Takeaways from Writing My First Novel

Delicia A. Vaz

Photo by Janko Ferlič on Unsplash

Takeaways from Writing My First Novel - Preparation

by Delicia A. Vaz

When was your last creative writing assignment? Mine was in college.

Is writing a book similar to a college assignment? No! It’s bigger and infinitely more demanding.

You have an idea for a story. Should you start working on it right this second? Wait for a few minutes and check out the tips I have for you.

This is the second installment from my seven-part series—Takeaways from Writing My First Novel. Before I get into it, let me explain why I took the time to prepare myself for writing.

Delving into writing suspense fiction is a 180 from my analytical and science roots. Having written for academic coursework and my thesis, I’m attune to a style which leans heavily on technicality and lots of citation. My writings have put methodological and mathematical terminology into layman’s terms. I was acutely aware this style wouldn’t work in my favor. Being a storyteller for data, my creativity had a tiny opportunity to reveal itself which placated the artist in me. This was not even the halfway point between fiction and technical essays.

It was clear to me that flying blind wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do. I wanted my writing experience to be enjoyable and not filled with avoidable frustration or surprises. After all, through the medium of fiction writing I had found a wonderful way to make my analytical and creative worlds collide.

Preparation involves plenty of groundwork and hours of planning. Give it your due diligence and set up yourself for a good experience. Here are my top five takeaways from this stage of the writing process:

1. Research Every Single Thing

You can never do enough research. Maybe it’s the trained scientist in me that’s speaking. I’ve benefitted from a habit which was second nature to me for over a decade. There’s a wealth of information at your fingertips.

Read interviews from your favorite authors, editors from publishing houses and top literary agents. Many of them are open to talking about their struggles and successes.

The concept of writing might seem easy. When it comes down to it, you begin to realize the details that go into creating a complete story. Develop a realistic idea of what you are getting yourself into because it will keep you grounded. Research is an on-going process. It spreads into other stages of the writing process and helps you create a sensible story.

2. Know Your Genre and Word Count

Determine the genre of your story before you start writing. Don’t slap a label on it after your novel is written. By knowing your genre beforehand, you begin to use a manner of writing which reflects it. Think of it as setting the tone of your story.

Research and understand its intricacies. Add elements from other genres but don’t let them overrun your main one or else you run the risk of cluttered writing.

Example: A thriller should keep readers at the edge of their seat. Every page shouldn’t leave readers laughing. Providing comedic relief between heavier scenes is acceptable with a joke here or there.

Each genre has an estimate on the expected word count. Most genre fiction falls between 50,000 to 110,000 words. Research your genre and keep its estimate at the back of your mind while writing but don’t let it be your primary focus.

Note: This estimate is your manuscript word count (MWC) based on a calculation of characters per line, lines per page and number of pages. It is a different value from the built-in word estimator at the bottom of your document. The MWC accounts for blank lines at the end of a chapter and lines with fewer words as they take the same amount of print space compared to a line filled with words.

Example: Your document has 85,000 words across 280 pages. After doing a calculation for the MWC, it equates to about 93,000 words over 311 print pages.

It’s good to have the word count of your first draft fall in the ballpark of the estimate because you won’t have the hassle of writing additional scenes or removing written scenes during the Revision and Editing stage. If you find it hard to estimate the MWC, then go with page numbers.

The next three takeaways are connected with prewriting.

3. Figure out Your Plotline

This is your main idea for the story. It consists of a handful of sentences or questions to describe the essence of your story. Your plotline is your North Star while you write.

Example: A bank clerk goes missing after witnessing a robbery. He is considered to be in danger until a detective discovers ripped pages in his employment file.

The who, the where, the what, the when, the why, and the how (Five Ws + One H) can be described as this idea is developed. Keep a central document or notebook to jot down plots. Start with drawing inspiration from your life and everyday situations.

Note: Creating plotlines is something you can keep doing while writing your first novel. You are starting a library of plots for your future novels.

4. Organize Your Story Development

You’ve squared away the details about your genre and plotline. It’s time to develop your story and your characters. This is where you exercise your creative freedom. Don’t overthink the details.

It’s difficult to come up with three-hundred pages from the get-go. Start answering the Five Ws + One H. Make sure the answers are connected with your plotline. Brainstorm, make notes and visualize your story.

Example: Who is the bank clerk? Does he like videogames or taking the occasional road-trip? What is he like? Do his neighbors know him? Should the character come across as straightforward or shady?

This is one of my favorite parts of the writing process. I have individual documents for primary and secondary characters, locations, central scenes, etc. Jot down any ideas you can link to your story. It can be something as simple as your character’s catchphrase. These things help create consistency.

Note: Most of my initial story development was an album of mental images because I have a visual memory. When my novel’s first draft went beyond the halfway point, I took a pause and created individual documents. In hindsight, I should’ve done this first. Let’s pretend that’s what I did and proceed to the next takeaway.

5. Your Layout is Your Blueprint

You’ve created the elements of your story. Now, you can put them together to build your layout. How you set the scene and what you do with your cast of characters is your prerogative. Choose ideas which flow into one another. Your scenes should add to character growth and also carry the story forward.

Example: Early in the story, there’s a paragraph pertaining to the bank clerk’s preference for sesame seed bagels. Let’s say it’s a typical scene at a coffee shop. This seems like extra information if you aren’t going to do anything besides let the reader know about the clerk’s penchant for that particular bagel. It’s not considered redundant if you mention the police find sesame seeds near a filing cabinet containing employment records. Now, you’ve given your readers an idea worth genuine consideration.

Your layout is a useful tool. It helps you stay on track when you begin writing. You use it to form your story one chapter at a time. I didn’t use all the elements/ideas I had and kept them for future use. You should too.

Concluding Thoughts:

I hope these takeaways enhance your preparation and guide your decision making. Taking a leap into writing has been worthwhile for me. It can be for you too. Your efforts will not go to waste.

After preparing and prewriting, it would make sense to talk about the takeaways from writing the first draft. However, I think the underrated, often overlooked but highly necessary, role of formatting needs the sole spotlight. This is a crucial step to make your writing process go as smoothly as possible. In the next article of this series, I’ll be addressing the takeaways from formatting.

This article originally appeared on my LinkedIn Dashboard on July 26, 2021 here.