The Novel Writing How-To Blog
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Writing Assignment #7: Celebrate!
You’ve reached the end of your draft. Your novel is written. It’s time to celebrate! This is a HUGE accomplishment, one that takes some writers decades to reach. You should celebrate! For today, you should ignore how many pages are left in this book and take a break. The writing is done, and your brain needs some rest before making the shift into edit mode.
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Writing Assignment #6: The First Draft
Now that you know the basics of writing a first draft of your novel, it’s time to sit down and do it! Start writing, and don’t stop until the end of your story is on the page!
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Writing Assignment #5: Chapter Summary
Remember that your chapter summary is a tool to help you plan and organize your story. Don't be afraid to make changes and revisions as you go along and keep your focus on telling the best story possible. Now that you’ve learned about story structure and planned your novel, you are ready to start drafting.
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Writing Assignment #4: Novel synopsis
Once your outline is complete, use it as a guide as you expand your idea into a more substantial novel synopsis. Writing a novel synopsis before writing the novel draft can be a useful exercise in planning and organizing your story. Once you have a rough outline of the story, go through each section that you outlined in writing assignment #3 and flesh it out with more detail. Here are some steps you can follow to write a novel synopsis:
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Writing Assignment #3: Outline Your Novel
Outlining a novel is a personal process, and there is no one “right” way to do it. However, here are some general steps you can take to outline your novel:
1. Determine your basic story elements: Start by determining the key elements of your story, such as the main character, the setting, the conflict, and the resolution.
2. Create a rough chapter outline: Decide on the basic structure of your novel, including the number of chapters and their approximate length. Select one or two of the story structure outlines we just reviewed to use as a guide to keep your story focused and on track. Then, create a rough outline of what will happen in each chapter.
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Writing Assignment #2: Premise
The premise of a novel is a brief description of the story that includes the main character, their goal, the conflict they face, and how they overcome it. It provides the basic outline of the story and sets the tone for the book. The premise usually consists of a few sentences or a paragraph and is used to generate interest in the novel.
Writing Assignment #1: Concept
As mentioned previously, the concept is the big idea behind your story. It's the thing that makes your story unique and compelling and that sets it apart from other stories in your genre. The concept should be conveyed in a single sentence or tagline that captures the essence of the story. Write at least one story concept for a novel that you might enjoy writing. For best results, write several. These may be several versions of one potential story, or you might have several different story ideas. Play with this activity to get the creative juices flowing.