for traditional
publishing!

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CONCLUSION

THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING...

First of all, congratulations! You've finished writing a book and that's an incredible
accomplishment, in and of itself. Now, you get to decide whether you want to self-
publish or go the traditional route and go through a publishing company.

There are pros and cons to both paths and it's ultimately a decision you should
make based on your budget and the kind of publishing experience you envision for
yourself.

Just remember... This might be

the end of the writing journey
(sort of - I mean, there will likely
be some editing and potentially
even re-writing if you're going
traditional), but it is only step 1 on
the publishing journey!

So, celebrate your win and get

ready for a new adventure!

If you need more personalized

help or just want someone to
coach you through the writing
process and provide consistent
actionable feedback, I offer that
service and so much more!

Visit my website to browse my

services and follow me on social
media for more free writing tips!

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