I love the Hero’s Journey.

Finding it was my ‘rays of sunshine coming through the clouds’ moment.

After quite a while of just writing randomly, I felt that there must be some rules of thumb that could be used to ensure a story flowed, evolved and climaxed in a decent way – so I was overjoyed when I discovered it.

Quick aside - If you don’t know what the Hero’s Journey is – it’s a series of steps that the vast majority of satisfying stories go through, from introducing the protagonist’s world, through calling them to action, testing them, meeting with a mentor, through to final confrontation with the big bad. Read about this 'Universal Storyline' in more detail here.

It wasn’t so much invented as discovered, by Joseph Campbell as he researched the earliest stories ever passed down by word of mouth to modern stories. Most of the elements of the Hero’s Journey can be seen in the vast majority of bestselling novels and blockbuster movies.

However, I often come across an issue when gushing with excitement about the Hero’s Journey, and that is that people’s perception still seems to be heavily influenced by the word ‘Hero’ and to a lesser extent ‘Journey’.

These words make people feel that it only applies to fantasy adventure stories where there’s going to be a swashbuckler slaying dragons with a sword.

But of course this couldn’t be further from the truth. This set of stages can be applied to all genres, including romance, historical fiction, war, crime drama, etc etc .

I recently came across the utterly awesome blog of Allen Palmer – Cracking Yarns – where he has come up with an interesting way to try to ‘dispel notions that this amazing paradigm doesn’t apply to female protagonists, intimate dramas or romantic comedies.’

I highly recommend you go to his blog and read it cover to cover, but here I’m going to reiterate what he says in this particular post: http://www.crackingyarns.com.au/2011/04/04/a-new-character-driven-heros-journey-2/

Allen has come up with a ‘Character Driven Hero’s Journey’. This avoids a lot of the mythological vocabulary and also helps focus on the fact that while plot is of course important, it is transformation of character that moves us.

Here are the steps, with very brief descriptions:

 

Incomplete

Maps to – introduction to the hero’s world

The protagonist is unfulfilled in their normal life. There will be two things missing – one thing that they think they want (like money, fame, a Porsche – you get the idea) and another thing which they haven’t thought of, but is the real thing that will give them fulfilment. (compassion, self confidence, etc).

 

Unsettled

Maps to – Call to Adventure

The protagonist’s world becomes unsettled by an outside force. An invitation, threat or attack, perhaps.

 

Resistant

Maps to – Refusal of the call

The protagonist refuses to do the right thing. They are afraid, selfish or just have different priorities.

 

Encouraged

Maps to – Meeting the Mentor

The protagonist gets advice from someone. This meeting should push them on their way, but the advice isn’t necessarily good or the giver helpful – it may be an ultimatum or a challenge.

 

Committed

Maps to – Crossing the Threshold

Now the main character gets pro-active and does something about that thing that unsettled them. Ideally they should take some action that makes it impossible to go back to how they were in the first scene – some burning of bridges.

 

Disorientated

Maps to – Tests

Now the whole world is different as they try to navigate towards their goal and face unfamiliar challenges and new rules. They will probably fail several times at this stage.

 

Inauthentic

Maps to – The Approach

The protagonist is confronted with their flaw, but they refuse to address it.

 

Confronted

Maps to – The Ordeal

This is a slap in the face for the protagonist where they finally realise they have to face their flaw and do something about it or lose everything that is worth having.

 

Reborn

Maps to – The Reward

The lead character demonstrates that they are a changed person.

 

Desperate

Maps to – The Road Back

Remember right back at the beginning when we said that the character has two things missing from their life – the thing they want and the thing they need? Right here is where you make them face a choice between the two.

 

Decisive

Maps to – Resurrection

This is the climax of the story, where the protagonist must actively make their decision. They don’t have to choose right, but the consequences of their choice must be poetic.

 

Complete

Maps to – Return Home

The protagonist gets what they deserve. In the vast majority of cases, they will have correctly chosen what they need and will now be fulfilled in themselves.

If you’d like each of these steps described in more detail by the inventor, like I said, go to: http://www.crackingyarns.com.au/2011/04/04/a-new-character-driven-heros-journey-2/

Or if you have any thoughts, comments or feedback - let me know below! 

Here are a bunch of quick ideas to help you beat that creativity killer – writer’s block…

Take a walk

Much more effective than you might think. It's not simply about a time out. Fresh air invigorates your brain and the muscle movement releases chemicals into the bloodstream. Also, new visual stimulus will get your synapses crackling.

Freewriting

For ten minutes write non-stop… anything at all. Seriously, anything. Even if it's just the same word over and over and over again. Misspellings, sense, we care not for these things!

Work on some notes instead

Less pressure, fun, and a good chance it will kick start some prose writing.

Listen to some music

Engage another part of your brain to kickstart creativity.

Make a pointless rule and write to it

Such as: you can't use the letter e more than once per sentence or each sentence must have an even number of words. Limits create focus and change your perspective.

Read the papers

Great for ideas that nobody will ever believe are true.

Write a rant

Who really got up your nose this week? What would you say to them if you could? Get those juices flowing, let the emotion pour out onto the paper.

Explain your dilemma to a teddy bear

If you can't think how to proceed, explain your problem to a soft toy. The process of formulating the problem out loud is often enough to let you see the solution.

Create a strict schedule

With short periods dedicated to writing. For example, write for ten minutes, then water the plants, then write for fifteen minutes, then hang the laundry, then write for ten minutes, then do the dishes. Stick to it. That means when it says to stop as well, even if you're in a flow. Having very short time periods can help you focus and stop you thinking you’re going to write a whole novel at one sitting.

Don't obsess when you're drafting

Are you in a draft stage and worrying about word and sentence level? What on earth for? Haven't you heard of editing? Just get it down any old how and the polishing will come later.

The 20/5 technique

Get yourself an egg timer, set it for twenty minutes, put it on the table and get as much done as you can in that time. When it goes off, your fingers must leave the keyword (or paper and quill or whatever). Set it for five minutes and do something else for that time. Relieve yourself, stare out the window, play with the puppy, learn a few words of Spanish, whatever. Then repeat.

Set a small, achievable goal

Finishing the novel is not going to cut it. Finishing the paragraph, the page, or at most the first draft of the chapter, is a fine catalyst.

Use a photo

Describe all the details of the photo.

Hopefully you’ll find something there to get you going!

And if you want help writing a whole novel then you should check out our novel writing software.

It is a ‘feature’ of western society that we tend to value analytical thinking more highly than creative thinking. Thus, subjects like maths and science and considered more ‘proper’ subjects than things like art and drama. Children are told to get practical qualifications, because everybody knows, artists can’t make a living.

The sad effect of this is that while our analytical processes get a good work out, our creative capabilities are often neglected, but creative skills can be learned and developed just as much as logical ones.

The more you work your creative muscles, the stronger they will become and the more easily stunning metaphors and incisive descriptions will ‘spring to mind’.

Try this exercise to give your creative brain a bit of a stretch:

1. Make a list of concrete nouns. Nouns are things, words that you can generally put ‘a’ or ‘the’ in front of, and concrete nouns are visible, solid things that you can usually touch. Some example of concrete nouns are:
•    Dog
•    Fire
•    Garden
•    Airplane
•    Handkerchief
•    Mug
•    Computer
•    Aubergine
•    Aspirin
•    Keys

Think of as many as you can, but at least 20.


2.    Make a list of abstract nouns. So, these are still ‘things’ but ones that you can’t see or touch.
•    Hunger
•    Wealth
•    Life
•    Friendship
•    Desire
•    Intelligence
•    Instructions
•    Excitement
•    Death
•    Joy

3.    Now randomly pick two of them (ask someone else to pick two numbers between 1 – however many you have or cut them up and pick them out of a hat) and put them together, then write a paragraph explaining.

For example:

Life is like computers. Completely unfathomable, with so much going on under the surface you have no hope of ever understanding the complexity. Sometimes life does what you want, but sometimes it just refuses, for no apparent reason at all. Life can be entertaining and informative, but it can also make us want to tear our hair out.

Or

Death is like aspirin. It’s tucked away out of sight and easy to ignore. But when our health is threatened it comes to the fore, fizzing in our brains, dissolving into an invisible, pervasive mist. We have no choice but to swallow it.

Think you can do better? Post your remote associations in the comments!

Credit to The Five Minute Writer by Margaret Geraghty for the inspiration for this post – if you liked it, you should buy her book.


If you enjoyed this post, then you should probably check out the Novel Factory. 

There appears to be a rather popular trend out there of people making trite little cards which start with ‘You know you’re a writer then…’ and then finishing with some pithy little statement which no doubt makes the kind of people who approve of such things titter in amusement, probably while coyly covering their giggles with a delicate hand.

Whenever I see these, I either want to cringe or vomit, but rarely bother responding, because we all know it’ll just end up in a reference to Nazis (was that some kind of pre-emptive Godwin’s law?).

However, I thought I’d take to the time to list a few of the biggest humdinders here, and explain while they’re such a pile of tripe (and I have a dog, so I know how stinky tripe is):

You know you’re a writer when…

…deleting whole paragraphs of your manuscript is the emotional equivalent of stabbing yourself in the chest repeatedly.

Quote the opposite. The less you have written, the more attached you are to each word, and the harder it is to cut the waffle. The less experienced you are, the better you think your writing is, and the more precious you are about it. Deleting a whole paragraph? Give me a break. You should be doing that to warm up. The sign of a seasoned writer is one who can cut an entire chapter, nay, half a book, and just shrug.

You know you’re a writer when…

…You absolutely can’t write anything down unless it’s with that pen,  no matter how good the idea is.

Clear sign of a non-writer, becoming obsessed with irrelevant details when there are far too many important things to remember, including: fleeting ideas, the exact colour and texture of the leaves that carpet the forest floor at the beginning of November, birthdays of an entire cast of characters, whether you’ve already mentioned the knife sheath pattern, time of day for each scene, character motivations, what makes a character stand out, twists etc. etc. etc. If you’ve got time to spend worrying about which pen to use, you probably don’t have the brainpower to write a novel.

What this is actually a sign of, is obsessive compulsive disorder, which – while possibly a common symptom of writers, does not actually signify one.

And why on earth would anybody be using a pen to write? This isn’t the middle ages.

You know you’re a writer when…

… you remember the backstory of all your characters, but you’ve yet to write down a single one.

The clues are all there in this one, if you think about it. What this person is, is a daydreamer. To be a writer, you have to write things down. It’s not rocket science.

So, now that I’ve laid into example of what a writer clearly is not, perhaps you’d like my view on how you really can tell if you’re a writer?

It’s very simple. You’re writing.

Stuck for inspiration? Here are some of my favourite inspirational ideas for writing a short story:

1.  Find a poem and rewrite it as a story. (If you’re having trouble finding a poem, search for ‘The Nation’s Favourite Poems’ and browse through) 
2. Choose a limerick and turn that into a full blown story. (Search for Edward Lear for the master of limericks and delightful nonsense)
3.  Ask five random people to give you a noun, an adjective, a verb, colour and a random object, and write a story that incorporates them all. (or search for an online random word generator) 
4. Write a single scene story which describes one of your most painful of embarrassing memories. (the more painful it is for you to write, the better)
5.  Read synopses of poorly rated movies and base your story on one. (You can browse Netflix – even if you’re not a member – or browse the DVDs in the library or rental store – assuming those places still exist…) 
6.  Open a book at a random page, find the first new sentence and use that as the first line of your story. (Or just use it somewhere if you’re feeling wishy washy)
7. Write a story about change from the point of view of a fruit. (Or a plant or an item that is sitting on your desk) 
8. Write a story about loss from the point of view of your youngest child (regardless of whether you have any children).
9. Write a story about a terrible crime from the point of view of the criminal, so the reader sympathises with them. The greater the level of sympathy and empathy, the better. 
10. Find an idiom, such as ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back’ and write a fable to explain the ‘origin’ of the phrase.

If you enjoyed this post, then you should probably check out the Novel Factory. 

So, you want to be a writer?

If you want to be taken seriously, here are the top ten phrases to avoid, or you’ll have seasoned writers groaning and casting you as comedy bit parts in their novels…

My punctuation / grammar / vocabulary is terrible

Punctuation, grammar and vocabulary are the nuts and bolts of writing. If you aren’t good at them, you’re not going to be a good writer. Now, don’t get me wrong, the last thing I’m saying is that if English isn’t your strong point you shouldn’t try to be writer. What I’m saying is, you need to roll up your sleeves and learn this shiz. No excuses. Editors will not fix it for you.

Speaking of which…

I expect when I get an editor, they’ll sort all that stuff out

Think again. If your manuscript isn’t in tip top shape, and that means only the absolute tiniest sprinkling of typos, then it’s not getting anywhere near an editor, Buster.

I like to break the rules, because I think it makes me edgy

If you are Chuck Palahniuk or Irvine Welsh, then fine. You may break the conventions of writing. However, usually when people say this, it’s because they don’t understand why the conventions exist and what effect breaking / following them has.

In writing, there’s a reason we use 1^st person instead of 3rd person, or use very long or very short sentences or even break the rules of capitalisation or whatnot. But if you’re going to break the rules, you’d better make damn sure not only do you know EXACTLY SPECIFICALLY what you’re doing and for what purpose, you’d better make sure it’s completely consistent, throughout the entire work.

If it’s not, I’ve got news for you – it’s not edgy, it’s lazy and sloppy.

Go to your room.

I want to be a writer, but I don’t have time

Then you’re not a writer. If you’re not writing, you’re not a writer. Don’t say you don’t have time, say nothing at all until you’ve started writing.

People don’t like my work because they don’t understand the genius of it

Well, what to say about this?

What ‘people’ are we talking about? If the people who have read your work don’t like it, it is possible you are giving it to the wrong people.

The other option is that it’s not very good.

 

Read more about 8 worst new novelist mistakes.

If you already know all about nanorimo and are lookingfor a guide to success, then you might be interested in this article.

Let’s start at the beginning – what is nanowrimo?

Nanowrimo stands for National Novel Writing Month. These days, the ‘national’ bit is a bit defunct, as it’s really an international endeavour. There is an official organisation that run it and they have a website, which you can easily find by Googling ‘nanowrimo’.

However, there’s nothing to say that you actually have to sign up to the website to take part, you can do so completely in the privacy of your own computer.

The basic principle is that you write the first draft of a novel – all within the month of November. You are not allowed to have written any of it in advance (although it’s is highly recommended to have a plan sketched out – The Novel Factory software is perfect for this) and you have to write 50,000 words. That works out at just under 2000 words per day (they didn’t even have the good grace to pick a month with one extra day – still, I suppose it could have been February).

The advantage of ‘officially’ signing up and submitting your work to the Nanowrimo community, is that you may get more motivation by seeing what other people are doing, and getting instant feedback. Also, I think you get a kind of digital certificate if you complete it – if you’re into that kind of thing.

However, the slight risk is that some places are  funny about work that has been published anywhere else, including on a website – so that’s just something to keep in mind if you’re intending to take the work further.

What nanowrimo is

The point of nanowrimo is to get writing.

The main problem for most people that want to be writers is that they don’t get their bum on the seat and the words coming out. This may be an issue of finding the time (saying you don’t have time is not a reason, it’s an excuse, and if you don’t like me saying that, then you won’t like me saying this either – if ‘no time’ is your excuse, then you’re not a writer, and probably never will be), feeling uncertain or embarrassed, not knowing where to start, or being precious about the work.

Nanowrimo is a great way to get over some of those obstacles. There is no time to overplan, procrastinate or be precious. Just dump any old rubbish on the page. Writing crap is a necessary part of the process on the way to writing something decent, and Nanowrimo shoves you out onto the path.

Knowing that thousands of other people are doing it at the same time is also highly motivational.

What Nanowrimo isn’t

I am always very careful to say that Nanowrimo is about writing a ‘first draft’ not about writing a ‘novel’. That’s because a first draft is so far from a finished novel, they barely look related. There is no way you can get a finished novel out in one month, and a good rule of thumb is that however long the first draft took – refining it into something even barely passable will take about twice as long again. At the very least.

Anecdotally, publishers and literary agents groan when it comes round to Nanowrimo time, because in the following months, they are inundated with rubbish first drafts that are being called submission ready manuscripts (as a side note, this is useful to know for choosing when to submit your novel – i.e. not in December).

Using the nanowrimo concept to suit you

There is no law to say that you can’t apply the principle of having a fairly hefty challenge to suit your needs, if writing a first draft doesn’t happen to be the thing for you.

For example, if you already have a first draft, you could use the month to force yourself to get the second draft completed – although this is a lot harder to judge – 50,000 words is a very clear goal that can be broken down into discrete parts. But having said that, you could break down a second draft into two chapters per week, for example.

Another alternative works for short story writers, which is to write 30 stories in 30 days. You don’t have to write one a day, exactly, but it gives you a very clear guide as to whether you’re ahead or behind and the average rate you have to keep up.

We've put together this short video which explains The Novel Formula method for writing a novel all the way through planning, plotting, editing and submitting your novel.
You can read in much more detail about of the steps of the Novel Formula on our main website here, or an overview on this blog here.

But for now just sit back, relax and watch the video!

If you're really serious about becoming a writer, then you need to be in a writing group - no question, and no excuses.

Beginning writers are often nervous about joining a writing group, and yes, it can be daunting - but it's well worth the effort, for many reasons.

Firstly, once you've started showing your work to others, it will help build your confidence. The first time is the hardest, but the vast majority of writing groups are supportive, and you will be pleasantly surprised to hear the nice things they will say about your work. And if you take their comments for improvement on board and make a genuine effort to edit well, it will be even more encouraging when they see and point out how the quality of your writing is getting better over time.

As well as saying nice things, if they're worth their salt, they will also find the weak points in your work, and while praise is nice, constructive criticism is what's of real value - as this is going to make you into a better writer. A good critique group will highlight areas for improvement in your work in a sensitive manner.

There's no need to take criticism personally or feel that it's in any way putting you down. That is not the point at all. The purpose of criticism is to improve your skills, so a writing group will find areas for improvement in any piece of work - even if it's damn near perfect. Critique areas may be anything from grammar and punctuation to pace, balance, emotional impact, tense, dialogue, description - anything.

Having a fresh set of eyes read something is very useful to highlight areas that don't make sense that you, as the writer, will find it impossible to know, as you have the whole story in your head and know where it's going.

And of course, associating with skilled people who are also passionate about writing will give you the advantage that you can draw on their skills and knowledge.

So, if you've been making excuses for not joining a writing group - man up and get yourself down to one!

Getting Started Writing a Novel

Our completely unscientific poll suggests that getting started is one of the biggest obstacles for novel writers (of course, there’s a bias towards procrastinators who are reading blogs about writing and completing polls rather than getting on with it, but we’ll gloss over that for now).

Now, ‘getting started’ could mean one of two things (or possibly others we haven’t thought of). It could be about getting the idea in the first place, it could be about getting a first draft out once you know what you want to write about.

Our experience is that most writers are bubbling over with ideas that are just dying to get out, so coming up with an idea in the first place is not usually a problem. However, if it is, then there are a few methods you can use to come up with your kernel, which can be expended into a premise and eventually  a first draft.

Ways to find inspiration for your novel:

One is to ‘fill out the boxes’ in our premise, including the major story elements of: character, situation, objective, opponent and disaster. If you think this might be for you, read the full article here.

Another is to look for inspiration in the world around you. This could be anything from reading the newspapers (and not just doing the Sudoku), people watching, reading movie synopses or watching real life documentaries. You can read more about these methods here.

Ways to get the first draft out

We’re kind of big on planning and using techniques to make something really difficult (writing a novel) a bit less difficult. To this end, we think the best way to get to a first draft is to work up to it bit by bit, starting with a premise, expanding that into an outline, threading in some  detail and ending up with quite a clear structure. Once you’ve got this structure, the first draft just flies out as all you have to worry about is prose.

We've written software to walk you through every stage of a novel,  planning and further.

However, if you don’t like to plan everything through first, that’s fine too. In that case there are a few things you can do to get started, from starting a few chapters in (often the pressure of writing the first line can be paralysing), visualising the scene in your mind and then describing it or thinking about to simply refusing to allow yourself to get up until you’ve written the first five hundred words. If you're really having trouble with your first draft, perhaps you should consider going the planning route...

 

In either case, the most important advice in our opinion is to make sure you don't get hung up on
details in the first draft - just thrash it out, however awful you think it is at the time. It’s never going to be perfect first time, it’s going to be rough and ready and it’s going to need a great deal of polishing, so don’t get hung up on this adjective or that order. Just get it out!

In my opinion, prevention is better than cure, and the way I avoid ever having writers block is to have a load of planning in place before I start writing prose, by following the Novel Formula, and using the Novel Factory writing software.

Since I've used that technique, writers block has become a theoretical idea that doesn't ever touch my writing life.

However, I realise that some people don't want to work that way, and so here are my suggestions for beating writer's block!

Engage another part of your brain

 

If you've been staring at a blank screen or piece of paper for so long that you're starting to get a
headache and feel like your brain is filled with cotton wool, it probably needs a bit of a kickstart. So, get up and walk around the house, make a cup of tea or listen to some music - even better, play some! This will flush out your synapses (that's not a medical term, please don't write in) and your brain will start making connections in new directions that will hopefully get the words flowing again.

Engage your physical body

This works on a similar theory to that above - by getting the blood flowing through your body, your brain will also receive a boost of energy that will help it start bubbling in new directions. You could take a walk (this is a solid favourite of countless authors since authoring began), or have a cycle or a run or even do a few push ups if you're feeling really ambitious.

Create a strict schedule and stick to it

If it's more like weeks are passing rather than hours, and you're not getting anywhere, then you probably need to create a strict schedule and stick to it. Personally, I work best with very short deadlines - such as 20 minutes, then water the plants, then another 20 minutes, then do the laundry. Or you may not allow yourself to have your first coffee in the morning until you've written at least 500 words. Which brings me nicely to my final point...

Don't obsess over details

If you're getting writers block, it means you're probably working on a first draft. Rewriting is such an important process that most writers will not have a single sentence leftover from their first draft by the time they're ready to publish. So what's the point of getting hung up about a particular adjective or sentence order? It's a waste of time and energy. Save what you've got for getting the first draft down, come hell or high water, not worrying over a word choice or tiny plot detail.

I hope that helps, and if you have any suggestions to add, please feel free to add them as comments below!

Broadly speaking there are two ways to write a novel – by planning everything out in advance, so you know exactly what’s going to happen before you start writing any actual prose, and just putting pen to paper and thrashing out a first draft without knowing what’s going to happen or how it’s going to end.

Of course, there are many inbetweeners, such as having a very rough outline or knowing how it’s going to end but nothing else, but essentially you have Planners and Wingers.

Some people already know if they lean towards the Planning or Winging camp, for example, the idea of putting pen to paper without having a clear sense of direction and purpose fills me with horror, as I know I’ll end up writing chapter after chapter of waffelly drivel before painting myself into a corner.

However, I know there are others who are equally perturbed at the idea of planning everything in detail as they feel it destroys their freedom and creativity and takes the adventure out of discovering the story as they go along.

Both ways are equally valid if you can make them work, and if you’re not sure which is for you, then experiment until you find something comfortable.

Advice for Planners

My preferred technique for planning a novel is to start with a kernel of an idea and work outwards, putting in more and more detail at each stage. The first thing to start with is a ‘premise’ which is a single line which describes the core of the story. 

This can be anything you like, but it’s useful if it can include the elements of character, obstacle, situation and possible disaster. So, for example: Can Caleb the dog get past spies, the elements and buried mines to get the warning message to the troops on the frontline before the enemies destroy them?

Once you’ve got those elements in place, you can expand it into a few major plot points, that include setting the scene, the call to action, various obstacles (of increasing intensity) and a final climax.

After that you simply keep expanding each sentence into a paragraph until you have a fairly detailed plot. That’s the outline you can use to guide your scene writing.

For much more detail about these steps and more, read our roadmap to writing a novel, or, if you'd like to use some nifty novel writing software that makes everything a hundred times easier and keep track of everything for you, then why not try the Novel Factory for free?

Advice for Wingers

As a Planner, I should say that I’m not the best person to be offering advice to Wingers, but I’m going to offer some tips that I’ve heard for beating writers block, that will hopefully help get the words flowing.

The main thing to do is anything to get writing. That could be writing the first thing that comes into your head, no matter how gibberish, even just writing the same word over and over again until boredom drives you to start writing something more interesting.

If you really can’t get started, then do something physical, whether it’s going to the gym or taking a walk. Getting the blood moving around will stimulate your brain and having a different environment can help inspire ideas.

Failing that, you can find a list of ways to beat writer's block here.

So, are you a planner or a winger? Do you agree with our outrageous generalisations?

Happy New Year!

Now we're in 2013 and you've got your new resolution set. You're going to write a novel.

Great! So, where to start?

Well, this blog is a great place. We've got a ton of articles for beginning writers on how to write a novel, including a step-by-step guide that takes you from idea to final editing (and beyond!) and standalone articles that cover things like beating writers' block, formatting a manuscript and much more.

This blog is run by the team behind the Novel Factory, and if you're serious about getting your first novel written this year, the getting The Novel Factory writing software is probably the most useful thing you can do. And, if you're not sure, you can always try it for free before buying.

So, for all you excited newbies raging to get going on your first (or perhaps second or third), here are the first things you should do to get into the mindset of a writer:

• Try to put aside time every day (yes that's EVERY DAY) to do some writing. You need to make writing into a habit, so much so that it feels odd if a day or so goes by and you don't do any writing.
• Start to think about what you want to write about. If you already know what you're going to write about, that's great, but if not, you need to figure out what sort of book you want to write, what genre and who your target audience is. If you don't know this stuff you'll be flailing about in the dark a bit.
• Learn the nuts and bolts. If you don't know the basics of spelling and grammar, you're going to need to learn fast. Word spellchecker is not going to be good enough and if you think an editor is going to 'fix that stuff' for you, you've got a nasty surprise on the way. If you can't spell and punctuate, you shouldn't be a writer. However, it's not that difficult or ever too late to learn.

All good novels can be summed up in a single sentence, which is often called a premise. This is what we like to start with when we write our novels, as it gives you a great anchor to keep your story tight. You can read about how to write a great, gripping premise in this article.

This idea is based on a technique described in Dwight Swain's amazing, fantastic book: Techniques of the selling writer, which is chock full of practical advice on writing selling fiction. We also owe a debt of gratitude to The Snowflake Guy, for bringing it to our attention...

Dedications out the way - let's get to it. So, what do we mean by the Action >> Reaction Cycle?

Well, when you write, you will usually have a mix of things that are happening around your protagonist (for the purpose of this article, we'll assume the protagonist is the point of view character in any given seen), and things that your protagonist is thinking and doing.

If you don't know any better, you will switch between these things randomly, putting down whatever 'feels' right. Many talented writers will naturally put things in the Action >> Reaction Cycle that I'm about to decscribe, but some of us benefit from learning the nuts and bolt of it in a more formal fashion.

Note - It should go without saying that any technique or tool that writers use, including the Action >> Reaction Cycle, are exactly that - techniques and tools. They are not laws. As a creative, you must decide for yourself when you will stick doggedly to these concepts and when you will deviate, because you know better. Just make sure you do know better.

The Action >> Reaction Cycle

Action

In one paragraph, you should have an outward description of the action. This should be completely detached from the characters point of view or opinion on the matter. FACT only. No bias based on the protagonist. This is easier said than done.

Reaction

Reaction can be split into three parts: Gut, Instinctive, Rational. Let's look at those in more detail.

Gut - this should be a visceral, bodily emotional response to the Action that's been observed. Something like a cold chill down the spine, a tightening of the throat or a twisting in the gut. It doesn't involve any movement or controlled thought.

Instinctive - This is still controlled by the body rather than the mind, but it will be more deliberate. It might be leaping back, or reaching for a gun. How useful this action is will depend on the character and how well they deal with the Action and their gut response to it.

Rational - Finally, now we've got through all the gut, instinctive stuff (which probably only took seconds, or less), we can get to the controlled part of things, where the character gets to express themselves. They may have a thought: "Not again. Oh no. Not again.", or they may carry out a controlled, deliberate action: "She raised the gun, aimed, and fired." Or both.

When you write, you should cycle your paragraphs between Action and Reaction. The Reaction paragraph does not have to include every part (gut, instinctive, rational) every time, in fact, it would get a bit weird if it did. But it should include at least one, and they should stay in the correct order.

An Example

We'll start with an example where it's done wrong, with all the elements mixed up and in the wrong order:


Lorelei hugged her legs remained fixed in place, control stolen from her body. So this was it. She was going end up just like all the others, she thought as she watched the figure at the other end of the beach walking towards her, slowly closing the distance. She felt gripped with a mixture of fear and desolation.

You may think that reads okay, or you may not. But either way, let's compare it to what happens if we rewrite it to follow the Action >> Reaction Cycle:

There was a figure at the other end of the beach, walking towards her.

Fear gripped Lorelei, stealing control of her body, so all she could do was remain fixed in place, still hugging her legs, watching helplessly as the figure closed the distance between them.  So this was it. She was going to end up just like the others.


In this example the first paragraph is only a single line, but it is an, external, indisputable fact. There's a figure, he's at the other end of the beach, he's walking towards her.


Next we have the Reaction, first the gut (fear gripping her), then the instinct (all she could do was remain fixed in place, watching helplessly, etc), and finally her rational thoughts about the matter (deciding she's about to meet her doom).

Hopefully you'll agree that the second version is much stronger, and  plunges into the story so it feels more real, much more so than the first one.

So if you've got a scene that you feel is somehow lacking immediacy or there's just something not quite right that you can't put your finger on, try hacking it up and rewriting while religiously following the Action >> Reaction Cycle, and you should find some impressive results.

The Novel Factory - Novel writing software

If you've found this article useful, then you might be interested in reading our Novel Writing Roadmap. And if you like that - then you might be tempted to download a free trial of The Novel Factory, which is a software programme we've developed to help writers learn their craft, especially aimed at new writers completing their first novel, but also useful for established novelists in organising their notes, locations, characters and scenes.

If you agree, don't agree or have any other comments on this article, I'd love to hear them. And I'd particularly love to see before and after examples of this technique in action.

The use of novel writing software divides people more passionately than you might expect.
People who are against it might say it's cheating. Others might say that's simply not necessary, or even that it gets in the way or causes rigidity and gets in the way of brainstorming and natural flow.

Well, of course I'm biased but I think that if there are tools available for any task, you should take advantage of them. Of course not all tools (or software) is useful, and not all 'progress' is for the best.
One of my pet hates is how difficult it is to accurately rewind or forward DVDs - with video tapes it was easy to skip back to rewatch something you missed. Now it involves so much jumping around to way too far either side that it's just not worth the effort.

But back to the plot! We're talking about novel writing software not movie watching.


To address the points above - in reality, if you think that using software for writing is cheating, then you shouldn't even be using a word processor. Think how easy it is to make changes and shuffle things around, and be corrected in your spelling and grammar, and even style! It really depends how far you want to go back. Is using a typewriter cheating? Should you go back to pen and paper? Maybe using a biro is cheating and you should be whittling your own quill. So much for the cheating argument.

The other arguments are more valid. If you're someone that can keep track of notes about dozens of characters and locations, a complex plot, clues, foreshadowing and the rest - then great! You probably don't need writing software to help you.

However, personally, I always find myself drowning in notes, some of which are out of date - but which ones?! - losing files all over my desk and laptop, and spending ages in frustration trying to find the profile of the right character, because I couldn't be bothered to file everything neatly as I went along. I wanted to get on with writing!

So, for mere mortals like me, having novel software that keeps track of my characters, files them automatically and gives them back to me in a few intuitive clicks, takes away a great deal of my headaches and leaves me to get on with my next draft.

And as for the argument that novel writing software stifles creativity - with the right software, what you put in, you get out! Good software should harness and inspire creativity, not the opposite.

The opening of a novel is probably the hardest part - I know it certainly is for me.

Why? Well, read on...

Too much pressure!

The opening lines and chapters of your book have the most pressure heaped on them to be outstanding. This is because if they're not, nobody is ever going to see the rest. Literary agents rarely want more than the first few chapters, and anecdotal evidence says they often won't read past the first few sentences if they're not immediately gripped. So the beginning of the novel absolutely has to be mind-blowing, or you've wasted the last six months, year, decade.

Not warmed up yet

A lot of people take a bit of time to warm up, to get into the flow of things so their prose comes naturally, and skips along at a good pace. Often, the first few pages of writing are clunky, or even rambling. Once the writer finds their mojo though, the words fly from their fingers and onto the page, snappy dialogue, gripping action, all the good stuff.

Wanting to set the scene with too much backstory

A lot of new writers feel that they need to firmly set the scene at the beginning of a book, to let their readers know what's going on and make sure they're aware of the important plot points, where the story is going and why the lead character is acting how they are. Unfortunately, this usually has the effect of making the introduction feel like tedious exposition, where readers would rather get straight into the action.

So what can you do about it?

Start before the start

By this, I mean once you've decided where your story is going to begin, actually start writing from a scene or two earlier than that. These scenes will be cut in the end, but you will write them with full commitment as if they were staying.

By doing this, you can help avoid two of the problems described above.

Firstly, it will give you a chance to warm up and get into the flow of things.

Secondly, you will do all the exposition and backstory that your readers don't need (because they will pick everything up from context anyway, as long as your story telling is good enough).

What about reducing pressure?

Ah, yes. We haven't come up with a solution to that one yet - if anybody has any ideas - please let us know!

Your draft should be in pretty good shape now, and you really are nearing the finish line.

However, eager though you may be to show your masterpiece toagents in order for them to snap it up, you don’t want to rush things and shoot yourself in the foot.

Take another break – at least a week if possible, and then come back for a final fine tuning.

You need to be really ruthless now, seek out clichés, telling instead of showing, lazy description, meandering prose. Cut it out. Cut it down. Look for inconsistencies and iron them out.

Here are a few more areas you can fine tune:

 

Dialogue Mechanics

Dialogue is important. It brings the reader into the moment, it feels alive and happening. When is the first dialogue on your story? If it’s not in the first few pages, you could consider moving it forward.

Many new writers overuse replacements to the word said, resulting in something like this:

“You look depressed.” observed Jennifer.

“I am,” answered Barry.

 “You should just cheer up,” concluded Jennifer.

“Whatever,” grumbled Barry.

These colourful replacements border on the cardinal sin of telling not showing, and are obtrusive, dulling the pace.

Instead of relying on words like this, use description of the action to keep things moving and keep the reader right in the action. Also, don’t forget that ‘said’ tends to be invisible to readers when they’re in the flow (unless there are really a lot in a row), and often you don’t need anything to describe who’s speaking, as it ought to be obvious from context.

“You look depressed,” said Jennifer.

Barry picked at his nails and sighed.  “I am.”

“You should just cheer up,” Jennifer put a bright look on her face.

“Whatever.”

 

Paragraphing

You may think that paragraphing is not really a central part of writing. Words and sentences, that’s real writing – paragraphing is what happens inbetween.

Well, how dense or open your prose is will make a big difference to how pacy it feels and whether your reader feels like they’re wading through or skipping along.

When you scan over your work, is most of the page filled with words? If so, it may benefit from more whitespace, giving your story space to breathe. Shortening paragraphs is an extremely effective way to tweak the pace and atmosphere of your novel.

 

Don’t labour the point

This means don’t repeat yourself, and don’t keep trying to get the same point across in too many different ways. One well thought out way will be stronger on its own than several obvious or weak ways.

For example.

Celine eyed the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon on the shelf and her mouth watered. She loved red wine. It was the colour, like liquid rubies, and the sharp delicious taste. Her desire for it ached. The way it warmed the back of her throat. She loved it so much. Her fingers twitched towards it.

In this example we are told three times that she loves wine, and by the last time you just want to scream ‘Yes, I know!’

It’s much stronger with the second two removed:

Celine eyed the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon on the shelf and her mouth watered. She loved red wine. It was the colour, like liquid rubies, and the sharp delicious taste. The way it warmed the back of her throat. Her fingers twitched towards it.

However, if you want the prose to be really tight, we shouldn’t be telling at all and in fact we can do without any of them, and get the same impression from the description alone:

Celine eyed the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon on the shelf and her mouth watered. It was the colour, like liquid rubies, and the sharp delicious taste. The way it warmed the back of her throat. Her fingers twitched towards it.

You've done it! You've written your novel! Congratulations, you are now a member of a relatively elite club. So now your adoring audiences will be beating down your door to buy your novel and make you rich.

Or... you can go to Step 15. Submitting your novel to an agent.

It's time to take a closer look at settings.

It's important to remember that settings aren't simply a stage for your puppets to walk about on - each setting is an opportunity to:

• build mood and atmosphere
• develop character
• foreshadow plot points

 

Building mood and atmosphere with settings

The house could gleam brightly with a fresh coat of whitewash; have aging, peeling, lead-heavy paint; or give the impression of a gaping skull with sightless windows as eyes and a door forever closing its mute mouth. The sea could roll heavily, recline in reflective tranquillity or froth with lively white horses.

If you're trying to build a sombre mood, make sure the park isn't filled with cheery colours, just because that's what was there the last time you went to the park. Make sure every word of description supports whatever mood or atmosphere you are trying to build in that scene.

 

Developing character with settings

How do your characters respond to their surroundings? This can give the reader a lot of information about your character without you having to say it outright.

For example, one character stuck overnight in a forest will build a bivouac, take a few slugs of whiskey and settle down with their heavy boots up on a stump. Another character might collapse into a weeping huddle, hysterically swatting at the creepy crawlies.

Of course it can be much more subtle than that - as much as what they notice and don't notice, what they touch, how they move around the area.

 

Foreshadowing plot points with settings

Every element of the settings you describe should be relevant, and have a justification for its inclusion.

For example, if you're describing someone's bedroom, not only should every item accurately reflect their character (see above), but it should also be relevant to this particular story. If they're going to reach for that bag of marbles to knock out the intruder in chapter 9, it'll be that much more satisfying if you mentioned them in passing in chapter 2.

The photographs in your characters house and room are an excellent opportunity to expose their character and history - just try not to get too heavy handed about it.

Read more about developing settings here.

The next article will explain how we can make our settings come to life.

The Novel Formula - A Novel Writing Method: Step Six

Extended Synopsis

It's time to expand on your short synopsis. This is a really fun time, because you can let your imagination loose and start adding the detail that will make your story delicious and compelling.

Take your short synopsis and expand it into about four or five pages - but don't worry about being too dogmatic, give yourself a free rein. If it turns out to be ten pages, so be it.

The combination of your short synopsis and character synopses mean you'll probably be bursting with ideas, and getting new ones faster than you can get them down - but these ideas can be fitted into a robust structure, rather than just being an incoherent spaghetti mess.

You'll probably find that you need to keep going back and making small adjustments as you realise this or that needs to have happened, been foreshadowed or mentioned, in order for something later to work.

Having this high level overview but beginning to work the character and story threads together, and seeing the scenes unfold allows you to spot plot holes and inconsistencies early, and iron them our before you've written ten chapters that will all need binning because of the flaw.

This synopsis will not only give you a great grounding for writing a great story with the minimum rambling and wasted effort, but is also what publishers will be asking you for when you want to submit your novel. It's likely to be the deal maker or breaker, before they even read the first line of your manuscript - so you want to make sure it doesn't let you down!

Click here for the next step - full character questionnaires.

The Novel Formula - A Novel Writing Method: Step Four

The Short Synopsis

By now you should have a basic premise, a strong story arc and some information about your characters. If you haven't, check out the previous steps.

• The Novel Formula Overview
• The Novel Formula Step One
• The Novel Formula Step Two
• The Novel Formula Step Three

Next we're going to write a short synopsis of the story. Re-read your premise to make sure it's solid in your mind, then take your skeleton and expand it into a full page with each sentence turning into a paragraph.

Keep in mind your characters and make sure what you're plotting for them to do sounds like something they would actually do.

Evolving your story in this way offers two major benefits:

• You avoid writing a rambling first draft with countless pointless scenes that end up needing to be cut
• When you get to writing your first draft you won't spend half the time tapping your lip with your pen, wondering what should happen next

The story should really start to take shape at this point, and writing the short synopsis should be a great deal of fun - let your imagination loose.

Click here for the next step in the Novel Formula!