A Beginners Guide to Writing a Novel

Writing a novel can be one of the best experiences in your life, or potentially the most grueling. Regardless, there is a moment of inspiration that strikes all of us as we endeavor to create our first masterpiece, which must be harnessed and nurtured to keep that flame of hope alive. One of the ways we can achieve this is by having an organized structure that guides us throughout the writing process, ensuring that we remain on the right track and avoid any dangerous distractions. Therefore, I’d like to shed some light on a process that I’ve found quite helpful for my own writing.

1. Creating the story: The very first step of developing a story is creating a group of questions. Here are some basic ones that can help you create your plot from scratch.

A.What is the conflict? Ex. The world is ending.

B.Where is the setting? Ex. Manhattan, New York.

C.When is the setting? Ex. July 2077

D.Who is your main character? Ex. Michael Glance

E.Why are they the main character? Ex. They’ve been waiting for this day and have a plan to save humanity.

F.Who are your villains? Ex. Evil Aliens from another galaxy.

G.Why are they villains? Ex. They want to destroy the earth.

Now that you have a general idea of what makes your story a story, it’s time to begin the most exciting part of the novel. The first chapter. This is your audience's introduction to your writing, your world, and everything they can expect from you and your story going forward. Therefore, it’s important to be aware of some steps and advice that ensure your readers turn to the next page.

• Start off in the midst of a conflict: One of the best ways to introduce a story is to start off in the heat of it. This will naturally create questions that the audience will want answers to.
• Introduce a teaser: Another way in which you could engage your reader is by placing them at an interesting point in the story immediately. This is typically done more in film than literature, however it is still just as effective. The technique is used to set the expectation that the entire book or series is created to give context to this specific gripping moment.

Additional advice:

• Avoid info dumping: It’s always good to include important information about your world and characters in each chapter. However, the way you include this information is important. Reveal traits about characters and the world through dialogue naturally instead of telling the reader facts about them. Too much of this can come off as overwhelming, or may leave them bored.
• Don’t be afraid to move on: Your first chapter probably won't be perfect, but that’s okay. Keep writing, revise, and learn more about your story, then come back to the first chapter and edit it accordingly. 

The body of your story is everything in between your beginning and conclusion. This part may seem overwhelming at first, but once you start and get into a rhythm you’ll relish the process and want to continue. Here are some basic steps that helped me ease me into that rhythm.

1. Create a character/characters who want to solve the conflict: In every story where there is a conflict, there must be characters who fight to fix it. Introducing your audience to your characters, and giving them goals and motivations creates the groundwork for how the story will carry out.
2. Create your villain/villains: Villains in story are usually the source, or perpetuate the      conflict. Their role is to oppose the protagonist, and impede them from reaching their goal. Creating motivations and goals for them adds even more layers to the story, giving you ample opportunity for them to cross paths with the main characters and set up an exciting encounter. 

World building: World building includes every last detail of how your world works. Items, clothing, locations, foods, the list is endless. In order to make your audience believe that they are in a different place, creating things that display and communicate that difference is critical.

The conclusion: You made it! The conclusion of your story includes the final, or final pages of your work that either answers the readers questions to satisfy them, or creates more questions to probe their curiosity. So, how do we do that? Here are a few things that I considered when writing my own conclusions. 

1. Have the protagonist achieve their goal: If your story began with the protagonist having a goal, then one of the best ways to end is for them to achieve it. The ways in which you do this depend on the type of story you’re writing of course, but if you want the story to end happily, the easiest way to do that is for the hero’s journey to end in a success of some sort.
2. End the story with a twist or reveal: The term plot twist can be used quite loosely, but it’s one of the most effective ways to engage the reader in your ending. This can be done by creating a law, rule, or expectation throughout the story, then suddenly subverting those regulations with the actual truth. This could lead the reader to wonder why they were deceived throughout the story, and inspire them to learn more about how the world really works, and potentially who the real protagonists are. Perhaps.

Finally, you’ve finished the writing process! Or, the first draft at least. Once you’re finished, go back and revise your work and edit it accordingly to fit your vision. Good luck!