10 Tips to Write a Novel
Conclusion
I hope this post and its advice will hold some value for those intending to start writing a novel, and perhaps also for those who enjoy reading these novels – to understand a little more the process, challenges and emotions behind the final product.
And you dear reader of this post: if you are an author, do you agree with these tips? What are yours? And if you intend to write something, are there elements that are still not clear and for which you would like more explanations?
2 Comments
Lillian Moore
I thought it was interesting that you say writing a novel is an adventure not and ordeal. I can see how writing can be a fun process. Writing down your own thoughts and displaying them on paper can make you feel somewhat naked and exposed to the reader. This for me has made my writing more of an ordeal than an adventure. The stress of feeling like my story needs to make complete sense right from the beginning makes the writing process so much slower. As I read through your article, I liked your first tip the best. Write the story you want to tell rather than the story the readers want. I feel obligated to my readers sometimes and that gets me in a tough spot. I really appreciate your tips. I am already improving my writing. Thank you.
David Gay-Perret
And thank you for having taken the time to read all this and leave a comment!
I actually haven’t experience the “feeling naked” you mention since I didn’t think of publishing until two and a half year after having completed the story! Which means I mostly wrote it for myself, so no stress there.
As for having a story that makes sense right from the start: it’s only my opinion, and my story actually didn’t follow this tip when I started (I built up and tried to find explanations as I went), but with hindsight I believe it actually saves a lot of time and headaches. And so I think you get back the time invested in planning and thinking forward a bit when, at the end, everything falls nicely into place.
In any case I wish you the best of luck in your writing endeavor!