“How to write a novel draft” – You feel a magical idea buzzing behind your fingers, but something is stopping you.
Is it a fear of mediocrity or maybe the fear of other people’s opinion?
Whatever it is, there’s always this gut-wrenching feeling. You have a brilliant idea that you’re eager to bring to life, but you don’t know how to write a novel draft that captures your vision
Am I getting close?
I get it.
Writing a novel draft can be tough. Especially when you are new and unsure how this whole writer things works.
But look at me.
I was there not too long ago, and I survived.
So trust me when I say: writing a novel draft isn’t as scary as it seems
Hear me out.
Key decision behind writing a novel draft
I have written stories for about as long as I can remember, but for about 3 years ago I decided to take it seriously.
Therefore, it might surprise you to hear this, but:
Over the last 3 months, I have learned the most important lessons of all.
And that is, I have a very specific way of doing things.
A way that’s different from what everybody else is doing and will probably recommend you do.
What a horrific thing – right?
But honestly, it’s not.
Because it’s the exact point I want to make.
I and just about everybody else on the internet can tell you how to write a novel. What techniques to use, words, format, style, you name it.
Whatever it is there’s always someone with great tips, but you need to know that ultimately, it’s up to you how you choose to write your novel drafts.
BUT, and this is a strong but.
There’s nothing wrong with getting advice from others as long as you keep the previous line in mind.
Therefore, I’m going to give you my two cents on writing.
Because there is, in essence, two ways of writing: A sporadic way and a controlled way.
Which one should you choose?
Let’s take a look.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Method 1: The outlined or controlled approach
The trusted way of many writers.
To write in a controlled way is to write with an outline.
“What is an outline?”
An outline is an overview of everything you want to include in your story.
It’s a document where you attempt to develop your entire plot: Beginning, climax to ending, and everything in between.
It’s where you keep your characters, scenes, and relationship.
All in an effort to create something that’ll help you through the story whenever you get stuck. (See it as a support system if you ever get stuck.)
The strength of doing things in a controlled way is that you’ll lay the foundation of the idea before you write even a single word. It’ll allow you to process everything you want to include in your novel draft.
Which is a great way to start out if you’re an aspiring writer.
However, on the flip side.
This also takes time.
It takes time to fill out details and make the outline to an extent where it’s useful. How you do this is outside of the scope of this post, but I have a previous post telling you how to create an outline.
But to put it short: The more time you put into the level of detail will reflect on the help you get later on.
More details and thoughts, the easier it’ll be to drag yourself out of the swamp later. But it comes at the cost of creativity.
So if you want to write using an outline, ask yourself: how much do I want to leave for my imagination?
Method 2: The sporadic or discovery drafting approach
This is my preferred way to write a novel draft.
So, of course I’m tempted to say it’s the easiest way to start.
But it really is, especially if you don’t want to spend time processing everything and just like to let your mind control the writing.
When you write in a sporadic way, you’ll do as little as possible before starting.
With this approach you only need an idea for a novel draft and then it’s go time.
You sit down and write.
However, if you’re stuck getting an idea, I’ve got you. During my 3 years writing, I have developed a natural sense for idea generating and I’m yet to run out of ideas. Therefore, if you need to get started, I encourage you to read my previous blog post that’ll help you generate a sea of idea in less than 15 minutes
Okay, sorry for the shameless plug.
Back to the real show.
The reason I prefer the sporadic way is because it feels natural to open a document and let my mind decide the direction of the story.
Which is lucky for me, because I’m useless with an outline and can’t for the life of me stick to one.
I always end up doing a million other things and therefore, I’m glad that my mind is happy to provide me with the support hand.
This, however, doesn’t mean I don’t understand its power, because I do and for you to decide which one to choose is about just a simple question.
“Do you need to have everything noted down and can you actually stick to it? Or are you of a natural that just needs to go with the flow?”
Find your preferred method and you’re well on your way to writing a novel draft.
There’s just one small thing left and that’s to identify your writing techinque.
The only writing style you need to write a novel draft
Disclaimer: I’m not much of a technical writer.
Translation: I don’t know shit about technicality behind writing.
Want to know why? Because I don’t know the first thing about them.
Is this because I like to just ‘follow the flow’? Exactly
I get that some might see this as a disadvantage.
It might seem like a waste of time, but that’s only because it natural you need the perfect style before you can write.
But honestly, that’s like setting a fire ablaze right before you leave.
Instead of waiting, you need to actually write.
You need to allow yourself to find your own voice and the way to do this?
Yes, you guessed it.
It is to write.
It might not be perfect, but it doesn’t need to be.
Writing technique is not something you can just study, it’s something that you slowly build up.
Over time.
By writing a shit ton of writing.
“And how exactly do I do this?”
Do what you need to do to write. Quickly you’ll see the technique that comes natural to you.
And then once identified, you can start to mold it.
Still sounds a bit abstract?
Here’s how to:
Sit down and write for a daily amount – Don’t know how much? Try 30 minutes.
Then during the evening (or day), read.
Doesn’t matter what genre you think is interesting.
While you read, take notice of the elements the author uses that you like and try to incorporate them into your writing next time you write.
“But Jack, how is this different from studying before I start?”
Let me answer with a simple question: If you are yet to write, how can you know what your writing style is like?
The impact dialogue have on your novel draft
Oh yes, the almighty dialogue.
It’s just something you plug in whenever and wherever you see fit, and you’re golden right?
Not quite.
Dialogue is there to build pace and flow. It helps you build your characters and show their personalities. And it is in general just an integral part to learn if you want to write a novel draft.
There are a lot of different ways to do this, but these are some of the things I have had a lot of success with.
#1 The format of your dialogue matters.
I don’t know what to say, just don’t.
It looks weird and you’ll hate yourself once you get to editing.
I spent my first 4 months editing looking at a nasty mess of dialogue and it’s a place you don’t want to go.
Uh and, it also makes it difficult to keep an overview of your novel draft.
Inline:
The water waved to shore, pushing the sand with it in a single motion. Maria and Jeremy walked side-by-side. “It’s a perfect day, don’t you think,” Jeremy asked. “I do,” Maria said. Her voice was quiet, and she struggled to keep eye contact. “What’s wrong?” “Nothing, I just-”
Compared to:
The water waved to shore, pushing the sand with it in a single motion. Maria and Jeremy walked side-by-side.
“It’s a perfect day, don’t you think,” Jeremy asked.
“I do,” Maria said. Her voice was quiet, and she struggled to keep eye contact.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I just-”
Simpler, right? Please, give each dialogue a new line.
This makes it easier to read, improves flow, and it makes your job as an editor a whole lot easier.
#2 Go beyond the word “said.”
I’m going to do this short.
There’s about a trillion other words you can use and ‘say’ just isn’t it.
Instead, do some research for words you can use.
Or think about what your characters are doing, feeling, seeing or just experiencing, and put that into words.
If characters are having a heated conversation, it’s not ‘he said’, but he screamed.
If a character feels empowered, it turns to she bragged.
It might be difficult at the start, but the more your vocabulary improves, the easier it gets.
#3 Use dialogue to build your characters
I don’t think I could possibly convey just how powerful dialogue is at helping you build your characters.
If you have a character that talks a lot, give them longer dialogue. If a character is scared, sad, arrogant, they might talk in a pacing manner.
Depending on how you want your character to turn out, dialogue can help you show your character to the reader in more than just words.
Personally, I like to replay a dialogue in my head and ask myself if it has the desired effect.
And if it doesn’t, then I’ll rewrite it.
Whatever you do, don’t just disregard a sentence once it has been written.
Think of it like a tunnel from the character to the reader.
It’s direct, powerful, and what could the character say that’ll leave an impression on the reader?
The difference between drafting and editing your Novel
Let’s just get something in the clear.
Writing and editing a novel are two different things.
I know.
That’s like saying day is different from night.
“What do you want to gain from this?”
I’m saying this because it’s a plain fact new writers seem to forget about it.
I did too.
I can’t count how many times I’ve stopped writing to edit something, even though it wasn’t the focus.
This idea that everything that to be perfect, aligned and just make sense, it slowed me down way more than it needed to.
Editing is there to help you refine your novel and therefore, don’t spend too much time on the small details while you write.
In fact, don’t spend time on any of the details. There’s no reason to slow yourself down when you can do it all in the editing phase.
“But Jack won’t that overload the editing phase?”
Trust me, you won’t think about it.
When you’re writing it’s much more important that you keep the flow going than it is for you to fill out the missing holes.
To be honest, the hole left on page 25 will be forgotten once you make it to page 27.
And the good part?
You’ll discover it when you edit.
And.
Puff… No damage is done.
Just to give you some perspective.
I’m currently, at the time of writing this, going through the fourth edit of my Italia novel and I have added 25,000 words just from missing things.
Your first full novel draft is meant to lay the foundation of your idea. Because once you get to the editing phase, you’ll have all the time in the world to smooth out the rough edges and fill the missing pieces.
This is what I call: the beauty of writing.
How to write a novel draft: The summarized guide
There are many ways to write a novel draft.
Some do it with an outline, some use AI. Others like to do it blindfolded or just like to be sporadic and let their mind flow.
Every technique has its advantages and disadvantages, and to say one is worser than the other, all depends on the person.
If you are someone who needs support and comfort, then an outline might be what you need. If you’re just itching to write, then maybe try to let your words flow.
At the end of the day, writing a novel draft is all about experimenting. It’s about figuring out what fits you the best and what makes writing fun for you.
Everything else will follow as you get experience.
But if you still can’t decide how to start, then I’d recommend you try both and then see which one fits you the best.
Give an outline and short stories a try.
And if you need a story, try to answer the writing prompt I gave you earlier in the post.
Whatever you do, just remember: 80% of your time as a writer is spent editing, so don’t kill your chances by focusing on the small details while writing.
That’s a wrap for today.
What does your ideal writing routine look like? Have you figured it out or do you still feel empty? Share your story in the comments or send me a mail – I’m here to help.
Until next time – Hope you have a productive and creative day.
Your writing buddy,
Jack