How To Write A Novel
The first thing you need to know about writing a novel is that there are no easy answers. The second thing you need to know is that, there’s no magic formula for novel-writing. Every novel demands its own structure, its own pace, its own way of looking at the world.
10 Steps to get you started.
1. Forget the outline
Outlines are good, unless they are bad. The nice thing about an outline is that it gives you a direction. The bad thing about an outline is that it limits your novel’s possibilities. For the first fifty pages, at least, work without an outline. See where the story is beginning to take you.
2. Consider the setting
Setting encompasses not only place, but also time. Where does your novel happen, and when? When you consider the setting of your novel, be as specific as possible. If it begins in a city, what part of the city? What street? What building? Why does the story happen here?
3. Consider the point of view
Who is telling the story, from what distance? Do you have a first-person narrator who is at the center of action, an omniscient narrator who is able to go into the thoughts of any character at any time, a limited third person narration that sticks closely to one character?
4. Consider the Protagonist
There has to be someone at the center of action. Generally, this will be someone your reader ends up rooting for, no matter how flawed the character may be. (And he or she must be flawed in order to be realistic.) Every great novel is character-driven; your protagonist must be a character worth caring about.
5. Consider the conflict
No matter what kind of novel you’re writing, no matter the genre, there is no novel without trouble. Every story begins with a conflict. What’s yours?
6. Consider the stakes
What is at risk in the story? What does your protagonist stand to lose or gain? What does he or she want, and why is it important? The stakes must be clear if you want the reader to care. Often there will be more than one thing at stake, more than one big risk.
7. Embrace fragments
Don’t be afraid to write a paragraph here, a page there. Not everything has to be a full-fledged chapter in the early stages of novel-writing. If you have a scene in your head that you know you want to write, go for it. Tell yourself, “Today I’m going to write 1200 words about where my character lives,” or “Today I’m going to write 500 words about what’s troubling the narrator.” You don’t have to write in a linear fashion. You can piece your novel together later.
8. Write what you don’t know
The old adage is, “Write what you know.” But you also need to be willing to write what you don’t know. Go online and research the things you don’t know.
9. Set a deadline
Not for the completion of the novel, but for the first fifty pages. Set a second deadline, far enough in future, for the completion of the second fifty pages. It’s great to tell yourself you’re going to write a novel in a month. Isn’t it?
10. Keep it yourself
One of the biggest mistakes beginning writers make is showing their early efforts to anyone who will look. I know, it’s tempting. You’re writing a novel. You want feedback! You want support! But hold your horses. For one thing , if you let people see your novel too early, they’re going to have all sorts of ideas about where it should go etc, etc. For a little while, at least, you need to protect your novel. Don’t show it to anyone.
