The process of writing a novel can seem so overwhelming and confusing at times.  When you’re writing fiction novels, there are so many elements that you must keep track of and fit together seamlessly: developing your characters, writing dialog between them, devising the plot and various subplots, juggling multiple points of view, and the list goes on.  The best way to find your way through this creative process is to start with a powerful, compelling idea that inspires you.  Everything else will flow from that overarching idea so it’s important that you do it right. 

 How To Begin

In this article, I’m going to show you four simple steps that will help you come up with a great novel idea.  When it comes to writing a novel, getting started is the hardest part, in my opinion.  Once you have a novel idea that inspires you and you have a good feeling for where you are headed, everything else will tend to just fall into place. 

 Step 1:  Deciding on What You Will Write

You have so many options when it comes to choosing what you’ll write.  It can be overwhelming to try and narrow things down at this initial stage.  However, here’s a simple rule that will make the decision a lot easier for you: you should write what you love to read.  Here’s why:

1.  Because you are so familiar with this genre or style of writing, you’ve got an advantage over other writers who are not.  From your reading, you have naturally picked up a good feeling for how this genre should be written: the plot, the Lead, the crisis, the resolution, etc. 

2.  Because you love reading this kind of novel, you are going to love writing this kind of novel.  This will help sustain you through the long haul because you’re going to be really enjoying the process of getting to know the characters and watching the novel unfold.  Plus, your writing will reflect your enthusiasm and genuine interest in your story and your readers will feel that as well. 

 Step 2: Who Will Be the Main Character of Your Novel?

The next step is to decide on the basic details of you novel’s Lead character.  Give them a name and decide on their gender and age; that will be enough to help you begin imagining who they are.  You want to conform to the expectation of the genre you’re writing within; for example, for a children’s book, you will want the main character to be a child. 

Step 3: Here Comes the Crisis

Early on in your novel, your Lead will be confronted by a huge crisis that turns their world upside down and begins the forward momentum of the story.  Evan Marshall, a published author and literary agent, has developed some guidelines for this crisis that are very helpful:

The crisis should fit the genre you’re working within It should seriously disrupt your Lead’s life It should be compelling and interesting to you as the writer

 

Step 4: Setting the Overarching Goal

Because of this crisis, your Lead is forced to take action in response.  They must decide to address this problem and set a goal to solve it.  This goal will carry them through your novel and will not be achieved until the end. 

Marshall recommends that novelists adhere to the following four criteria to create a goal that is powerful enough to hook your readers into wanting to see how it all turns out.  From his perspective, your Lead’s goal should be about:

Reaching for something that your Lead really wants or getting relief from some situation that they really don’t want to experience. The stakes must be high, i.e. the consequences for failure must be terrible. Your Lead’s intentions must be admirable and positive so your readers will really like them.  It must seem like your Lead’s chances of success are next to impossible. 

 

By following these four steps, you will be able to generate a guiding story idea for your novel that will inspire you and motivate you to stick with it until you’ve completed your novel.  This idea will guide you as you develop the details of your plot and and other elements of your story.  By starting with a powerful, strong idea, you’ll be giving yourself the gift of a solid foundation that will support the rest of your novel. 


- Laura M. McKenna

I’m helping my 4th grader with a reading assignment.

We read a short story about Laura Engels Wilder and little house on the Prairie.

We have to answer a few questions about what we read, but one of the questions is “What makes this historical fiction?”.

To me, historical fiction is kind of an oxymoron. If it’s historical, then it’s non-fiction.

However, perhaps writing fiction during a specific time period is considered “historical fiction”.

Can someone clarify this for me?
- quigonjim26

I need 2 non fiction writing(biography, letters, essay, etc) ****? ive looked all over the internet mostly for short stories because thats what i have an idea on doing, ****? i cant find any! so if someone can please help me thank you
- me

I’m writing my first novel about young african american ****?n girls .
I would like to know should I ***?nd my novel to a literary agent who will ***?nd it to a publisher or should I take the ***?lf publishing route.

I would like the pros and cons of both publishing and ***?lf publishing

Also what are some ****?d publishing companies that I could submit my novel to ?
- vivaglam08

I am writing a Historical Fiction taking place when Rome was in transition from Paganism to Catholicism and I have the story line lied out, but I don’t know where to start with research … I have so many books to read through … I need to read up on the Roman gods, architecture, etc … but how do I condense all this information so it is readily available when I am writing?

Tips would be so helpful.
Thank You so much!
- Happy Bunny

I’m writing about a boy who finds out he’s a wizard .I’m working out the kinks,but how do I incorporate firearms REALISTICLLY in a fantasy culture where swords were originally going to be the weapon of choice?
- cory d

how do i make a really big twist for my fan fiction story im writing? I want to make it really really exciting;
whats happening currently;
shes pregnant
shes gonna get married
she just found out shes pregnant
yeah….. :/
- Kïm¤€dgë™

This outline is adapted from a handout I give to my life writing students. The points made here apply to writing in general as well as to writing our life stories in particular.

I. Why should we write?

A. Frank McCourt in Writer’s Digest, Feb. ’99, p. 19: “But now I realize that everyone has a story. Nothing is significant until you make it significant. It’s not what happens to you, but how you look at it.”

B. Frank P. Thomas, How to Write the Story of Your Life: “God created people because He loves stories.” “Humans are happiest when we are creating.” There is a revival of activity today in search of our roots and family history.

C. Strunk & White, The Elements of Style: Writing is a way to go about thinking.

D. Rick DeMarinis, The Art and Craft of the Short Story: Storytelling is how we make sense of the world.

E. Robin Hemley, Turning Life Into Fiction: Writing is a discovery process. Part of the fun is learning why you wrote what you wrote.

F. Writer’s Digest, Aug. ’00, pp. 20-21: You might find that the greatest rewards of writing…evolve during the process of bringing your ideas to the page. As you reveal more of yourself on the page, you might notice patterns in the way you think, behave, and react to people and situations. This self-awareness can help you make better decisions, understand difficult situations, sort through feelings. It is a powerful way to find answers to some of your most difficult questions. And it can remind you that there are no easy answers—this is the root of wisdom. Life becomes richer, observations and senses sharper.

G. DeMarinis: Anyone will tell you his or her life story, given a little encouragement. It’s the human thing to do.

II. Why should we write well?

A. DeMarinis: Poor writing can falsify experience.

B. Various sources: Writing is rewriting. Craft moves from the back of the mind to the front during rewriting. Allow the first draft to be crude and ill formed.

C. DeMarinis: Say everything that needs to be said in as few words as possible.

D. Aristotle: “the proper and special name of a thing.”

E. Hemley: Words shape the way we view an event.

F. DeMarinis: Be conscious of word selection. Develop an ear for language. The sounds in a sentence can produce three-dimensional images in the mind.

III. Regarding truth, and the accuracy of our memories

A. P.D. James, in Reader’s Digest: “Memory is a device for forgetting as well as remembering. To that extent, every autobiography is a work of fiction, and every work of fiction is an autobiography.”

B. Robert Olmstead, Elements of the Writing Craft: Memoir is a narrative composed from personal experience. It depends on memory, which is somewhere between truth and how the writer sees the truth. Setting in a memoir is intensely personal and emotional.

C. DeMarinis: Story is always biased. Hidden in the fiction is need, and need is always truthful. We need sympathy and approval, and want to be understood.

D. The Write Stuff (a compilation): Memory is what people are made of. What’s remembered is never the event. Memory is faulty.

E. Hemley: What you have chosen to tell, and how, and what you have chosen not to tell reveal what kind of writer you are.

F. Hemley: Memory plays tricks. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story. It’s more important for an event to work than to be true.

G. Tom Chiarella, Writing Dialog: Stating what literally happened is less important than interpretation of those events.

H. Olmstead: What makes an experience important?

I. Marcia Golub, I’d Rather Be Writing: Old memories are mysterious. A lot of what gives them narrative drive is trying to figure them out. Of everything that happened during childhood, why do we remember these things?

J. Dwight V. Swain, Creating Characters: How to Build Story People: It’s not the experience that creates the trauma, but the way the character reacts to it. (If you’re writing your life story, that’s you.)

K. Hemley: What’s most powerful is often what you most want to hide.

L. Hemley: Dig deeper—try to understand why a particular event stands out.

M. Hemley: Distance from a place enables us to see it more clearly. What you remember is what’s most important to you…the feeling it gave you. Description of a place should be anchored in the character’s consciousness; it says as much about the character as about the place.

N. Stephen Wilbers, Keys to Great Writing: “Given that all writing is to a degree fictitious—…it can only represent reality…use the elements of artifice to your advantage.”

O. Pablo Picasso: “Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.”

IV. Getting started

A. William Zinsser, On Writing Well: Believe in the validity of your life!

B. DeMarinis: The very act of writing sentences produces more sentences. This sometimes leads to inspiration.

C. Hemley: ordering real life takes a lot of imagination and understanding.

D. Writer’s Digest, Feb. ’99: Avoid chronology as an organizing principle. Instead, free-list key images.

E. Opening should be “crisp and economical” to grab the reader.

V. See my related article, “My Favorite Errors to Correct (Don’t make these mistakes, and your writing will rise above most other writing).” Happy writing!

http://www.tours-guide.com

 


- G.Entp9

I’m writing a fan fiction about Phantom, big shock, huh?? And I need a name to use instead of Christine, so I’m looking for something kind of Victorian with two syllables. Help! Thanks!
- Will’s Pirate

Working at home as a writer is one of the largest work at home categories. Being a freelance writer has traditionally been a work at home job, and now that working at home is becoming more popular, there have been more writers in the industry. If you like to write and have a good grasp of the English language, you will never be at a loss for the work at home writing jobs.

Starting your career as a work at home writer is as easy as doing some Internet research and applying for a job. There are many ways to break into the writing field, even if you have no previous experience. Online opportunities abound, and there are still many writers who stay exclusively in the print market.

While many writers dream of one day writing the great American novel, most writers are realistic in knowing that they are going to have to do some other types of writing to get paid on a consistent basis. Writing for pay is mostly, if not exclusively, done in the non-fiction genre. While occasionally you will find contests for fiction writing or for poetry, these opportunities are few and far between when compared to the non-fiction opportunities.

Writing from home as a Wahm requires that you have a reliable Internet connection, good written communication skills and the ability to be a self-starter. As a writer, you will be in charge of your time and your projects. There will always be deadlines to meet and new writing opportunities to try. You will be responsible for balancing your writing with the rest of your life. You must also have the ability to research a wide variety of topics. As you accept assignments, you will be challenged to learn about and write about topics that you may have little experience in.

Freelance writing from home can break down into three specific areas: writing for print, writing for the web and blogging. Although blogging is technically writing for the web, there are many distinctions that make it different from other web writing opportunities.

Writing for print is what people generally think of when they hear the term freelance writer. Wahm writers who write for the print markets need to first build a reputation as reliable and eloquent writer. If you have never written for the print markets before, start with smaller, local publications and then work from there. You will need to find a list of publications that are accepting queries. Queries are a combination of a letter of introduction and a pitch for a story idea. Most writers rely on the Writers Market reference guide for lists of publications. The Writers Market has comprehensive information on a variety of newsletters, magazines and other publications that are taking queries. Start with topics that you know the most about and try writing a few queries to get yourself going in the print market.

The only drawback to writing for print is that the period between when you write and when you get paid can be months long. For many Wahms, this is just not feasible. Writing for the web, however, can meet their income needs and still allow them to write from home. There are many categories of writing for the web. You can be a ghostwriter for e-books or other Internet media. Many people need copywriters to provide content for their sales letters and websites. You can also offer your services to webmasters who need fresh content for their blog or newsletter. The opportunities are endless.

Blogging is yet another way to make money as a writing wahm. Blogs are an ever-growing form of Internet media. Blog writers generally provide their own content. You can make money as a wahm by starting your own blog and posting to it daily. If you love to write, you can start several blogs at once and multiply your earnings. Once you become an experienced blogger, you can apply for blogging jobs and post for other people.


- Karl Glantschnig