6 Ways To Write A Good Novel

A good novel is more than just a well-written story. A good book is a treasure trove of humanity so that no matter how often you open a page and start reading, there is still something new to be discovered. A good book is great literature. A good novel is an indivisible sum: every scene, sequence, and passage of a good novel has to involve, contribute to and advance all three of its major attributes: theme, plot, characterization.

Step 1.

Determine the number of pages your novel will have. A novel is generally over 100 pages long. Though you will probably need a lot more to produce a great plot, good character building, and development throughout the novel. Write a one-sentence summary. Try summarizing your novel in one sentence. Imagine you’re writing the blurb on the book jacket. If you’re not sure how to describe it in one sentence, your ideas might not be focused enough yet.

Step 2.

Think of the main character(s). Name, personality, and from that, you can build up your story. If you want to, on the first few pages of your story, write about some of the important characters. Know what you write. Creative writing teachers always say to “Write what you know,” to take advantage of your personal experience. That’s a good strategy, but if you really want to write about something outside your own culture and experience, then you have to do your homework. Research it, imagine every detail until you know it like your own living room.

Step 3.

Think of something interesting that will pull the reader in, but remember to keep your story interesting. It is vital that the start of your story is interesting, even though the rest must be too. Always save some suspense, spread it out throughout the book. Make sure it has a conflict, and somehow it is resolved through the resolution. Or if you want there to be multiple novels create a way to have the problem solved, but an extension of the problem reappears.

Make your readers care. The easiest way to make your novel matter to your readers? The secret isn’t to write about “important” themes such as war or death. The news of someone’s death doesn’t matter to most people unless it’s someone they know. So, the secret is to create characters that feel like real people your readers know. Then put your main character where he has a lot at stake. He might lose his job; he has met the love of his life and has to win her; he might get that sports car he’s always dreamed of. The situation need not be “important” in an objective way, but it has to be important to the character.

Step 4.

When writing your first draft, don’t worry about spelling, grammar, or placement. Just write and worry about that stuff later. After you have the story down, revise your story. This helps in the aspect of finding out what you want in your story and what you don’t want. When you just write, you write whatever comes to mind.

Don’t include everything you know. The more information you know about your characters and the setting of your novel, the more real you can make these for your reader. But your reader does not want to read a complete biographical profile of every character or census report on the town where the novel takes place. If you keep all this information in your head, you can use the right details at the right moment. And the reader will have a sense of a reality that goes on beyond the edges of the page.

Step 5.

Think of a great, interesting title. If your book was about princesses and ponies, you don’t want to name the book, “The Old Witch”, because it has nothing to do with the real story. Another idea is if your novel is about something made up, use that word in the title so people will think “What does that mean?” and they will want to read the book to find out. Make it eye-catching.

Step 6.

After you have written your book, check it over as many times as it takes, and then print it off and give it to somebody close to you to read. If they like it, ask some other family and friends to read it, and then maybe think about getting your novel published.