Writing is difficult, let alone writing a novel. It's very common for people to come up with a story idea but give up after starting their first paragraph. Last night my friend told me how she has so many story ideas, but she doesn't know how to put them into words. That's why not all people become authors.
Fortunately, it can be done, and it doesn't need to be complicated.
1. Determine your story idea
Like it or not, when you want to write a novel—or even a short story, you must come up with a story idea. It can be the most difficult or the easiest step, but here is the thing, you don't need to come up with a spectacular idea. Even an idea about a florist who falls in love with a next-door gardener can work. Try this: a passionate florist met a grumpy gardener. He was all things she hated, thus she tried so much to avoid him. Alas, they had to work at the same place, and before she even knew it, she grew feelings towards him.
You don't need a spectacular idea; it's how you write the idea that matters.
2. Know your genre
This step is crucial if you’re writing genre fiction. If you’re writing literary fiction, you can skip this.
Whether it’s a horror novel or a romance-fantasy novel, a sci-fi, or a historical fiction, your story needs a genre. It’s important for readers, so they can expect something from your story once it’s published. It also helps you determine what your story is about. Ask yourself, what is the big element of your story? Is it dark with supernatural elements? Then it might be a horror. Is it a story that involves whodunit elements? It’s likely to be a mystery. Any genre is great, especially if you’re familiar with it.
3. What type of writer are You?
There are two types of writers: pantsers or gardeners, and architect writers or plotters. Pantsers are writers who discover everything organically as they’re writing the story. Usually, pantsers are good with character development as they get to know their characters better in the process. But these types of writers often struggle with how to end their stories. Plotters are writers who plan out everything before they start writing. They are often good with building the story because they have everything figured out beforehand. The downside is their story can feel like slideshows instead of development.
Once you know it, you can start writing. It can be difficult to know if you've never written fiction before. You may want to try imagining your plot and wait for the next thing to come up. When you do this, which one feels more natural to you? Write anything that comes up or figure out the entire plot?
4. Give your story some characters
Characters are the most fundamental part of a story. Readers invest in a story because they want to join the characters’ journey. For me, this is the most difficult part. A great story has strong characters—not because they’re the most powerful, but because they have developments. A character can have all the power in the world but is still a weak character for lacking development.
Crafting strong characters take a lot of time and practice. But as a beginner, you can start with the basics. Introduce one to three characters as you begin, then think about what you want them to be. Give them names so they feel alive. Give them basic traits and personalities. Are they good characters or bad characters? What are their strengths? Give them weakness! Perfect characters are boring.
Remember, don’t overthink this, you will get better over time.
5. Write, write, write.
The last but the most important step is to write the darn novel. There’s no way you can produce a novel if you don’t write it. Don’t overthink it, your first draft sucks anyway. But every good writer starts from writing garbage. Write. Before you can write a good novel, you will write a bad novel.
Comments