How To Write Novels

How To Write A Novel : Introduction 1 lecture 03:52 How To Write A Novel : Introduction Congratulations, you have now decided to commit to the process of novel writing. This, in itself, is a crucial stage to arrive at, as it requires a recognition that you want to write a book – and that you want to tell the story in your book well. Through the course of the lectures in this course, I will guide you through the various processes and techniques associated with novel writing. In this lecture, we start with the basics of novel writing – What kind of novel is it or story that you want to tell and how should it be structured? What are the elements associated with it, and how is it supposed to flow, when looked at from a structural perspective? What are the elements you want to specifically focus on in your novel? How should you tell your story? All of this is discussed in the following chapter What does a novel need to have? You might have heard the common response to this question: a novel is required to have a beginning, middle and an end. Quite obviously, this is going to seem like a deliberately frustrating response to you, because it does not aid your writing process at all, and does not give you the sense of direction you need to get started. However, I’m going to tell you that this response is just about right – while perhaps in need of some elaboration. All stories require their storytelling arc to be successful, and it’s easiest to envision them regarding their beginning, middle and end. This helps you get a sense of the where the divisions in the story arc, and helps you plan it accordingly. It also helps understand where conflicts and other ‘problems’ within your story are expected to arise. How To Write A Novel : Introduction 1 lecture 03:52 How To Write A Novel : Introduction Congratulations, you have now decided to commit to the process of novel writing. This, in itself, is a crucial stage to arrive at, as it requires a recognition that you want to write a book – and that you want to tell the story in your book well. Through the course of the lectures in this course, I will guide you through the various processes and techniques associated with novel writing. In this lecture, we start with the basics of novel writing – What kind of novel is it or story that you want to tell and how should it be structured? What are the elements associated with it, and how is it supposed to flow, when looked at from a structural perspective? What are the elements you want to specifically focus on in your novel? How should you tell your story? All of this is discussed in the following chapter What does a novel need to have? You might have heard the common response to this question: a novel is required to have a beginning, middle and an end. Quite obviously, this is going to seem like a deliberately frustrating response to you, because it does not aid your writing process at all, and does not give you the sense of direction you need to get started. However, I’m going to tell you that this response is just about right – while perhaps in need of some elaboration. All stories require their storytelling arc to be successful, and it’s easiest to envision them regarding their beginning, middle and end. This helps you get a sense of the where the divisions in the story arc, and helps you plan it accordingly. It also helps understand where conflicts and other ‘problems’ within your story are expected to arise. How To Write A Novel : Introduction Congratulations, you have now decided to commit to the process of novel writing. This, in itself, is a crucial stage to arrive at, as it requires a recognition that you want to write a book – and that you want to tell the story in your book well. Through the course of the lectures in this course, I will guide you through the various processes and techniques associated with novel writing. In this lecture, we start with the basics of novel writing – What kind of novel is it or story that you want to tell and how should it be structured? What are the elements associated with it, and how is it supposed to flow, when looked at from a structural perspective? What are the elements you want to specifically focus on in your novel? How should you tell your story? All of this is discussed in the following chapter What does a novel need to have? You might have heard the common response to this question: a novel is required to have a beginning, middle and an end. Quite obviously, this is going to seem like a deliberately frustrating response to you, because it does not aid your writing process at all, and does not give you the sense of direction you need to get started. However, I’m going to tell you that this response is just about right – while perhaps in need of some elaboration. All stories require their storytelling arc to be successful, and it’s easiest to envision them regarding their beginning, middle and end. This helps you get a sense of the where the divisions in the story arc, and helps you plan it accordingly. It also helps understand where conflicts and other ‘problems’ within your story are expected to arise. How To Write A Novel : Introduction Congratulations, you have now decided to commit to the process of novel writing. This, in itself, is a crucial stage to arrive at, as it requires a recognition that you want to write a book – and that you want to tell the story in your book well. Through the course of the lectures in this course, I will guide you through the various processes and techniques associated with novel writing. In this lecture, we start with the basics of novel writing – What kind of novel is it or story that you want to tell and how should it be structured? What are the elements associated with it, and how is it supposed to flow, when looked at from a structural perspective? What are the elements you want to specifically focus on in your novel? How should you tell your story? All of this is discussed in the following chapter What does a novel need to have? You might have heard the common response to this question: a novel is required to have a beginning, middle and an end. Quite obviously, this is going to seem like a deliberately frustrating response to you, because it does not aid your writing process at all, and does not give you the sense of direction you need to get started. However, I’m going to tell you that this response is just about right – while perhaps in need of some elaboration. All stories require their storytelling arc to be successful, and it’s easiest to envision them regarding their beginning, middle and end. This helps you get a sense of the where the divisions in the story arc, and helps you plan it accordingly. It also helps understand where conflicts and other ‘problems’ within your story are expected to arise. How To Write A Novel : Introduction Congratulations, you have now decided to commit to the process of novel writing. This, in itself, is a crucial stage to arrive at, as it requires a recognition that you want to write a book – and that you want to tell the story in your book well. Through the course of the lectures in this course, I will guide you through the various processes and techniques associated with novel writing. In this lecture, we start with the basics of novel writing – What kind of novel is it or story that you want to tell and how should it be structured? What are the elements associated with it, and how is it supposed to flow, when looked at from a structural perspective? What are the elements you want to specifically focus on in your novel? How should you tell your story? All of this is discussed in the following chapter What does a novel need to have? You might have heard the common response to this question: a novel is required to have a beginning, middle and an end. Quite obviously, this is going to seem like a deliberately frustrating response to you, because it does not aid your writing process at all, and does not give you the sense of direction you need to get started. However, I’m going to tell you that this response is just about right – while perhaps in need of some elaboration. All stories require their storytelling arc to be successful, and it’s easiest to envision them regarding their beginning, middle and end. This helps you get a sense of the where the divisions in the story arc, and helps you plan it accordingly. It also helps understand where conflicts and other ‘problems’ within your story are expected to arise. How To Write A Novel : Introduction Congratulations, you have now decided to commit to the process of novel writing. This, in itself, is a crucial stage to arrive at, as it requires a recognition that you want to write a book – and that you want to tell the story in your book well. Through the course of the lectures in this course, I will guide you through the various processes and techniques associated with novel writing. In this lecture, we start with the basics of novel writing – What kind of novel is it or story that you want to tell and how should it be structured? What are the elements associated with it, and how is it supposed to flow, when looked at from a structural perspective? What are the elements you want to specifically focus on in your novel? How should you tell your story? All of this is discussed in the following chapter What does a novel need to have? You might have heard the common response to this question: a novel is required to have a beginning, middle and an end. Quite obviously, this is going to seem like a deliberately frustrating response to you, because it does not aid your writing process at all, and does not give you the sense of direction you need to get started. However, I’m going to tell you that this response is just about right – while perhaps in need of some elaboration. All stories require their storytelling arc to be successful, and it’s easiest to envision them regarding their beginning, middle and end. This helps you get a sense of the where the divisions in the story arc, and helps you plan it accordingly. It also helps understand where conflicts and other ‘problems’ within your story are expected to arise. Congratulations, you have now decided to commit to the process of novel writing. This, in itself, is a crucial stage to arrive at, as it requires a recognition that you want to write a book – and that you want to tell the story in your book well. Through the course of the lectures in this course, I will guide you through the various processes and techniques associated with novel writing. In this lecture, we start with the basics of novel writing – What kind of novel is it or story that you want to tell and how should it be structured? What are the elements associated with it, and how is it supposed to flow, when looked at from a structural perspective? What are the elements you want to specifically focus on in your novel? How should you tell your story? All of this is discussed in the following chapter What does a novel need to have? You might have heard the common response to this question: a novel is required to have a beginning, middle and an end. Quite obviously, this is going to seem like a deliberately frustrating response to you, because it does not aid your writing process at all, and does not give you the sense of direction you need to get started. However, I’m going to tell you that this response is just about right – while perhaps in need of some elaboration. All stories require their storytelling arc to be successful, and it’s easiest to envision them regarding their beginning, middle and end. This helps you get a sense of the where the divisions in the story arc, and helps you plan it accordingly. It also helps understand where conflicts and other ‘problems’ within your story are expected to arise. Congratulations, you have now decided to commit to the process of novel writing. This, in itself, is a crucial stage to arrive at, as it requires a recognition that you want to write a book – and that you want to tell the story in your book well. Through the course of the lectures in this course, I will guide you through the various processes and techniques associated with novel writing. In this lecture, we start with the basics of novel writing – What kind of novel is it or story that you want to tell and how should it be structured? What are the elements associated with it, and how is it supposed to flow, when looked at from a structural perspective? What are the elements you want to specifically focus on in your novel? How should you tell your story? All of this is discussed in the following chapter What does a novel need to have? You might have heard the common response to this question: a novel is required to have a beginning, middle and an end. Quite obviously, this is going to seem like a deliberately frustrating response to you, because it does not aid your writing process at all, and does not give you the sense of direction you need to get started. However, I’m going to tell you that this response is just about right – while perhaps in need of some elaboration. All stories require their storytelling arc to be successful, and it’s easiest to envision them regarding their beginning, middle and end. This helps you get a sense of the where the divisions in the story arc, and helps you plan it accordingly. It also helps understand where conflicts and other ‘problems’ within your story are expected to arise. How To Write A Novel : Story Development, Narrative and Setting. 4 lectures 16:05 The Story Arc - Beginning, Middle and End Of Your Novel The beginning is expected to start off in a relatively reasonable manner, in that the daily lives of your protagonist(s) are depicted through this. Through the beginning, you help establish where your characters currently are and assist the reader in understanding what kind of settings, norms or social structures they are a part of. Through the course of your narrative of the beginning, you establish an idea of what ‘routine’ means in the story you are telling. This is important because, over the course of time, you will be breaking this routine to drive the story forward. The Middle At the point between the beginning and the middle is where the conflict itself is introduced: it is usually an event or an incident that happens to the protagonist(s) or someone around them that creates within these characters a call to action. This can be a question, a realization, a journey towards self-discovery, or a rescue mission – all of these incited by a specific action that occurred, that increases the level of conflict observed. Through the middle, the nature of this conflict rises in importance, and so – the focus of the middle is the development of the storyline about the conflict situation that you have decided to establish. The middle also gives you an opportunity to describe and detail several critical moments of crisis, all of which serve to highlight the story going forward, and prompt the protagonist(s) towards further forms of action. This crisis-based description reaches its peak when you reach what is referred to as the ‘climax,' the isolated event that changes things around completely. This may be a great war or even just a disagreement of some kind but refers to the moment where the most amount of growth is seen, leading to the establishment of the idea of resolution. It does not necessarily mean that the solution is found in this instance; it’s just that a concentrated burst of action is seen at this moment. The critical moment pivots the story around and is often observed as being the moment your character (or their destiny) to be fulfilled or fully understood. The End Quite understandably, it is falling action that follows this pivotal point in your novel. Falling action follows the realization that the character has come to during the climax – and requires the character to act upon the same by using the knowledge or experience they gained during this process of growth. Given the nature of your story, it is during this part, the end, where the resolution to the conflict or crisis is achieved. Additionally, it is here that the answers to the questions or the epic journeys are received. The concept of closure, however temporary or permanent, is realized at this stage as well and this allows for the creation of a situation where life goes back to being the way it was from the beginning – along with the transformative journey your character experienced along the way. Remember to modify this structure depending on the kind of story you’re choosing to tell – and more importantly, do not divide your novel into very obvious chunks associated with the beginning, the middle, and the end. While you should use them as a means to make your writing process more manageable, you can’t present it to a reading audience in a way that makes them feel like their reading experience was similarly disjointed. Thus, it becomes your job to present your story in a manner that is more compelling than obvious, and does not let readers notice these patterns in your writing – and instead, engages with them at a much deeper level. Stories Within Stories - Subplots Stories within your stories In addition to the main story arc you’re looking to follow in your novel, your story must include smaller stories within them, secondary to the narrative, and referred to as subplots. These are important because they add depth and complexity to your story, thus enhancing your story in a manner that might not have been observed if you relied on the single dimension of a story. Having said this, you need to ensure that these subplots don’t take away from the essence of your novel itself. Make sure you have a physical representation (such as a table) of how your subplots are going to be slotted within the broader framework of the story. Maybe they work within certain chapters but not others, maybe you want to drive both the main plot and subplot side by side...