This concise yet comprehensive study explores innovative practice in the novel and, from the perspective of creative writing, the astonishing resilience of the novel form. It offers a practical guide to the many possibilities available to the writer of the novel, with each chapter offering exercises to encourage innovation and to expand the creative writer’s narrative skills. Beginning with early iterations of the novel in the 17th century, this book follows the evocation of innovation in the novel through Realism, Modernism, Postmodernism and into today’s dizzying array of digital and interactive possibilities. While guiding the reader through the possibilities available (in both genre and literary fiction), this book encourages both aspiring and established writers to produce novels with imagination, playfulness and gravitas. Dynamic and interactive, this text is distinctive in offering a grounding in the literary history of the novel, while also equipping readers to write in the form themselves. It is an essential resource for any student of creative writing, or anyone with an interest in writing their own novel.

"I highly recommend Novel Ideas for aspiring writers and creative writing tutors - the volume combines sound practical advice with detailed knowledge of wider literary and theoretical contexts. Beautifully written, informative and accessible, this is an essential text." - James Miller, Kingston University London, UK

"With entertaining and provocative exercises, Paul Williams details the genesis and development of this essential art form, and includes a welcoming embrace of different voices and identities, as the novel arrives in the present moment." - Alan Michael Parker, Davidson College, USA