Writing a novel is extremely difficult. Writing a novel of such greatness that people consider your work a craft, a skill, and a masterpiece is beyond difficult. Of course, many authors will claim that while they were working on their great novel, they had a lot of fun, and how one thing led to another and then it fell into place. They’re not lying – but they’re the exception to the proverbial rule. However, crafting a great novel is exactly that – a craft, and with enough practice, and a lot of patience, you can achieve the same level of greatness. There are however, several things in your novel you need to pay close attention to, because they’re the key to writing a great novel.
1. The First Sentence
The first sentence needs to be one of the best sentences ever. Not just in the novel. It needs to be memorable, specific and fun – it needs to hook the reader right in. For example, if you start with thoughts and reflections, you will turn the reader away. But start with action, imminent danger or conflict or even dialogue (if you can do it right), then you have a hook. You will pick the reader’s curiosity, and they will want to know what happens. The thoughts and reflections on why the action has happened can come later.
2. Setup
After the marvelous first sentence comes the marvelous setup. The setup is not the world building, or the characters. That comes later. The setup is what sets up the main conflict between the protagonist and antagonist, and it shows the main obstacles standing in the protagonist’s way of successfully completing his mission. It’s an extension of the hook of the first sentence – your story has a main goal, but it also needs obstacles that will have to be overcome by the protagonist in his journey. Here, it’s all about the introduction. The problem and the conflict need to be presented in an interesting way that will keep the readers interested.
3. Language
Okay, so you’ve decided on your perfect, memorable first sentence. You’ve used the best language skills at your disposal for creating the perfect introduction and to set up your story. Does this mean that you can let go and move forward in a relaxed manner? Actually, no. The language in your novel needs to be at the same level throughout every chapter, paragraph, sentence and word.
If you’ve started with an opening infused with humor, then you have to continue that way until the end – without forcing it. In a way, every writer has a different writing style, a different way of stylizing the language as they tell the story. That is not a bad thing – but you cannot tell a fairytale type of story using the same language techniques as a horror story, for example. That’s why you need to set a tone, and an atmosphere with your language, which will make the writing of the specific novel recognizable.
4. Character Introduction
The introduction of the characters should be just as memorable as the first line. When they first appear on the proverbial scene, they need to make a grand entrance. Even the secondary and minor characters can be presented this way, and they will have an impact on the overall effect of your novel. For example, minor characters can only have a few lines, but if those lines are funny, unusual, or downright crazy and unexpected – it will give the most minor character attitude, which hints at an unexplored personality. Think of your favorite novel and then try to remember the character that has the fleetest appearance. You will probably remember them in better detail than the protagonist’s best friend, a character that probably appears more often on the pages.
5. Voice
You, as a writer, as a narrator of the story (even if you write in a first person point of view) have a specific voice. Your protagonist’s voice is different – this is eminent when they have inner monologues or speak to other people. The focus here is in the voice; the protagonist’s inner monologue needs to sound differently from the voice of their inner thoughts. The best way to feel the voice is to listen to an audiobook – in a well made audiobook, the inner thoughts and inner monologue (and dialogue) is said in a different voice by the reader, who proceeds to make different voices for every character. And that is what you should strive to accomplish when you’re writing your novel – you have to ensure that every character speaks in a different way, that their words can be recognized even when there is not a dialogue tag next to the words they say.
Image credit: Brittany Stevens on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0
Georgina Roy wants to live in a world filled with magic. As a 22-year-old art student, she’s moonlighting as a writer and is content to fill notebooks and sketchbooks with magical creatures and amazing new worlds. When she is not at school, or scribbling away in a notebook, you can usually find her curled up, reading a good urban fantasy novel, or writing on her laptop, trying to create her own.