How to Practice Writing a Novel

Having never published a novel, my expertise is limited. Having written several, I learned along the way a few tricks. Don’t rush it. Rush it sometimes. And have fun. Writing the novel is a true challenge for any writer, requiring patience. If you want to up your word counts, finish novels in months instead of years, maybe some practice is in order. The first step is to write, sometimes on a whim …

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer, writing ability, willingness to take time on novel writing every day

1. Write the first 5 Pages on a whim:
   
   Just start typing. Find your characters and start exploring them. Don’t edit. Don’t stop. You are exploring and practicing here. When you are done with those five pages repeat, write five more pages, trying to make them different. When you are done with this exercise, you will understand why so many novelists quit: They think their writing is terrible. And the chance is you will think just that. Forget those thoughts and begin putting the pieces together. These ten pages are the beginnings of two books, a piece of you on the page.

2. Outline:
   
   Now we are going to get serious. Exercises are fun and good. If you skipped the last step, that’s fine, but don’t skip this one. A good barometer on whether a novel will be finished is how much work you put into the outline. This is practice. You are seeing the story in one big image. The details are absent. You just write “Joe Smith pulls his blade out,” number it, and move on to the next event. It can be freeing and is always good practice.

3. Details, Details, and the Devil:
   
   The next step is to flesh out the details. We are just practicing here, playing with the words, the characters, and the story. Now we are going to double what we have. “Joe Smith pulls his blade out. Dave Smith looked surprised.” Yes, the devil really is in the details. So is a good story.

4. Journal, Journal, But not too much:
   
   You may be thinking again—“this is terrible.” You may be wondering what the point is. Pull out a notebook, remember the five page whim and outline, and begin to just write. This isn’t fiction: you are just writing down all your thoughts in a random manner. This will give you a new perspective on exactly what you have. And you will get plenty of new ideas and confidence. Don’t journal too much. I found that sometimes it robbed me of creative energy: I no longer felt like writing after scribbling for an hour.

5. Take a few trial runs:
   
   No one gets it right the first time. Set about to finishing the novel no matter what. This is a crash course in developing your mind. I am not saying it will be bad—some writers pen their best works on the first try. It can even be easy. With a two five page beginnings, an outline, some details, and a journal, you are beginning to really practice your creativity.

Tips & Warnings

• Writing groups weren’t mentioned here. The first step in becoming a novelist is showing your work to someone else. A writing group is more for encouragement than telling good stories. But they can teach you as much about writing as any $500 online writing course.