How to write a novel?

Most novels, to my knowledge, are no less than 60,000 words. A daunting number, isn’t it? But there are many authors who write excellent novels of this length (if not more) and publish it in the market.

The chief reason for their success is their determination, and of course, their hard work. While these two key factors play an important role, there are also a variety of tips and tricks that you might want to know while writing a novel. In this post, I will be sharing some of them.

1) Get an idea

Yes, I know. This is the most obvious first step while writing basically anything. However, getting an idea isn’t that obvious or easy. In fact, I think it is harder than typing some sixty-thousand words. If you have an idea, you can proceed to the next step. But if you don’t, I have tips that can get you some:

A) Observe: Creativity unlocks with observation. Look around you. Maybe you might find people you have some weird life experiences to share with you. Maybe your aunt might tell you about the one time she encountered this strange man. Or you might find something even more (or less) interesting, like how your watch has a small nick made by a human nail. These observations might mean nothing in real life. Maybe your cousin nicked it accidently when she was borrowing it? You never know!

However, while these observations are pretty common enough to be shrugged off, they can add content to your story or even give you a new idea! Observation is a great way to start off your writing journey.

B) Read books of the same genre you want to write about: No, I don’t mean plagiarize the idea or the entire book itself. Reading books of the same genre you want to write about or are passionate about can give you ideas. For example, if you have decided that you want to write a sci-fi or dystopia novel, you can always try reading books of the similar genre or trope. But remember this: do not copy! Reading books is just a way for you to settle into your genre or put you in your “writing mood”.

C) Try to keep a journal: This is for jotting down any ideas you get. If you are an avid reader, it is likely that your imagination is just as bright and colourful. But there is a possibility that you might forget some plot (or sub-plot) ideas or the major traits of your characters. It is always better to write them down. Remember this: it is okay if your ideas are half-cooked. You can always develop a book with an half cooked idea rather than a one which is not cooked at all!

D) Look at our history: History may sound like a boring and dull subject, but when you are writing a genre like historical fiction, fantasy, dystopian (a future is built from the remnants of a past), horror, etc, recreating the past is always a great idea. And there are so many options: Maybe you might want to recreate the French Revolution in your fantasy novel or maybe you want to write a horror novel about a king from the past. Or you can write a dystopian novel about world war three! The options are endless!

Now that you have an idea and a basic plot (or even a detailed plot) you can move to the next step. But before that, here’s an extra tip:

 Always follow your passion: This doesn’t mean that you can’t write fantasy novels when you are passionate about sci-fi. No, obviously not! If you are passionate about some genre, trope, or niche, it will just motivate you to keep writing or write even better! And since you are passionate about something, it is likely that you read more books in that area which will give you a pretty good idea of what is more popular in that area and what should be written to attract readers.

2) Craft your characters

Just like food is not appetizing without salt, a book without good characters is not a good book (except if you are writing non-fiction). Characters are the stronghold of any (fiction) novel. Crafting your characters is the second hardest thing you will do once you have your idea. You have to make the characters have realistic emotions. Their interaction and relationship with other characters must not appear forced or fake. You cannot craft a main character to be a complete angel (unless he or she is an eight-year-old) because that just becomes annoying after a point of time. You cannot craft a villain as an unsensitive person. Or at least, as someone without a backstory just because he is the “bad guy”. Just look at Voldemort. J.K. Rowling did an excellent job crafting a backstory about him that made him the way he is today.

You can take inspiration of your characters from real people you or others have encountered or can simply give a character some of your traits to make him/her more real. It’s your choice!

3) The beginning of your novel

The first few chapters of your novel can be hard, because you are trying to introduce your world and characters. You don’t want to do an information dump, but at the same time you want the story to progress. If you lagged in explaining your readers about the world or characters, you might often find yourself with a confusing chapter or even worse, a book. Starting your novel might be a lot of pressure because it should build a strong foundation to attract readers. Here are some tips to start your novel:

A) Don’t write from the beginning: While writing your book, it is okay if you do not get an idea on how to begin your novel. If you have a good idea of your plot and characters, start from wherever you can and write the beginning later. Make sure to merge your beginning plot with the later plot though.

B) Get into your writing mood: Writing a beginning might seem a intimidating task at first. You might be disheartened after the first few tries because you probably couldn’t craft the chapter in the way you want. So try to get into your “writing mood”. Your writing mood can be a calm environment. Or you can try to imagine your characters. Or you can simply start describing things around you- like you could describe your television as “black, sleek and glossy with a large screen”. This might seem like a silly advice but trust me, it actually works.

C) Relax: Don’t panic if you cannot grasp the basic concept of your book in a satisfactory manner. As I have mentioned before, the first few chapters are always hard, and giving up on it would be giving up on your dream.

4) It is fine to not be “perfect”

Honestly, first allow yourself to make grammatical mistakes, bad sentence formation etc. It is fine. Nobody is perfect. Let your first draft just look like a bunch of words stringed together. Your first draft is like a lump of clay. Trust me, but as you start writing your second draft, it will soon shape into something beautiful.

5) Editing

You can hire professional editors for this. But it is always good to sit down and edit your novel at least once before hiring an editor. As much effort and love you put into a novel, mistakes and plot holes are inevitable.

And last but not the least, have confidence in yourself!

Thank you for reading this post! Leave your thoughts in the comments below. Or if you think I missed an important point, you can always post a comment!