Novel Writing - A Practical Guide

 

About Novel Writing

Novel Writing is a complex but not daunting task. It is creative writing, taking the ordinary, the mundane bits of life (real or imagined) and weaving them into a narrative that takes the reader on an exhilarating journey with the protagonist and the supporting cast in the story. 

Characters in a Novel

The protagonist and the other people in the novel are referred to as characters. These characters reflect human hopes, joys and foibles. Think about people you know when you are creating your characters. Most people have personalities that are multi-dimensional, so your characters must reflect this multi-dimensionality to be considered interesting. 

Character Motivation in a Novel

In the novel, the major character has a need that she/he needs to fulfill, a motivation to keep going towards the goal he/she has set out to achieve. This need may be psychological, grounded in doubts, fears, desires... Or the need may be a practical one - to find someone or something... This major character sets out on a journey to fulfill this need, but there are obstacles in the way of achieving the goal. Therefore, the major character has to overcome these obstacles to reach the end of the journey - the achievement of the goal. 

Character growth arc in the novel

Your characters must experience some kind of growth or change (good or bad) by the end of the novel. For example, a young woman when we first meet her in the story is insecure, easily bullied, dresses poorly, is awkward...but by the end of the story she is confident, elegant, strong, wealthy.... The character is developed.

Conflict in the Novel

Usually, the obstacles the protagonist faces are put in place by an antagonist, either people, or society, or nature or the self. This is the essence of the conflict in the novel. We are taught that conflict in a story is either generated by man vs man, or man vs nature, or man vs himself, or man vs society. Or, in today's society the conflict is rephrased as being either generated by a person vs another person, or by a person vs self, or by a person vs nature or by a person vs society. By the end of the novel, the conflict must be resolved. This is the point of the story though the protagonist may have to encounter many twists and turns, testing his/her mettle before finally achieving the goal.

Suspense in the Novel

Throughout the novel, the conflict rises. That is, each obstacle faced by the protagonist gets more and more intense/difficult to overcome, creating the suspense in the story. But this suspense hinges on the dilemma that the major character faces and the choice he makes as regards this dilemma. 

Dilemma in the novel

This dilemma is a choice, a choice between options, either between good and bad or between shades of good and shades of bad. With regard to a choice between good and bad, the protagonist or main character may either choose, for example, to kill a friend to stay alive or to lose his life with his friend. The outcome of the novel depends on the choice the major character makes, furthering the suspense, keeping the reader on tenterhooks until that decision is made. 

Climax in the novel

This decision the protagonist makes drives the story toward the climax, the peak of the main conflict of the story, where he/she makes that final stand against the foe/s and comes out victorious, or not. 

Resolution or denouement in the novel

 After the climax, the loose ends in the story are tied up and the story moves to a close. This is the resolution of the story or the denouement.

Setting of the novel

The story must take place somewhere - a place real or imagined, either a confined space like a room, or in a rural area, or a country.... And the story must take place at a time - either a historical period, or in the present, or a time of day, (when). Include environmental factors as well such as the social, political, historical context of the story as well as the customs, norms and values of those who people your story. All of these elements make up the setting of the story. Also, you should have a purpose for choosing the setting of your story because it, along with the dialogue and exposition, will advance your story.

Plot of the novel

Importantly, before you can write a novel, you have to come up with a plot i.e. a sequence of events, that the major character encounters, each more difficult than the last that must be resolved by making choices/decisions, and these choices/decisions propel the story to its climax and resolution. Each event in the sequence has a purpose and this purpose is to advance the story you plan to write. Also, remember, a plot must show cause and effect. That is, something happens which triggers an action. For example: John shooed the cat. The cat asks John, "Are you talking to me?" What happens next? When you are creating the plot of the story you plan to write, use the elements of a plot as guide: exposition, inciting event, rising action, dilemma, climax and denouement. 

Point of View in a Novel

Point of view is also important when crafting your novel. Choose a point of view from which to tell your story - First person, second person or third person.

Genre of Novels

And you may situate your novel in a genre of your choosing: Literary fiction, Thriller (Crime, Political, Psychological... there are many of them. Click the link above to see the list created by this blogger.

Length of Novels

Finally, the novel is typically between 70000 and 100000 words; the length depends on the genre, and it also depends on the choice of the writer. 

Here are some steps in writing the novel.

Steps in Writing the Novel

Many writing coaches provide steps that they say if you follow you can write a novel, even a bestselling one. All of their bits of advice on novel writing have their merits. Here is a good place to start.

In the meantime, here is a chapter of my novel. It is in the genre, realist fiction. You may go to this page to find the links to listen to chapters as they are posted. Or you can subscribe to my YouTube channel to get chapters as soon as they are posted. 

Novel Writing Assignment

Read the chapter below, meet the characters and answer the following questions. 

• Are the characters believable? That is, do they remind you of real people? 
• If they are believable, what makes them believable?
• If they are not believable, what weaknesses have you noted? And:
• Create your own sequence of events to create the plot of the story you are thinking about writing.

CHAPTER 1 of the Novel, MY OWN BIG WOMAN by Janette B. Fuller

See and blind, hear and deaf?

"I did not do it!" Constance snapped at Prudence, her plump face, which always seemed to be on the verge of a smile, transformed into a twisted mound of resentment.

"Yes, you did," Prudence said, wrestling her words into a calm monotonic statement.

"I did not!" Constance insisted, her eyes flashing malice up at Prudence.

"Yes, you did," Prudence said, adopting a sing song tone to counteract Constance's vehement denial.

"No!" Constance spat at Prudence, her glare defiant.

"Yes," Prudence countered, her tone reasonable.

She lounged against the dining table, arms akimbo, studying the bristling Constance who crouched beside the counter. Dwarfed by the walls of cupboards, the two sisters glared at each other, while the dull ticking of the clock replaced their arguing voices.

"I am trying for us to live in peace but you keep making it difficult!" Constance snapped.

She hissed her teeth, threw her arms in the air and returned her attention to the open cupboard. She reached inside, banging pots and pans and scowling.

"Huh?" Prudence asked.

She almost laughed after processing what she'd just heard but swallowed her bitter humour. She sauntered over to Constance's stooped frame and threw words down on her head of thick black plaits.

"You want us to live in peace? Forgive me for not noticing. Probably, if you take responsibility when you make mistakes, we will live in peace."

Constance paused in her rummaging and balanced her broad, stooping frame on her feet. She glared up at Prudence, her darkened eyes zooming from her face down to her feet. She shook her head as if she were shaking off the dark thoughts that had infested her mind.

"Probably if you stop nagging me about every damn little thing that I did not do, we will live in peace!" she snapped at Prudence, and returned to slamming down pots and pans, as she re-stacked them in the cupboard.

Prudence winced. With all that slamming, Constance was sure to damage the wooden shelves. She strolled back to the table, dragged out a chair, slumped into it and rested her head in her hands. Her lips trembled as she fought to hold back all the words that were tumbling around in her head, begging for release. She raised her head and studied Constance, while clenching and unclenching her fists.

"Okay, I give up," she said, dragging air into her lungs. "You didn't leave the fridge open again. I did not leave it open. I am sure about that. Probably some thing is wrong with the fridge door and it flies open when it feels like. And you didn't leave the pipe running. The pipe just turns on by itself when it feels like it."

At Prudence's words, Constance, as if she were controlled by invisible cords, popped up and spun to face her. Her blood seemed to have pooled in her neck and face.

"You damn well know that there's nothing wrong with the fridge door or the pipe! You just trying to blame me for something you did. Why don't you take responsibility for your mistakes, huh? Why don't you?"

Constance enunciated each word as if she were talking to someone who was hard of hearing, while slapping her heavy thighs and sashaying towards Prudence.

"Constance—"

"Don't say anything to me!" Constance lashed out at Prudence, showing her the palm of her left hand.

"I have every right to talk just like you, so don't you dare try to shut me up!" Prudence said. "You hear me! Don't you dare try to silence me!"

She glared at Constance, her lips quivering, fighting the urge to spring from her chair and slap her into oblivion.

Constance glared down at her, disdain like molten lava streaking from her eyes.

Prudence returned her glare but couldn't help recoiling from the venomous heat that spewed out at her. She was not going to back down, though. Their eyes battled and their blood pressure rose. Prudence eventually broke their glare and covered her face.

"Why am I doing this again?" she moaned.

Constance hissed her teeth and swiped her palm in front of Prudence's face as if she were swatting at an irritating insect. She stomped away, her rant getting louder and louder, every step she took.

"Constance, you leave the fridge open again. Constance, why you keep leaving the pipe on? Constance, you leave the door open again. Constance this! Constance that! I'm tired of it! If you see the fridge door open, close it! If the house door open, close it! If the pipe running, turn it off! Whatever you see wrong in this house that bothers you, fix it and stop nagging. You turning out to be a nagging old woman!"

Constance took turns in her rant to slap her thighs, twirl and point at Prudence. After one last snort at her, she spun to the counter and picked up the red kettle. She moved towards the sink and stopped. She looked at the kettle as if wondering what it was and where it came from and what she should do with it. She allowed it to clatter on to the ceramic counter and dusted off her hands.

Prudence frowned at her. Sometimes she felt like slapping some sense into her. Constance was getting on her last nerve, and she didn't know what to do about it. She sighed and clutched her head.

"You can sigh all you want!" Constance sneered at her. "Going on like you are Miss Perfect. Good day! I am going to bed! Can't take the stress!"

She flounced out of the room, swinging her wide hips and using her left arm to topple invisible obstacles out of her way.

"That's why it good when you live by yourself. When you live by yourself, nobody can take liberty with you. Do this! Do that! Like they talking to a child!"

Her words became indistinct as she disappeared into the passageway.

Prudence watched her leave. The lines in her forehead deepened as she scowled at the trail of words that Constance carved out as she left the room. She rose, walked to the doorway and waited.

"… twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty," she counted the ticks of the clock.

On cue, Constance reappeared at the entrance to the passageway.

"I am my own big woman!" she said, slapping her protruding bosom. "I don't need anybody to tell me what I can or cannot do, you understand? I don't want any annoyance! Everybody should have peace in their own house!"

She paused, pursed her lips and raked Prudence with her eyes.

Prudence bit down on her lip until it hurt. She was older than Constance. She should know better.

"Don't say anything. Don't say anything."

Over and over those words looped in her mind, while she watched Constance.

"You have nothing to say?" Constance asked.

Prudence remained quiet.

"Might as well," Constance scoffed. "I am in no mood for your foolishness!"

She twirled and disappeared back into the passageway.

Prudence exhaled.

She listened to the slamming of doors and the murmur of Constance's continuing rant for much of the evening. If she'd had anywhere else to go she would have packed her things and left. She sat at the kitchen table and allowed Constance's rancour to wash over her. She was tired by the time Constance decided to stop.

That was Constance's way. She never responded to anything with one word. She had to go on and on until she'd satisfied herself.

Prudence had tried to keep her thoughts to herself but, sometimes, she had to say something. She'd stepped into the kitchen to see Constance rummaging through the cupboards, tossing things on to the counter and mumbling. She'd drawn her attention to the gushing tap and the half-opened freezer door.

Why did she continue to point out things to Constance? Why didn't she ignore the things that Constance should have done but didn't do, things she did that she shouldn't have done? Question after question flowed through Prudence's mind.

"I am not learning!" she exclaimed, slapping her thigh and wincing.

She swivelled her head to look up at the clock on the wall behind her chair. It was getting late. She trudged over to the sink. A stack of dirty utensils awaited her. It wasn't like Constance to leave dirty utensils lying around. She shrugged and began to wash and stack them into the dish drainer. How much easier it would have been for her if she'd lived alone, she thought. She would have had no more than a few items to wash each time. Unlike Constance, she had very little interest in housework.

"This is the story of my life, now," she muttered. "I share a house with Constance, so I have to bend my mind to my condition."

She finished washing up and was about to leave the kitchen when the items that Constance had scattered on the counter caught her eyes.

"I wonder what she was looking for," she mused. "Only God knows," she said, her words a prayer.

She took several deep breaths and walked back to the counter. As she put away each item, she talked to herself.

"The untidiness don't really bother me, but I will clean up anyway. I have nothing better to do. From now on, Constance can do anything she want to do in this house. I won't say a word to her. She is right. She is her own big woman. I will leave her to her own devices. We are sisters. We should try to get along."

Listen to chapters of MY OWN BIG WOMAN.

About the Author

Janette B. Fuller is a ghost writer and author. 

When you are ready to write your story and/or after you have written your story, make contact with her at writingwisdomtree@gmail.com. She'll help you write your best story by helping you arrange your thoughts and/or edit your work. Check out her books here.