How to write your first novel?

Have you been trying to write your first novel but have no idea where to start? I was in the same boat a couple of years back and did tons of research, attended courses and binged countless hours of YouTube. Most of all, I learnt from finishing two novels, with the third on its way. So if you are looking for a quick guide on how to start, read on!

Disclaimer: Being a writer is like being a pirate. There are no rules, only guidelines. Research a lot, write a lot, and discover what works for you. Below is what worked for me.

So, let’s jump right into it.

1. The Idea

“If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on.”

Steve Jobs

Ideas for a novel can come in many forms. It can be a cool character, a grisly situation, or even a true story.

Usually, I get my ideas from my interactions with media (a book, or a movie, or a music video, even game trailers) or stories from people I meet. Some of my ideas are fragments from a dream. So ideas can come unbidden and frequently, just like crushes. But if it stays on and never leaves your head, that’s when you know it is going to be a long-term relationship.

It’s never consistent, but usually my story ideas begin with the setting. The setting is the world in which my story would be told: the aesthetic, the history, the peoples and the conflicts. So with The Epic of Kautilya, the setting was a fantasy world in the lines of Middle Earth or Narnia, except I based it on Indian mythology and history.

Once I have my setting; I work on my characters. My characters usually come as a package with the setting. If I am to write a story set in the Mughal court, then inevitably, many characters will be royalty or nobility. But what I try to do is give the characters a distinct trait and build on that.

Once I have a fascinating setting and intriguing characters, that’s when I move to the next phase.

2. The Plot

“Plot is, I think, the good writer’s last resort and the dullard’s first choice. The story which results from it is apt to feel artificial and labored.”

Stephen King

I am a dullard. So I choose to plot before I write.

Writers exist on a spectrum. On one end are what GRR Martin calls “The Gardeners” and on the other end are “The Architects.”

The gardeners are the ones who let the story guide them. Once they have the idea, they just pull up a chair to the keyboard and begin writing. GRR Martin, Neil Gaiman and Stephen King are all famous examples of the above.

The architects are the ones who work on an outline first. They plan out the entire story, including what each chapter will contain, the setting of each scene, etc. JK Rowling, Brandon Sanderson, are writers who do this.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages. I have tried both methods. The first method did not work for me because I never finished my work because I wrote to a point where the story could not progress further. The second method did not work because I hardly followed my blueprint and felt the planning process ended up taking more time than I wanted to give.

So I now follow a hybrid approach. I draw up a very basic outline. I usually base this outline on the “Story Circle” by Dan Harmon. It is a good template to follow for writers of fantasy novels. I would also recommend reading “Story Engineering” by Larry Brooks and “On Writing” by Stephen King.

Do I spend months or years plotting? No. I spend a week. Once I have the initial outline, I rough out what the chapters will be. What happens in each chapter, where is it set etc. I do this with a notebook and a pen.

3. The First Draft

 “The first draft of anything is shit.”

Ernest Hemingway

Now comes the part that most laypersons associate with writers, the anti-social habit of being hunched over a keyboard and typing out your story until your fingertips are raw.

This is the part that is the most fun but also the part where most aspiring writers give up.

I would recommend you follow two tenets if you are serious about this.

• Do not start if you are not in love with the idea.

• Once you start, do not stop until you finish. Even if you fall out of love with the idea.

If having an idea is like having a crush, writing a novel is being in a relationship. You don’t stop as soon as the initial rush passes. If it does, you work on it till you recapture the magic.

One way to keep on writing is to have a schedule. It is how worked for me. I write in the mornings, from 6 AM to 7 AM, every weekday and one weekend (including holidays). Am I always able to stick to the schedule? No. But do I try? Yes.

A key thing here is the concept of momentum. Can’t believe I am quoting Logan Paul but “Momentum is the most powerful force in the world.” Very unscientific, but very useful. Putting myself on the keyboard is the tough part. After that, my innate passion steps in. So having a consistent schedule and sticking to it despite your mood swings and lack of sleep is a great way to keep the momentum going.

A standard sized novel is at least 60,000 words. But you need to use only as many words as needs to be told. If it is not 60,000 words, then you have a novella. If it is not even 20,000 words, then you have a short story. Word count shouldn’t be the goal. Telling the story in the most effective manner should be your goal. But that said, I keep a daily word count. This is again to ensure that I do my due diligence. I try to hit 500 words daily. Sometimes, when I have slept well and my day job has not sucked my energy dry, I hit 1000 words.

I use a software called Scrivener for this process. It is great for structuring novels, keeps track of my word count targets and all in all is a great tool to use and pretty much standard among writers.

If I can stick to my schedule and hit 500 words a day, I should have a first draft in 5 months in theory. But I have never done that. And this is where you should do as I say and not as I do. Set a deadline. And stick to the deadline. If you think the draft won’t be finished by then at 500 words, then write 10,000 words on the weekend. The initial rush, energy and passion you have for a story can quickly dry up. The most straightforward way to recapture that magic is to finish the first draft.

And don’t bother about grammar, or spelling or scientific accuracy in your first draft. The first draft is like the clay you will use to build the final beautiful piece of art.

4. The Alpha Readers

“I’m not the smartest fellow in the world, but I can sure pick smart colleagues.”

Franklin D Roosevelt

So you finished your first draft and the lion you imagined in your head is a flea-bitten stray cat once you put it all on paper. Don’t worry, we can fix this.

But before you do that, you need to distance yourself from your baby. Yes, your book is your baby. And just like most babies, the parents think they are the most special wonder of the world (until they hit their teens at least.) But nothing better to get you down to earth than other people’s opinions.

Choose four friends. Friends who love reading, whose judgement you trust and who can spare the time. Ask them to read your first draft and give you feedback. Tell them to ignore the grammar, the spelling, and everything else you ignored in the first draft. Ask them to be honest in their feedback and give specific feedback.

These are your Alpha Readers. Their name sounds like they are a superhero squad, and for your novel, they are nothing short of that. They will read and give you amazing feedback, I promise you. You may not think it is amazing, but that is only because you are a defensive douchebag.

But you have to remember, your friends probably have just as much knowledge about writing as you do, i.e. next to nothing. There is an art to interpreting their feedback.

The way I look at it is that the Alpha readers are great at diagnosing issues. They are not very good at giving solutions. So I take all the feedback and compare them. The most obvious issues to fix are the ones that all or most of the alpha readers raised. The next set of issues comprise the ones I thought could be a problem and at least one alpha reader raised. The third set is the one that the alpha reader raises and I think to myself, that makes sense.

Anything else I choose to ignore. Usually, after I check the first three sets of issues, there is nothing left to ignore. My alpha readers are pretty, pretty, pretty good.

5. The Second Draft

Now starts the part that most laypersons don’t associate with writing: rewriting.

I first check all the issues the story has had as a whole. This is where I revise the outline.

Next, I go chapter by chapter. I only look at the chapters that need changing and leave the other parts. I change them according to the new outline and the specific feedback from my awesome alphas. (I am sucking up to them so that they continue helping me.)

I don’t go through the whole draft, but sometimes a change in one chapter leads to changes in associated chapters. I do that at this stage.

6. The Beta Readers

The next step in the editing process is where I engage a few more of my friends. I don’t send it to the same readers as before, but I send it to those I trust.

Same steps as in the alpha reading, except now we are getting closer to the final version of the story. The key thing I notice is if the readers are raising the same issues as before or new ones.

7. The Third Draft

This is where I go for the final bit of changes on the story. And again, only the chapters that need change.

8. The Self Edit

“One should never criticize his own work except in a fresh and hopeful mood. The self-criticism of a tired mind is suicide.”

Charles Horton Cooley

Remember how we had ignored grammar, spelling and scientific accuracy in the first draft. What we forgot is we had also ignored language and vocabulary.

This is where I do the bane of all writers’ existence: the self edit. I use this brilliant book as reference: “Self Editing for Fiction Writers” by Dave King.

I use a software called ProWritingAid to help me with the self-edit. It is way more advanced than MS Word to see issues in language and grammar.

I go chapter by chapter, one chapter a day. I fix the grammar, the spelling, remove adverbs and adjectives, replace them with strong nouns, etc. Break dialogues with action beats. Break action beats with emotional beats. Add more descriptions that engage all five senses.

A lot of times, at this point, I also see issues that both the alphas and I had missed.

At the end of the self edit, I have an immaculate draft.

9. Professional Copy Edit

“Hire people who are better than you, then leave them to get on with it.”

David Ogilvy

The professional copy edit is the first part of the process where I engage a professional.

The copy-editor will go line by line and give you feedback on how to tighten up your prose and double check the grammar and spelling.

This part of the process is where I have to cough up some big bucks. I hire my copy editors from www.reedsy.com. I usually budget USD 800 to 1000 for this process. There are sites like www.upwork.com where you can find professionals who will quote you less, but the difference is that the professionals on Reedsy are all vetted editors, people who have worked at big four publishing houses. Upwork has them too, but much harder to find or vet them.

A lot of writers balk at this point because of the money that is involved. But, if you self-publish, don’t skip this step. You will not regret it. Even if you are a stalwart, whose grammar skills compare to Shakespeare, you need a fresh pair of eyes to check your work. Seasoned writers, with hundreds of books under their belt, use copy editors. So use them.

If you are planning to pitch your story to traditional publishers, then you can skip this. Usually, the traditional publisher will have an in-house copy editor who will work with you.

Once I finish the copy-edit, I have the final draft of my story.

10. Professional Proof Read

“It’s attention to detail that makes the difference between average and stunning.”

Francis Atterbury

Wait, what is the difference between proofreading and copy editing? If you think of copy editing as the vacuuming and sweeping, the proofreading is the final mopping.

Things like typos, improper punctuation etc. will get highlighted to you by the proofreader.

For proofreading, I prefer to hire from upwork.com. It is not a highly specialized job and for less than 100 USD you will get a quick read and errors will get highlighted. Only caveat with Upwork is that you should vet the person who will do the proofread. Too many people on there who can’t craft a grammatically correct sentence themselves, touting themselves as proofreaders. Avoid them even if they only charge 10 USD.

And there you go. 10 steps later, I have my final manuscript.

Conclusion

So, in summary :

Come up with the idea, outline the basic plot; write the first draft by sticking to a writing schedule; send the first draft to your close friends (alpha readers); revise the first draft to make a second draft; send this to a new set of friends (beta readers); revise the second draft to make a third draft; self edit the third draft for language and accuracy; hire a copy editor to fine tune the prose; hire a proofreader to check the final version for typos.

So after doing all this, is it ready to go into the hands of the readers? Not yet. You just finished writing the book. Publishing is a whole other animal. And then comes marketing… phew.

But at this stage, you should be proud of what you accomplished. Writing is tough, writing requires stamina, discipline and a lot of love for the craft.

Hope you found this long post useful. I have put below all the links to resources I have mentioned in the post.

I leave you with one last advice, the best one and the most important one. You can see a hundred resources on the net on how to write, but the most important step is to start. If you have an idea you love, go for it and I am sure you will figure it all out as you go along.

Cheers! The Future Looks Bright!

Resources

• Books and Articles :
  • Story Circle by Dan Harmon : https://channel101.fandom.com/wiki/Story_Structure_101:_Super_Basic_Shit
  • Story Engineering by Larry Brooks : https://geni.us/cGmGDQC
  • On Writing by Stephen King : https://geni.us/lVcs
  • Self Editing for Fiction Writers : https://geni.us/7WaF
• Software :
  • For drafting : Scrivener Writing Program : https://www.literatureandlatte.com/introducing-scrivener-3-for-windows
  • For self edit : ProWritingAid : https://prowritingaid.com/Premium
• Websites
  • For hiring copy editors : https://reedsy.com/
  • For hiring proofreaders : https://www.upwork.com/