by Rachelle de Bretagne

Created on: July 17, 2009

Many writers start to write novels, without any real idea of how this should be tackled, and fail. The beginning process of writing a novel is vital to the success or completion of the story in question. This article is written with the would-be writer in mind, in an effort to help them to take the right approach, and to understand the processing which go into writing a novel.

*Idea for novel.

*Time elements.

*Creating the story line.

*Research.

*Creating believable characters.

*Knowing your story intimately.

*Organizing thoughts into chapters.

*Knowing the outcome.

*Knowing which perspective to use for the novel.

*Starting to write.

Idea for novel.

Every day, writers gather ideas. Those moments of thought need to be captured or they are lost. When you come up with an idea, write it down. Think about it and develop the idea until you know beginning, middle and end. These ideas give you a backbone to your story, and at this stage, it isn't necessary to write to story. It is necessary to think out the different scenarios, what kind of story you wish to write, and what readership you are targeting. The idea written on paper is something you can look at as time permits, adding different thoughts and building up the sketch which is to be the framework for the novel.

Time elements.

In which time period will your novel be set? This is vital to the mix, because this will determine how much research will be needed. Often writers fail because they have no clear idea of when the story is set. For example, historical pieces need to get the facts right and many writers fail because their story isn't focused enough on the period which is supposed to be portrayed. This will make a difference to the props which are used within the story, the beliefs held at the time and even the names of characters.

Research.

Having chosen the time period which is to be covered by your story, some research helps. The location of the story may be somewhere unknown to you, and weakness in description will detract from the quality of your work. If you are writing an historical piece, check your facts. Check also your logic. Certain moral beliefs have changed over the centuries, and you will need to have a clear picture of the period in which your work is set. A great example of this is a fiction work by Sarah Waters called Affinity, which was based in a British prison at the turn of the century. The detailed work of the author made the pictures very real

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