• First thing you need to know is that I cannot help you all the way. You cannot learn to write when someone is telling you to “write exactly this”. You must first find your calling in words. Each person is different, and thus each person will write a different novel. I can, though, guide you through the steps, in hope of enlightening you, so that you become a better author.

    First thing to do is brainstorm. Brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm. Brainstorm protagonists and antagonists. Brainstorm conflicts and climaxes. Brainstorm until your brain hurts and you have the basic skeletal structure of your novel. The one thing you do not brainstorm yet is your title. In the middle of your novel, you could completely change the rest of your novel, and then your title is no good. It is best to save that for the end. The MOST important thing you need to brainstorm, though, is where your story is headed. This includes a basic introduction to your main character. It also includes a general idea of the different obstacles he/she will face. Not all authors will follow this trend, though. Some will, as the term goes, wing it. I know I do.

    Next, start a rough draft. This is putting the muscles on your skeleton. You should take the things you brainstormed, and space them out throughout your story. You then take words, phrases, and paragraphs and put them in between, to explain how you get from one point to another. Your vocabulary should be of a very basic origin (so fancy, specific words like “cardigan” should be replaced with ones like “sweater”). How you do it, though, is completely up to you. Though, you should know that a good story is from 60,000 words to 100,000 words. That is a lot of writing, so I suggest you space the main points of story quite far apart. But, as I said, everybody is different, so your great novel may be only 30,000 words. Where you do it is also completely up to you. You could write it long hand, but I suggest the computer for two reasons. One, Microsoft Word has a thing called “Word Count”; so that you don’t waste days seeing if your story is long enough. Also, once you’re done the rough copy, it’s easier to correct, and you do not have to constantly keeping writing and rewriting the same long story over and over. On to step number three… editing.

    You yourself should not do the editing. You cannot criticize yourself efficiently. You will be too nice to yourself, and you’ll think it does not need work. Get a friend of yours to read it, and give you feedback. This feedback will help you further the progress of your novel. If people like your novel, you only need to change the vocabulary. If they find it boring, add action, humor, whatever you need to, to make it liven up. You should do numerous times, adding things, taking out things, and adjusting your grammar, while at the same time use new words to be more precise on the happenings in your book. This is why I suggested that you should use a computer. That way you only have to adjust the necessary areas. If you were to rewrite it completely, you could accidentally change areas that were well off, and make them a little worse. While you keep editing, asking for feedback, and then editing again, your novel will become better.

    After you have finished the editing, start doing all the fun stuff. You can now come up with a title. It should be creative, imaginative, and not too revealing of the events in your novel. Here is a list of other things to do to make your novel different from other ones:
    • PAGE NUMBERS: Where you put your page numbers is up to you. When you have typed out our novel on the Computer, roll your mouse over “Insert”. Page Numbers will be labeled in that list. You are given two categories to choose from: Vertical and Horizontal. Vertical is the top or the bottom. Horizontal is left, right, center, Inside (where the two pages meet) or Outside (the exact opposite).
    • COVER PAGE: This should be a very creative drawing or photo that immediately catches the reader’s attention. If you cannot draw, or you suck at Photoshop, either you should get lessons, or hire an Illustrator.
    • FONT: The font will set the tone and the mood of the story. For example, for a romance novel, it would be more fitting to have Chapter One rather than Chapter One.
    • AUTHOR NAME: This is a good time to create a pseudonym, if you want it. A pseudonym is like another name you have for your novels, that way people don’t know it’s you. I suggest this for people who have really weird names, for example, Jonquille Remiski. If there is a Jonquille Remiski, sorry about it.

    PUBLISHERS!!! A word on publishers: they are usually ageist. If you are young, and you have a novel that you would like to have published, do it yourself, or online. Online publishing sites are free, they don’t care about your age, and you still get some money.

    Here are some terms and other notes you can use to help you in writing a novel:
    • CHARACTERS: Undoubtedly, you all know about characters. You all know about the ideas of good guys and bad guys. Some other character terms are PROTAGONIST (Usually the main character. He is the good guy), ANTAGONIST (He is almost always the “bad guy”) and PATHOS (I feeling of pity for the character).
    • SETTING: Always remember to set a novel appropriately. For example, Victorian novels should not have big, black Mercedes’.
    • PROLOGUES & EPILOGUES: Always, like a title, deal with these things last. Like I said, you could change the story completely, and then it might have absolutely nothing to do with the story.