Steps to Writing a Novel

Writing a novel involves much hard work and research. It also requires commitment and organization. Getting your ideas down on paper and putting order to them is as important to writing a novel as are the ideas themselves.

Things You'll Need

• Notebooks Computer with word processor

Instructions

1. Write a short summary of your novel. Two to three sentences should be all you need at this stage. Think of the big picture here: what your novel is all about. This short description will be the well from which all of your other ideas spring.

2. Write a longer summary of your novel, including an overview of the beginning, middle and end. Expand on your short summary, but don't spend too much time here. A few paragraphs should be more than sufficient to explain the basic plot, major characters and important events.

3. Summarize your major characters. Open a notebook or word processor document and designate an entire page (or more, if needed) to each character. Write down the character's name, age, appearance, backstory summary, motivations, obstacles and weaknesses, and how the character will grow or change throughout the novel.

4. Now that you have a good idea of where your story is going and what motivates your major characters, it's time to grow the story. Take one paragraph at a time from your summary and expand it into several sentences or paragraphs, until you have a full page. This will give you a rough outline of your novel.

5. Take each paragraph you wrote in Step 4 and expand it into an entire page. You'll now have several pages written and a very in-depth outline of your novel. Now is the time to fix any problems that may have manifested with characters and/or storyline.

6. Plan the scenes of your novel. Open your word processor and get out the expanded synopsis. For each paragraph you have written, list all the scenes you need to write to make your novel work. For each scene detail the characters involved and what happens to them. This need not be more than a one- or two-line summary for each scene.

7. Write the first draft of your novel. With your story, character and scene summaries completed, you can get down to the bread and butter of your novel. Don't worry if it isn't perfect. Just concentrate on finishing the draft.

8. Once the first draft of your novel is finished, the only things left are editing and rewriting. Have someone else, preferably another writer, look over the novel, and don't be afraid to hear criticism. Edit until you are satisfied with your final draft.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't be afraid to revise the storyline and/or characters, even in the beginning of the novel writing process. Making revisions as soon as they come up will save you time and effort in the long run. Spreadsheets and word processors are useful for keeping track of scenes, but there are also several software programs for writers that perform this task even better. If you're serious about writing a novel, you might want to try one. Take a break when you need one. You won't complete your novel in a week or even a month. If you're beginning to feel less than enthusiastic, take a hiatus. Your writing will suffer if you write when you're burned out. Read as much as you can, especially the genre you are interested in writing. This will expose you to other good writing, improve your vocabulary and help you develop and improve your own writing techniques.

• Don't use clichés and tired, used plots. Originality will get you far in novel writing, but clichés will get you nowhere fast. Don't rush yourself. Writing a novel takes time, and pacing is everything. When you begin your rough draft, assign a number of pages or scenes you'd like to write per day. This will also help ensure that you have plenty of time to consider your story as you're writing.