5 Steps to Writing a Novel

5 Steps to Writing a Novel

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Hello again. Welcome back to Word Nerd Monday.
My first novel comes out in a few weeks, and I’m up to my elbows in last minute arrangements. It’s a very exciting moment, and one that I know many of you would love to experience, so I’ve put together a short plan to set you off in the right direction. Here are five easy steps to writing a novel.

Plan it
Do you already have an idea in your head? Sketch it out. Use one of those beautiful notebooks I talked about last week, or just grab a sketchpad or some flipboard paper. The goal for this part of the process is not about being neat. Be creative. Edit nothing. Throw ideas at the paper.
If you don’t have an idea yet, go through the steps in my previous posts. Find a place that inspires you. Buy writing tools that compel you to write. Once you’re inspired, get scribbling.
Research it
Now you have your framework, you need to do some research. What do you know about your main character? Ask her/him questions. Do the same with your other characters. This is not a sign of insanity. It is a sign of being an author. The two may be related, but that’s another matter.
Know your characters like friends. If a character likes bug hunting, hunt some bugs, or prepare to speak to a bug hunter. Google will also help you out if there is a bug hunter shortage, for some reason.
Write the first draft
Do not pause, write. Don’t just write, write fast. Switch off your inner critic. The editor part of your brain must be locked from the room at all times. Write for the love of it. This part of the process may be the best bit of all.
Edit it
This is not my favourite step. The first thing you must do is to find the bits you like the most, and destroy them. This is not always the case, but very often it is. If you adore one paragraph, and feel a bit ‘meh’ about the rest of the chapter, then it is not balanced. You need the whole thing to flow well. Read it through as if you were a reader. Which bits trip you up? Lose them.
There are numerous layers of editing that you must do. Think of it as faceting a diamond. You will need to go back and make many cuts, then you must polish it. You may need help with this.

Get published
This, of course, is an absolute doddle. Kidding. Bit tricky. You have many more choices these days, however. You can choose to:
Find an agent, and let them find you a publisher, or
Go straight to a publisher, and try to convince them to publish you, or
Publish yourself, outsourcing some parts of the process, or
Publish yourself, without outsourcing.
There are many other ways to be published. Again, spend some quality time with a search engine.
That’s pretty much it. At the end of that process, you should have a saleable book, or ebook. Put in a bit of marketing, and a distribution solution, and the world is your lobster! If you want a bit of help with that (building a marketing funnel for your book) check out this month’s Writing Magazine for my article on just that subject.
I need to scurry off and prepare my book launch.
Happy writing!
Rebecca.