How to write a successful novel - Tips On Ideas

Novel writing help

How to write a successful novel – Tips On Ideas

The fundamental basis of how to write a successful novel is developing a great idea, an idea that you consider worth writing about, and that others will care about. Of course, craft, your ability to engage readers and dramatize that idea is important too. But if the plot is weak, or not likely to interest a wide circle of people, then no matter how well you write, you are not going to achieve a wide readership – or publication.

One of the first things to consider as you develop your novel’s idea, is whether it is of interest to you. If you get bored by any parts of the idea, then you will probably convey that boredom in your writing, assuming you even finish it. Writing a novel takes a while (at least, writing a good novel does). Your ideas must matter to you. Dibell, in , makes the point that most of the ideas that come to us fall into this category. He writes:

“I think that’s what the traditional advice to “write what you know” really means: to choose things that matter enormously to you, things you have a stake in settling, at least on paper.”

He also writes: “Most often these valid, dynamic story ideas won’t be things that you already know and have settled. Settled things make for explanations, not for absorbing fiction. Instead, they’ll be situations or people or memories that are troubling you, things you want, for yourself, to work out and understand. Explorations, not explanations.” (How To Write A Million)

Is there sufficient potential for drama in your idea? Can you flesh it out so that it will be novel length, or is it simply disconnected scenes that are going nowhere, or at least, not very far. Is there a beginning, a middle, and an ending? Or is it simply a description, or an essay?

The adage, “write what you know” could be extended to genre as well. Evan Marshall, in ‘The Marshall Plan For Novel Writing’ recommends writers, especially beginner writers, write about their favorite genre. This is the genre they most enjoy reading, out of all possible genres they read. Don’t write about a genre just because you think it’s popular or easier to get published in, or because it has a higher readership. By writing about a genre in which you have experience as a reader, you will have absorbed a lot of knowledge about what works, what doesn’t, and how. And you’ll bring an enthusiasm to the subject that you wouldn’t to another genre.

Marshall also suggests identifying that genre at the outset, before you start developing ideas and writing. By doing so, it will help in the development process, as you can dismiss ideas that wouldn’t work for your particular genre. You also know whether other things, like a lead character’s gender, is going to be predetermined by convention.

I discovered how valuable this advice was when working on the plot for my first novel using StoryWeaver (which is excellent, by the way. There’s a link in the Amazon box on the right with more information). I love science fiction, fantasy, crime, and some thrillers. So, I was having some trouble when it came to generating ideas in that they were tending towards crime (I’ve been watching a lot of crime shows on television, so they are probably foremost in my mind). But the story, as I had developed it so far, was a science fiction story. And the elements of the story that excited me (which actually had a lot to do with spirituality too), were definitely science fiction elements. So, when it came to resolving plot holes (areas that needed work), by reminding myself of the fact that I was writing a science fiction novel, I was easily able to come up with ideas that were appropriate for that genre, and that fit well into my overall plot.

Both Marshall and Dibell discuss the importance of conflict. You have to measure your idea against whether there is a conflict, a conflict that affects the lead character’s life in a significant way, a conflict they must struggle to resolve. For writers of genre and commercial fiction, this conflict and its’ resolution must be definite and tangible.

If you’re struggling with generating good ideas for a novel, StoryWeaver is excellent. As well as helping you develop your plot, it has some great exercises to generate ideas. I used it to generate the idea for my first novel, and then came up with far more ideas than I needed.