(If you want to write a novel so that you can earn money - this article is not for you. It is for those who want to write for the sake of writing only)
After reading the above line, you might be thinking that writing novels is not a good profession in terms of money. Well, you are partly right and partly not. Writing novels do bring you some money, but only if you are not too focused on it. If you want to be a novelist, see yourself like that innocent archer who feigns to practice his first shot, but mistakenly hits exactly at the target. Like this archer, your main goal is to practice your skill, and mistakenly hit the money spot. Consider the writing profession like that robot whose body works not on oil but blood. By which I mean that writing works, unlike other professions, with pure intention of sharpening your pen and not to sell it.
Writing novel is a practice few centuries old and through out this short, yet considerable, course of time, the genre of Novel has dramatically evolved in its traditions and form throughout the world. Trendsetters and the founders were, of course, copied in their style and construction of the novels. The radical influence of Cervantes over Daniel Defoe, Laurence Sterne and Tobias Smollett is a prominent example when exclusively speaking of influence of Spanish writers over English novelists.
What is a novel - that is a question asked by many of those who want to write their own first novel just by reading about the novels. If they think that they can write just by reading, then please read this article.
This article is for you if you fall in following criteria:
- You always said to yourself, "I want to write a novel, but from where should I start?"
- Every time, you sat on your desk to start writing your first novel from chapter one, from the very first word, and in the end you probably succeeded in properly burning away all that you wrote in your first attempt.
- You have the story in your mind, but you don't know what's the proper way to frame it while writing a novel
- If you fear the public reaction to what you wrote
- If you fear that you might probably considered a childish or novice writer
- You have the urge to write something so involving and life-changing sort of a thing that your readers will remember till their deaths that they once read a novel written by a great writer; but the problem is you do not have a story to write although you are completely ready to invest yourself in this work, but only if you had a one interesting story!
- You think that your novel's main subject or theme might be amateur or bathetic.
If you fall in these or, even, one of these criteria you are at the right place. In this article I will tell you that how to start from an idea or story or topic to the end chapter of your novel. This may become one of the lengthiest articles so be ready for a lot of reading.
A Story and an Idea for a Novel
A story and an idea - that is all you need to start a novel. If you have a story in your mind already well developed with its proper beginning and ending, then you should skip this section.
In the heading I wrote Idea and Story together as if they mean the same thing. No, they do not mean the same thing; the meanings are different but the purpose is same - that's why they are written together. Technically, an Idea is the first thing that pops up into your mind before you begin to write a story. Most novice writers try to start like this: "Ok. My first novel should be about poverty. A very poor guy who grew rich, I think that would be just great to start with". This is an idea - the most incomplete and blurred form of story. Remember, a word is to Idea what body is to soul. To give a body to your idea you need to write it down or else it will fly up like the souls.
The most common problem with the aspiring writers is that they just want to write a novel, whether they have a story or not. They just want to write something - anything. If you are one of them, be informed then - this isn't going to take you anywhere. You cannot write a novel just by having a will to write it. You must a have a story - or at least an idea of what you are going to write.
If you are like that guy who has a 'great' idea of writing a story on poverty, then it's a good news for you. Because, you have at least an idea, we can then shape it into a story someday, but the important thing is to have an idea. But, if you do not have any idea but you are in search of it, then I can help you out in that as well.
Let's divide the Idea thing into two parts:
- The Quest for an Idea
- Idea - the unknown acknowledgment
The Quest for an Idea:
Ideas, Ideas everywhere, not an idea to pick. (giggles)
If you are on a quest of finding Ideas for your novel, then like every traveler, you must be equipped with the right accoutrements for your journey. A map to your destination, a carry bag to gather your findings, and things like these. The map for this journey has two simple routes: a route that leads to the external world, and a route that leads to your internal world. Both of these routes will take you to your goal without a doubt. It is for you to decide which route you choose.
Suppose you are taking the external route and you are looking at the world, you are going to find the current issues of the society, human civilization, nature, politics, industries and so on. As a matter of common sense, these facts are available to everyone. Everyone knows what the prevalent ideas are. What new did you find? I think you need now not only a map but also foots to travel, don't you? You need observation to see things differently, to see things clearly. You need a 'clear, deep seeing eye' - as Thomas Carlyle puts. If you are a really sensitive soul, and care for human, only then you would be able to have an idea to talk to about. Of course, we have evil ideas as well - but we are not here to talk evil, vulgar, obscene, brutal. We are here to take a path that's of representation, and if in doing so we can reform a nation, a society, a group, an individual, a way of thinking - then we have surely received our reward for writing.
Writing may not fill your belly with money, but it will surely fill your heart with beauty. It may not win you fans and fame, but it will surely win you friends. It may not increase the number of VIPs in your contact list, but it will surely add prayers and best-wishes to your account. To be a writer is to have a higher sensibility, you are not just a word-juggler who tricks with words. You are an inventor, a creator, a representer, a musician, an artist -- you are not some guy with words in his mind: you are a woman with a soft courageous heart, a man with a strong passionate character, a deity with an all-loving command over masses, a slave with a rebellious mind, a criminal with a murderous intention, a natural law to some Hamlet, a fate to an Oedipus, a choice for a Macbeth, you are both the creator and the creation, the guided and the guide. You are by no means that juggler of words, you are a Writer with the responsibility of the nations in your hands. Your sword is not hammered with rusting iron, it is prepared by a mere tender touch of the ever-burning truth. If you profession is so noble, so should be your ideas. The subject matter of your writings should be grand and speaking to the humanity at large.
Having this sensibility, our fount of Ideas will not be books, we will have our ideas from the people walking by the street, an aggressive shopkeeper by the street-corner who is perturbed by some domestic issues, a little student wearing a satchel postured dead on the stones, a young quail bird drinking water by the lake. We can talk of oppression, aggression, poverty, wealth, life and its wild surprises, homicides, cultural issues, and what not. We have millions of topics, and no topic is new - the misery and bliss of humanity are the same as they were thousands of years ago - only the source of these have changed. So, we are not lacking at options, all that we need is the best topic on which we can write. It is said that the best topic is the one on which you can laugh and cry while talking. Meaning: the topic that is close to your heart, with which you can effortlessly associate yourself. If you like romance and not politics, you should never write on politics, because if you feel bored in this topic you will make others bore as well. It is best for you to write on romance. This is further explained in the next paragraphs.
Suppose you are taking the external route and you are looking at the world, you are going to find the current issues of the society, human civilization, nature, politics, industries and so on. As a matter of common sense, these facts are available to everyone. Everyone knows what the prevalent ideas are. What new did you find? I think you need now not only a map but also foots to travel, don't you? You need observation to see things differently, to see things clearly. You need a 'clear, deep seeing eye' - as Thomas Carlyle puts. If you are a really sensitive soul, and care for human, only then you would be able to have an idea to talk to about. Of course, we have evil ideas as well - but we are not here to talk evil, vulgar, obscene, brutal. We are here to take a path that's of representation, and if in doing so we can reform a nation, a society, a group, an individual, a way of thinking - then we have surely received our reward for writing.
Writing may not fill your belly with money, but it will surely fill your heart with beauty. It may not win you fans and fame, but it will surely win you friends. It may not increase the number of VIPs in your contact list, but it will surely add prayers and best-wishes to your account. To be a writer is to have a higher sensibility, you are not just a word-juggler who tricks with words. You are an inventor, a creator, a representer, a musician, an artist -- you are not some guy with words in his mind: you are a woman with a soft courageous heart, a man with a strong passionate character, a deity with an all-loving command over masses, a slave with a rebellious mind, a criminal with a murderous intention, a natural law to some Hamlet, a fate to an Oedipus, a choice for a Macbeth, you are both the creator and the creation, the guided and the guide. You are by no means that juggler of words, you are a Writer with the responsibility of the nations in your hands. Your sword is not hammered with rusting iron, it is prepared by a mere tender touch of the ever-burning truth. If you profession is so noble, so should be your ideas. The subject matter of your writings should be grand and speaking to the humanity at large.
Having this sensibility, our fount of Ideas will not be books, we will have our ideas from the people walking by the street, an aggressive shopkeeper by the street-corner who is perturbed by some domestic issues, a little student wearing a satchel postured dead on the stones, a young quail bird drinking water by the lake. We can talk of oppression, aggression, poverty, wealth, life and its wild surprises, homicides, cultural issues, and what not. We have millions of topics, and no topic is new - the misery and bliss of humanity are the same as they were thousands of years ago - only the source of these have changed. So, we are not lacking at options, all that we need is the best topic on which we can write. It is said that the best topic is the one on which you can laugh and cry while talking. Meaning: the topic that is close to your heart, with which you can effortlessly associate yourself. If you like romance and not politics, you should never write on politics, because if you feel bored in this topic you will make others bore as well. It is best for you to write on romance. This is further explained in the next paragraphs.
Idea - the unknown Acknowledgment:
Sometimes, you are so focused on making up your story that you do not bother to check what subject area you are dealing with. And that's also fine. You do not really need to know that - to a limited extent. For your novel to get published you need to know the genre/subject of your novel. So, if you haven't given a thought to it and you really do not know how to determine the subject for your story (either you have written it or going to write it), you should then ask yourself:
What topics do I mostly like to talk about?
Whatever the answer comes in your mind, that is the idea - that is the subject (if you have written your story, then try finding this newly discovered idea in it). This section assumes that you haven't reached your story yet.
For example, you like to write about the chaotic outcomes of lying to your loved ones - now this becomes the main-idea around which your story is going to revolve. It is often observed that the ideas about which you frequently talk or think are the ones you would like to write about. Like, I like to have psychological and philosophical discussions with my mates, so usually my writings are also philosophical. I do not write about fairy queens and dainty princesses of great palaces, neither I write about hard-core political issues nor I like to write about financial matters. Why? Because, that's not my taste, and because I do not really have ever thought about them before. Or simply because I do not really care about these things. The point I am trying to underscore here is that always write about things that you are interested in.
Some of the few aspiring writers, like us, often get snowed by the accolade given to their ideal writers for their popular novels. We often get entrapped in different mindsets that have no grounds; for instance, we continue to think that since Francis Bacon wrote on a topic that is read by a huge number of readers that's why he has a wide audience. Whereas, this is not the case. These writers haven't become the best-sellers because they wrote in a specific genre. Generally, writers become best-sellers because of their writing style and the content, but there are many factors that work behind a best-seller that I will reveal to you after a while.
I would not talk about what other writers do, however, I will definitely tell you that how you can write your first novel.
The very first thing you must acquaint yourself with is the story! As I have told right in the start that if you want to write for the sake of writing and not for money, so in this context you must understand that for you to write you must have something to write. There must be at least an story in your head if not a wish to discretely talk to the whole nation, or the grand purpose of reforming your society or reconstructing mindsets.
There must be at least a story. And if that story is supported by a purpose or an idea - that would be just more than enough for you to start a powerful novel that people would love to read again and again. For instance, I am writing a novel (Inside the Mind there is a Hell) not just because I have a story in my head, but also because I am burning in my desire to disillusion my society from its asinine beliefs. My novel has its roots more in my desire than in my story.
Therefore, it is suggested that you should have a idea or purpose in your head before righting a story; or else, there are thousands of stories published each day in the world that serve no purpose than that of narration. I am not going to tell you how to come up with a purpose as everyone has their own priorities and ideologies. What I am going to tell you today is, how to come up with a Story.
Novel Writing Technique 1 : Method ActingI would not talk about what other writers do, however, I will definitely tell you that how you can write your first novel.
The very first thing you must acquaint yourself with is the story! As I have told right in the start that if you want to write for the sake of writing and not for money, so in this context you must understand that for you to write you must have something to write. There must be at least an story in your head if not a wish to discretely talk to the whole nation, or the grand purpose of reforming your society or reconstructing mindsets.
There must be at least a story. And if that story is supported by a purpose or an idea - that would be just more than enough for you to start a powerful novel that people would love to read again and again. For instance, I am writing a novel (Inside the Mind there is a Hell) not just because I have a story in my head, but also because I am burning in my desire to disillusion my society from its asinine beliefs. My novel has its roots more in my desire than in my story.
Therefore, it is suggested that you should have a idea or purpose in your head before righting a story; or else, there are thousands of stories published each day in the world that serve no purpose than that of narration. I am not going to tell you how to come up with a purpose as everyone has their own priorities and ideologies. What I am going to tell you today is, how to come up with a Story.
Know your Story
There are many sources of getting your story. Some people like to create their story from reading other stories; they would read books and blogs to get the ideas for their own stories. Well, frankly speaking, I personally do not go for that approach. I can't say about other writers, but what I do is I get my story by reading people instead of reading books. Keep your observations active while meeting people, keep an eye on their behaviour, their speaking tones, speaking habits, their personal habits and nervous habits, be ready to notice a uniqueness in their attitude. Observe a person as if that's your only job on earth, that is to record the people's actions. That's easy, if you see.
It is easy if you practice this exercise:
Stand behind the door when your friends are talking in a group inside the room. You cannot see any of them. Neither you know how many friends are there and which of them are sitting inside. All you can have is their voices.
Now, a friend of yours talk, "As far as I am concerned, I do not want to turn the fan off"
You hear this sentence from behind the door and instantly recognize the voice, and you will be able to tell "This is my friend, John, speaking."
If I ask you, "How do you know that?"
You would probably say, "Well, he is the only one among us who frequently uses this phrase 'as far as I am concerned' at every other instance.
You are able to tell this because you have closely observed your friend's language and style, and it is this very level of observation you need while observing people in general. Look for their idiosyncrasies, their word-choice, their general temperament, and register all of this information somewhere in your mind.
Remember, one creator is you who is going to create different characters through your words, and one Creator is He who is the Unsurpassed Creator, who has created characters in real life! So, which practice is more beneficial for you? To observe the wordy-characters by Charles Dickens or to observe the life-characters by God? Which character will give you the immensity of knowledge and experience? These are the parameters of choice that you need to maintain the finesse in your observation.
Observe life, instead of books. Feel the smiles on the people's faces instead of the words on the paper. Always try to look for the unshown side of the shown picture.
It is easy if you practice this exercise:
Stand behind the door when your friends are talking in a group inside the room. You cannot see any of them. Neither you know how many friends are there and which of them are sitting inside. All you can have is their voices.
Now, a friend of yours talk, "As far as I am concerned, I do not want to turn the fan off"
You hear this sentence from behind the door and instantly recognize the voice, and you will be able to tell "This is my friend, John, speaking."
If I ask you, "How do you know that?"
You would probably say, "Well, he is the only one among us who frequently uses this phrase 'as far as I am concerned' at every other instance.
You are able to tell this because you have closely observed your friend's language and style, and it is this very level of observation you need while observing people in general. Look for their idiosyncrasies, their word-choice, their general temperament, and register all of this information somewhere in your mind.
Remember, one creator is you who is going to create different characters through your words, and one Creator is He who is the Unsurpassed Creator, who has created characters in real life! So, which practice is more beneficial for you? To observe the wordy-characters by Charles Dickens or to observe the life-characters by God? Which character will give you the immensity of knowledge and experience? These are the parameters of choice that you need to maintain the finesse in your observation.
Observe life, instead of books. Feel the smiles on the people's faces instead of the words on the paper. Always try to look for the unshown side of the shown picture.
To say that novel writing has a technique is incorrect as there is no established technique to write a novel. There are styles. However, when I use the word Technique, I mean the set of useful tips. There are many guides and tips on novel writing, and people learn from there - this guide does not intend to be any different. If you find this guide working for you, do let me know.
I name this technique of writing as Method Acting. It is a formal name for the technique of acting in the film industry and acting academies, which I chose to describe a technique of writing. Generally, Method Acting means a technique of acting in which the actor is supposed to adopt the feelings and emotions of the character and the reproduce them instead of copying other actor's styles.
This technique is consists of 3 steps and its goal is to make you write the first draft:
- Idea
- Idea into Story
- Characters
We have talked a lot about Idea. Now, let's see how can we translate our idea into a Story.
From Idea to Story
In order to translate your idea into your story you first need to understand the framework of the thing into which you want to transform. You cannot transform from one thing to another until you know the structure of the other. Let's investigate the structure of any story in general.
Any story of the world that you read, has generally three parts:
Start
Middle
End
That's quite obvious; however, some stories are left open ended which apparently makes the story 'unended'. We will discuss the variations later on, but let's first see what is the nature of these parts. All the parts consist of these basic questions:
What happened?
When happened?
Where happened?
Who did it?
How did he do it?
Why did he do it?
Then what happened?
The list does not have a fixed order, and does not offer distinct boundaries among the questions. It is the writer's choice that how he blends all of these pieces of information to construct his story. However, I will try to keep the structure simple (we can add complexities whenever we like but we should practice at least the easiest first - just for self-encouragement).
Let's begin a sample story and using these tools construct our first draft. Actually the What question should also be included before Start. That, what is the story about? "What happened in the story" comes later. What is the story about, is the question that we have to ask ourselves and not to our readers.The thing that is excluded from the mainline of the story is for our own goal-setting and not for the audience. You can call it brainstorming - and we have partially done that in the "Idea" thing. Let's come to our main story.
Start
Middle
End
That's quite obvious; however, some stories are left open ended which apparently makes the story 'unended'. We will discuss the variations later on, but let's first see what is the nature of these parts. All the parts consist of these basic questions:
What happened?
When happened?
Where happened?
Who did it?
How did he do it?
Why did he do it?
Then what happened?
The list does not have a fixed order, and does not offer distinct boundaries among the questions. It is the writer's choice that how he blends all of these pieces of information to construct his story. However, I will try to keep the structure simple (we can add complexities whenever we like but we should practice at least the easiest first - just for self-encouragement).
Let's begin a sample story and using these tools construct our first draft. Actually the What question should also be included before Start. That, what is the story about? "What happened in the story" comes later. What is the story about, is the question that we have to ask ourselves and not to our readers.The thing that is excluded from the mainline of the story is for our own goal-setting and not for the audience. You can call it brainstorming - and we have partially done that in the "Idea" thing. Let's come to our main story.
What?
Murder of a husband
[1980]
You can be exact in time if your story depends more on time than characters and action. For instance, your story consists of one whole day of a character who is going to die at 7 o clock in the evening. So, here you may need more precise times. You can leave time and place if you want - but that will be a little difficult to handle. As a beginner, I will advise you to mention time and place to add more reality in your story. However, there are many novels that escape the time descriptions - but that's on purpose.
Where?
[Pakistan, Lahore - Street number 23 of Christian Town (house in front of the a playground)]
Since, place has more intimate relation with the characters, story and action, therefore, try to be more precise in describing your location. Initially, be simple and clear - do not get too much detailed about places that hold no importance for characters or main action. For example, Stella is going to murder her husband, and she goes to the kitchen for a knife. Holding the knife tightly in her hand she slowly steps towards the bedroom to stab her sleeping husband. Now, during this description, instead of describing the main action if I start telling you that how beautifully decorated her kitchen and bedroom are - will that make any sense? No. Therefore, do not fall in the trap of over-describing or de-focusing the story's main focus. You can choose a real name of place, or you can create a fictitious place. Sometimes, it is best to describe the place in great detail as this adds meanings to the action and character, often it is a good practice to slightly give the reference to the location of the action and continue describing the main action.
Who?
[Stella Brutsman]
OK. After describing the location, let's add some characters. In our story, Stella Brutsman is our first character, and the second obvious character is her husband, Brutsman. Writers often find themselves in trouble while introducing characters. Some writers think that the way they introduced their character seems artificial and misfitting. Some think that they do not know at all when and how to introduce their characters. Do not hesitate. Read some of the greatest novelists of any language; most of them have introduced their characters just out of nowhere. So, do not waste yourself on these trivial matters. I am calling it trivial because it is not the right time to comment on it as Introducing Characters is an art which even the masters feel chary to practice. So, adopt the way that you like.
Everything is acceptable if its not disturbing the main story - just remember this little thing while writing.
What?
[Shifted newly in the town]
You should ask this question in every section of your novel, in every scene of your novel. That what is happening? What are my characters doing? Do their actions contribute to the main course of the story? If yes, then I should more efforts in describing the environment related to this story-changing action. If their actions are not determining the story line, then don't waste your time on it.
How? - Shifted with great difficulty
Always think of the how of the action. How does the action took place? As a general observation, it is the answer to this question that adds spice to the novels that how something happened? How the character took the initiative. It is this part in which your sensibility will work at its best: explaining the inner and outer world of the character. Take as much time as you want to explain because this question is so fundamental to the action that it can even take several chapters to show to the readers that how your character became what he is, how the character managed to execute his plan, how the situation forced the characters to take a particular decision. Always remind of this how before, during and after every action taking place. The importance of the what (action) will determine the length of the how (method/reason of action)
Why?
This
Then?
To see how these questions are mixed, rearranged and answered in my novel, click here
Start
When?[1980]
You can be exact in time if your story depends more on time than characters and action. For instance, your story consists of one whole day of a character who is going to die at 7 o clock in the evening. So, here you may need more precise times. You can leave time and place if you want - but that will be a little difficult to handle. As a beginner, I will advise you to mention time and place to add more reality in your story. However, there are many novels that escape the time descriptions - but that's on purpose.
Where?
[Pakistan, Lahore - Street number 23 of Christian Town (house in front of the a playground)]
Since, place has more intimate relation with the characters, story and action, therefore, try to be more precise in describing your location. Initially, be simple and clear - do not get too much detailed about places that hold no importance for characters or main action. For example, Stella is going to murder her husband, and she goes to the kitchen for a knife. Holding the knife tightly in her hand she slowly steps towards the bedroom to stab her sleeping husband. Now, during this description, instead of describing the main action if I start telling you that how beautifully decorated her kitchen and bedroom are - will that make any sense? No. Therefore, do not fall in the trap of over-describing or de-focusing the story's main focus. You can choose a real name of place, or you can create a fictitious place. Sometimes, it is best to describe the place in great detail as this adds meanings to the action and character, often it is a good practice to slightly give the reference to the location of the action and continue describing the main action.
Who?
[Stella Brutsman]
OK. After describing the location, let's add some characters. In our story, Stella Brutsman is our first character, and the second obvious character is her husband, Brutsman. Writers often find themselves in trouble while introducing characters. Some writers think that the way they introduced their character seems artificial and misfitting. Some think that they do not know at all when and how to introduce their characters. Do not hesitate. Read some of the greatest novelists of any language; most of them have introduced their characters just out of nowhere. So, do not waste yourself on these trivial matters. I am calling it trivial because it is not the right time to comment on it as Introducing Characters is an art which even the masters feel chary to practice. So, adopt the way that you like.
Everything is acceptable if its not disturbing the main story - just remember this little thing while writing.
What?
[Shifted newly in the town]
You should ask this question in every section of your novel, in every scene of your novel. That what is happening? What are my characters doing? Do their actions contribute to the main course of the story? If yes, then I should more efforts in describing the environment related to this story-changing action. If their actions are not determining the story line, then don't waste your time on it.
How? - Shifted with great difficulty
Always think of the how of the action. How does the action took place? As a general observation, it is the answer to this question that adds spice to the novels that how something happened? How the character took the initiative. It is this part in which your sensibility will work at its best: explaining the inner and outer world of the character. Take as much time as you want to explain because this question is so fundamental to the action that it can even take several chapters to show to the readers that how your character became what he is, how the character managed to execute his plan, how the situation forced the characters to take a particular decision. Always remind of this how before, during and after every action taking place. The importance of the what (action) will determine the length of the how (method/reason of action)
Why?
This
Then?
To see how these questions are mixed, rearranged and answered in my novel, click here
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