How to Start Writing a Novel
Will this be the year you finally accomplish your dream of writing a novel?
Whether you’re a complete beginner or you have a few attempts under your belt, you may feel overwhelmed by the prospect of starting a new project. But there are several steps you can take before you even start writing to prepare yourself. A little forethought will increase your chances of finishing your novel and help you write a better story.
Many writers who skip these steps and launch directly into the writing process often find partway through that their story is underdeveloped or their idea isn’t quite right. Other writers give up around this point because they lose steam or realize that they are not as passionate about their idea as they initially thought. And some find themselves just plain lost in the process, realizing that they don’t know enough about how to tell a good story.
Unfortunately, these setbacks lead many beginning writers to give up entirely. This is a shame because the story they want to tell has value and the potential to make an impact. Also, many of these issues can be prevented with preparation.
So if you’re serious about raising your voice and writing a novel, here’s what you should do to get started.
5 Steps to Take Before You Start Writing
Define your why for writing this novel
Before you spend any time contemplating your plot or your characters, figure out your why for writing this novel. Your “why” is the most important first step, because writing a novel is a long and difficult process, especially your first time out. You will face many challenges and setbacks along the way. So if your reason for writing isn’t powerful, there’s a chance you’ll struggle to see it through.
However, if you connect to your work on a deep level, if you feel like you have something to say to the world that you just can’t keep to yourself a moment longer, and if writing this story inspires passion and excitement in you, you’ll be much more likely to persist on your novel even when the work becomes difficult.
Furthermore, the more you connect to your why, the more emotional depth you can write into your story. You have to know why it’s meaningful to you to make it meaningful to your audience. Readers can tell when you’re sticking close to the surface, verses when you’re writing authentically about what’s raw and real.
Take time to learn how to write a novel
Just as we’re not born knowing how to do calculus or ride a bike, we’re also not born knowing how to write a novel. Even learning how to write a lyrical sentence or a compelling article, doesn’t give us all the tools to write a novel. That’s because a novel is more than just a collection of excellent sentences. It’s a unique entity with conventions and quirks, and it involves a number of skills that we have to learn and develop over time.
It’s important to give yourself time to learn the elements of a good story, and how to create those things for yourself. Reading craft books, taking courses, and working one-on-one with a coach are all effective ways to learn. But remember that learning and doing are two different things. Just because you learn that your protagonist needs an arc, it doesn’t mean you’ve mastered the skill of crafting that for yourself.
Learning and practicing go hand-in-hand, so it will take time to develop these skills. If you struggle the first time you try to write a novel–even though you’ve learned what you need to do–it’s normal. It just means that you need to spend more time developing your skills.
Plan what will happen in your story
All writers must ask themselves if they want to plan their novel before writing it or not, and the answer is different for every person. In fact, there are plenty of writers who are successful “pantsers,” meaning they write by the seat of their pants. However, this is an inefficient way to write a story. Creating without a clear trajectory in mind means that you will spend significantly more time revising, you will throw out more pages, and you run a greater risk of having to do a page-one rewrite.
At Author Accelerator, we are big advocates of thinking and planning before you start writing. Not only will you save yourself time and headaches, but you’ll likely create a more complete story with your first draft. But planning looks different to everyone. It doesn’t have to mean a meticulous outline that details every little element of your story.
In fact, we teach a method of outlining called the Inside Outline that’s far from that. The Inside Outline is intended to solidify the major plot points of your story while also mapping them to your protagonist’s emotional arc. And that’s what you want to have a clear idea of before you start to write: Not only what happens in your novel, but also why it happens and what it means to your protagonist.
But planning doesn’t just mean outlining. It’s also developing your characters, researching your audience and the market for your novel, creating your world, and ideating on the structure. If you want more direction on how to determine these pieces, check out Jennie Nash’s Blueprint for a Book.
Consciously create a writing habit
One of the biggest mistakes that newer writers make is believing that they have to wait for motivation to start writing. This leads to a lot of… not writing. Instead, you can build your consistency by creating a writing habit. This involves deciding how often you’ll write, when you’ll write, and for how long. It also involves making the conscious decision to show up and write when you’ve set aside the time to do it. If you accomplish this more often than not, you’ll have a habit in no time.
Of course, you don’t have to write every day — even though that’s one of the most common pieces of advice out there. In fact, if writing every day doesn’t work for you, then trying to force yourself to do it will only backfire. You’re better off being realistic about your ability to get the work done.
And persistence is the one thing that separates writers who finish their novels from those who don’t. It’s not creativity, intelligence, or skill. It’s the willingness to keep going even when doubt, fear, and procrastination threaten to derail us that will ensure you complete this book.
Set goals to keep yourself accountable
Writing a novel means working without a deadline because you can’t even begin to secure an agent, let alone a publishing deal, until you have your manuscript as complete and polished as possible. This is a huge stumbling block for many first-time writers because without the external pressure to get the project done, they find themselves putting it off indefinitely. But setting deadlines or concrete goals can help keep you on track.
Many writers like to set daily or weekly word-count goals. Other writers make goals in terms of pages, chapters, or scenes. You have the flexibility to play around with all of these methods to see what works the best for you. And if you need a little more external accountability, consider hiring a book coach or enlisting a critique partner who will expect to receive completed pages from you at regular intervals.
Ultimately, a little bit of thinking, researching, and planning before you write can significantly improve the outcomes. But try to remember that you won’t know everything–not about your story or about the craft of writing a novel–before you start. You learn so many things along the way–lessons that you can only learn by doing.
So while you should do some preparation before diving in, don’t feel like you have to wait to be perfectly prepared to start. That day will never come. If you have your why and your plan, you’ve studied novel craft and practiced it by developing a writing habit, and you’ve set goals, you’re ready to begin.
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