As the author of twenty-four novels, Elizabeth George is one of the most successful-and prolific-novelists today. In Mastering the Process, George offers a master class in the art and science of crafting a novel. This is a subject she knows well, having taught creative writing both nationally and internationally for over thirty years.

"I have never before read a book about writing that is so thorough, thoughtful, and most of all, helpful."-Lisa See, New York Times bestselling author of The Island of Sea Women

For many writers, the biggest challenge is figuring out how to take that earliest glimmer of inspiration and shape it into a full-length novel. How do you even begin to transform a single idea into a complete book?

In these pages, award-winning, number one New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth George takes us behind the scenes through each step of her writing process, revealing exactly what it takes to craft a novel.

Drawing from her personal photos, notes, character analyses, and rough drafts, George shows us every stage of creating her novel Careless in Red, from researching location to imagining plot to creating characters to the actual writing and revision processes. George offers us an intimate look at her procedures, providing invaluable advice for writers about what has worked for her-and what hasn't. Mastering the Process has practical, prescriptive, and achievable tools for creating a novel, editing, and problem solving when in the midst of a novel, from a master storyteller at the top of her game.