Maxime Chattam helps you finish your novel - 20 Minutes

  • 20 Minutes is organizing a writing competition open to all: the "20 Minutes of the Novel Prize", on the theme "The future belongs to youth" and the winner of which will be published.
  • Confinement requires, an additional period of four weeks, until May 15, is granted to submit your manuscript.
  • Godfather and president of the jury, the novelist Maxime Chattam gives his advice on video. Today: how to finish writing your book.

Many of you have told us about your difficulties in gathering your time, your efforts and your ideas in order to finish writing your manuscript. So if despite the confinement, you still aspire to participate in the "20 Minutes of the novel Prize" on the theme "the future belongs to the youth", rest assured: you will have four more weeks, until May 15, 2020, and not until April 19, to finish your book.

However, containment will cause many delays. Do we push back the deadline of one month for the "20 Minutes of Novel Prize (Edition 2020)"?
I would not go so far as to say that I am up to speed, but I am up to speed. pic.twitter.com/IRvXtfpTLj

- David Fenryck (@FenRyck) March 13, 2020

Before releasing your manuscript, the writer Maxime Chattam, godfather and president of the jury, gives you some video tips to end in style.

"During the writing, be completely selfish, savor the pleasure of writing, because what is expected of you is to feel the pleasure that you may have had to write, advises the sponsor and president of the jury of the Prix 20 Minutes du roman… During proofreading, on the other hand, think of the other. Invent, if necessary, a typical reader different from you and see how he interprets what he reads and reacts to what you have written… This is how you will end up finding a happy medium between what you pleased in the writing of your novel and what will appeal to those who will read it. Maxime Chattam admitted to 20 Minutes that this is exactly how it works for his own novels ... To sum up:

  • Trust yourself, you're really done when you're satisfied
  • Cut as needed, but don't remove anything that would lose the thread of your plot
  • Put yourself in the shoes of someone other than yourself when you reread yourself

    • Maxime Chattam's advice to get started in writing

    Maxime Chattam's advice if you get stuck

    As a reminder, you therefore have until May 15 to register your manuscript on a dedicated platform, in order to compete according to the terms of a regulation which appears online. A first selection will be made by June 5, when the manuscripts are received by "Les Nouveaux Auteurs", a group of readers set up by our partner Prisma media.

    The jury for the " 20 Minutes of the Novel Prize", which includes editorial journalists and readers of the " 20 Minutes books" platform, will take over in order to determine, on July 24, the four finalist novels among a dozen retained titles.

    The price will be awarded to VIS! IONS at the end of the year

    The winner will be the one who has best combined the literary equation "respect for the imposed theme" the future belongs to youth ", quality of writing, originality and coherence of the story". He will be appointed on September 11, during a deliberation between the jury and its president, Maxime Chattam.

    The name of the winner will be announced at the next edition of our VIS! ONS event, scheduled for the end of the year. And the novel, co-published by Les Nouveaux Auteurs, Prisma media and 20 Minutes , will go on sale immediately.

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