Thinking About Writing a Novel? Here Are a Few Tips to Get You Started

As any writer will tell you, the process of creating a well-written novel is a lot more difficult than it may initially seem. You start off with snippets in your head of a great story that is just begging to be told, but stringing all the pieces together into a cohesive and compelling plot can be quite a challenge. The key is proper planning. 

So, how does one “plan” a novel? Well, there is no set method or procedure you must follow. Rather, there are many different techniques that you can mix and match until you arrive at a combination that works best for you.  

Your initial urge might be to start at the beginning and go chronologically until the end, but try to keep an open mind. Some writers find it useful to start at the end of the story and plan backward; others begin in the middle and expand their ideas as they go. Each writer – and each novel, for that matter – will use a slightly different planning method because every story is different.  

After you have your novel all planned out, make sure to run everything through a grammar checker. The best grammar checkers usually charge a small fee, so don’t use them until you’re ready to send your book out to publishers.  

With all this being said about the pre-planning stages, here are a few tips to get you started on the actual writing process: 

Write a One Sentence Summary 

This technique can be a great first step in planning your novel, regardless if you prefer to start at the beginning or end of the story. All you do is summarize the main plot of your story in one sentence.  

Like a thesis in an essay, this sentence provides a framework for you to fill in. It acts as your guide while you write the rest of your story. A strong summary will help keep you on track and organized as you go.  

Don’t worry so much about specifics or character names – just hit the main plot arcs. Here is an example: 

“An up and coming soccer star becomes entangled in a mafia assassination plot after agreeing to mentor the mob boss’s son”. 

Make Character Sketches 

You can do this at any point in the planning process, but you should make a sketch for each character. It can help you gain a better understanding of the character as well as add depth to their personality. Understanding a character’s motivations can also help you develop your plot.  

Here are the basics of what you should include: 

• Character’s name 

• Their goal – what the character wants. This is a great chance to add depth to even minor characters, and it can make plot twists or other conflicts feel more realistic  
• Their motivation – what drives them towards their goal. This often draws from their backstory or illustrates some of their major personality features 
• The storyline – this can be both how the character plays into the main storyline and also their own backstories. This is often a good source of inspiration for future books 
• Their conflict – not all characters have a conflict, but for those that do, showing growth or change in the face of that conflict can make a story all the more compelling  

Remember that these sketches are “living documents”. They’re probably going to change as you develop your characters and story. They can also be a good thing to revisit if you find yourself getting stuck or running out of ideas. 

Make a General Timeline 

Many people find it helpful to make a timeline of events in the story. This can help keep you organized and also help make sure your ideas make sense. A timeline doesn’t mean things are set in stone. In fact, seeing everything all laid out might make you want to reorder some events.  

To make a timeline, you should start with the major events first, and then go back and fill in details. Eventually, you can expand the events and fill them in with smaller happenings and transitions to make a coherent story.