One of the biggest problems I have when it comes to novel writing is the beginning (though to be fair, that’s probably just the first problem, before I come up against the other two major issues – the middle and the end).

I work hard to try to make the story really start with a bang, with action, immediate goals, and conflict – the lot. But time and time again, my writing group tell me that it just seems to ‘take a while to get going’. There’s a problem. They’re not hooked.

So how can you make sure you’re story really grabs people by the eyeballs?

Apply the 400 word rule

Imagine you’re entering a writing competition, but you’re only allowed to enter the first 400 words of your novel. Those first 400 words have to grab the judges immediately and leave them wanting to know more.

I find if you go back to your first scene (after you’ve finished your first draft of course – no editing is allowed before the first draft has been dragged out of you) and strictly follow this rule - not 500 words, not 450 words – then you can really make sure your story has power and punch from the first page.

You’re forced to cut out any unnecessary scene setting (readers don’t need to know the backstory, they’ll pick it up as they go along), any waffle descriptions (no words to waste!) and forces you to establish a protagonist, a goal and conflict.

All within the first 400 words.

 

Check out our writing theory resources:

Finding inspiration to get started writing a novel

Many writers constantly have ideas bubbling around, each waiting for Novel Software Articles their turn to be put down on paper (or screen).

How to create characters

There are many, many, books on creating decent characters, and we're going to try to summarise character creation in a few brief study notes.

 

 

It’s all very well being told not to judge a book by its cover, but we’re going to do it anyway.

And with good reason. A book cover tells us what sort of story it is, what sort of mood and style will be contained within the words.

There are millions of books out there and we only have a short lifetime to read as many as we can – there’s no spare time to be wasted on reading things we don’t like. By ‘reading’ the visual information contained in a book cover it can help us avoid disappointment and find books that will float our boat.

If you’ve got an agent and / or publisher, there’s a good chance you’ll have very little say when it comes to the cover of the book. They will get their designers on it and they will know what will work in your market (you’d hope).

But if you’re self-publishing, or if you’re putting a few short stories online while you build up your reputation and skills, you may be called upon to create a book cover (or avatar) for your work.

 

So here are three tips to get you on your way…

Tip #1 – Target your audience effectively.

Remember that it’s not about attracting the largest number of people, necessarily. Doing that will result in a large percentage of them being disappointed – not because your story is no good, but simply because people have so many different tastes. Some people love romance and hate horror. Others are horrified at romance and want to get hooked on a good sci-fi. Others yawn at sci-fi and can’t wait to sink their teeth into a decent horror. You get the idea.

The book cover should give an indication of the genre of story, so that people can make an informed decision. If you accurately target readers in this way, more of them will enjoy the book and that will lead to the purest gold of marketing – word of mouth recommendations.

Tip #2 – Keep it Simple

There’s a temptation to try to include a lot of detail in the book cover, including a load of the characters, settings and visual representations of the plot twists. But this results in a fussy, amateur looking cover. Good covers make a simple, single impact that intrigues the reader; they don’t try to tell the story – that’s the job of the novel.

This also goes for fonts and colours. Never use more than two fonts (one for the title, one for the author) and be aware of your colour palette. Make sure the colours complement each other and that they aren’t too garish or varied.

Tip #3 - research other book cover designs

The best way to find out what makes a good book cover and also what is suitable for your genre is to see how the pros do it. Browse Amazon or visit Waterstones and cast your eye over the shelves. See what catches your eye, and which ones make you want to pick the book up and read the back cover. You’ll soon see what kinds of conventions are applied to your genre and how designers have used space, colour, font and imagery to evoke ideas and emotions.

For more articles about creative writing and novel writing, visit The Novel Factory website.

Many new writers are confused about how to format their manuscript. Many of these issues arise from mixing the conventions for non-fiction, such as essays, with that of fiction.

So here are a few novel writing guidelines:

Indent each new paragraph

Each new paragraph should be indented by about a half a centimetre, with the exception of the very first paragraph of each chapter, which should be flush with the margin.

Don’t use excessive new chapters

We’ve seen manuscript where almost every new paragraph is named as a new chapter, meaning that you’re on chapter four within 2000 words. This is not appropriate use of chapters, which will be around 2000 words each as a very loose rule of thumb.

Don’t leave line breaks between paragraphs

Essays and other fact based writing dictates that you should leave a gap between each paragraph, This is not the case with fiction writing.

Use font size about 12

If you are expecting anybody else to read your work, it’s only polite to offer it in an accessible size – don’t forget that not everybody has perfect eyesight. But in addition to this, the way we read (not by smoothly scanning but in jumps and pauses that take in groups of words at a time) means that excessively long sentences – that would be created by very small text – are harder to read.

Use a serif font

A serif font is one that has the little tails at the edges of the letters (such as Times New Roman). A Sans Serif font is one that does – and therefore looks more abrupt. Serif fonts are easier to read when printed, so you should use one. The most common ones are Times New Roman and Courier New.

Final notes:

If you’re not sure about formatting of your document, there’s a very quick and easy way to check – take a paperback of the shelf and see how they do it! Check in a few to confirm, and hey presto – now you know the convention.

If you'd like more help writing your novel, find out what makes The Novel Factory so effective.