Do you have any advice for writing a first novel?

Answer 1

I do not agree with locking the doors and smashing the TV at all. Life is all about diversity. You have to set yourself specific "office hours". During that time, you write every day for a specific length of time in a specific place. I watch a little TV now and then. I never miss a Yankee game. I go shopping. I do a lot of things. I read daily. If you lock yourself away and do nothing but write, you will not succeed. How can one write about life when one shuts themselves away from it?

Most successful authors follow the "office hours" approach. Hemingway had a little building behind his house in Key West. Every day at the same time, his manservant locked him inside for a set number of hours. You need to determine which hours work best for you. For me it's 1 - 5 am. I have learned to adjust my lift around those hours. I write in the same place every time. This week, I officially moved into my new office in my house. Writing in a bedroom is a really lousy idea - you will never sleep. Finally, I moved my home office out of my bedroom into a beautiful room of my own. You should read Virginia Woolf's essay called A Room of Her Own. When you decide on your special place, it should be a place without distractions and a place where people know to leave you alone. My office is off limits to everyone during office hours. Of course, most people are asleep then.

My other advice to you is not to jump right into the writing. Work on the prep. In the young authors I have worked with and taught, most neglect that phase. Work on your character development. Work on your plot analysis. From there, subplots and backstories should develop. And I cannot stress RESEARCH enough. I recently read a lovely book called The Fig Eater. In the acknowledgments, the author talks about how the book came about. If nothing else, go pick up that book and read that part. She spent NINE MONTHS researching before she wrote a word! But when you read the book, you see how it paid off. You actually can feel you are in turn of the century Vienna.

Lastly, editors!!!! Again, most novice authors think they write a book, toss it in an envelope, send it to a publisher and get money for it. It doesn't work that way. Expect to do at least three drafts of your book. Then send it to a professional editor to be edited. Editing doesn't mean checking your spelling and punctuation. Editors give you margin notes that tell you how to make your book better. They tell you where to trim, where to add, where to speed up, where to slow down, etc. They have been through this hundreds of times and they know what publishers want. They cost between 3 and 5 dollars per page based on 250 words per page, but they are worth every penny. As you begin to write, begin saving for that editor. They will turn a good book into a great book.

Check with my profile. I star all great Q and A on publishing and writing. Many successful authors have posted valuable information here. Go throgh them and find some that are useful to you. Print them out and study them. Check back too, I add more all the time as I read them here. Yours is now starred.
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They're, Their, There - Three Different Words.

Careful or you may wind up in my next novel.

Pax - C

Answer 2

The best thing to do before writing a novel it deciding the perfect title, characters, and ending. as you write a story you should always have the outcome or impact you want it to have on everyone. I know this because I myself have written several stories that people enjoyed. a novel is supposed to be enjoyable. also put some of your life into it and the life of some people you know. I hope you do well. Bye!

Answer 3

Well, im currently working on a novel myself. I'm not sure what genre you've chosen but here's what I've done so far. Start brainstorming some ideas, characters, and things like that. Try and think of a plot that you'd be interested in yourself. I dont know if this might be the same for you but when I start creating ideas, the rest just come. Start with something simple and the rest just might come naturally and just expand on your novel. Read it outloud a few times to see how it sounds, get somebody you know to read it and see how they like it. I wish you the best of luck.

Answer 4

Just take the first step and start writing. Try not to edit your book (other than obvious misspellings) until you are done, too. Otherwise, you may be overly critical of your writing. A line I heard from another author that helped me is..."let that first chapter suck just as much as it wants to." Keep in mind everyone needs to begin somewhere and be easy on yourself. Stephen King actually threw out the first draft of "Carrie" that began his career. His wife fished it out of the trash can. Get the books "A Novel Writer's Toolkit" and "On Writing." They helped me a great deal. Good luck:)

Answer 5

Just write. Worry about the rules later (And you WILL have to do that), but get the story out first, before it slips away from you and gets lost in the details.

Answer 6

Put pen to paper (or fingers to keys) and just go. Write first, edit later.

Answer 7

think of characters, write scenes, then piece those scenes together to form a coherent plot

Answer 8

no but whenever i write.. and i re-read it. i think its total crap.. so i rewrite and rewrite.. and its horrible. go with your first instincts.. otherwise it will take you 10 yrs to get finished with a 200 pg novel. i mean... look at fitzgerald.. freakin maniac.. took him forever to finish one sentence.. brilliant .. but dont let your self criticism consume you.

Answer 9

Close window blinds.
Lock door.
Smash TV and all other distractions.
Record new voicemail message: "Sorry, can't talk right now, I'm busy bleeding all over my keybord."
Sit down.
Turn on word processor.
Type.