10 Steps to Writing a Novel: Part 1

I was recently commissioned to ghost write a novel for a client. She had the idea for the story but wasn’t sure how to grow that idea into something more solid, never mind then to sit down and write 100,000 words of prose. Of course, the idea is only the first step in a long process: though with Write a Novel in a Month coming up they’ll be many thinking about how to approach the business of doing so. Here’s a 10 step process to completing your novel.

Step 1: Dream about your novel

Most writers spend a lot of time thinking about their novel. They have a seed of an idea, which germinates and then grows in the imagination until it is almost a full-blown story in dreams and daydreams alike. It burns inside them, waiting to burst out.

Step 2: Write a single sentence summary

Take a half hour or so to write a single sentence that summarises your story. Less than around 15 or 20 words is an ideal length. Perhaps:  “A traumatised ex-SAS officer races across Europe to destroy a Nazi plot to establish the Fourth Reich” would be a fitting summary of my first novel The Cardinals of Schengen.

This sentence is the one that you can use to describe your book : it’s the hook that you will use to sell your novel in 10 seconds – best to take your time and get it right, then.

Notice some things about this single sentence summary:

• It is short
• It contains no character names
• It includes the big picture and the protagonist detail

If you want some ideas on how to do this, then just read a few one sentence summaries of bestselling books. If you would be happy to put this sentence on the front cover of your book, then you’ve got it right.

Step 3: Build up to a whole paragraph

Now you have your single sentence summary, take another hour or so to expand this to a paragraph which describes the entire novel. Include the major elements/ disasters/ turning points. The first disaster may be caused by external elements, though subsequent happenings should be caused at least partially by the protagonist. Perhaps their attempts to ‘fix things’ backfire?

Make this paragraph around five sentences. The first sets the story up, and then three more for your main disasters. A final sentence tells how the novel ends.

This isn’t going to be your rear cover blurb: that comes right at the end of the process, and won’t describe the whole novel in the way this paragraph does. I’ll post about how to write a good rear cover blurb another time.

Step 4: Now you need the main players

Okay, you’ve now got an overview of your novel, and you’re desperate to get on and write it. Hold your horses! Before you start churning out that first chapter or two of disastrous drivel, you need to begin expanding your story. Let’s begin with the characters in it. Anyone who knows me will know that I believe characters drive a story, so this step is real important. Write a one page summary of each of your characters, including the following:

• Name, and physical description
• One sentence that describes their storyline
• Motivation and goal (what is it that they want?)
• Conflict (What stops them from achieving this goal?)
• Learning and change (what do they learn, and how do they change by the end?)
• A paragraph that summarises the character’s storyline

That’s enough for today. Okay, I know I promised you 10 steps, but we’ll finish off tomorrow. Right now, go and start planning that novel you’ve been thinking about. Follow these first four steps, and you’ll be ready to carry on when we reconvene.

One other thing: don’t be surprised if by now you are already considering changes to your one paragraph novel summary. Writing a novel is an evolving process, and along the way you’ll find you need to make changes. Don’t look for perfection at this stage: the planning process is about creating momentum and honing your story so that when you come to write it there is a natural flow. Revisions and changes are bound to happen: better now than when you’ve already put down 50,000 words.

I’ll see you back here, tomorrow, with your story and character summaries.

Michael Barton is the co-founder of WordPlay Writers Forum, a freelance writer, and the Managing Director of WordPlay Publishing Limited. He has ghost written several books, and is the author of The Cardinals of Schengen.