Hello, my name is Tony, and my pen name is R.A. Miller. I am a locally published fantasy fiction author, and my book is available on Amazon.com. I’ve been writing for years, and as of starting my series in April of 2011, I’ve finished five total manuscripts. My first novel, as well as my following sequels are each around 140-160k words long.
With my credentials/experience out of the way, I want to state that I believe I may have some information, based on my own experiences, that might be useful to you.
1) Figure out what genre you want to write about. (I will be discussing fantasy fiction)
This should be the first step in figuring out which path to travel. Chances are, you are not going to want to write about something that doesn’t interest you. If you’ve never read a science fiction novel, you’re probably not going to want to write a story about a group of colonists who become stranded in space. Take some time and think about what interests you.
2) Spend some time practicing.
This is one issue that I cannot stress enough. As soon as you open your (Microsoft Word) document, and you’ve changed your font size to your own preference, and you’ve switched the font type to Times New Roman, you’re sure to be overwhelmed. The blinking cursor can be a very intimidating monster for a lot of aspiring writers. Creativity needs to flow, and I would recommend writing something small, perhaps around 1000 words. This is a fantastic exercise to get the brain moving, and thinking about what you want to write. The 1000 word cap will force you to say more with fewer words. This will help you avoid being too wordy in the future.
3) P.A.C.S.R (P rotagonist, A ntagonist, C onflict, S etting, R esolution) Also seen as the M.I.C.E quotient.
There are a lot of different elements that you read. While there are many different themes in novels, each novel has elements of what I have listed above. While taking step 2 into consideration, make your 1000 word cap include all of these themes when writing your story. As long as you have each of these themes, your story will work. Without these themes, your story has no content. I will go on to explain these themes in brief detail.
-Protagonist: This is usually your main character, though there can be multiple protagonists. They are typically “the good guys” though they’re not limited to that. Per example, you can have a story where your main character is actually someone who would be considered a “bad guy” based on his activities of choice. The protagonist does not necessarily have to follow “the law.”
-Antagonist: This is usually the character in your story who fights against your protagonist. Antagonists need to have a reason to do what they do. Were they wronged in the past and are looking for vengeance? Are they determined to acquire wealth no matter the cost? Are they just completely insane and therefore desire to see the world burn? Antagonists need to have a reason to be antagonists.
-Conflict: This one is self explanatory. A conflict ensues when the protagonist and antagonist meet. Typically the antagonist is doing something to cause harm or turmoil, and the protagonist has a sense of justice and decides to halt or hinder the antagonist. However, an antagonist is not needed if the conflict itself is brought about by uncontrollable elements. Per example: Imagine a world in which meteors are falling from the sky because of faulty alignment with the earth’s orbit. The conflict would then replace the antagonist because the protagonist’s goal would be to survive and help others to survive.
-Setting: This is where your story takes place. Make sure you ask yourself lots of questions. What time period does this fall in? If this is a complete fantasy world, what age does your setting most represent? Industrial? Technological? Pre-electric? If your world is pre-electric, you’re obviously going to be using lanterns and torches to navigate darkened caves, and sunken ruins. It’s important to remember that you’re limited as a writer based on your setting. Keep in mind you can’t use certain writing tropes, or metaphors/similes if the item you’re referencing doesn’t exist in the world you’ve created. (I just thought of an example. If you have a pre-electric world, it wouldn’t make sense to say: “At a glance, he looked like he was moving faster than a speeding car.” Since cars don’t exist in your world, it doesn’t make sense to use them in your narration, or dialogue.
-Resolution: What happens at the end? How is the story resolved? Does the “bad guy?” win in the end? Is the resolution open to interpretation? It is important when writing a story that you close enough doors to satisfy your reader. If you prompt 20 questions in your novel, be sure to answer the majority of them. If you’re interested in writing sequels, it’s easy enough to leave 2-3 of those doors open. You’re going to become very hated as an author if you fail to provide any kind of resolution for your readers.
4) Develop your plot.
Now it’s time to figure out what you want to write about. Start from the very beginning of the book, and work your way through the end. There is no need to write every single detail in your plot. Be sure to reference travel, life experiences of your characters, relationship changes (characters falling in love, or characters growing to hate one another) Be sure to write down anything you feel is important.
I will give a personal example of my own. The 5th book in my series has 2,988 words worth of plot, and the book finished at 138k words. As I wrote this book, once a scene was done, I wrote a “strikethrough” on my plot paragraph as I went through the book. It’s important to have this plot for reference. Keep in mind, it can always be changed later.
5) Get started writing.
I recommend starting with a basic conflict, perhaps a brother and sister having issues with one another with their parents intervening. The main conflict of your book should not take place within the first chapter of your book. The first chapter should contain the development and establishment of your protagonist. Your reader needs to have the following when writing about the protagonist:
-He/she must have a reason to be liked and “rooted for”
He/she needs to be real enough to be related to. The reader must be able to relate to the protagonist.
-He/she should have a weakness, something about them that prevents them from being perfect. Perfect protagonists are not easily to relate to, because none of us are perfect.
6) Do your “backfill” around chapter 3
This is a good time to do your backfill. Now, what is backfill you might ask? Your backfill has a lot of content, that usually talks about the past of the world your characters live in. How were things established? How did the law come to be? How was the world formed/created? This chapter does not have to go on forever. It’s far enough into the story to not bore your reader, and it’s important to give them some basis to fall back on. Backfill is not always necessary. Never do backfill as your first chapter. Your first chapter needs to intrigue, not bore your reader.
7) Spend time re-reading
I cannot stress this one enough. I am still finding errors in my first novel, and it’s already published. Take your time and really think about what you’ve written, and why you’ve written it.
8) As you go through your book, open a separate document for each character!
My series has roughly 50 protagonists and antagonists. Imagine keeping track of characteristics for all of them? Hair color? Eye Color? Weight? Age? As you’re writing your story, record these things. There’s nothing worse that creating a character with blonde hair in the first chapter, and then you reference that same character in chapter 18 as having brown hair. I cannot stress this step enough.
9) Give your story to people you trust and ask for honest feedback.
My wife, and two of my friends both read my story before it was ever published. I heard a lot of good, and bad things from the three of them. I’ve changed a lot of my content based on the things that I was told. I would not do this until you’re at least 6-7 chapters into your book.
10) Spend at least 15 minutes a day writing.
Writing every day will keep you fresh. Even if you don’t make progress in your novel, try and do the exercise in step 2. Writing is a craft, and it will only be improved with practice.
11) Utilize resources!
The internet is an unending resource for help on improving your writing. Writingexcuses.com is a good example of this. Go to your public library and check out as many books as you can. I would recommend taking a notebook and a couple of pens with you. Sit down at one of their many tables and do your research. Find out anything you can, and when you think you’re done, dig deeper. Never stop learning!
12) Now back to the novel construction itself….create layers of conflict!
Having multiple layers of conflict is a great way to keep your reader intrigued. Perhaps two or even three separate antagonists seeking to bring your protagonist down. In one chapter, he/she might interact with one antagonist, and in the very next chapter, he escapes the first just to run into the other. The multiple layers of conflict is not incredibly difficult to do, and is an easy way to give your story some depth.
13) Take a break!
Taking a long break from your writing is actually a good idea. Coming back to your book after being gone for a few months will help you to approach your work with some better perspective. It will be fresher in your mind, and you’ll be more willing to make changes. If you decide to take 1-3 months off from writing your novel, be sure to keep practicing and doing your research online so that your craft stays sharp! I recommend taking a break once your novel is finished. Shelf it before you decide to start editing.
I have a lot more advice to give to be honest, and this is already getting to be too long. I applaud those of you who stuck through it to the end, and I hope that the advice I offered has helped some of you!
Remember, don’t give up! Keep coming back to your work, and keep believing in it. If you don’t believe in your work, no one will!
DISCLAIMER: My advice is based on my own experiences, and not on any substantial research. I am not suggesting that my advice is the absolute truth, and I am leaving myself a lot of room to be incorrect even though I spoke in absolutes. This post is based on opinion and advice I’ve received from people I trust.
Websites:
http://lighthouse-writing-tips.blogspot.com/2006/02/mice-quotient-of-story.html
http://www.writingexcuses.com/
