How do write a novel

Learn more about finding your target market here! Pro tip: depending on your target audience and subject matter, your novel may even be eligible for any number of writing scholarships. If you're a student, check out our writing scholarship directory right here! Don't let your busy schedule stop you from becoming a writer.

Learn how to build an unstoppable creative habit. But of course, the work is far from over. Writing the first iteration of your manuscript is all about just getting the words down on paper. There are countless other literary devices that authors use to add creative depth to their writing.

Find a list of some of our favorites here. Editing your own story is not a one-time deal. Each time you read your story, you will likely end up rewriting parts, which will require another read-through, which might lead to more rewrites — so on and so forth.

Go through your novel looking for a specific issue and only fix those. If you spot other things in the meantime, make a note of them to come back and fix later, but stay laser-focused on the task at hand. Here are a few things you might want to keep an eye out for:. To become a bonafide self-editing expert, check out our repertoire of free online courses — all about editing, written by professional editors.

Over 2, of the best editors are on Reedsy. Sign up to meet them today! Learn how Reedsy can help you craft a beautiful book. Typically, a beta reader is a friend, family member, or perhaps someone you met through the writing community. Working with readers is important, because during the writing process authors can often become blind to certain issues like plot holes, lack of continuity, exposition dumps, etc.

Beta readers can help you iron these things out before you publish your novel — and you get the exact same feedback, only in a negative user review on Amazon which everyone can see. For more information on where to find beta readers and tips for getting the most out of working with them, head here. And if you're curious about sensitivity readers and what they do, go here.

One of the most important parts of getting a novel ready for publication is to: hire an editor. Learn more about what each type of editing consists of here. Now, how about that price tag we mentioned? Well, the cost of professional editing will depend on a number of variables: the type of editing you need, the specific editor you hire, and your book's length, to start.

But to give you a general idea , here are the potential costs of editing a 60,word manuscript:. Check out our post for more information on the costs of editing — and even try out our pricing calculator by entering the word count for your novel and genre. If not, finding the perfect moniker for your story will likely be a last — and important! Check out our book title generator and generate titles based on your genre until you find the one. But, if you're writing a panoramic novel with a gaggle of characters, the third person can help you manage all of those characters.

Method 2. Set up a writing routine that works for you. To complete your first draft, you'll need to find a time and place that is conducive to your writing goals. You can write at the same time every morning or evening, write in short bursts throughout the day, or write in long bouts three days a week. Instead, treat writing like the real work it is and stick to a regular routine.

Try scheduling a specific writing time into your daily calendar. Create a writing space to help you get into a routine. Find a cozy place where you can focus. Invest in a chair that won't cause back pain after a couple of hours of sitting and writing. Some writers thrive when they just start writing, without much of a plan to guide them. Follow the path that suits your style and your creativity. For others, though, planning can become a barrier that gets in the way of actually writing. Trust your own instincts on what works best for you.

If you're too preoccupied with details before even writing your first draft, you may be stifling your own creativity. Make an outline if you want to map out your novel.

Creating an outline can be a good way to map out your ideas and give you small goals to accomplish as you work toward the larger goal of writing an entire book. You could do a quick sketch of each character's arc, or make a Venn diagram showing how different characters' stories will overlap.

Your outline is a guide , not a contract. The point is simply to jump-start the writing process with a visual representation of where the story might go. It will certainly change as you begin the writing process. Keep updating or recreating your outline throughout the process. Sometimes an outline can actually be more helpful after you've completed a draft or two of your novel. Use descriptive writing to draw readers into your world. Descriptive paragraphs or scenes help your audience envision the key characters and settings in your novel.

As with most aspects of writing, practice makes perfect! Practice writing descriptive paragraphs that introduce each of your main characters and settings. Include scripted dialogue that is realistic and revealing. Most novels include dialogue between characters, and the quality of this dialogue can greatly impact how a reader perceives the overall quality of the work. Writing great dialogue is a challenging art, but listening to how people speak to each other is a great starting point. Flesh out your characters fully so that you can envision them speaking the dialogue that you write for them.

Make sure the content and style of the dialogue suits the character. Instead, use it to humanize your characters, create conflict, and propel the narrative. Sure, thrillers need to have a lot of action, but so do gentle romances—just a different type of action! Develop scenes or episodes that bring characters into conflict or force key interactions. The more three-dimensional and relatable you make your characters, the easier it will be to make action scenes that draw readers in. Depending on your writing style, you might draft key action scenes first, then build the rest of the novel around them.

But, every novel benefits from key moments when critical actions are introduced and described. When your planning and outlining and researching feel complete for now, at least , sit down and begin writing the first draft of your novel. Don't worry about making the language perfect—no one will read this draft but you. The first draft of a novel does not have to be spectacular—it just has to be done! Who knows how many wonderful writers go unnoticed and unread because their drawers are filled with unfinished novels?

Set small goals—finishing a chapter, a few pages, or a certain amount of words every few days—to keep yourself motivated. You can also set long-term goals—you might, for example, be determined to finish the first draft of a novel in one year, or even in six months. Reward yourself when you achieve one of your small or larger goals along the way.

Celebrate your success, but then get back to writing! Method 3. Write as many drafts as necessary until the novel feels right to you. You may get lucky and only need to write three drafts to get it right. Or you may write twenty drafts before your novel rings true. Which parts need more explaining? Which parts are too long and boring? If you find yourself skipping over long chunks of your novel, your readers will, too. How can you make the novel more appealing to them by cutting down or revising these cumbersome parts?

You may feel like the drafting process will never end, but it will! Stay positive and confident. After that, focus on cutting paragraphs or sentences that aren't working, getting rid of any awkward or repetitive phrasing, and streamlining your prose. Cut or revise anything that just doesn't sound right. Don't get too attached to your writing—for example, a well-crafted paragraph that just isn't moving the story forward.

Challenge yourself to make the right decision, and remember that you might be able to use the paragraph in a future novel! Get feedback on your draft from a range of sources. Begin by showing your draft to someone you completely trust, like a friend or loved one, so you can get used to the feeling of having others read your work. Since it isn't always easy to get honest feedback from people who love you and want to spare your feelings, move on to getting outside opinions from sources such as the following: [18] X Research source Start a writing group.

If you know a few other people who are writing novels, arrange to meet with them to share progress and ask for tips. And then snap at your loved ones. And then stay up too late watching mentally depleting television shows. Created by Grove Atlantic and Electric Literature. Via Harper. By Elizabeth Percer. She lives in California with her husband and three children.

All Stories Are Love Stories is her second novel. Next Article Best of the Week: March 21 - 25, Close to the Lithub Daily Thank you for subscribing! Just Because You're Paranoid Danielle Evans on Mrs. On the only mystery novel written by A. Like us on Facebook. Read More. Even fantasies must make sense. Once the reader has accepted your premise, what follows must be logical. Effective research is key to adding the specificity necessary to make this work. When my character uses a weapon, I learn everything I can about it.

Add specifics the way you would add seasoning to food. The perspective from which you write your novel can be complicated because it encompasses so much. The cardinal rule is one perspective character per scene , but I prefer only one per chapter, and ideally one per novel. No hopping into the heads of other characters. What your POV character sees, hears, touches, smells, tastes, and thinks is all you can convey. Most novels are written in Third Person Limited. That means limited to one perspective character at a time, and that character ought to be the one with the most at stake.

Writing your novel in First Person makes is easiest to limit yourself to that one perspective character, but Third-Person Limited is most popular for a reason. One example: the main character hears what another character says, reads his tone and his expression and his body language, and comes to a conclusion.

Then he finds out that person told someone else something entirely different, and his actions prove he was lying to both. It means avoiding too much scene setting and description and getting to the good stuff—the guts of the story. The goal of every sentence, in fact of every word , is to force the reader to read the next. Your job as a writer is not to make readers imagine things as you see them, but to trigger the theaters of their minds.

Want to download this step guide to reference whenever you wish? Click here. They give a private eye a nice car, weapon, girlfriend, apartment, office, rich client. Rather, you should pull out from under him anything that makes his life easy. Have his car break down, his weapon stolen, his girlfriend leave, he gets evicted, his office burns, his client is broke.

Now thrust him into a dangerous case.