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Writing A Novel
Writing a novel can be a daunting task if you've never done it before. It can be particularly intimidating if you aren't sure what you want to write about or quite where to start in the process. So where should you start? With planning, of course. You don't have to invest years in the process, as J.K. Rowling did with the first book in the Harry Potter series, but you'll have a much better chance at success if you give the planning process its due respect. Especially if this is your first novel. Planning in this instance, does not necessarily mean outlining. Every author approaches the craft of writing a novel individually and you may not be comfortable outlining. That's fine. You don't ever want to get in the way of the creative process. However, even if you aren't the slightest bit interested in outlining your story, you still have to start somewhere. You need to have a general idea of the movement of the story, of the characters involved, and why you want to write it. It's this last point that we want to address here. Why do you want to write this particular story? The universe is full of stories. Millions of them. There's no end to the number of stories floating around. But if you pick one that doesn't resonate with you, you're never going to finish writing your novel. You're going to hit a wall somewhere in the process and put the thing aside, never to return. For that simple reason and none other, you want to find a story that means something to you. You want a story that you find emotionally and intellectually engaging. Not a story that you think readers might like (they will like it just fine if you captivate yourself first) or a story that's all the rage on television and the newspapers at the moment. A story that enthralls you.   If you want to become a novelist, a good one, and you’re not sure what you must to do to develop the skills you need, Andrea Rains Waggener wants to help you. A novelist who sold her first novel for a nice advance to one of the biggest publishers in the world, Bantam Dell, Andrea Rains Waggener has created a plan that makes it easy to go from novel idea to completed, publishable novel. A story that you feel you have to write. If you already have a story idea in mind, let's put it through the litmus test. Answer this question: This story is important to me because ... Don't edit your answer. Just write. As long as it takes. Be honest with yourself. Answer the question truthfully. Okay, now I've got another question for you. Try closing your eyes and picturing yourself fifty pages into the story. You've moved the story along. The writing has been effortless for the most part. Now you're ready to get to page fifty one, but you have no idea what comes next. Got it? Okay, answer this ... what are you feeling? Is it determination? Overwhelm? A desire to watch the television for awhile? Anger? Motivation? Frustration? Excited? A willingness to surrender? What is it? Identify it. Feel it. That's all you need to do to know if your story idea will carry you through or not. If it will, then you're on solid footing. Do some planning and get to writing. If it won't, if you feel as if it may not be the solid idea you thought it was, you can tweak the idea until it excites you. Or you can toss it into your idea folder, and begin the process of exploring the next idea. The point is ... if you're setting out to write your first novel, make sure it's a story that you absolutely have to tell. That alone will give you a much better chance of success. If you have a question about the craft and can't find the answer here, just drop us a note at: Ask A Writing Question and we'll do our best to get an answer for you. In the meantime, as you navigate this website, you'll find links to additional articles are located below.
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