Discover the Fundamental Tips Every Aspiring Novelist Should Know to Craft Compelling Stories and Characters

Create a Writing Schedule

If you're writing a novel, you've got to get words on the page. There's no way around it. Creating a system or schedule for your writing will be your saving grace. Do you have extra time in the mornings or during your commute? Perhaps you can squeeze in a few minutes after dinner. Setting aside time in your schedule to sit down and commit to writing is the first step in successfully completing a novel. Even dedicating just ten minutes at a time will add up to a substantial writing effort.

Creating a writing schedule and sticking to it will lead you to a completed first draft. It’s about consistency. The more you write, the more you’ll discover your voice and your story.

Create an Outline or Structuring System

Once you get into a routine of getting words on the page, it's important to stay organized. Create a map of your work by listing chapters or scenes. Know where to find each moment in your document or journal. Cross off the scenes you've successfully written. Make note of which scenes or chapters come next in your writing schedule.

This will give you a head start on structuring your first draft. Rather than having dozens of unorganized pages to comb through, you'll have a systemized draft that can be easily reorganized and reread.

Center a Compelling Plot

A novel is nothing without a plot. This is the lifeblood of the story. What happens to your characters and why? Why do certain moments come before others? What events trigger the climax? How does everything resolve?

Even if your writing includes elements of discovery—moments that surprise you or ideas you didn't expect—it's crucial that the bones of your story are in place. Without a solid plot, you risk leading your reader down a winding road, potentially losing their interest or confusing them. Keep your plot tight, and you'll be grateful you did.

Create Engaging, Grounded, and Believable Characters

Without our characters, our plot would have no significance. Each character is a beautiful color on the tapestry that is your novel. It's vital that each character feels real and three-dimensional. They should come with their own quirks and personality traits. Each character must have a desire and be moving toward it, even if they are tangential to the main character.

Every line of dialogue should serve both the main plot and each character arc. If your characters can't stand alone as real people, then, unfortunately, you're doing it wrong.

Maintain Even Pacing

While building your plot, pacing is a delicate art. Take too long to set up the plot, and you've lost readers' attention. Move too fast or include too much information, and you've confused your reader.

Ideally, you want to find a sweet spot in the middle. The pacing should engage the reader and move the story forward at a believable rate. The inciting incident for your story should take place within the first few pages. Beyond that, each character decision should drive the plot forward in deliberate, believable steps.

By the end of the story, the main conflict should be resolved. If you're building toward a sequel, introduce that conflict just before the end to leave the reader intrigued and wanting more.

Write Forward

Writing a rough draft is imprecise work. You will make mistakes and have new ideas that cause you to want to circle back or scrap what you've written and start over. Everyone has their own writing process, so do what makes sense for you. But I advise that you write forward.

Writing forward means avoiding doubling back for rewrites. Instead, choose to "retcon" and keep moving forward to new material. This helps me get more words on the page and make more progress on my story. I aim to keep rewrites minimal until at least the first draft of my story is complete.

Read Similar Content

When working on a particular project—like a novel—it's always a good idea to read content that's similar to what you're writing. This isn't for you to bite the writing style or ideas of another author. Instead, it allows you to further research the genre you're writing in.

Reading similar works gives you a glimpse into what readers expect when they pick up novels in that genre. This way, you can either align with or completely subvert expectations.

For instance, I'm writing a Queer love story, so I've been diving into numerous Queer romance novels (like TJ Klune's House on the Cerulean Sea, Madeline Miller's Song of Achilles, and Everina Maxwell's Winter's Orbit, to name a few). This research opens my eyes to the wide breadth of what's out there. It also helps me cultivate a more singular and unique voice, allowing me to stand out within the genre.

Speak Dialogue Aloud

To make your dialogue sound more natural, try saying it aloud after writing it. The way people speak to each other is often less flowery and less eloquent than the way certain dialogue is written. You may feel inspired to cut down your dialogue or remove it entirely if, when saying it aloud, it doesn't sound as natural.

Conceal Information

The key to keeping audiences engaged in your story is to keep information from them. Think of writing a story as creating several small mysteries. Find a balance between telling the reader everything at once and keeping them completely in the dark.

Use clues and foreshadowing to leave a breadcrumb trail of your story's biggest secrets. Let the reader in on more and more information as your story progresses. This gradual revelation keeps them hooked and eager to turn the page.

Find a Beta Reader

Enlist the help of a beta reader. A beta reader is someone who reads the prototype version of a written project before it is released. They help the author by marking areas of improvement in a work.

For my first novel, I chose a group of friends and loved ones whose feedback I trusted. Chapter by chapter, they read the unreleased version of my novel and offered their perspective, often suggesting improvements. My book would not be as polished as it is without the help of my beta reading team. Thank you all!

If you're looking for beta reading services, then look no further. I offer beta reading services for $150 per 3,500 words or roughly 15 pages. I'm happy to read over your work and give feedback in the form of written notes, edits, and suggestions.

Conclusion

Writing a novel is a journey filled with challenges and triumphs. Embrace the process. Each word you write brings you closer to your goal. Remember, it's not just about the destination but the growth you experience along the way.

So, gather your thoughts, create your schedule, and let your imagination soar. You have the power to craft stories that resonate and characters that linger in the hearts of your readers.

And as you embark on this adventure, remember to enjoy the ride. Writing is a beautiful, messy, and transformative experience. Embrace it fully.