Ever fancied writing a novel but don’t know where to start? Are you a novice writer with an idea for a story but struggle to get your ideas on paper? This blog is a whistle-stop tour of all the elements you need to tackle that first draft. It’s a condensed version of a ‘How to write a novel’ course I’m running this summer at a new creative studio in Newark.

The basics

There are basic decisions you need to make when embarking on a novel which are:

• Character – who are the main character(s) and secondary characters?
• Setting – where and when does the story take place?
• Voice – whose story is it?
• Point of view – who is telling the story?
• Dialogue – how does each character speak? How do they interact through speech?
• Plot – what happens and when?
• Structure – how does the action unfold, peak and resolve?
• Beginnings and endings – what are your opening and closing lines?
• Genre – what type of story is it?

So let’s deal with each of these in turn

Creating character

Every story needs at least one main character who should be:

• Authentic – believable
• Relatable – readers don’t have to like the character but need to be able to relate to them in some way
• Multi-dimensional – not a cliché or a caricature
• Driven by something – what motivates them? What do they want?
• Flawed – nobody is perfect, flaws add interest
• Influenced by what has happened to them. What is their back story?
• Unique – with distinguishing features, distinct voice and mannerisms
• Facing conflict and obstacles – these can be external or internal
• Subject to change as the story develops.

A good starting point when creating your main character is to decide some basic biographical detail (name/age/gender/occupation etc), then build on this.

Try these exercises for creating character.

Secondary characters

Secondary characters are there to move the story forward and add interest. Unlike the main character, they don’t have to change, and they can be more two-dimensional.

That said, you should still avoid creating stereotypical characters, because they are less believable and can turn readers off.

Each character in your novel should serve a purpose.

Setting

Setting is the place and period in history your story takes place. It might be a real place, or purely fictional. If you’re writing a fantasy novel your setting may be an entire imaginary world.

Well crafted settings give the reader a strong sense of place.

The purpose of setting:

• Sets the scene – provides a backdrop for the action
• Reveals character – you can tell a lot about someone from the spaces they inhabit and the way they interact with their environment
• Creates atmosphere and mood – the brooding backdrop of Whitby Abbey – pictured – lends itself to a dark, mysterious story. It’s easy to see why Bram Stoker set Dracula there.
• Can indicate genre – an obvious one being historical fiction.

Some tips for creating setting:

• Research: if your setting is real, research it thoroughly, go there if you can, talk to people who know the place and visit it virtually.
• Use the senses: what does your character see, hear, smell, touch, taste? How does the setting make them feel? Let the reader experience these things.
• Interweave setting and character: they are interdependent. What one character may find conducive, another may find oppressive. How your character interacts with their environment is crucial, and subjective.
• Create atmosphere: Decide what effect you want to create and consider what setting the action should take place in for maximum impact. Eg summer or winter, night or day, in a gritty urban environment or a rural idyll?

Exercise in creating setting:

Try putting your character in a setting, and write a scene.

Here’s some ideas. Experiment with settings they feel comfortable in, and ones they don’t.

• Describe them waking up and starting their day
• Put them in a Christmas setting
• Describe their first day in a new job
• Write a scene in which they revisit a place they used to call home

Developing voice and point of view

Decide whose story you are writing, and who is telling the story. Is it written from the viewpoint of the main character, another character or an omniscient narrator? Does it switch point of view?

Once you’ve established who is telling the story, now establish:

• The narrator’s background
• Personality
• Motivations
• Speech patterns
• Any words phrases and verbal tics they may use

It can be fun to experiment with different points of view or to describe the same event in different voices.

Exercise in developing voice:

• Write a monologue in your narrating character’s voice about something they feel passionate about
• Take note of their speech patterns, tone of voice, body language etc
• It might be an impassioned speech, or a rant!

Writing dialogue

Speech is essential for bringing a story to life, and each character should have a distinct voice, so the reader can tell who’s speaking.

Dialogue

• Breathes life into the narrative
• Indicates character
• Moves the action on
• Builds tension

You need to balance dialogue with passages of description for ease of reading. Short bursts of dialogue work best.

Tips for writing dialogue

• Develop a unique voice for each speaker
• Keep speech patterns consistent
• Keep it real – would someone really say that?
• Include mannerisms and body language
• Consider who the character is talking to

Try these exercises for developing dialogue

Storyline

All stories need:

• A character with an issue. What is your main character’s issue? How is it resolved.
• Conflict and change. Where can you build up conflict? What change needs to happen?
• Light and shade. Drama and intense action should contrast with more reflective moments
• Twists and turns. Keep the reader guessing.

Plotting

A basic plot needs:

• Beginning, middle and end
• Exposition – sets the scene, introduces character and main issue
• Premise (inciting incident) – the pivot points that starts the action
• Rising action – builds tension
• Climax – crisis point when everything comes to a head
• Falling action – what happens next – how the crisis is dealt with
• Resolution – denouement

Exercise in plot:

• Pick a well known story, eg a fairytale or children’s story
• Write a basic outline of the plot, including each element of the story arc
• Now use the same process for your own story

Structure

A novel structure links the storyline and plot. It’s about how the action unfolds, peaks and resolves. It involves both content of the story and the form used to tell it.

There is no secret recipe or magic formula for structuring a novel, but here are a couple of basic ways to structure a story.

The three-act structure

This is a story structure common in plays which also applies to novels

• Act one: Introduce the main character, encounter the inciting incident and discover internal resistance
• Act two: Main character reacts to inciting incident. Tension and conflict start to build. (This section takes up roughly half the narrative
• Act three: Tension/conflict reaches climax, then the narrative is resolved – there may be a twist.

You can layer other story structures over this basic three-act plan to help you map out the story.

The seven point structure

1. Hook – or starting point
2. Plot turn one – events that set the story in motion
3. Pinch point one – introduce tension/the antagonist
4. Midpoint – main character stops reacting, actively starts to solve the issue
5. Pinch point two – pile on the pressure and looks like all is lost
6. Plot turn two – character discovers the information they need to resolve the issue
7. Resolution – climax of the story where the character succeeds in solving the issue (or fails, depending on what ending you want.)

Beginnings and endings

The way your story starts is crucial. Your opening lines are your opportunity to hook the reader in right from the start. They need to:

• Grab the reader’s attention
• Set the scene for the narrative
• Establish the narrator’s voice
• Make the reader feel sufficiently invested to want to know more

Endings are equally important and should:

• Seal the reading experience in a satisfactory way
• Pack an emotional punch
• Offer something unique
• Leave the reader with a lasting impression

Exercise:

• Draw up a list of five favourite books and review their opening and closing lines
• What drew you in?
• What impression were you left with at the end? How is this achieved.
• Try and replicate these effects in your own stories.

Genre

And finally, a word about genre. Unless your novel is very clearly genre defined, eg it’s a crime story, romance or fantasy, I wouldn’t get too hung up on genre.

If you find it helpful to decide on a genre before you embark on your writing, then do. But if the whole issue of genre confuses you, then I wouldn’t worry about it as you may find it restrictive.

I go into the whole issue of genre in more detail in this blog post.

Also, these days, genre is a lot more nuanced. It’s fine to cross genre. It’s more important for publishers and booksellers to know what category to put your work in, but you can worry about that later. The main thing, for now, is to write the novel!

I’ll be running a series of one-day ‘How to write a novel’ workshops in Newark, starting in July, where I’ll be going into all these elements in more detail. Attendees will get a chance to try out techniques through a series of fun, interactive exercises. Find out more here.