How To Write A Novel In A Month
Nano Novel Writing Month
Chances are you think that maybe you can write a novel. There's a writing contest out there: write 50,000 words of a novel in a month. It's called Nano Novel Writing Month. You have to find the details each year on Google because they seem to open and close during the year. It's always in November.
No, I have not participated. Our motivation here at this site is to create a novel that takes more than a month to write, and is a real novel full of writing craft and good story.
No, we are not affiliated in any way with NaNo Writing Month. It's a volunteer show, it seems. The idea is to commit to writing the 50,000 words novel in a month.
Just a commitment gives challenge, focus, companions and a great feeling to push oneself to the limit.
Is it worth doing? Anything truly challenging can be worth doing, whether there is further reward after or not, except in the doing of the project.
I don't know if any of the novels
written under this contest are any good as novels. Yet those who
complete those fifty thousand words can feel a sense of
accomplishment.
You want to write such a novel?
We don't know if any but the true professional can come up with a real novel in a month. Fifty thousand words is not a novel in itself. A novel has story-telling structure.
Let's put it this way. You can write 50,000 words in a month but that is quantity, not necessarily quality.
How would you like to write a real novel during Nano Novel Writing Month?
Would that not be great to have all the excitement of meeting the month's challenge, yet also write something that is quality as well as quantity.
There is a strange view out there among writers that they can write a full novel out of their imagination.
Sit down and think. You can recall many incidents in your life, or that have happened to your friends. Some of these seem unique and exciting. Some end in tragedy. Some in success.
Yes, if you can write fairly well as a writer you imagine you can have success in the field of writing, either as a novelist or as a screen play writer for the movies.
More success to you then, and the best of luck!
Yet let us add here that you may be able to tell a story but can you write a story in dramatic fashion that excites readers and viewers?
Do you have an excellent mastery of writing craft tools and story-telling structure?
This is where we come in at The Writer's Interface.
Chances are you can write out 50,000 words of something that may be called a novel for Nano Novel Writing Month but could not be called a novel for general readership.
Perhaps by writing almost day and night you feel like you are going to have a break-through into being a serious and effective novel writer?
We don't comment on that. But we do say, why not plan your novel in terms of story-telling structures?
These questions only indicate some of the basics and tools available to professionals who have studied the field and perfected their novel-writing art.
Wouldn't you like to prepare ahead of time, to learn how to plan the writing of a novel so that when you sit down to write for that one intense month you already have a story ready and the dramatic structures you will use?
It's much easier to say, Just sit down and write! as one editor-writer said on a Writer's Forum.
It's much more rewarding to plan out the story you are to write with the story-forms that will be the framework on that novel writing.
Remember, we have nothing to do with Nano Novel Writing Month. But we do see the need to plan your novel ahead of time so that you can truly call your 50,000 words a novel.
What gets to us a bit is the idea that you can just sit down and do 50,000 words and call that a novel.
Our standards are more realistic, and we think that yours you want to be as well.
Here's what we offer. We offer the largest collection of writing craft prompts and tools compiled anywhere else in a book, software or writing course.
We have hundreds of techniques from professional writers who sell large numbers of their books.
We have put this knowledge into a framework for writing a novel.
Would you not benefit then from planning out your novel in detail with dramatic tools more complete than ever appears in a writer's professional outline for a book to sell to a publisher.
Here are at minimum the basics:
In summary we suggest that to write more than just words but a dramatic story in novel form, you need to know novel craft structures and tools. You need to also plan out all your major story aspects, as well as where to use what where as evocative tools.
Some of the ideas are even revolutionary!
You can see for yourself if you want to take the time to study writing craft with our materials and to plan out your novel in good detail ahead of time.
You can of course read the fifty writing craft books we have read and try to put together their sometimes contradictory knowledge. In The Writer's Interface we have added original writing craft ideas based on our own experience.
It helps also to have writing organizing software. With the companion WriteItNow software you will more easily plan your novel. Imagine being able to cross-link any of your pages describing scenes, characters, actions, events, dialogues, objects and so on. It's all there in WriteItNow.
If you use The Writer's Interface with the WriteItNow organizing software you have a high-powered engine for supporting your writing skills and imagination in producing maybe a really wonderful story.
You will not be the same person after you write your novel as you were before it. Just as with birthing children of your own, there is something life-transforming about writing your own book or novel. It's as if you have solidified in beautiful marble your own unique perspective on life.
Our message: writing craft structure provides the foundation framework upon which to hang story imagination. Go on foot the whole way, and maybe never make it. Or 'rev it up' in a more effective vehicle and cover a lot more territory, getting to important places with your story already dramatically planned.
Don't give up for lack of craft, or of writer imagination. We cover both.
Good luck, writer, however you plan to write a novel. It's our passion also.
You want to write such a novel?
We don't know if any but the true professional can come up with a real novel in a month. Fifty thousand words is not a novel in itself. A novel has story-telling structure.
Let's put it this way. You can write 50,000 words in a month but that is quantity, not necessarily quality.
How would you like to write a real novel during Nano Novel Writing Month?
Would that not be great to have all the excitement of meeting the month's challenge, yet also write something that is quality as well as quantity.
There is a strange view out there among writers that they can write a full novel out of their imagination.
Sit down and think. You can recall many incidents in your life, or that have happened to your friends. Some of these seem unique and exciting. Some end in tragedy. Some in success.
Yes, if you can write fairly well as a writer you imagine you can have success in the field of writing, either as a novelist or as a screen play writer for the movies.
More success to you then, and the best of luck!
Yet let us add here that you may be able to tell a story but can you write a story in dramatic fashion that excites readers and viewers?
Do you have an excellent mastery of writing craft tools and story-telling structure?
This is where we come in at The Writer's Interface.
Chances are you can write out 50,000 words of something that may be called a novel for Nano Novel Writing Month but could not be called a novel for general readership.
Perhaps by writing almost day and night you feel like you are going to have a break-through into being a serious and effective novel writer?
We don't comment on that. But we do say, why not plan your novel in terms of story-telling structures?
Some novel writing craft questions
- You already know some of them like the use of chapters.
- Do you know how many scenes usually go into a chapter?
- Do you know how many beats, or scenes, go into a typical movie?
- Do you know the five types of scenes to usually put into a chapter?
- Do you know the timing of the events so that everything builds into climax that goes into resolution?
- Do you know what makes for a powerful character in a novel or movie?
These questions only indicate some of the basics and tools available to professionals who have studied the field and perfected their novel-writing art.
Wouldn't you like to prepare ahead of time, to learn how to plan the writing of a novel so that when you sit down to write for that one intense month you already have a story ready and the dramatic structures you will use?
It's much easier to say, Just sit down and write! as one editor-writer said on a Writer's Forum.
It's much more rewarding to plan out the story you are to write with the story-forms that will be the framework on that novel writing.
Remember, we have nothing to do with Nano Novel Writing Month. But we do see the need to plan your novel ahead of time so that you can truly call your 50,000 words a novel.
What gets to us a bit is the idea that you can just sit down and do 50,000 words and call that a novel.
Our standards are more realistic, and we think that yours you want to be as well.
Here's what we offer. We offer the largest collection of writing craft prompts and tools compiled anywhere else in a book, software or writing course.
We have hundreds of techniques from professional writers who sell large numbers of their books.
We have put this knowledge into a framework for writing a novel.
Would you not benefit then from planning out your novel in detail with dramatic tools more complete than ever appears in a writer's professional outline for a book to sell to a publisher.
Here are at minimum the basics:
Key basics for writing your novel
- what are the different chapters and how many that traditionally go to create a complete story in a novel?
- what are the different scenes that you include in each chapter? How can you choose these scenes ahead of time and write paragraphs descriptions for each one?
- what are event-actions? What kinds should go into your novel-story?
- what are the types of characters that are useful to embody what sections of your story?
- what is the story-life theme you are dramatizing?
In summary we suggest that to write more than just words but a dramatic story in novel form, you need to know novel craft structures and tools. You need to also plan out all your major story aspects, as well as where to use what where as evocative tools.
Some of the ideas are even revolutionary!
You can see for yourself if you want to take the time to study writing craft with our materials and to plan out your novel in good detail ahead of time.
You can of course read the fifty writing craft books we have read and try to put together their sometimes contradictory knowledge. In The Writer's Interface we have added original writing craft ideas based on our own experience.
It helps also to have writing organizing software. With the companion WriteItNow software you will more easily plan your novel. Imagine being able to cross-link any of your pages describing scenes, characters, actions, events, dialogues, objects and so on. It's all there in WriteItNow.
If you use The Writer's Interface with the WriteItNow organizing software you have a high-powered engine for supporting your writing skills and imagination in producing maybe a really wonderful story.
You will not be the same person after you write your novel as you were before it. Just as with birthing children of your own, there is something life-transforming about writing your own book or novel. It's as if you have solidified in beautiful marble your own unique perspective on life.
Our message: writing craft structure provides the foundation framework upon which to hang story imagination. Go on foot the whole way, and maybe never make it. Or 'rev it up' in a more effective vehicle and cover a lot more territory, getting to important places with your story already dramatically planned.
Don't give up for lack of craft, or of writer imagination. We cover both.
Good luck, writer, however you plan to write a novel. It's our passion also.
