How to Write a Truly Great Novel

Introduction

Anyone with a reasonable command of the English language is capable of writing good fiction. This book provides everyone who has dreamed of writing a novel or other creative work with the tools needed to realize that dream. It is conveniently organized to serve both as an instructional guide to improve the creative writing skills of first-time authors as well as a desk book to assist all writers in planning, writing, and editing any creative writing project.

While I speak with the voice of a published author, both fiction and non-fiction, more importantly I speak with the voice of a teacher and writing coach. Not all good writers are good teachers, because often all they know is what works for them. As both a teacher of creative writing and a published author, I have a unique and fresh perspective on the art of writing fiction. As an author, I enjoy writing well; as a teacher, I enjoy showing others how to write well.

The hallmark of all good fiction is to create a captivating story populated with compelling characters. The goal of this book is to provide a clear and concise roadmap that assists writers to achieve this objective, a roadmap that is easily understood and easily applied both by novice writers and by seasoned writers who strive to improve their manuscripts.

The best way to understand how to write great fiction is to start by examining what I call The Seven Principles of Literary Excellence. Here’s my list.

1. Compelling Characters is an essential component of all good fiction as well as a primary driver of reader engagement.

2. A Captivating Story is an essential component of all good fiction as well as a prime force in creating an enjoyable experience for the reader.

3. Conflict is essential in building both compelling characters and captivating stories.

4. Emotion is a prime driver of character development.

5. Mystery and Suspense are prime drivers of a captivating story.

6. Artistic Vision is the lens through which the reader becomes emotionally attached to, or repulsed by, the main characters.

7. Showing not telling is an essential tool that brings the reader into the heat of the action to experience the story first hand as it unfolds.

Once these principles are understood, the second step is to learn how to apply the many tools available to writers to develop compelling characters and captivating stories. My focus is on what I consider to be the six most important tools to master. Here’s my list.

1. Pre-writing organization: the storyboard, the scene chart, character profiles, and chapter outlines.

2. The use of emotive verbs to develop compelling characters and powerful stories.

3. The use of similes, metaphors, and side scenes to create compelling characters.

4. The proper way to use of dialogue to create compelling characters.

5. The all-important first page.

6. The best point of view, that is, who is most suited to tell the story.

I divide the book into three parts. In Part One, I cover the seven principles of literary excellence. Each principle is the subject of a separate chapter, and every chapter contains not only a clear explanation of what is required but also numerous examples that illustrate how to apply the principle successfully. Each chapter also contains a writing drill designed to force students, in a brief writing exercise, to apply the principle that is the subject of the chapter. My own suggestions for completing the drills are included at the end of the book.

Part Two focuses on the most important techniques that good writers employ to develop compelling characters, the heart of all fiction writing, and to write stories that captivate, engross, and arouse readers. I begin Part Two with a discussion of how successful writers plan a great plot that will drive the characters and enchant the readers. I offer clear step-by-step suggestions for using dialogue, similes, metaphors, side scenes and verb selection to build characters. Finally, I discuss the pros and cons associated with a writer’s choice of narrator.

Part Three is clean up. It addresses proven editing techniques, avoiding and overcoming writers’ block, and publishing options.

It took me eight drafts to get my novel to a level where it could be published. I made a lot of mistakes and wasted an enormous amount of time fixing them. My hope is that all my students and all readers of this book can avoid the stress and wasted time that I experienced and produce a top-quality manuscript in only two drafts. And, most of all, I want all budding writers to experience the grand exhilaration that comes from feeling the creative juices erupt onto the page to produce a manuscript that gives them enormous pride and satisfaction. The goal of this book is to make writing fun, stimulating and satisfying by eliminating the stress and self-doubt that can destroy the creative experience.

Chapter 1

Conflict and Tension

Literary conflict is essential in building compelling characters and captivating stories.

Conflict plays an essential role in all great works of fiction. Without conflict, stories are bland, characters are flat, and readers are bored. It’s often correctly observed that if the characters are happy, the reader is not. This literary paradox results from the fact that while virtually everyone strives to avoid conflict and tension in our own lives, we are nevertheless enthralled to read about it in our novels. We love to watch little people with big dreams struggle mightily against seemingly insurmountable hurdles. We love to watch everyday people struggle to overcome racial, gender, and ethnic discrimination, to see the poor and weak fight hopeless battles against the rich and strong, to watch people struggle to survive in the face of natural disasters or cataclysmic events, to see people battle to overcome their own physical disabilities and character flaws, to see people fight against social injustice and abusive political power, and we love to see enemies struggle to find love.