Tips on Writing a Novel for the First Time

1. Tips on Writing a Novel for the First Time Anybody who has written a book or a novel will tell you that the hardest thing about writing is to actually just sit down and do it. Yep, that’s the first step in writing a novel, sit down in front of your screen or take out your pen and start writing. Writing is a process. A word becomes a sentence, a sentence a paragraph and on it goes until you have a completed manuscript. And it doesn’t transpire in the way you expect it too. It’s not necessarily a linear process. Sometimes the story you had in mind is a long way from the story that you finish. It’s not glamorous and inspiration doesn’t just pour out of you like a tap. It takes work and perseverance. A great writing course, and learning about writing is very important, will tell you that sitting down and writing a book for the first time will be anything but what you expect. So hopefully these instructions on ​how to write a novel step by step​ will be helpful. Start Each book needs a story and a plot. What’s yours? Get it out of your head and down on paper. Write a one paragraph outline and then expand it to a page. Then create a table of contents which defines the beginning, middle and end. Break it down into chapters and refine the story within the chapters. What will be your total word count? If it’s a

2. fiction novel then you should be thinking about 80,000 words but opinions vary. Some think less. Don’t go big though, especially on a first novel. How many words will you write each day. Be realistic, don’t set yourself up for failure. A page is about 300 words. Maybe that’s manageable given everything else that might be going on in your life. Consistency is the key. That goes for where you work and when you work. Some people are creative in the morning and others are better in the silence of the night. You need to work it out. Once you’re up and running Write, don’t edit. You’ll become hypercritical and you’re interfering in the process. You’ll learn that editing is a whole other process, leave it till then and go with the flow. Get some feedback from people you trust. But make sure you trust their intent. Don’t be discouraged by feedback, it should keep you on track not off it. Opinions don’t matter, staying true to your process does. Your novel will not be everybody’s cup of tea, no novel is so it’s the process that matters. Work out how long you can write for. Two hours might be your threshold so honour that. And take breaks regularly. Even breaks from your process, days at a time if necessary. Anything to keep you fresh. It’s a good idea to write where others are writing. It removes the desire to move towards distractions. That’s also one of the reasons why writing courses are so good, they put you in contact with lots of writers. There are lots of ​online writing courses in Sydney that you can do. It’s a great thing to do if you haven’t done one already.