So You Want to Write a Novel
Contents:
The once-reprobate lover who has become a changed man, loving fiance, falls off the wagon the night before the wedding. Caught red-handed doing drugs and drinking and cavorting with another woman, he sees his true love storm off, vowing to never speak to him again. Imagine the nadir, the low point, the bleakest moment for your lead character.
Your ability to do this will make or break you as a novelist. This is not easy, believe me. The Bleakest Moment forces your hero to take action, to use every new muscle and technique gained from facing a book full of obstacles and prove that things only appeared beyond repair. The more hopeless the situation, the more powerful your climax and end will be. The ultimate resolution, the peak emotional point of your story, comes when your hero faces his ultimate test. The stakes must be dire and failure irreversible.
Character Worksheets
The conflict that has been building throughout now crescendos to a final, ultimate confrontation, and all the major book-length setups are paid off. In the original version of the movie, the scene felt flat.
So the filmmakers added the fact that the Death Star was on the verge of destroying the rebel base. Reward their sticking with you and let them see the fireworks. Take your time and write a fully satisfying ending that drops the curtain with a resounding thud.
So you want to be a writer? Essential tips for aspiring novelists
How long it takes you to be happy with every word before you start pitching your manuscript to the market is how long it should take. A ,word manuscript, including revision, should be doable—even for a beginner—in six to nine months. Develop and practice the right habits , set a regular writing schedule, and stick to it. If it was easy, everyone would do it.
Step 2: Determine whether you’re an Outliner or a Pantser.
Every published novelist yes, even any big name you can think of was once right where you are—unpublished and unknown. Resolve to not quit, and you will write a novel. Most importantly, your idea must compel you to write it. You should be able to tell by their expression and their tone of voice whether they really like it or are just being polite. How to Write a Book: Everything You Need to Know in 20 Steps.
Before you go, be sure to grab my FREE guide: How to Write a Novel: Just tell me where to send it: So how do I overcome them and succeed? First, you have to write a novel.
Want to download this step guide so you can read it whenever you wish? Contents Nail down a winning story idea. Create an unforgettable main character. Expand your idea into a plot. Choose your Voice and Point of View. Start in media res in the midst of things. Make the predicament appear hopeless. Bring it all to a climax. Leave readers wholly satisfied.
Nail-down a winning story idea. Is your novel concept special? Big enough to warrant 75, to , words?
Powerful enough to hold the reader all the way? Come up with a story idea laden with conflict—the engine that will drive your plot. Your lead can have human flaws, but those should be redeemable. For each character, ask: What do they want? What or who is keeping them from getting it? What will they do about it? What is their role in the main story? To be memorable, your characters must also be believable. Inject them with humanity. My book sales took off when I started doing this: Plunge your main character into terrible trouble as soon as possible.
Everything your character does to try to get out of that trouble makes it only worse… …until the predicament appears hopeless. Finally, everything your hero learns from trying to get out of the terrible trouble completes his character arc and gives him what he needs to succeed in the end. Plot Elements Writing coaches call by different names their own suggested story structures, but the basic sequence is largely similar. They all include some variation of: An Opener The Inciting Incident that changes everything A series of crises that build tension A Climax A Conclusion Regardless how you plot your novel, your primary goal must be to grab readers by the throat from the get-go and never let go.
More in-depth plotting resources: Accurate details add flavor and authenticity. Get details wrong and your reader loses confidence—and interest—in your story. Consult Atlases and World Almanacs to confirm geography and cultural norms and find character names that align with the setting, period, and customs.
If your Middle Eastern character flashes someone a thumbs up, be sure that means the same in his culture as it does in yours. YouTube and online search engines can yield tens of thousands of results. Just be careful to avoid wasting time getting drawn into clickbait videos Use a Thesaurus , but not to find the most exotic word.
People love to talk about their work, and often such conversations lead to more story ideas. Resist the urge to shortchange the research process.
Choose your point of view. Read current popular fiction to see how the bestsellers do it. Begin in media res in the midst of things. You must grab your reader by the throat on page one. Give them just enough to engage their mental projectors. Now, everything he does to get out of that terrible trouble must make it progressively worse. Conflict is the engine of fiction. His trouble should escalate logically because of his attempts to fix it. Writing coaches have various labels for this crucial plot point. A New Hope climaxes with the rebels forced to destroy the Death Star.
Follow me on Twitter: BrianKlems Read my parent humor blog: He was a terrible writer. My professor for my novel writing class showed us this video in class. You may also enjoy this one: A lot of writers think they can just write, sell, write, sell.
So you want to write a book?
Will I publish this first attempt? Probably not since this is my best attempt at actually writing a novel. This video has a ton of reality to it as the pig is the average writer who has too much hubris. Laugh-out-loud funny, but sad at the same time. Awkward Error Comic Strip.
I can write between and words in a fifteen minute block. The average novel is upwards of 80, words so you can complete a first. So You Want To Write a Novel [J. P. Kurzitza] on www.farmersmarketmusic.com *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. After being downloaded thousands of times, it's now .
Someone probably will end up writing that book.