Let me preface this article on how to write a novel by saying that my book on the topic has all the best advice I know: How to Write a Novel: 49 Rules for Writing a Stupendously Awesome Novel That You Will Love Forever.
How to write a novel. We should probably first agree that this is a rather large topic. One might even call it rotund, ginormous, massive, weighty, of-gargantuan-proportions, etc. But I often hear from would-be writers with a very common sentiment:
I want to write a novel, I think I can write a novel, but for the love of Tim Gunn, how in the world do you write a novel?
And that brings us to the most important advice I can offer in this How to Write a Novel overview. If you try and hold the entire novel in your head all at once and attempt to imagine it in its entirety and all of its various ins and outs, your brain will suddenly become so heavy that you will topple over backwards and pass out.
Don’t be intimidated by the bigness of the task. The best thing you can do is to break a novel up into some comprehensible components that you can think about in a coherent fashion and try as hard as you can not to be intimidated.
Contrary to the myth of the writer sitting down blindly and letting their inspiration spill onto the page, whether you’re a thorough outliner or an adherent to the school of write-as-you-go-I’ll-edit-later, I highly recommend having at least a rough sketch of the below elements in place before you sit down and type “Chapter 1: It was a dark and stormy night.”
Do you have a story burning inside, waiting to be told? If you’ve dreamed of writing and publishing your own novel, you can make it happen!
Writing a novel takes dedication, patience, resilience, and passion. But armed with an effective process, anyone can transform their ideas into a finished manuscript ready for readers.
Follow this comprehensive guide to learn proven tips for crafting your story powering through writer’s block editing smoothly, and successfully publishing your book.
Developing Your Novel’s Premise
Before setting pen to paper, you need a solid premise as your foundation This means
Establishing Genre and Target Audience
Decide what genre your book will fit best. Common options include:
- Romance
- Mystery/Thriller
- Sci-Fi/Fantasy
- Historical Fiction
- Literary Fiction
Also determine your target reader demographic. Factors like age, gender, interests, and values will influence your style and content choices.
Creating Compelling Characters
Fictional people drive your story. Devise characters that draw readers in and come alive in their imaginations.
For each major player, define:
- Background, motivations, beliefs
- Quirks, habits, personality traits
- Flaws, weaknesses, inner conflicts
Building a Plot Summary
Summarize your novel’s narrative arc in 1-2 sentences. Hit the key highlights and action without giving everything away.
This high-level view provides focus for digging into details. Tweak as needed as you write.
Outlining the Setting
Determine when/where your book takes place. The setting can profoundly shape atmosphere and character perspectives.
Take inspiration from places you know well so descriptions transport readers there vividly.
With these pieces in place, you’re ready to start writing your future bestseller!
How to Write a Novel in 9 Steps
Follow these key steps to transform your premise into a polished first draft:
Step 1: Create a Chapter Outline
Expand your general plot summary into a chapter-by-chapter outline. Briefly summarize what happens in each installment.
This provides a roadmap to follow as you write and refer back to. Aim for 10-15 chapters.
Step 2: Write Your First Draft
With prep work done, it’s time to dive into your first draft! Begin bringing your story to life chapter-by-chapter.
Focus on getting your ideas down without overthinking wordsmithing. You can polish and tweak wording later. Shooting for 1,000 words per chapter is a reasonable goal.
Tip: Set a daily or weekly word count target to maintain momentum.
Step 3: Take a Break Before Revising
Finish your first draft, then step away for 1-2 weeks before revising. This mental break lets you approach the manuscript fresh. Use the time to jot notes on changes needed.
Step 4: Revise Chapter-by-Chapter
After your break, read your first draft again with an eye for potential improvements. Revise one chapter at a time for focus.
Look for:
- Sections that seem disjointed or confusing
- Character interactions that lack authenticity
- Scenes that fail to advance the plot
- Moments where more detail or dialogue is needed
Adjust, expand, trim, or rework anything necessary to craft a strong second draft.
Step 5: Maintain Consistency
Pay special attention to consistency across chapters for realism.
Ensure timelines align, character details match, and plot points developed in one chapter follow logically into the next.
Step 6: Write Your Second Draft
With chapter revisions complete, compile your changes into a full second draft reflecting thoughtful enhancements from start to finish.
Let it rest for another 1-2 weeks before moving onto the editing stage.
Step 7: Perform a Readability Edit
Start editing your novel by focusing on style and readability.
As you read line-by-line, watch for:
- Awkward phrases
- Overly complex sentences
- Needless adverbs and adjectives
- Redundancies
- Grammar errors
- Pacing issues
Streamline content for greater clarity and flow.
Step 8: Perfect the Fine Details
Next, comb through your manuscript hunting tiny errors and inconsistencies. Verify:
- Character names are correct
- Timeline chronology makes sense
- Settings and details align chapter to chapter
- Dialogue tags and quotes are formatted properly
Perfectionism pays off here!
Step 9: Proofread for Typos
Finally, proofread each page looking only for typos, spelling errors, and punctuation mistakes. Work slowly and methodically.
Tools like Grammarly can help catch issues too.
With these steps done thoroughly, your novel is ready for readers!
Helpful Tips for Novel Writing Success
Follow these tips from the pros for staying motivated and overcoming writer’s block:
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Set a daily word count goal – Writing 500 words per day equals a 180,000+ word rough draft in a year!
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Pick a consistent writing time – Maintain momentum by sticking to a regular schedule, like early morning.
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Ban self-editing at first – Don’t interrupt your draft to critique details – that comes later!
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Write scenes out of order – Skip around to stay engaged and beat writer’s block.
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Take writing breaks – Periodically work on other projects or hobbies to recharge.
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Read your dialogue aloud – Hear how conversations flow naturally.
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Find a critique partner – Trusted feedback helps improve your work.
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Outline loosely – Avoid rigid outlines stifling creativity – leave room to improvise.
Stay focused on your goal of completing a polished draft. With persistence through the ups and downs, you’ll get there!
Preparing Your Novel for Publication
Once your manuscript meets your quality standards, it’s time to prep for publication:
Research Publishers and Literary Agents
Decide whether to pursue traditional publishing or self-publishing. Study publishers and agents accepting fiction submissions in your genre.
Design an Eye-Catching Book Cover
A compelling cover grabs attention. Creating your own through Photoshop or Canva is affordable. Invest in a pro designer for maximum impact.
Hire a Copy Editor
While expensive, a professional copy edit eliminates embarrassing mistakes undermining credibility.
Format Your Manuscript Flawlessly
Follow industry standards for formatting your document for submission or self-publishing.
Write Your Marketing Materials
Prepare your logline, synopsis, author bio, and book descriptions to effectively pitch your novel.
With these steps completed, get your work in front of beta readers. Incorporate final feedback into a pre-launch manuscript ready for printing and distribution.
Keep Writing and Take Pride
Writing a novel takes immense dedication. But the journey from idea to published book is incredibly rewarding. Stay motivated and know that first drafts are never perfect.
Use this guide as your novel writing roadmap, be patient through low points, and soon you’ll hold your published masterpiece in hand!
How to pick your perspective
One of the most common mistakes I see unpublished authors make is a mishmash of a perspective. Excessive head jumping and a confusing POV will sink a novel.
Instead: choose a perspective and stick to it.
There are two main temporal choices to choose between: past tense and present tense.
Past tense (He said, I said) is the more “classic” approach, whereas present tense (He says, I say) can feel more modern and convey a bit more immediacy. Whichever one you choose is up to you, but there’s really only one rule: stick with the one you choose.
Next, you’ll need to choose your overall perspective. Here are your choices:
- First person: Told from a specific narrator’s perspective. “I did this, I did that.”
- Second person: Written as if the narrative happens from the reader’s perspective, or as if it’s a conversation with an invisible character. “You did this, you did that.”
- Third person limited: Tied to one character’s thoughts and perspective at a time. If the perspective shifts, it’s almost as if the camera is handed to another character. “He did this, she did that, but he wasn’t sure why she did what she did.”
- Third person omniscient: Kind of like a god’s-eye perspective. Sometimes this means an all-seeing narrator who is almost another character, other times it’s just a dispassionate voice describing thoughts and actions. “He did this, she did that, he was thinking this, she was thinking that.”
Try a few different approaches and see what feels the most natural.
Whatever you do: stick with the one you choose. If you’re going to shift the perspective, mark the change with a chapter break.
For further reading:
How to add obstacles and intrigue
Give the characters obstacles of increasing intensity, with ups and downs along the way.
If the most challenging obstacle your main character faces happens in the first half of the book: the reader will be bored in the second half. If your character gets everything they want and always has “up” moments: the reader will be bored with the predictability. If your character only has “down” moments and things get steadily worse and worse with no hope whatsoever: your reader will either be horrifically depressed or start to think everything is unintentionally funny.
Whether the main obstacle is an arch-villain, their own personal demons, or a powerful army of rhetorical questions–the biggest battle is in the end, and there are gains, setbacks, and smaller obstacles along the way. Better still if the obstacles and the intensity of the emotions steadily increase and swing back and forth as the novel goes along.
For further reading:
