There is one key step that all serious authors must take before they begin writing their novel. This step will ensure that they write the best novel possible and it’s one many writers overlook. However, if you want to write a novel that publishers and readers will love, you really must start here.
Begin With Your Overarching Vision: The Map That Will Guide Your Way
Your first step is to explore and develop your novel ideas so you have a clear road map to take you from the beginning to the end of your novel. By clarifying the essential details related to your characters, the core settings for your story, and the structure of your plot, you will eventually clarify the overall concept for your novel and have a usable road map to help keep you moving forward through the process of actual writing.
Discover Who Your Characters Are
The first step in this process is to get to know your characters deeply. You want to develop them from your vague initial ideas into rich, multi-dimensional people that live in your imagination. You want to explore the essence of your characters so thoroughly that you and your readers feel genuinely interested in who they are and compelled to join them on the journey through your novel. You can begin this process by asking yourself some basic questions about each character:
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.
What is their background and history? What key experiences deeply influenced who they are today?
What do they love most, hate most, fear most?
What are the deepest dreams in their hearts? What do they most want and what are the internal and external obstacles in the way of getting it?
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.
Invent the World Of Your Novel
Now you’re ready to discover the details of where your novel takes place. Use the following questions to help you explore settings and environments until you can really imagine them clearly in your mind.
What is the region, country, and/or state where your characters live and interact?
Time frame for your novel: When does it take place and over what period of time?
Describe the key places that your novel takes place: how do they look and feel?
Describe the seasons that are experienced in your novel.
What are the meaningful objects for your novel? i.e. an old love letter, a trunk in the attic, an inherited book collection.
Plot: Explore Where Your Novel Will Go
Next, you should take the time to work out a tight, compelling plot and overall structure that flows logically from point to point and culminates in a page-turning climax. The character work you did in step one will help you understand the basic conflicts and issues that your novel will address. There are a number of helpful story structures that writers can use as a foundation for writing, but essentially these plot outlines help you clarify a few key questions:
Where are your characters starting from at the beginning of your novel?
What problem are they starting with and what do they want to change?
What is in the way of them accomplishing their goals?
How do your characters overcome these obstacles?
When it comes to basic structure, here’s a simple outline to follow: Typically, your main character will make a change that helps them progress toward their goal about a third of the way through the plot. Then, they encounter some obstacles that make them falter at the half way point. Then about 2/3 of the way through, they’ll backtrack and lose what gains they’ve made. From this point, they move toward the climax as they make a renewed commitment to their goal and experience ultimate success.
It’s Really Worth Taking the Time To Know Where You’re Going
If you take the time to complete this important step, you will be rewarded with an inspiring, step-by-step blueprint that will guide you through the vast expanse of your novel. I encourage you to take the time to get to know your characters deeply, imagine your settings vividly, and know the through line of your plot. Having these ideas clearly thought out ahead of time will make the process of writing your novel easier and more enjoyable that you would have ever thought possible.
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