Fran Shaff's Blog - Posts Tagged "novel-writing"
Step by Step Guide to Completing a Novel, Part 1
"You should write a book," "I've got a great idea for a novel," "I've always wanted to write a book."
When people talk to me about writing I often hear from them that they've always wanted to write a book. Or they tell me they've got great ideas for stories. Or maybe someone has always told them they should write a book.
My response is always, "If you'd like to write a book, you should do it." In fact, if we have something we'd really like to do, perhaps a task on our "Bucket List," we should do it.
Often times, however, the new writer doesn't know where to begin. This week and next week this blog will set forth a step by step guide to completing a novel. Whether the writer wants to publish the book or just do it for the enjoyment and sense of fulfillment he'll feel from the accomplishment, this guide will help him reach his goal.
Step by Step Guide to Completing a Novel, Part 1
1. Commit yourself to accomplishing the goal.
2. Study every book you can about the writing craft.
3. While reading and studying craft books, write everyday.
4. Use ideas gleaned from your study of writing books to help you prepare to write your first draft.
5. Complete as much research as you feel is necessary before you begin to write your book, but don't include everything you've learned in your book. TMI for the reader.
6. Fully develop your main characters, and develop minor characters as much as necessary.
7. Write an outline, synopsis or chapter summary so you have a guide for your storyline.
8. Keeping your research, character sketches and outline close at hand, begin writing your first draft.
9. Write every day whether you are inspired to do so or not. If you look upon completing a novel in the same way you regard any other job in your life, your chances of success are greatly increased.
10. Once you've completed your first draft, set it aside for at least several weeks.
Part two of this guide will appear here next week (the week of May 15). Hope to see you here again then. :-)
Have a great week!
Fran
Fran Shaff, Award-Winning Author
http://sites.google.com/site/fshaff
When people talk to me about writing I often hear from them that they've always wanted to write a book. Or they tell me they've got great ideas for stories. Or maybe someone has always told them they should write a book.
My response is always, "If you'd like to write a book, you should do it." In fact, if we have something we'd really like to do, perhaps a task on our "Bucket List," we should do it.
Often times, however, the new writer doesn't know where to begin. This week and next week this blog will set forth a step by step guide to completing a novel. Whether the writer wants to publish the book or just do it for the enjoyment and sense of fulfillment he'll feel from the accomplishment, this guide will help him reach his goal.
Step by Step Guide to Completing a Novel, Part 1
1. Commit yourself to accomplishing the goal.
2. Study every book you can about the writing craft.
3. While reading and studying craft books, write everyday.
4. Use ideas gleaned from your study of writing books to help you prepare to write your first draft.
5. Complete as much research as you feel is necessary before you begin to write your book, but don't include everything you've learned in your book. TMI for the reader.
6. Fully develop your main characters, and develop minor characters as much as necessary.
7. Write an outline, synopsis or chapter summary so you have a guide for your storyline.
8. Keeping your research, character sketches and outline close at hand, begin writing your first draft.
9. Write every day whether you are inspired to do so or not. If you look upon completing a novel in the same way you regard any other job in your life, your chances of success are greatly increased.
10. Once you've completed your first draft, set it aside for at least several weeks.
Part two of this guide will appear here next week (the week of May 15). Hope to see you here again then. :-)
Have a great week!
Fran
Fran Shaff, Award-Winning Author
http://sites.google.com/site/fshaff
How Long Does it Take?
Writers and non-writers alike want to know "How long does it take to write a novel?"
Writers may think they're working too slowly, and non-writers who have never attempted to write a novel plainly have no idea how long such a process should take. Thus they ask--how long does it take?
I've got a great answer for this question--that depends...
(Sheesh, I sound like a politician, don't I? Ugh!)
Realistically, determining the length of time it takes to write a novel truly does depend on a number of things such as:
1. The writer's level of experience
2. The intended length of the novel (50K words? 100K words? 300K words?)
3. The amount of research needed to give the book authenticity.
4. The writer's general work habits.
5. The writer's level of commitment.
6. Many more possible factors.
Once or twice a year writers challenge each other with a "write a novel in a month" program. Everyone who enters this program hopes to begin a novel and complete it within a single month. I don't have stats on how many people actually write a book from start to finish in this time period so I don't know how effective it is in attaining its goal. However, I have no doubt this challenge is quite helpful to many writers who may need a little encouragement with jump starting their next project.
Karen Wiesner, a prolific author whom I've had the pleasure of meeting a couple of times, wrote a book a few years ago titled "First Draft in 30 Days: a novel writer's system for building a complete and cohesive manuscript." It was published by Writer's Digest Books. [I have an autographed copy. :-)] This book is a great resource for anyone who'd like to have a little support while pounding out their first or their next book. Writer's will find it full of helpful advice.
Ultimately, it is each individual writer who determines how long it will take to complete her novel. For me, the length of time it has taken me to write a book from start to finish depended on the book. I've completed a first draft in as little as 3 1/2 weeks. On the other hand, at least one book took me a couple of years to write as it continued to evolve.
If you're a writer, best wishes in completing your novel in your own time. If you're a reader like me, let's be happy it takes a lot less time to read a novel than it takes to write one.
Fran
Fran Shaff, Award-Winning Author
http://sites.google.com/site/fshaff
Writers may think they're working too slowly, and non-writers who have never attempted to write a novel plainly have no idea how long such a process should take. Thus they ask--how long does it take?
I've got a great answer for this question--that depends...
(Sheesh, I sound like a politician, don't I? Ugh!)
Realistically, determining the length of time it takes to write a novel truly does depend on a number of things such as:
1. The writer's level of experience
2. The intended length of the novel (50K words? 100K words? 300K words?)
3. The amount of research needed to give the book authenticity.
4. The writer's general work habits.
5. The writer's level of commitment.
6. Many more possible factors.
Once or twice a year writers challenge each other with a "write a novel in a month" program. Everyone who enters this program hopes to begin a novel and complete it within a single month. I don't have stats on how many people actually write a book from start to finish in this time period so I don't know how effective it is in attaining its goal. However, I have no doubt this challenge is quite helpful to many writers who may need a little encouragement with jump starting their next project.
Karen Wiesner, a prolific author whom I've had the pleasure of meeting a couple of times, wrote a book a few years ago titled "First Draft in 30 Days: a novel writer's system for building a complete and cohesive manuscript." It was published by Writer's Digest Books. [I have an autographed copy. :-)] This book is a great resource for anyone who'd like to have a little support while pounding out their first or their next book. Writer's will find it full of helpful advice.
Ultimately, it is each individual writer who determines how long it will take to complete her novel. For me, the length of time it has taken me to write a book from start to finish depended on the book. I've completed a first draft in as little as 3 1/2 weeks. On the other hand, at least one book took me a couple of years to write as it continued to evolve.
If you're a writer, best wishes in completing your novel in your own time. If you're a reader like me, let's be happy it takes a lot less time to read a novel than it takes to write one.
Fran
Fran Shaff, Award-Winning Author
http://sites.google.com/site/fshaff
