Writing a Novel Made Easy

So you think you can write a novel? You've got one big idea, the one you are sure that's going to land you a great deal. You'll be the next Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, or Janet Evanovich. Millions will buy your books, send you fan mail and you'll make millions of dollars. Not so fast. You've got a good idea, but a good idea doesn't make a novel.

You have no idea how many times, as a fiction writer; I get emails about people who have a 'great idea'. The first thing they tell me is that their idea is so good. And if I write the book, we'll split the money. Yeah.

Let me tell some people out there: writing is hard work. News flash, eh? Here's another tidbit: ideas are a dime a dozen. Usually less.

I'm serious. I'll send you an idea. Romeo and Juliet vs. Ghostbusters. Dead Romeo, live Juliet ghost hunter. Do they have a chance? Bam. Idea. Okay, it's a lame one, but I've got more. The point is, anyone can come up with the idea. That's not the hard part. Many writers out there have great ideas. It takes them two minutes to come up with it. Think that's worth 50% of the cash? No way. What you want to do is write your own story. No one can tell it better than you.

So how do you write a novel? There are a few things I suggest to get from beginning to end.

Plotting - This isn't like writing an outline. You simply write out what happens as quickly as you can. No details if you can help it. Just write how it starts, some cool things that happen in the middle and the ending. Once you write it out, you will see better if you actually have a cool story, or just one that sounded good in your head. It will also make writing the book easier.

Turn Things Off - How can you type if your IM is on? Sacrifice is the key to many finished novels. You must sacrifice your time, your friends, and much more. Stay home from the party and write those chapters. You may need to get up earlier, before your family, so you can write a few pages. Set a schedule, write 2000 words a day if you can. That's a reasonable amount if you have a decent typing speed.

Focus - Procrastination is probably the number one reason why many good novels are never finished. That video game, the newspaper, the Internet research, all of that can wait. Right now, sit down and write. Message boards, or reading about how to write, are not acceptable excuses. You can't read and write at the same time.

Read - You don't have to read the same genre that you are writing, but read books you like once you've finished writing your words for the day. Read good writing. It might inspire you.

At 2000 words a day, by the end of the month, you will have a total of 60,000. That's about the average size of a novel.

If you work at it, you might be able to finish your novel in a month. Most people can complete a rough draft in that time. Remember, this is only the first step. Once you've written your novel, take steps to revise and plan how you will submit. At that point, message boards for writers or books are writing are very helpful. Such places for fiction writers include Absolute Write and Miss Snark's Blog.