literature

So you want to write a novel

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So you want to write a novel. Well, that's probably why you're reading this tutorial. Learning about the process of writing a novel is a good place to start. Sure, you could just dive into the deep end with it, but I've learned from experience that it isn't always the best idea. This little guide will help you through the steps of writing a novel, from idea to final draft.

Part 1, deciding what you want to write about. 

All you need for now is a basic idea of what you want your novel to be about, and if you already know, that's great. But if you don't, then now's the time to think about it. Try reading books for some inspiration, but don't be a copycat. Try for something original but not too out there. You're off to a good start, but just remember this: ideas are a dime a dozen. You could have the best idea in the world, but if you don't put in the work, its essentially worthless. 





Part 2, plot mapping and characters. 

Some people come up with characters first, others come up with plot first, both ways are fine. Maybe your idea was for a pixie who lives among the ivy, or maybe it was for a grand adventure through time. It doesn't matter which came first, but you'll need to create them all eventually. 

Characters

While its a good idea to keep track of everyone your character meets along the way, you don't need to plan out those little characters we see once and are done with. The only characters we need to worry about right now are the main cast and the recurring characters. For the main cast it it important to get as much information for them. For recurring characters, not as much is needed, but a good deal still is. 

For the main cast character profiles are a must. You can use the ones I have linked below, or you can make your own. Character profiles are a great reference so that you don't accidentally screw up any details of your character along the way. You can look back at them any time. For these, the more info you have, the better. You need to decide how your characters change as people and develop throughout the story, they shouldn't stay the same the whole way through. Character development questions are also good for seeing how your character will interact with others. 

Recurring characters still need some detail, but not as much. A character sheet for them will also be linked below. 

Reading some character tutorials is also a great idea.

Main Characters:

Character Profile Form
Minor/recurring characters:

Character Profile Form- Short
Character development questions:

Character Development OC Questionnaire
Settings

This is where you figure out the world your characters live in. Maybe its our world, maybe its not. Even if it is our world, you still need to figure out how the places your character visits will look. Map it out and describe it all the best you can, even better if you can draw it out. You'll figure out a lot as you're writing, but you do need a plan.

Here's a great article on world building: 
Creating a New World

Here's a sheet for fictional cities/towns I made: 
Fictional town template





Story timeline 

If your story will span more than one book, you should probably have a basic idea of what will happen in every book, but right now we're only mapping out book one.

Here's Freytag's Pyramid to give you the basic idea of how a plot will go. Keep in mind that its really basic and plot is a lot more complex.

Freytag's Pyramid Wallpaper by feralqueen



Here's an explanation + an idea of how you should plan your timeline. You'll need to have all the big events you want planed out, and its a bonus if you have some of the little ones planned out, too.

Exposition:
What is your characters life like before it all happens? This is what starts as their average life and eventually morphs into the inciting incident. This is the part where we learn about your characters, and their world. This is where you hook us in.

Inciting incident: 
What causes your character to leave their normal life and start their adventure? This is basically the reason for the plot where we learn about the problem.

Rising action:
This is what leads up to the big battle or major event. Think of all the little events as stairs. If you don't have them, you can't get up, so its important to record them.

Climax:
This is that big battle or the most important event, but its often broken up into lib ttle parts.

Falling action:
This is usually shorter than the rising action, and its where you finish up the basics of the plot.

Resolution: 
Its time to end the story and wrap up your loose ends.

This is when you plan out your story with a rough timeline, and decide how long you want it to be. Keep in mind to be a novel it has to be at least 40,000 words. The average novel, however is about 90,000-120,000 words, that's the length most often published, so keep that in mind. 

Part 3, your writing schedule.

I'm sure you want to just get into it now, but we're got one more step. Now, if most people were to decide they wanted to write a novel and didn't come up with any time frame for writing it, chances are not much would get done. You should find a time to write every day, and schedule how many words you want to get done a day to keep up your word count. 

This tracker is useful for that: writetrack.davidsgale.com 

Part 4, the actual writing.

Now its time to do the actual writing. Remember, don't edit while you're writing, that's like frosting a cake while you're baking it.

Part 5, Editing.

Once you finish your novel, its time to edit it. I'd recommend choosing a beta reader; someone you trust with your writing but not someone you're to close to or that won't be honest. As for doing your own editing, well that's a tutorial for another day.

Other resources:

Adding Character FLAWS 
10 ways to get motivated
How to Introduce a Character
Yet another of my tutorials. Had to replace pics with links so it would let me post it.
© 2016 - 2024 Animedemon001
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