Bare Minimum Expert Novel Writing Tips

When you're trying to learn how to write a novel, you're probably looking for novel writing tips here, there and everywhere.

I'll be the first to say that you can find hundreds of such tips - probably thousands. But just reading tips isn't going to get your novel written. If you truly need guidance, you're likely to need reference books on the various aspects of novel writing. Maybe even a course in writing a novel. (But maybe not.)

Below, I've listed some of what I consider the most important novel writing tips to get you started. You still have to keep you going and get your novel finished. But I can help you start.


The Bare Necessities

Whether you like to write a novel using a complete outline of every scene or the vaguest of ideas for a story, there are a few things you better know before you start.

The first, and most important of the novel writing tips I have is this one:

Before you begin, you must know four things.

1. Who is this story about?
2. What is the main conflict or roadblock to this protagonist's goal?
3. Who is in the way of the protagonist reaching the goal?
4. How does it end?

It doesn't matter if you jot only these four things down and start writing,
or if you flesh the bare bones out with complete fiction writing character outlines , an A-Z novel outline with every scene listed in detail before
you begin.

You must know this much, or you haven't got a novel idea. You just have
an idea.


Leap Out of the Starting Gate

Once you do start writing, you should work hardest at the first few pages of your novel. At least to begin with. If you don't have a great opening, your readers will flee in hordes. (I hate when that happens!)

So another of the important novel writing tips I'll pass along is what to include in those critical first pages.

You better introduce your protagonist, even if not face to face.

You also need to establish the main conflict. Yes, you'll probably have other conflicts and sub-plots happening, but you can't stuff all that into the first few pages or those hordes I just mentioned might just trample you when they leave.

Finally, it's best to make the antagonist known right from the start. Again, this doesn't have to be face to face, but it can be. If your two main conflicting characters happen to be in the midst of a battle on the opening page, which also happens to delineate why they're in conflict, great! Your readers will be much more willing to come along for the ride.


A Few More For Good Measure

The first two novel writing tips are the most important ones I can think of or have read anywhere else. There are plenty more, as I said above, but I'll just give a few more fiction writing tips that seem more useful.

One of the things I avoid when writing a first draft is editing as I go. No, I can't ignore misspelled words entirely (they taunt me, if I do), but I don't make any major changes while I'm tapping out draft number one.

Instead, I make notes. Oh, I just thought of an idea that will make chapter two much stronger! Make a note about it. You can go back and write the change later. You'll see why I advise this in a minute.

Another thing I avoid while creating my rough draft is researching details. Again, I make notes of what I need to look up, but I don't actually find those facts until I'm ready to edit a novel .

If I stopped every time I needed to look something up (even if it's something about the world I've created that I made up), I'd never get a rough draft done. If I went back and edited chapters one through three every time I started writing again, I'd have great chapters one through three and nothing else. (I'm never completely satisfied I've gotten it perfect, after all.)

And without a complete first draft, why edit? You might just be editing something that's being cut entirely. See, I told you there was a reason for waiting to make changes. They might be changes you don't need to make
at all.

So don't waste your time editing when you should be writing your first draft. Save it for... editing.


The Long and Short of It

I could go into an exhaustive live of novel writing tips, but then this would be a complete book, not a web page. Suffice it to say, you need to get good at writing description (and placing it properly), dialogue, choosing your point of view character, making your plot sing and your characters leap off the page (oh, look out!).

Yup, novel writing is quite a task.

But I have one last tip that might make it seem doable, when you're feeling overwhelmed.

Stop thinking of it as a NOVEL.

Huh?

I did say, stop thinking of it as a NOVEL. (See, doesn't that make it
look HUGE?)

Start thinking in terms of scenes. You're going to write a scene. It may be ten pages long, or maybe only three. You can write three pages, right?

This goes along with thinking in terms of writing one word at a time. Write one scene at a time. Figure out what scene should come next. Write
that scene.

Before you know it, you'll have twenty-five (or more) scenes and a finished first draft.

Does that make this the best of all the novel writing tips?