There’s no doubt that writing a novel is intimidating for many people. Staring at a blank computer screen and knowing that you have to get your word count to around 100,000 can freeze even veteran writers. The very idea of finishing a novel (writing it, not reading it) can strike terror into the heart of a novice writer. But if you want to write a novel, you’ll have to find a way to get it done. Instead of being frightened by the entire idea of writing a novel, you can try to break it into more manageable amounts.
Break Your Novel Into Chunks
It is far easier to write a chapter than it is to write a novel. Writing a single scene or a little piece of dialogue is easier still. The entire novel might seem like far more than you can possibly manage, but if you break it all down into chunks that you can tackle, you’ll eventually find yourself with a completed novel.
When you sit down at your computer (or pull out pen and paper if that’s your chosen medium), don’t tell yourself that you have to finish this novel. Your mind might rebel and you’ll find yourself just staring at the screen. Concentrate on what’s directly in front of you. Focus on getting through this scene, or that piece of dialogue, or even a single paragraph. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.
This is especially effective if you have only small blocks of time to write. If you only have fifteen minutes, you probably should focus on the small things. One paragraph at a time. If you have an hour, you might be able to take things one chapter at a time. Use your available time to judge what your chunks should be.
Write on a Deadline
Deadlines are wonderful motivators. Having a firm deadline forces you to get something done. Even if you procrastinate, that deadline looms before you, making you finish something on time. Impose deadlines on yourself for getting your novel done. You’ll be surprised by how much you can get finished.
When setting a deadline, be realistic and remember those little chunks you’ve broken the novel down into. Set deadlines based on those little chunks. Maybe you want to get a chapter done a week. Or in two weeks. Some novelists aim for a chapter a day. The exact timeframe isn’t that important. Focus on simply setting deadlines you can keep.
Whatever your deadline is, stick to it. If you have trouble holding yourself to your own deadlines, have someone else hold you accountable. A close friend or partner might be willing to check up on you and even pester you into sticking to your own deadlines.
Writing novels can be a little scary. Don’t try to tackle the whole thing at once. Set goals, break it down into smaller pieces, and even consider practicing your craft using short stories. In no time at all you’ll be on your way towards writing your first book.
It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish the thriller genre from the horror genre. Occasionally, thrillers are even confused with mysteries. It might be easiest to say that thrillers are all about the chase and involve constant action, with a great deal of suspense and peril thrown in for good measure. Writing a thriller takes patience, practice, and guts.
The Characteristics of a Thriller Novel
Most thrillers share certain characteristics in characters, plot, and atmosphere. The setting is typically dark and creepy, and there is usually violence and crime, often murder, involved. The world of the thriller is dangerous and corrupt, with peril lurking around every corner. For the most part, thriller novels are fast-paced, exciting, and at least a little gritty.
The hero, or the protagonist, is often quite different than will be found in a mystery. In a mystery, the hero is usually competent to some degree. He or she will be intelligent, quick witted, and have the training or experience to keep up with the antagonist. Victory isn’t assured, but at least the hero already has the skills necessary to survive.
Protagonists in thrillers are more often just ordinary people. A man or woman thrust into danger with no real experience or training to survive. Most of the time, the hero ended up involved in the entire situation by accident or a twist of fate. It’s not usually intentional. He (or she, as the case may be) will have to learn the rules and acquire the skills to make it through to the end of the book. A thriller is sometimes describes as the process by which the protagonist becomes a true hero.
Another distinctive trait is the plot structure of a thriller novel. Heroes in thrillers spend most of their time thwarting the actions of the antagonist, whose identity is usually known all along. Unlike a mystery, which climaxes with the solving of the puzzle, a thriller climaxes with the defeat of the villain. In many cases, the hero dies to assure victory.
Writing a Thriller
Readers of thrillers want you to scare them out of their pants and slap them in the face with the unexpected. So, when writing a thriller, imagine that you’re on an unknown rollercoaster with a blindfold on. Your story needs to be just as engaging and keep the readers on their toes.
Accomplishing this isn’t always that easy. It helps if you get really good at the “what-if” game. Think about your characters, where they are, how they got there, and start plotting. How can you possibly make things even worse? There’s bound to be a way — a believable way — to make things even more challenging for your protagonist. Thrillers are all about what happens next, so make what happens next thrilling and terrifying.
The thriller genre is one of the few genres where you absolutely should go over-the-top. The general rule of thrillers is “if it’s at all plausible, go for it.” Give your readers all the information they need to make sense of the plot so you don’t caught trying to pull the wool over your readers’ eyes. This means revealing key plot points earlier than you might in a mystery. That’s okay, because you’re not writing a mystery. You’re writing a thriller.
The way you end your thriller can make or break your book. The biggest mistake thriller writers make is to wrap it all up too quickly or too neatly. You just spent 300 pages weaving a thrill ride. You should probably take more than a single page to untangle everything. Make your audience truly believe that your ending makes sense by taking the time to do it right. At the same time, don’t go nuts. The ending should fit the story. If the story was complex, the ending will be complex. If your story was simpler, your ending should reflect that.
Thrillers are most easily defined by the mood they elicit and their approach, not by the subject matter they address. Thrillers may have elements of horror, mystery, paranormal, or crime, but they are unique entities deserving of consideration in their own right.
Writing a novel is a challenging task, regardless of genre, characters, plot, or word count. Taking fiction from conception to completion takes talent, dedication, creativity, and a little bit of luck. It takes practice to be able to weave something as complex as a novel. And one of the best ways to practice the art of novel writing is to start with short stories.
Why Should I Practice Writing a Novel?
Most people have to practice a skill to become experts, even those people born with a natural aptitude for their craft. Doctors aren’t born knowing how to perform surgery. They need years of schooling and practice before they can be considered surgeons. Lawyers need practice law to really get a feel for it. And novelists need to practice putting words together in a way that tells the story that needs to be told in an exciting and coherent fashion.
Short stories provide the best platform for this practice since they are like novels in many respects. Short stories and novels both require realistic characters, a coherent plot, and settings that make sense. The details of a short story are just as important as those in a novel, perhaps more so. In a short story, you have fewer words to convey the entire arc of your tale, so you have to learn to make the best use of your word count.
Your short story will also need to engage your readers right from the beginning just like a novel. You’ll have to weave your story to a climax just like a novel. And you’ll have to resolve the conflict in your short story just like a novel. A short story follows the same basic design as a novel, except for the length. Therefore, short stories are a great way to practice creating a comprehensive story.
The Advantages of Using Short Stories to Practice Novel Writing
There are many advantages to starting with short stories. They’re shorter, for one thing, so you’ll be finished with it that much sooner. Most of the other parts of perfecting your story will also take less time. Revising and editing, for example, will be much faster with a 10,000-word short story than a 100,000-word novel. And you’ll have an easier time convincing friends and family to read your story if it’s shorter. This means you’ll be able to gather opinions regarding your story without having to bribe anyone to read an entire novel.
The shorter word count has another advantage. With such limited space, usually less than 10,000 words, you have to be very careful regarding what information you include. It tightens your writing, forcing you master the art of conveying information without rambling. You’ll have to plan your story carefully, and this can only benefit your skill as a novelist.
Finally, the market for short stories has expanded exponentially in recent years. The Internet allows you to distribute your story and possibly even make money on it simply by making it available to consumers through websites such as SmashWords. This means that you can sell several short stories while you’re pitching your novel to publishers. Some authors even make more money on short stories than they do on novels.
Short stories are an excellent way to practice before you begin writing your first novel. Short fiction gives you the opportunity to hone your craft and expand into genres you may not have otherwise attempted. The decision to practice the art of novel writing can only improve your skill.
Short stories are unique creatures in their own right, and writing one takes a certain attention to the development of your plot. It's not novel, so you have limited space in which to get from beginning to end. Because of this, there are really only two kind of development you can indulge in while writing a short story, and you can't deviate from your story.
The two kinds of development you might choose to employ in your short story are rising action and progression toward a new understanding. These are very different, but can sometimes be found in the same short story.
Rising action is action taken to solve a problem. In this type of story, action is the result of obstacles which are encountered. The protagonist usually fails to resolve the problem immediately (it's not much of a story if everything just gets better). A good example of this is an infection running loose in a hospital. The protagonist must work quickly to contain the infection before it spreads to the general populace. A time limit helps to make the action rise faster. In a short story, this time limit is often necessary to avoid turning the short story into a novel.
Progression toward a new understanding involves the psychology of the characters. Conflict arises from the interaction of the characters, often enhanced by outside forces. The characters of the short story are pushed and prodded toward realizations, changes, or breakthroughs of a psychological nature. An example of this type of plot development might involve a mother grieving and depressed after the loss of her child. An unexpected visitor might arrive, jarring the mother out of her depression and allowing her to move on with her life. Not a lot of action, but a powerful story nonetheless.
These two can sometimes be combined, but if you're writing a short story, be wary of doing so. The traditional length of a short story is 3000 words, but never more than 10,000 words. With so few words to work with, you might find your short story quickly becoming a novella or even a novel. If you don't mind ending up with a longer story than you originally intended, then experiement with different approaches.
