Many best-selling authors write several books each year. You have the ability to do the same. The only thing they have that you don't is experience in doing the same thing over and over.
With the appropriate guidance, you can follow the same steps they do, and gain the experience as you go. As long as you are committed and organized, you can learn how to write a novel in 30 days.
The steps are simple, though not necessarily easy. Here they are:
1. Decide what genre you want to write in. If you write what you love to read, your passion and knowledge will inspire you forward.
2. Adapt your chosen genre to the current market. If you buy your books at a used book store, and your chosen genre is no longer being published, you will have to adapt to something that is popular in today's market. Visit bookstores to find something similar that is popular and to your liking.
3. Shape your story idea. Newspapers, overheard conversations, friends, and even television programs and other books can be a source of inspiration.
4. Define your lead and other characters. Determine the gender and approximate age of all of your main characters. For other attributes, some authors find it helpful to cut out pictures from magazines.
5. Present your lead character with a crisis. Again, family, friends, co-workers, the media, places you've been, your dreams, and eavesdropping are all sources you can draw from.
6. Now that you have presented your lead with a crisis, he or she will have to have a plan of action against this crisis. This will be the lead's story goal.
7. It is now time to define your lead in more detail. Filling out a complete Character Fact List is the simplest way to accomplish this.
8. Defining your other characters. Here, you will repeat the process you used with the lead, and apply it to your other characters.
9. As you begin plotting your novel, you will use the classic story structure. The beginning consists of the first quarter of your story. The middle consists of half of your story's length. The end is the last quarter of your novel. Each of these parts have specific purposes, which will move the story along at the appropriate pace and bring it to a satisfying conclusion.
10. For reasons which I am unable to explain in a relatively short article, determining your novel's ideal length is much more important than you might think.
11. You will use section sheets, which are essentially templates, to divide your story into action and reaction sections. Each of your viewpoint characters will have a set number of scenes.
12. This will prove to be an invaluable way to keep your story organized and moving along at a compelling pace. As well, it virtually puts an end to writer's block.
13. You will now begin weaving subplots into your storyline to add texture and depth. Subplots give your readers issues other than the main story goal to worry about.
14. Knowing where and how to insert surprises can make the difference between a dull, lagging story and one that keeps your readers on the edge of their seats. Planting the surprises during the plotting phase literally make writing a breeze.
15. Many authors find crafting the middle sections of their story the most daunting. Working through the first, middle, and last sections of the middle, in a clearly laid out plan makes short work of this problem.
16. Ending your story with a bang, not a whimper, is crucial. If a reader has stuck with you for an entire book, you owe him a reward that will stay with him long after he has finished your book. As you bring it to a close, you will begin narrowing the options and worsening the failures. You will resolve all story lines, and tie up any loose ends.
17. And now, the fun part begins. You have finished plotting. Now, it's time for the creative stuff, the actual writing. You've already divided your story according to the specific viewpoint characters. Every scene will be written from the perspective of the character who owns that scene.
18. In fiction, conflict is king. Ride it for all it's worth. When you feel you've taken it as far as you can, dive into crisp and dramatic failure. With the exception of short reprieves, your story should be a never-ending struggle of conflict and failure, until the end. Just when it looks like all is lost, your hero will achieve her goal.
This is simply an overview to show you how to write a novel in 30 days. Each of these steps require detailed explanation beyond the scope of this article. In future articles, I will go through them separately.
As with anything else, it appears much more complicated until it becomes habit. Think about how exasperated you felt when you were first learning to drive. As time went on, it became so natural, you could carry on a conversation without giving a thought to the many things you were doing, all at the same time.
