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How to Write a Novel in 10 Steps: Complete Writing Guide
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Aug 19, 2021 • 9 min read
Writing a novel requires dedication, organization, and discipline. Once you've decided on an idea or story, use our step-by-step guide to learn how to write your novel.
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How to Write a Novel
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Neil Gaiman Teaches the Art of Storytelling
How to Write a Novel
If you aspire to write your own novel, the process can be a bit daunting—particularly if it's your first time trying. The good news is that while challenging, writing a novel is far from impossible. All sorts of writers—from New York Times bestselling authors like Dan Brown and David Baldacci, to National Book Award-winning novelists like Joyce Carol Oates, to self-publishing hobbyists with a great story idea—must go through a similar process of brainstorming, planning the story structure, outlining, and drafting.
Writing fiction can be hard work (even if you already have a bestseller to your name), but if you're ready to dive in, here is everything you need to get started on your first novel.
1. Brainstorm.
If you've decided to write a novel, you've probably been inspired by a story idea. But whether you have a whole world planned or just a single sentence that serves as a logline, here are two key tips to keep in mind:
1. Choose a world you want to spend a lot of time in. Your novel will require your readers to immerse themselves in a specific world for the hours that they spend reading. More importantly, it will require you, the author, to immerse yourself for weeks, months, and even years in this world. Pick a setting and a time period that interests you and keeps you engaged. Have more than one setting? That's okay, too, but don't underestimate the value of simplicity when it comes to storytelling, and don't overstuff your novel with location changes.
2. Find a story idea within this world you want to immerse in. Novels are more than just a series of settings and time periods. They must be driven by a story that remains compelling throughout its beginning, middle, and end. So decide what story you want to tell and be sure it can sustain a whole novel. If you think it may not hold a reader's interest for several hundred pages, consider adapting your work into a short story instead.
2. Start Developing Characters.
A novel can have the greatest premise in the world, but it won't hold up unless you create characters your audience can invest in. So once you have a world and a story, figure out who the key figures in this story are. Your main character is obviously the most important among these. A strong main character will have a rich and detailed life that you, as the author, will know about—from personal backstory to character traits to greatest successes and failures. The more you understand your characters, the more you will have to say about them to an audience. Learn more about character development in our complete guide here.
3. Decide on a Point of View.
Once you understand your characters, you'll be able to figure out what narrative voice you want to use. Will you write in the first person or in the third person? Here are the most common narrative voices used by successful novelists:
First Person — In this narrative voice, a character in the story narrates the action, making frequent use of the pronoun "I." Examples of first person narration include F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and William Styron's Sophie's Choice. Note that both these novels feature first-person narrators who also describe scenes where they were not physically present. A first person point of view (POV) can considerably raise the emotional stakes of a novel.
Second Person — Second person narration revolves around the pronoun "you." Few novels are written in second person voice; it's very difficult to maintain without interfering with the flow of storytelling. However, some first person narrators shift to second person narration for specific points of emphasis.
Third Person Limited — A semi-omniscient form of narration that eschews the pronoun "I" and describes characters from a distance. However, in third person limited narration, the narrator is not all-knowing and does not necessarily share the inner monologues of characters. Most of this narration is limited to provable objective fact. Some third person limited narration can track the thoughts of a protagonist but not of other characters. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole demonstrates this narrative technique.
Third Person Omniscient — In this form of narration, the narrator is all-knowing. Inner monologues can be shared, as can information unknown to any characters in the story. Lots of bestsellers use this form of narration, from The Da Vinci Code to It.
How to Write a Novel in 10 Steps: Complete Writing Guide
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Aug 19, 2021 • 9 min read
Writing a novel requires dedica Discord:
Omkar_M #2388
https://discord.gg/wSpjFCr6 Chapter: 3
The crescent moon was lit up, showing a claw surrounded by an eternal glow. Millions of stars were sprinkled behind it, creating a twinkling blanket over the sky, making the earth below visible in the twilight. The forest was sombre with the haze —embracing the woods, kissing the blushing leaves.
Under the night sky, in the forest a wild boar was busy drinking down the water hungrily from a pond, not giving attention to its surroundings. The pond was the same water source from where Victor drank water and washed earlier. Though it looked safe during the day, it wasn't the same during the night.
While the boar was busy sipping down the water, a sharp pointed-sword-like, furry appendage lengthened from water, indiscernible to the boar, it already pierced through its gut, leaving it no chance to steer out of its grasp.
Oink!
The Boar cried out, but to no avail it failed to unbind itself from the incognito predatory appendage when some other elongations protruded from under the shallow water, creating a dreadful buzz.
The extensions were sharp and were similar looking to the tentacles of an octopus, but a texture of tree roots and mud, perfectly camouflaging themselves, identical to the surroundings.
Oink!
The boar bumbled, yet was dragged away by the unspecified predator, leaving behind a bloody mess and crimson water.
___
On the other side, Victor was snoozing soundly inside the self-created tent. He was not foolish to sleep negligently without any care of the world. However, his body response made him shut his system down for the day. Inconspicuously, he was exhausted and worked up a lot and needed rest. His body was getting frigid, showing signs of Illness. His eyes were heavy, making him drowse inside the warm tent.
Outside the tent, some rumbling sounds echoed through the quiet woods, getting the attention of a sleeping squirrel in a tree hole on the trunk.
Curious, the squirrel sniffed and looked out of the tree hole, navigating its gaze, and fell on a shadow going around a discernible structure.
Having a poor site, the squirrel was unable to discern the shadow, however, instincts alerted it to run away, thus backing off from vision and hiding inside the trunk again.
___
Meanwhile, the dark shadow kept lurking around Victor's hideout. From the looks of it, it was clear that the creature was trying to find his location. Maybe that creature had already sensed him inside.
The dark shadow extended its sharp furry root-like tentacle, producing a murmuring sound, and rolled it around a small tree branch above the tent, which Victor had placed before.
Slowly retrieving the branch, another tentacle tried entering Victor's tent but again failed to, as another tree branch stopped it from getting close to Victor.
Inside the tent a small piece of a wooden stick —having leaves, fell on Victor's face—Disturbing his sleep and scaring him to snap out of his respite instinctively.
" Huff! Huff!"
As Victor sat up, he searched for the object fallen on his body and intermediate surrounding, however, he found nothing. He snapped out thinking it was a bug or an insect that fell on him, nevertheless failing to see in the darkness he sighed and silently slept again, closing his ears with both hands.
After sleeping for almost 2 minutes his sleep was interrupted by a small wooden stick falling on his face from above.
Trip!
Getting up again he peeked from the opening created by the falling of the stick. Looking out of the opening he saw nothing. And the sound of something circling aro inexistent.
Unaware of things happening around him, he went into his slumber, waiting for tomorrow to rise.
___
Getting onto the other side…
Earlier, when Victor looked out and saw nothing but moonlight entering through a gap; that time the shadow was alerted by the movement of the squirrel outside, running away from danger, thus getting attention of the creature onto it.
___
[Next morning: Day 2.]
Victor woke up with sun rays gleaming in his eyes. He opened his eyes, rubbing them as he got up from the place. The first thing he felt after leaving the hideout was a heavy headache, running through his forebrain and to the rear. His eyes were drowsy with tiredness, despite taking a good sleep. His body was strained since he slept in the wrong posture.
A cold breeze tickled his skin, saying good morning by giving him goosebumps, and bringing shine to his face.
'A fresh morning,' Victor stretched all his strained muscles, making way for fresh air to pass and relieve his body.
Even though his head was heavy with headache, he still felt reenergized due to the fresh air in the surrounding area.
Looking down, he took out a candy from his pocket, unwrapped it and put it into his mouth. He was thirsty and decided to go to the pond to collect water.
However, when he reached there he was welcomed with a foul stench of iron, which made him get all his senses active. He searched for the source and what he saw kept him terrified.
A stream of dried blood outlining its flow till the edge of the pond. Sprinkled over the yellow-green grass was blood on the way,creating a crimson mess which somehow looked grotesque.
Following the blood trail with his eyes he saw the bloody water which made his face go pale. Not because he was disturbed by seeing so much blood. He was a doctor and had experienced seeing so much blood during his practice, thus he had no issue with the scene in front of him.
True reason for his expression getting pale was that he now has no choice but to search for a new source. And it all depended on his luck. If he found it then it's good and if not then he has no other choice left. He has to depend on the bustling river. Thinking about it made him breathe harder.
" Freaking PTSD. " Saying so, he clenched his fist and breathed heavily. While his other hand rubbed onto his chest trying to calm him down.
___
Gaping at his surroundings he tried finding evidence of struggle but he failed to find any, as there were no marks on the ground nor dispersed marks. Nearby plants were also in good condition.
'What would've happened here? " Was it a carnivorous animal who hunted and made this mess? But why is there nothing but blood here? There was even no any sliding marks?! Water? A conclusion hit his mind as he decided to examine the water.
Swip!
…
Please checkout my book, " The Vile Creatures. "
tion, organization, and discipline. Once you've decided on an idea or story, use our step-by-step guide to learn how to write your novel.