Novel and non-fiction are the two main literary strands. The novel consists in the creation of a story fruit of the author's imagination, which is not based on events and characters of reality, although the use of many references to real events or people is common. The stories in the novels are not true stories, although they may reveal some real elements. If you want to work on a novel, you only need to have time and creativity.
Steps
Part 1 of 5: Learning to Recognize Novel Errors
Step 1. Don't start too slow
While some writers start very slowly and let their stories build up in drama over time, this style requires a level of practice and skill that most novice writers haven't developed. The novels are based on conflicts, and these must be described as soon as possible. Famous short story writer Kurt Vonnegut once gave this advice: "To hell with suspense. The reader should understand perfectly what is going on, where and why - he should be able to finish the story on his own if cockroaches eat the last few. pages." Hopefully insects won't eat your story, but if you write several opening chapters that describe ordinary people doing ordinary things without challenges or problems, the reader may not be drawn to the events.
- In the first chapter of Stephenie Meyer's highly successful novel "Twilight", all the basic conflicts are established: Bella Swan, the heroine has moved to a new city where she doesn't feel comfortable and knows no one, and meets the mysterious hero, Edward Cullen, who makes her uncomfortable but at the same time attracts her. This conflict, that is, the fact that she is interested in a person who confuses her, sets the rest of the actions in motion.
- One of the inspirations for Jane Austen's Twilight, Pride and Prejudice, also poses a central problem in the first chapter: a new available bachelor has moved to the city and the heroine's mother is desperately trying to get one of her daughters to marry him, because the family is poor and only with a marriage can the daughters have the hope of a brighter future. The problem of marrying these women will form the main part of the novel, as will the challenges of the mother's interference.
Step 2. Establish the situation of the characters from the early stages
To be engaging, your novel must have characters who take risks or want something. They don't have to be huge risks, but they have to be important to the characters. Vonnegut once said that "Every character should want something, even if just a glass of water." The main character must want something and be afraid (for good reasons) of not being able to get it. Stories that don't have clear "prizes" don't engage the reader effectively.
- For example, if a heroine fails to win over the person she loves, it probably won't be the end of the world for other people, but it's something that should be very important to the character.
- In some cases, the risk is literally the end of the world, as in J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, in which, if the characters fail to destroy the One Ring, Middle-earth would be destroyed by evil. This type of "mail" is usually best suited for fantasy and epic books.
Step 3. Avoid overly descriptive dialogues
The dialogues should feel natural to the characters who utter them. Think about it: When was the last time you told your whole story in a speech to a person you met? Or that you have recapitulated everything that happened in a previous meeting, in detail, talking with a friend? Don't let your characters do it either.
- In Charlaine Harris' famous series of novels Sookie Stackhouse, the author has a bad tendency to spend the first few chapters of each book summarizing everything that has happened in the previous books. The narrator often inserts himself explicitly to remember who a character is and what his function is. This can make the story not very fluid and distract the reader who will not be involved with the characters.
- There are exceptions to this rule. For example, if there is a mentor-pupil relationship between the characters, you can include multiple exposures in their interactions. A good example of this kind of situation is the relationship between Haymitch Abernathy and his pupils Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark in Suzanne Collins' Hunger Gamer series. Haymitch can explain some of the Hunger Games rules and how to be successful competing in his dialogues because that's explicitly about his job. Even in situations like these, however, don't overload the dialogue with facts that describe the setting.
Step 4. Don't be too predictable
Even though many novels follow very familiar paths - consider how many stories are about heroic missions or about two people who initially hate each other but learn to love each other - don't fall back into trivial tales. If your reader can predict what will happen, they will have no interest in finishing the story.
- For example, you could write a romance in which it is difficult to tell if the characters will end up happy and content, due to the situation in which they find themselves or the defects of their personality. The surprise for readers will be to find out how things will turn out, despite all appearances to the contrary.
- But don't fall into the cliché "it was all a dream". Surprise endings that deny everything that preceded them in history rarely succeed, because readers generally feel cheated or made fun of.
Step 5. Show, don't tell
This is one of the main rules of fictional novels, but it is often ignored. Showing instead of saying means demonstrating emotions or plot points through actions and reactions, not telling readers what happened or what a character felt.
- For example, instead of writing something like, "Paul was upset," which he describes, you give the character something to do to show the reader what happens: "Paul clenched his fists and his face turned red" shows the reader that Paul is upset without saying it explicitly.
- Pay attention to this advice in the dialogue descriptions as well. Consider this sentence: "Let's go," Claudia said impatiently. " He tells the reader that Claudia is impatient, but she doesn't show it. Consider this sentence: "Let's go!" Claudia snapped, stamping her foot on the ground. The reader will still understand that Claudia is impatient, but you don't have to say this explicitly; you showed it.
Step 6. Don't believe that there are fixed rules
This may seem unintuitive to you, especially after you've read a lot of tips on things to avoid in your novel. Part of writing though is discovering your voice and writing style, and that means you should feel free to experiment. Just remember that not all experiments work, so don't be discouraged if you try something that doesn't have the desired effect.
Part 2 of 5: Prepare to Write Your Book
Step 1. Decide in what format to write your book
This will depend on the type of story you want to tell. For example, if you want to write an epic fantasy saga that tells the story of several generations, a novel (or even a series of novels) may be more suitable than a short story. If you are interested in exploring the psyche of a single character, a short story is ideal.
Step 2. Find an idea of some kind
All books start with a small idea, dream or inspiration that turns into a larger and more detailed version of the same idea. The idea should be something that interests you, that is really important to you; if you have no passion, your writing will reveal it. If you're having issues coming up with good ideas, try these:
- Start with what you know. If you're from a small country town, you might start by thinking about stories about similar settings. If you want to write about something you don't know, do some research. Trying to write a mythological story about Norse gods in a modern setting can be fun, but if you don't know anything about mythology, you probably won't be successful. Likewise, if you want to write a historical novel set in Victorian England, you will probably need to research the social conventions of the time if you want your novel to appeal to readers.
- Make a list of random elements: "the tent", "the cat", "the investigator", etc. Take each word and add something. Where is it? What's this? When did you see it? Write a short paragraph about it. Why is it there? When did it get there? Like? What does it look like?
- Make up characters. How old are they? When were they born and where? Do they live in our world? What is the name of the city where they are located? What is their name, age, gender, height, weight, eye color, hair color, ethnic background?
- Try drawing a map. Draw a circle and make it an island, or draw lines that represent rivers. Who lives in that place? What must they do to survive?
- If you don't already keep a journal, start now. Journals are very useful sources of ideas.
Step 3. Find ideas about your topic using the "Cubing" technique
Cubing requires examining a topic from six different angles (hence the name). For example, if you want to write a story about a wedding, consider the following angles:
Description: what is it? (A ceremony resulting in the marriage of two people; a party or celebration; a rite)
Compare: what does it look like and what is it different from? (Looks like: other religious rites, other kinds of holidays; Doesn't look like: a typical day)
Associate: What else does it make you think about? (Expenses, clothes, church, flowers, relationships, quarrels)
Analyze: what parts or elements is it made of? (Usually, a bride, a groom, a wedding cake, a cake, guests, a venue, oaths, decorations; figuratively, stress, excitement, fatigue, happiness)
Apply: How is it used? How could it be used? (Used to join two people in the legal contract of marriage)
Evaluate: How could it be argued or opposed? (Argued: People who love each other marry to be happy together; Opposite: Some people marry for the wrong reasons)
Step 4. Find ideas about your topic using the "Mind-mapping" technique
You can create visual representations of how the elements of your story connect by making a mind map, in some cases known as a "cluster" or "spider web". Start in the center with the main character or conflict, and draw lines that go to the other concepts. Notice what would happen if you linked the elements differently.
Step 5. Get ideas on the topic by asking "What if?
. Let's say you have found a character: a young woman who is in her early 20s and lives in a small town in Campania. Ask yourself what would happen if this character were put in a different situation. What would happen if she decided to take a job. in Sydney Australia, having never left the country before? What if she suddenly takes over the family business, but her wish has always been to move? Putting your character in different situations will help you decide what conflicts he will face and how it will handle them.
Step 6. Find ideas on the subject by doing research
If you want to write about a particular setting or event, such as the medieval Wars of the Roses, do some research. Find out who the main historical figures were, what actions they took, why they did what they did. George R. R. Martin's famous book series "A Song of Ice and Fire" was inspired by his passion for medieval England, which was transformed into a world with unique characters.
Step 7. Use other sources of inspiration
Taking on other types of creative work can give you a boost to get started. Watch many movies or read many books of the same genre in your story to get an idea of how stories like yours progress. Create a soundtrack of songs that your character could listen to, or that could become the music of a movie based on the book.
Step 8. Feed your ideas
A good writer is also a good reader and observer. Make observations about the world around you and try to integrate them into your novel. Take notes on conversations you overhear. Go to the library and read books on topics that interest you. Go out and observe nature. Let ideas join others.
Part 3 of 5: Writing Your Novel
Step 1. Decide on the setting and basic storyline
You will need to have a clear idea of the world of your story, who inhabits it and what will happen before you write scenes and chapters. If you have fully understood your characters, as you should do after the previous exercises, let their personalities and flaws guide your storyline.
- For the setting, ask yourself questions like these: When does this happen? Is it in the present? In the future? In the past? More than once? What is the season? Is it cold, hot or temperate? Is there a storm? Is it in this world? A different world? An alternate universe? What country? City? Province / State? Who's there? What is its role? Are they good or bad? What is the pivotal event that starts the story? Is it something that has happened in the past that may have effects in the future? Where is it?
- For the plot, ask yourself questions like these: What are the characters? What is their role? Are they good or bad? What is the pivotal event that starts the story? Is it something that has happened in the past that may have effects in the future?
Step 2. Decide what point of view to use to tell the story
The point of view is very important in novels, because what information the readers receive and how they are related to the characters. Even though points of view and storytelling are complex topics, the basic choices are first person, limited third person, objective third person, and omniscient third person. Whichever style you choose, be consistent.
- The novels written in the first person (usually, the narrator uses "I") can emotionally involve the reader who will identify with the narrator, but you will not have the possibility to enter too much into the minds of the other characters because you will have to insert in the narration the elements that the central character can know or experience. Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre is an example of a novel written in the first person.
- The limited third person does not use the pronoun "I", but the story is told from the point of view of one of the characters, and deals only with what he can see, know or feel. This is a popular point of view for novels, because it always allows the reader to connect with your character. Stories told in this way can use the point of view of a single character (for example the main character of the story "The Yellow Tapestry" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman) or they can exploit multiple points of view (for example the alternation of points of view seen in the chapters of "A Song of Ice and Fire" or the one between hero and heroine in most love novels). If you use more than one point of view, state very clearly when it occurs, using a chapter or paragraph break, or clear chapter titles.
- Novels written in the objective third person are limited only by what is seen or heard by the narrator. This kind of point of view is difficult to obtain, because you will not be able to enter the minds of the characters and explain motivations or thoughts, so it can be difficult for readers to get involved with the characters. However, it can be used effectively; many of Ernest Hemingway's short stories are written in the objective third person.
- Novels written in the omniscient third person allow you to know all the thoughts, feelings, experiences and actions of the characters. The narrator can enter any character's mind and even tell the reader things that no character knows, such as secrets or mysterious events. The narrator of Dan Brown's books is usually an omniscient third person narrator.
Step 3. Outline your story
Use Roman numerals and write a few sentences or paragraphs about what will happen in the chapter.
You won't have to create a very detailed structure if you prefer not to. In fact, you may find that the story, when writing, will deviate from the original draft and this is normal. In some cases the writers only write down what should be the emotional style of the chapter (eg "Olivia is desperate and has doubts about her decisions")
Step 4. Start writing
For the first draft it would be better to try writing with pen and paper rather than on a computer. If you are sitting at the computer, and there is a part that you simply cannot write, you remain seated for hours and hours, straining, writing and rewriting. With pen and paper, however, what you write remains on the paper. If you get stuck, jump and move on. Start whenever it feels like the right place and place. Use guidelines when you forget where you are headed. Continue until you get to the end.
If you prefer to use your computer, a program like Scrivener may help you get started. This program allows you to write many small documents, such as character profiles and plot summaries, and save them in the same place
Step 5. Write the book in parts
If you start writing thinking "I WILL WRITE THE NEXT DIVINE COMEDY", you will fail before you even begin. Take the writing one step at a time: a chapter, a few scenes and a draft of a character.
Step 6. Read the dialogues aloud as you write
One of the main problems of novice writers is writing dialogues that a normal person would never utter. This is a particularly acute problem for writers of historical or fantasy novels, where the temptation is to make the dialogues elegant and elevated, often at the expense of reader involvement. Dialogue should have a natural flow, although it will likely be more concise and meaningful than real-life speeches.
- In everyday conversation, people often repeat themselves and use interjections like "um" and "ah", but you should rarely use them on paper. They can distract the reader if you abuse them.
- Use dialogue to advance the story or show something of the character. Even though people very often have nonsense or superficial conversations, it is not interesting to read them on paper. Use dialogue to convey a character's emotional state, spark a conflict or part of the plot, or suggest what happens in a scene without saying it directly.
- Try not to use dialogue that is too direct. For example, if you're writing about a couple's unhappy marriage, your characters probably shouldn't be explicitly saying "Our marriage makes me unhappy." Instead, show their anger and frustration with dialogue. For example, you could have one of the characters ask the other what they want for breakfast and have them respond with a question unrelated to the original question. This shows that the characters have trouble communicating without saying "We are not communicating effectively".
Step 7. Keep the action plausible
Your characters are supposed to lead the action of the story and that means you can't get your character to do something just because the story requires it. Characters can do things they wouldn't normally do in extraordinary circumstances, or if they're part of their progression arc (for example, end up somewhere other than where they started the story), but they should in most cases be consistent.
- For example, if your main character has a phobia of flying because he survived a plane crash as a child, he could not take a flight without thinking because the plot requires his presence in a place.
- Likewise, if your hero has been heartbroken from a previous love and has emotional problems, he cannot suddenly decide that he is in love with the heroine and try to win her over. People don't have these behaviors in real life, and the reader expects realism even in fantasy settings.
Step 8. Take a break
Once you have written the first draft on paper, forget it for a few weeks. This advice comes straight from famous author Ernest Hemingway, who said he always took a few nights off because "if I thought consciously or worried [about my story], I'd kill her and my brain would already be tired before I started." Go to the cinema, read a book, go horseback riding, go for a swim, go out with friends, take a walk and get some exercise! When you take a break, you are more inspired. It is very important not to be in a hurry, otherwise your story will come out confusing and disorganized. The more time you take, the better the story will be.
Step 9. Review your work
This advice too is promoted by Hemingway, who insisted that an author should "read his writing every day from the beginning, correcting it as he goes, and pick up where he left off the day before."
- When re-reading your work, use a red pen to take notes or make corrections. In fact, take a lot of notes. Did you come up with a better word? Do you want to exchange phrases? Are the dialogues too immature? Do you think a cat should be a dog? Take note of these changes!
- Read your story aloud, because it will help you find mistakes.
Step 10. Learn that first drafts are never perfect
If an author tells you that he wrote his entire novel with a beautiful storyline and perfectly finished without any problems, he is lying to you. Even the masters of novel writing, such as Charles Dickens and J. K. Rowling, write bad first drafts. You may end up discarding large portions of prose or storyline because they no longer work. Not only is it acceptable, but it's also almost critical to getting the finished product that your readers will love.
Part 4 of 5: Revising Your Novel
Step 1. Review the novel
Revising literally means “seeing something new”. Look at the novel from the point of view of the reader and not the author. If you paid money to read this book, would you be satisfied? Would you feel connected to the characters? The review phase can be incredibly difficult; there is a reason the writer's activity is often referred to as "killing loved ones."
Don't be afraid to cut out words, paragraphs, or even entire sections. Most people add extra words or passages to their stories. Cut, cut, cut. It is the secret of success
Step 2. Experiment with different techniques
If something in your story doesn't work, change it! If it is written in the first person, write it in the third. Find the style you like best. Try new things, add new story elements, new characters or new personalities for existing characters, etc.
Step 3. Eliminate the unnecessary parts
Especially if you are a beginner, you might try to use shortcuts to express something, such as overusing adverbs and adjectives to describe an event or experience. Mark Twain offers some good advice on how to solve the problem of useless parts: "Replace 'fucking' whenever you want to write 'a lot'. Your editor will delete it and the work will look as it should."
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Consider, for example, this line from Stephenie Meyer's "New Moon": "'Hurry up, Bella,' Alice interrupted her urgently." An interruption is itself an urgent action: it stops another. The adverb adds nothing to the description. In fact, this sentence doesn't even need the narrator's intervention; you can make one character interrupt another with a dash, like this:
"Sure," I said, "I'm just going to-"
"Move!"
Step 4. Eliminate the clichés
Writers often make abundant use of clichés, especially in early drafts, because they are familiar ways of expressing an idea or image. They are also, however, a weak point of the first draft: everyone has already read about a character who "lives life to the full", so this description doesn't have much of an impact.
Consider this advice from playwright Anton Chekhov: "Don't tell me the moon is shining; let me see the reflection of light on broken glass." This tip illustrates the advantage of showing instead of saying
Step 5. Check for continuity errors
These are the little things that you can lose sight of in writing but that readers notice right away. Your character was wearing a blue suit at the beginning of the chapter and maybe wearing a red one in the same scene. Or a character leaves a room during a conversation but is back inside a few lines later without having re-entered. These small mistakes can quickly irritate readers, so read carefully and correct them.
Step 6. Read your novel aloud
In some cases, the dialogue may sound perfect but sound strange when spoken aloud. Or you may find that you've written a sentence that spans an entire paragraph and get lost before the deadline. Reading your work aloud helps you find the passages that don't spin and the stitches that contain weft holes.
Part 5 of 5: Publishing Your Novel
Step 1. Check your manuscript is correct
In each line, look for typos, spelling errors, grammatical errors, weird words and clichés. You can check for something in particular, like spelling errors and then again for punctuation errors, or you can fix it all at once.
When you review your own work, you often read what you think you wrote instead of what you actually wrote. Find someone to review it for you. A friend who reads or writes novels can help you find mistakes you haven't caught on your own
Step 2. Find a newspaper, agent, or publisher to offer your work to
Most publishers don't accept short stories, but many newspapers do. Many large publishers will not accept unsolicited manuscripts from agentless writers, but some small publishers are happy to even read the works of first-time writers. Ask everyone and find a print medium that fits your style, genre and publishing goals.
- There are many manuals, websites, and organizations dedicated to helping writers find a publisher. Writers Market, Writer's Digest, Book Market, and Writing World are good places to start.
- You can also choose to publish yourself, an increasingly popular option for writers. Sites like Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Lulu offer guides for publishing your own books.
Step 3. Structure your work and write it as a manuscript
Follow the guidelines dictated by your publisher. Follow them to the letter, even if they conflict with the information you found in this guide. If they require a 4 cm margin, use that (standard margins are 2, 5 or 3 cm). Manuscripts that do not meet the guidelines are rarely read or accepted. In general, there are rules to follow when formatting a manuscript.
- Create a cover page with title, your name, contact information and word count. You should center the text horizontally and vertically, with a space between each line.
- Alternatively, write your personal information - name, phone number, email address - in the top left corner of the first page. In the upper right corner, write the word count rounded to the nearest ten. Hit enter a few times and then put the title. The title should be centered, and you can write it in all caps.
- Start the manuscript on a new page. Use a readable, clear serif font such as Times New Roman or 12-point Courier New. Use double spacing for all text. Justify the text on the left.
- For section breaks, center three asterisks (***) on a new line, then press "Enter" and start the new section. Start all new chapters on a new page, with the title centered.
- On every page but the first, include a header that has the page number, a shortened version of the title, and your last name.
- As a hard copy format, print the manuscript on thick, high quality A4 paper.
Step 4. Submit your manuscript
Follow all directions to the letter. Now, relax and wait for an answer!
Advice
- If you have an idea, and you can't fit it into the story, don't be afraid to change what you've written before. Remember, the stories must be exciting, have twists and most of all, they must express (or even surprise) the author.
- Make a note of whatever you want to remember so you can go back to it later. It is much easier to remember something if you have written it in black and white.
- Have fun! You can't write a good story if you don't have fun; it should be a beautiful experience that comes from the heart!
- Don't panic if you get writer's block! Think of it as a way to gain new experiences and find new ideas. Use it to make your story better.
- Don't be obsessed with details. Put them on, but don't overdo it. It is one thing to say that your eyes are green and alluring, another to say that they are the brightest green eyes with yellow lines around the pupil and dark green dots, and two sienna colored dots at the base with blue and green lines. Too many details can be boring and confusing.
- If you can't imagine fictional events, take a cue from real events, experiences and add a few touches of originality to make it interesting and attract more readers.
- Use rhetorical figures. They are tools such as onomatopoeia, rhyme, alliteration, etc. The list goes on and on. They can make reading a book more enjoyable because they are pleasing to the ear. Most people read a book and don't realize they appreciate the author's style of alliteration.
- Your book doesn't have to be nationally famous to be beautiful!
