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Have You Made this Mistake When Writing a Novel?
- By Julie Coan
- Published November 2, 2009
- Improving Your Writing Skills & Marketing
Julie Coan
Julie Coan has been a writer and educator for more than twenty years. She has just released her novel-writing system as an ebook: Write Your Way to a Million Dollars. Her unique strategies will show you the best ways to write, publish, and market your novel. You Can Write a Successful Novel
View all articles by Julie CoanHave You Made this Mistake When Writing a Novel?
When you get
the idea to write a novel, it seems to just jump into your head. You
have an “Aha!” moment; a brilliant moment of inspiration. You can
see the entire novel played out in your head. Now all you have to do
is write it down on paper.
The mistake most people make when
they try to write a novel is that they immediately start writing
their novel. That moment of inspiration is actually a bit of an
illusion. That moment of inspiration is absolutely necessary, but it
is only the seed of the novel. Everyone that’s ever planted a seed
in their garden knows that a lot of things need to be done before
that seed becomes a full-grown plant.
After that first moment
of inspiration, the next step in writing your novel needs to be a
planning step. You wouldn’t want to build a house without a plan
and you shouldn’t write a novel without one either. Some writers
don’t like the idea of planning their novel. They say that it takes
the creativity out of the process. I disagree. I believe that it
gives your creativity structure so that you can actually get your
novel finished in a timely manner.
Here’s what typically
happens if you don’t plan. This is the story of a fictitious writer
named Jane. She started writing a brilliant first scene. She got the
first chapter done in two days. Then she got stuck. She wasn’t sure
what should happen next. She set the novel aside while she figured it
out. A couple of weeks later, she did figure out what should happen
in chapter two. She dusted it off and wrote two more chapters. Then
she got stuck again. She put it back on the shelf again. She got busy
planning a baby shower for her sister and coaching her son’s soccer
team. She thought about going back and writing some more on her
novel, but she realized that at this rate it was going to take her
several years just to finish the rough draft. That was pretty
discouraging. She was busy and decided it just wasn’t worth the
time or the trouble. Her novel became another novel that no one will
ever read.
Each of the major parts of the story should be
planned out in some detail.
•The Characters—You should
know who the main characters in your novel are. There should be a
protagonist and an antagonist. Your plan should include some details
about their lives.
•The Main Problem—This may seem
obvious, but many novice authors that I’ve talked to couldn’t
tell me what the main character’s problem was in their novel.
•The Major Plot Points—Before you ever start writing, you
should have the major event in the story planned out. These major
events will usually involve the protagonist attempting to solve the
problem and then being kept from success.
•The Ending of
the Story—Make sure that the main problem and all the smaller
problems introduced in the story are resolved. Readers don’t want
to be left hanging.
A complete plan can easily be finished in
a week. This will allow you to finish a high quality first draft of
your novel in six months to a year.
This is the power of
having a plan for your novel.