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If you’re thinking about writing a novel, or maybe you have started the venture and are struggling a bit, there are some basics that you need to know about in order to achieve success. Writing a novel is not just sitting at a word processor with a good story in your head and tapping it out on the keys. A lot goes in to the writing of a novel. Like any worthy project, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Remember that entire books have been written about this subject. I don ‘t proclaim to have all of the answers, but I hope this series will answer some of your questions, and maybe whet your appetite for more information.
- Genre – You should make the decision early on about which genre is best suited to your idea. Genre is just a fancy writing word for category. Most authors are loathe to put their idea into a slot, but as a first time novelist, if you can’t succinctly define a single genre then you may never get out of the slush pile. So, work on whittling down your horror/fantasy/romantic self help book to just a single arena. It’s not a bad thing, really. It forces you to keep the project tight and focused.
- Protagonist – The hero or heroine of the story. Your main character. He or she should be richly defined. Make them human, make them flawed. Give them a bad habit or two. Your reader needs to relate to them so don’t make them a saint. Make them someone the reader wants to root for, someone whom the reader will miss when they turn the final page.
- Plot – Plot is story. More accurately, it is the events and action that is the framework through which the story is told. It’s that simple. Lots and lots have been written about plot, the best advice is to worry about it not. If you have a good story, and every word moves that story forward, then you are plotting along and life is good.
- Length – Here are some industry norms to help you determine what your project is, based on word count:
- Up to 1000 words: flash fiction, short story
- 1000 to 6000 words: Short Story
- 6000 to 15000 words: long story or novelette
- 15000 to 45000 words: novella
- 45000 to 120,000 words: novel
In the next part of this series, I’ll tackle the all important point of view along with foreshadowing techniques and dialogue.
Hey George, how do those word counts relate to pages once published? Is there a general rule of thumb that it’s “X” words per page for your standard book?
Thanks,
Matt
Matt | Small Biz Bee´s last blog ..The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur
Hi Matt,
There are some fairly ridiculous methods of calculating this, but the best general rule of thumb is that one page is equal to about 500 words on average. In my writing travels that seems to be fairly accurate.
Cheers!
George
All true, George, having been there and done it. The thing you need above all though is patience, patience, patience. And a fat dollop of persistence. Writing a novel is an emotional rollercoaster, so before you do anything, be prepared for some tough times, and of course, plenty of elation.
@Matt Page counts all depend on the format of the book and the formatting of the copy. As a writer, I really wouldn’t worry about all that jazz – it’s for your publisher to think about and discuss with you when the time comes. If you self-publish, I guess you’ll need to consider it, but the main thing is making sure you choose legible fonts.
Iain Broome´s last blog ..Why bloggers should perform their writing
Iain,
Sage advice from someone who is in the trenches. Thanks for the words of wisdom, Iain.
George
@George
Thanks, understood it just a general rule of thumb.
@Iain
That’s what I was thinking, format would have a lot to do with it. I hear you that you should just write the story and not worry too much about length, but it’s kinda nice to know if you got a 200 page book or a 700 page book in the works.
Appreciate the responses,
Matt
Matt | Small Biz Bee´s last blog ..The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur
George,
Brilliant minds in the same channel … I’m in the midst of an 8-part series on my blog about creating fictional characters. I talked about POV in Part 3 so I’m interested to see what you have to say on the subject.
I’ll also be watching the interest in this subject. The fictional characters series is based on a writing class I’ve taught, and I have another class on writing genre fiction. I’ve been debating about turning it into a blog series but wasn’t sure if it was too general to be of interest to my readers.
Lillie Ammann´s last blog ..Guest Post: 9 Ways to Promote Your Book Using Social Media by Beth Morrow
Hi Lillie,
Thanks for coming by. Oh, I want to see your perspective on the POV too!
I understand about turning some of these into a blog series. For myself, I decided that every once in a while a little “back to the basics” may be helpful for some folks and maybe a fun read for others.
Cheers!
George
Great article George, and love the new logo too. I am always being told that I should write a novel but somehow I just never seem to get around to it. I know I have a great story to tell but getting it out of my head just never seems to happen. Your tips in this article are great and I might just start creating an outline and see where it takes me. I have often found that if I just sit and write an entire short story will emerge in less than 20 minutes. Now all I have to do is make these stories longer.
Looking forward to the next article in this series, dialogue is always tricky.
Amanda
Amanda Evans´s last blog ..Why School Holidays And Freelance Work Schedules Don’t Work
Amanda,
Thanks! I kind of like the red lion but I’m not certain that it fits too well. That’s ok though – We’ll see!
I would be excited to see you working a novel. By the way, do you have any short stories somewhere we could read them? I’d love to have a peek!
Cheers
George
I look forward to your info about foreshadowing! I don’t write fiction (yet), but love using foreshadowing in my nonfiction articles. It’s a great way to keep readers reading all the way to the end.
Boy, there’s alot to think about when you’re writing, isn’t there?
Laurie
Laurie PK´s last blog ..5 Tips for Developing Your Writer’s Voice
Hi Laurie!
It’s mind boggling, really. When I look through some of the writing books on my shelf, I’m sometimes overwhelmed!
I love a good foreshadow in a book!
George
Hey — I just noticed that you removed your double underlined advertising links from your blog posts! They weren’t working for you?
Laurie PK´s last blog ..5 Tips for Developing Your Writer’s Voice
Laurie,
I disabled Kontera for a few reasons. First, even though I’ve put the settings to only use on blog posts, the underlines were showing up in silly places – like my header. Second, I decided there were starting to be too many of them and I think they detracted from the “cleanliness” of the site. I may have been able to tolerate these things if it was making me any income, but after 6 months I’ve earned bup-kiss.
Maybe I’ll re-evaluate in the future!
George
I love reading your posts, even though I’m not writing a novel. (These days, it’s all I can do to struggle through a draft of a press release!) I’ll be watching for the next installment–socking the info away for my future novel.
Liz´s last blog ..Online Resources for the Location-Independent Professional
Hi Liz!
Thanks for stopping by. I hear ya! Working a novel is just that – work!
I appreciate the kind words. I went over to extreme and I really like the site and the concept. My dream is to be location independent. One day!!!
Cheers
George