Bare Bones Instructions for Writing Your First Novel

an article on writing by author Toni Blake

For many writers of short works and non-fiction, the idea of writing a novel is overwhelming. However, as in any writing project, success in novel-writing lies in breaking down the elements and then facing them, one at a time, head on. Think of it as a journey and use the following five steps to help plan the trip.

Conceive the story. This begins with inspiration, then grows inside you. And this is possibly the most joyful part of writing. After all, the stories floating around inside our brains are the very things that compel us to take pen in hand. And it’s usually a little easier from here, in your head, to create characters and chart a course for them than it will be to actually put their story down on paper.

After your story idea is mentally in place, you have a decision to make. You can either prepare an outline for the book or wing it. Both of these routes are acceptable and both are used by many successful authors. Many writers say that they find outlines intrusive and that their characters will reveal the story as the plot progresses. On the flip side of this argument, an outline is not carved in stone and just because you create one doesn’t mean you have to follow it to the end.

Personally, I use an outline, whether detailed on paper or roughly sketched in my head, meaning simply that I seldom let a character take off on the page without some idea of where he or she is going. I do this in order to avoid two things: getting my characters into jams I can’t get them out of, and letting my characters commit acts so vile that neither I nor my reader will ever be able to forgive them. Outlining a story is also helpful for making sure that there is, indeed, a story to be told, a conflict to be resolved. (Bear in mind, however, that I offer these cautions more in genre writing where a specific ending is often required. If I’m writing something dark and destructive and literary, I figure: hey, who am I to manipulate my characters? So in less structured work, my outline often goes out the window and my characters do run amok on the page, with my blessing.)

To outline or not to outline? That is the question. And it is one you must answer for yourself.

Write the story. This is the hard part. For one thing, it takes a lot of work. And for another, what if you screw it up? Discover you don’t have what it takes? Get bored with it? All valid fears, but fear will get you nowhere. I frequently hear people say that they really want to write a book, but … I’m too young, I’m too old, I’m too busy, etc. What all of these excuses really mean, though, is: I’m not ready to commit myself and I’m afraid of failure. Just remember, no one is going to write your book for you, and no one can force you to write it on your own. If you want to write it, then just sit down and write it. And your fears may be true - you may screw it up. You may fail. My advice if that happens? Try again.

There’s no magical formula for this part of the chore - you simply have to make yourself take that first step.

Stick with the story. Some people can write the rough draft of a novel in a few weeks, but for others it may take years. Like outlining, this is an individual thing - we all have our own pace and do it our own way. The important thing is to stick with it. This comes back to commitment. And hard work. In the world of corporate time management there is a term called “compulsion to closure.” This means the mental state of being driven to complete a project, to take it from beginning to end, to find satisfaction in finishing a task. To be a serious writer, you must have compulsion to closure. After all, no one’s going to buy half a book.

All right, I’ll admit I’m making this stick-to-itiveness sound easy. But as a writer, I simply consider it a responsibility, a part of the job. Yes, sometimes things can really start to drag and you may have no idea where your story is going. But this is when you need to remember your vision and work toward fulfilling it.

One tip for completing your book is to get the basic story down while it’s fresh in your mind. If you’re in the middle of a chunk of important dialogue and the story’s really moving, don’t worry about getting each word perfect right now - you can polish the scene later. Don’t even worry about adding detail of any kind at the moment if it’s going to slow you down. Success in writing means finding a certain flow, being “on” when you’re at the keyboard. If you’re “on” while writing a great sex scene - words are flowing effortlessly, clothes are coming off, sexy whispers are being exchanged - but you haven’t quite moved your lovers from the kitchen into the bedroom yet … no big deal - just skip that part; you can fill it in later. (Or, you can just let them do it on the kitchen table.) The point is, there will always be time for revision later. Write what you feel when you feel it and the task of penning an entire novel will not be nearly so daunting a project.

Finish the story. For most people, this is the highly satisfying part. You’ve stuck it out and told your story from beginning to end. You’ve fulfilled your vision. You’ve taken your idea from just that - an idea - and turned it into something concrete and tangible, something you can share with the world.

Congratulations. You should be proud of yourself. But I hope you don’t think you’re done yet, because now it’s time to …

Revise the story. No matter how “on” you feel when you write, the first draft of anything will never be perfect. And often, neither will the second or third. We’ve probably all heard the story about how Hemingway rewrote a particular chapter of The Old Man and the Sea something like 41 times. And although I find it a little hard to believe he actually counted them (after about three I’m a little too busy pulling out my hair to be keeping a log,) this is always a wonderful illustration of the fact that we all must do revisions. Revise your work as many times as you need to. This is where you add all those details you left out during the first draft. This is where you cut out repetition or the dialogue that simply leads up to the real dialogue. This is where, before it’s all over, you will have analyzed each and every word of your manuscript with the question: does this move the story? And if the answer is no, then cut it, no matter what a fine word it is.

Revision can be tedious, but it is usually just as important as the initial writing of the book itself. So make yourself stick with it. Take breaks if you need to, but always come back to it until you think the story is perfect. Rewrite and rewrite and rewrite until you’ve made your novel the best it can be.

Sound like tough work? It is. Sound like I’m over-simplifying the process? I am. After all, these are only bare bones guidelines to get you going, to help you pave the road, write the map. Getting there is your job. It is a difficult and sometimes tedious journey. But it’s worth the trip.