Write Your Novel Today: How to Start a Novel In Three Easy Steps
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If you are really serious about wanting to write a compelling, well-written novel that will have the best chance of being published, there is one thing you must do before you even write one word.
Creating a Compelling Vision
You must first create a clear, step-by-step map for your journey through your story. It's essential to go through the process of exploring and developing your initial ideas for character, setting, and plot. By clarifying these key elements of your novel before you begin writing, you will actually be able to finish it without getting lost somewhere in the vast middle section wondering where to go next. Everything will fit together in a unified vision that will inspire you to move forward and get your novel on paper.
Get To Know Your Characters
To begin, you'll want to take some time to explore who your characters are and where they want to go through the story of your novel. You can take your kernel of an idea and develop it through the following questions until you really feel you know your characters and understand their lives and motivations. You'll know when you've accomplished this when you feel a real sense of connection with your characters and you feel invested in how things are going to turn out for them. Use the following questions to get yourself started:
Who are the key players in your story?
How do they look physically? What is their age, weight, gender, ethnicity, and what's unique about them?
What are they like on the inside? personality traits, habits, unique characteristics, temperament.
Explore their background, family history, and defining past experiences.
What are their loves, hates, fears?
What are their heartfelt dreams for themselves and their lives? What obstacles are in the way of achieving them?
Answering questions such as these help you know your characters deeply and feel connected to them and their dreams. Once you achieve this, you're ready to move on to the next step.
Create Your Novel's World
Next, you will want to take some time to decide on the key details of location and setting for your novel so that these, too, will come alive in your imagination. Here are some questions to consider:
Where does it take place: country, state, region?
When does your novel take place specifically and over what period of time?
Where does your novel take place specifically? i.e. house, business, castle, spaceship and what is it like there?
What season(s) will be portrayed?
Are there important objects for the story? heirlooms, treasured gifts, magical talismans, etc.
Map Out the Journey for Your Novel
The third step is to develop a strong plot outline that flows from point to point in a logical, compelling way. Now that you know your characters' motivations, use these to develop an action plan to help them get what they want. There are many ways to structure your novel to keep the readers interested in what will happen next. At their most basic, each of these come down to the following essential plot questions:
Where are your characters starting from at the beginning of your novel?
What is their overall goal?
What is keeping them from having what they really want?
How do your characters get past these obstacles to get what they want?
Here's a basic structure that you can use: Your character will usually have an experience of some success at their goal about 1/3 of the way through your novel. Then about half way through, what they've accomplished begins to get more complicated than they expected and additional obstacles are introduced. About 2/3 of the way through your plot, the main character often loses what they've gained and tries to return to what they had at the beginning. This then leads to disappointment and eventual re-commitment to their original goal. At the climax, they find the strength overcome the final obstacle which leads to success.
It's Really Worth Taking the Time To Know Where You're Going
I really encourage you to take the time to create a detailed blueprint for your characters, setting, and plot before you dive into the vast sea of your novel. Completing this essential first step will give you a reliable compass to guide you on the wonderful creative journey of writing your own novel. You'll know your characters deeply, you'll be able to clearly imagine the details of your setting, and you'll have a reliable map to follow that will give you peace of mind and inspiration as you begin to write each day.
Creating a Compelling Vision
You must first create a clear, step-by-step map for your journey through your story. It's essential to go through the process of exploring and developing your initial ideas for character, setting, and plot. By clarifying these key elements of your novel before you begin writing, you will actually be able to finish it without getting lost somewhere in the vast middle section wondering where to go next. Everything will fit together in a unified vision that will inspire you to move forward and get your novel on paper.
Get To Know Your Characters
To begin, you'll want to take some time to explore who your characters are and where they want to go through the story of your novel. You can take your kernel of an idea and develop it through the following questions until you really feel you know your characters and understand their lives and motivations. You'll know when you've accomplished this when you feel a real sense of connection with your characters and you feel invested in how things are going to turn out for them. Use the following questions to get yourself started:
Who are the key players in your story?
How do they look physically? What is their age, weight, gender, ethnicity, and what's unique about them?
What are they like on the inside? personality traits, habits, unique characteristics, temperament.
Explore their background, family history, and defining past experiences.
What are their loves, hates, fears?
What are their heartfelt dreams for themselves and their lives? What obstacles are in the way of achieving them?
Answering questions such as these help you know your characters deeply and feel connected to them and their dreams. Once you achieve this, you're ready to move on to the next step.
Create Your Novel's World
Next, you will want to take some time to decide on the key details of location and setting for your novel so that these, too, will come alive in your imagination. Here are some questions to consider:
Where does it take place: country, state, region?
When does your novel take place specifically and over what period of time?
Where does your novel take place specifically? i.e. house, business, castle, spaceship and what is it like there?
What season(s) will be portrayed?
Are there important objects for the story? heirlooms, treasured gifts, magical talismans, etc.
Map Out the Journey for Your Novel
The third step is to develop a strong plot outline that flows from point to point in a logical, compelling way. Now that you know your characters' motivations, use these to develop an action plan to help them get what they want. There are many ways to structure your novel to keep the readers interested in what will happen next. At their most basic, each of these come down to the following essential plot questions:
Where are your characters starting from at the beginning of your novel?
What is their overall goal?
What is keeping them from having what they really want?
How do your characters get past these obstacles to get what they want?
Here's a basic structure that you can use: Your character will usually have an experience of some success at their goal about 1/3 of the way through your novel. Then about half way through, what they've accomplished begins to get more complicated than they expected and additional obstacles are introduced. About 2/3 of the way through your plot, the main character often loses what they've gained and tries to return to what they had at the beginning. This then leads to disappointment and eventual re-commitment to their original goal. At the climax, they find the strength overcome the final obstacle which leads to success.
It's Really Worth Taking the Time To Know Where You're Going
I really encourage you to take the time to create a detailed blueprint for your characters, setting, and plot before you dive into the vast sea of your novel. Completing this essential first step will give you a reliable compass to guide you on the wonderful creative journey of writing your own novel. You'll know your characters deeply, you'll be able to clearly imagine the details of your setting, and you'll have a reliable map to follow that will give you peace of mind and inspiration as you begin to write each day.
About the Author:
If you would like more guidance about how to go about each of these steps as you start your novel, there are several very good novel writing software programs that will walk you through the process. Visit this website for writers for more helpful ideas and resources to help you write your novel.
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