You have an idea for a novel. You know it will be great. Everyone will love it, but where do you start?

The simple answer is: start typing on the keyboard or take out a notepad and spread some ink. Get busy. Stop thinking about what to write and write. Remember, you can edit later. The process begins with the action of writing.

I come from the Stephen King mindset of writing. I don’t start with a complete book idea, but rather a problem and a group of characters that must do something about it, or more bad stuff will happen. That method eliminates writer’s block for me because I’m not creating the story; the characters are. All I’m doing is documenting their actions given a particular situation. I’m going on a ride with the characters and taking the reader with me. 

At about the twenty-thousand-word point, I know where the book is going, and I begin to do more scene directing and planning. I may see a good twist in hindsight and edit previous parts to fit what will happen later. Another way to say it is, I let the characters create the solution to the problem I throw them into while I take notes so that I can edit the mess later. It works for me, but it may not work for everyone.

You may say: “No way. That’s too easy. It has to be more complicated.”

Well, I’ve written and published over a dozen novels using this method. Let me explain the process in more detail.

In a murder mystery, I obviously start with a murder, investigators, and a basic set of facts, but for the most part, the storyline develops on the fly. That’s not to say I don’t adhere to the basic premise of an investigation, who my characters are, and some sense of structure. 

The fourth book of my Elaine Mathis Detective series started with one simple idea: a body is found in a landfill. That’s all. Six words. I didn’t know the sex, the age, or the probable cause of death. I found that out when Mathis and Griffin, the investigators, visited the morgue and the medical examiner filled them in on the details. All I was sure about was that Detective Elaine Mathis and her partner would solve the crime. How she would do it was up to her. She’s the detective, not me. What do I know about investigating homicides? You have to trust your lead character.

 

More on Free-Form Writing

Another method is to imagine an opening scene and record what you see. Play around with the first thing that pops into your head.

She stared through the second-story window from her rocking chair. The sea was unusually calm today and the fishing boats had all disappeared before sunrise except one. 

What’s happening here? I have no idea at this point, but something is troubling this woman. She’s sitting in a rocking chair staring at a harbor and the lone boat appears to be significant in her story. Are you curious? We’ll need to write more to see what happens and that’s the point. Don’t worry about grammar or spelling. Let the scene continue to flow from your mind.

She placed the knitting needles in her bag and went to the kitchen to warm her tea. From the window above the sink, she could see the barn. That’s where they found him. She told herself not to look, but she couldn’t avoid it. 

Oh, it’s getting good. Something happened in the barn. Something bad. I wonder what it was? Was the boat involved? Maybe her husband committed suicide and he was a fisherman. That’s why the boat sits idle. 

When a reader picks up your book they will give you several pages to grab their attention. So often I read books that you can tell drama or tension has been back-fitted by an editor. It feels forced and phony. When you write like I’m describing here you can better capture the emotion of the character. The reader wants to care about this woman; let them. 

 

Don’t Rush the Backstory

The main character doesn’t yet have a name. You don’t know her age. In fact, you know very few details about her other than she holds some sadness from a past event. All that needs to be revealed, but not on the first page or even the first chapter. If this were the opening scene in a book that you pulled from the shelf, would you keep reading and maybe purchase it? 

The benefit of the free-form method is it produces page-turners. I like it because I’m forced to keep writing to find out what happens. The reader is compelled to read on for the same reason. If a book is interesting to write, it will be interesting to read. The same works in reverse. Show me an abandoned half-completed project and I’ll show you a boring story. 

 

What I Call Old School

A more traditional method is to create an outline of your story. Most people are not comfortable with free-flowing story generation and must know the ending to write the beginning. I understand. You fear wasting several months on a draft that may end up in the wastebasket. Good writing is overcoming fear.

Outlining is nothing more than listing a series of scenes in chronological order and backfilling content. For an exercise, find a novel close to how you envision yours. Write down the chapter names leaving spaces to record the significant events taking place under each chapter. Once you see the structure, imagine your book in a similar manner. Now write your outline.

I will caution you on this method. I can almost tell a book that has been fashioned this way. It feels segmented. It doesn’t flow as well as you would like. Remember that a good book is a good story. We can refer to storytelling as ‘spinning the yarn’ from back in the days when people spent hours doing menial labor and wanted to make time pass faster. Usually, this was done by an elder who had a fundamental message in mind. I call that the basis for a good book.

 

Formatting Tips

Chapter size and word count are topics of some debate. My fundamental position is, it depends. First and foremost, only write as much as you need to tell the story and no more. So, for chapter page count, it could be as few as three, and as many as twenty. Targeting ten pages per chapter isn’t a bad idea unless it negatively affects the storytelling. Remember what I said about outlines causing a segmented feeling to the book. Do what feels right, but you don’t want a 250-page book with 125 chapters. The typical novel starts at 40 thousand words, and I’ve written up to 150 thousand, but most of my series books are between 60 and 70 thousand with 30 chapters.

Be sensible and follow the norms as much as possible. A basic rule I follow is: the longer the novel, the longer the chapters. A 150-thousand-word novel could have about 50 chapters, where a 60-thousand-word novel may have 30; note the proportionality. I often use breaks instead of starting new chapters when I want the reader to know a gap in time exists, but if I start a new day, or there is a long break between scenes, I’ll start a new chapter, and as I’ve said, three pages could complete a scene for me. Some of my opening chapters are a single page. 

 

Where Does the Time Go?

Finding time to write is a common complaint among almost every writer I know. My advice is to write every day, even if it’s only for a half-hour. You can make the time, and you need to keep your momentum going and the flow of the writing in your head. Breaks cause the writing to feel disjointed and long gaps turn into abandoned projects. Writing is habit-forming, and so is not writing.

A related issue is being left alone to write. You have to focus and if your immediate surroundings (people) are disrupting your concentration, find an alternate location. Thoreau secluded himself in a cabin in the woods and found inspiration through solitude. If you can’t find a quiet place, you will not be successful — there is no way around it. The local library may be an option, as well as a park bench or a coffee shop.

 

Editing On the Fly

I have an especially strong memory of what I’ve written, which helps with consistency, but I will, (as a rule), read through and modify the last chapter I’ve written before adding a new one. Consequently, my books don’t go through a developmental editor, and the draft is advanced straight to my copyeditor. There comes a time in your writing, especially with the same editor, that everything clicks. My latest book in the editing process, Mission, will be out soon, but the feedback I’m receiving is one to two corrections per page. Your editor will appreciate your efforts, and you’ll see your editing cost reduced significantly.

Some writers recommend setting your rough draft on a shelf for a few months and then going back to edit. I don’t do this because I’ll make too many changes, with some not for the better, and later I’ll change them back. You can be too critical of your own work. I suggest hammering out your manuscript with as few mistakes as possible and moving on to your next project. If the book sucks, your editor will let you know. A benefit to this method is increased productivity. I can complete a 60-thousand-word draft in three weeks and a 150-thousand-word draft in six. “The enemy of the good is the perfect.” Don’t spend three years writing your first novel. It will never be perfect. The best you can hope for is mostly error-free.

 

Finding Your Voice

Think of the authors you enjoy reading. When you pick up a new book from them the writing has a similar feel to the previous. This is their voice. The only way to develop your voice is to write, write, and write. Once you have it continue to refine your voice will mellow like a fine wine. 

There are grammar rules to follow and bad habits to avoid. Passive voice makes you look amateurish. Avoid it always in the narrative, but since people do talk using passive voice and in dialogue, these are the exceptions. A character may even speak using bad grammar, but not horrible grammar, especially not the lead character who you want to appear smart and articulate. 

 

Know Your Point of View

I use the third-person limited perspective as the narrator only knows the thoughts and feelings of a single person, usually the lead character in the scene. You know what everyone else is thinking and doing through dialogue and narration. I also use thoughts in italics sparingly. Dialogue is far more dynamic and confrontational.

Sherlock Holmes is an example of first-person and I would suggest avoiding it. “I went to the market where I met Susan” versus “Joe went to the market where he met Susan.”

Be careful of head-hopping.  Only remain in one character’s head per scene. The reader will become confused as to who’s thinking what. Dialogue again saves the day. You’re eavesdropping on a conversation. It’s easy to say who’s speaking. 

 

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, this should be enough to get you going, but it’s up to you to start. Writing a novel isn’t as difficult as you might think, but it does take time and determination. If you’re the personality type who is easily distracted and has little patience for long projects, don’t attempt a novel — it’s not for you. If you’re a plotter, a grinder, and a deep thinker, you can write a book, even an epic or a series. Imagination is the key. Being a little crazy doesn’t hurt.

Please read and comment on the series of posts I’ve provided. My experience is what it is. If you have something to add that will help other writers, I greatly encourage all feedback.