Writing a fiction book can seem like a challenging task unless you have a clear idea of where you want to go with your novel. There are so many components of a novel to balance as you write: developing characters, writing believable dialog, weaving plots and subplots, juggling multiple points of view, and more. That's why it's so helpful to begin with a clear plan in mind. Everything else you do will flow from out of that.
First Things First
In order to write a great novel, it's important that you start things off right so you create a strong foundation for the rest of your novel to be built upon. Once you have the basics covered, the rest of your novel will flow naturally from that. With a good initial idea for your novel that really intrigues you, you will feel enthusiastic about writing each day and that's what will keep you moving forward until you reach the end.
Step 1: Deciding on What You Will Write
The first thing to do is decide what genre is right for you. There are so many possibilities, so how do you decide? The answer is easy: the key to writing well from the beginning is to write what you love to read. Think about the kind of books you love and start there. Why?
If you've read a lot of books of a particular type or genre, you'll naturally have a good feel for how this type of book should be written. As you've read, you've absorbed the typical way these novels are structured, what the lead characters are like, what they want, and what they tend to go through before they get it. This puts you way ahead of others who are not familiar with this genre. Plus, If you love reading this kind of novel, then you will love writing this kind of novel as well. Plus, your enthusiasm and genuine interest will be reflected in your writing, not to mention that it will help keep you motivated to finish your novel, just because you're having so much fun with your story.
Step 2: Who's the Main Character For Your Novel?
Now that you know your genre, it's time to choose your Lead. Decide on their name, age, and gender. That's enough to get started and give you a feel for who they are. Make sure that your Lead matches the general tendencies within your chosen genre: i.e. young adult fiction typically has a young adult as the Lead character and that's what readers will expect.
Step 3: Define the Crisis
Every engaging novel includes a major crisis that confronts the Main Character early on in the story. Evan Marshall, the literary agent and author, points out some key points you should consider in deciding on your crisis:
It should fit the genre that you're writing within
It should seriously disrupt your Lead's life
It should be compelling and interesting to you as the writer
Step 4: What's Your Main Character's Response?
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.
Evan Marshall also suggests some great criteria that will help you heighten the intensity of your Lead's goal. The goal should be about:
Getting something your main character wants or getting relief from something they don't want.
The stakes must be high, i.e. the consequences for failure must be terrible.
Your lead must be motivated by positive intentions that make your readers admire and like them.
The odds of success should be slim to none.
Using these simple guidelines to develop your story idea will give you a powerful, dynamic starting place for your novel. At the outset of your novel, your task is to find an idea that really inspires you and these steps will help you to do that. As I said before, everything else will flow from this idea so it's really worth it to take the time to find one that you love.
Author Resource:-
The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing is a great system for writing a fiction book. It leads you step-by-step through the whole process of writing a novel from idea to submission. If you’re interested in writing a great novel with the potential to become a best-seller, I think you will want to check it out. You can learn more about this system at: Marshall Plan Novel Writing. Check out this article for more about Fiction Novel Writing.
Laura M. McKennah is a professional writer who loves writing about novel writing and other creative topics. You can read more of her thoughts and suggestions about writing at writerssolutions.com. She’s also blogging there on what it’s like to actually use the Marshall Plan for Novel Writing software to develop a novel idea.
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