Writing a novel with no experience is easier than you think (3 steps)
As long as you go over the steps I’ve highlighted, you’ll be on the right path to becoming an author as well.
Here are three steps you can take RIGHT NOW to put pen-to-paper and become published one day.
Step 1: Establish a distinct writing style.
Even after we segment out differences between fiction and non-fiction, there’s still millions of nuances to clarify.
From my (limited) experience as an author, we can simplify these to 3 factors that dictate writing style:
A) Technical writing ability & style
Formatting, sentence structure, showing vs telling, use of descriptors, and many other technical aspects are all part of how one can depict the story or paint the picture for a specific scene. For example, I use dashes a lot as a form of showcasing a sudden scene at hand. I’ll also start new paragraphs if doing so increases its the impact of delivery:
Lucas opened the treasure chest slowly, hoping it wasn’t a trap —
“Gah!” he shouted.
It was a trap.
Many styles, structures, and such don’t have a right or wrong. It’s all up to your ability as a writer to leverage them in a distinct way that represents who you are. If you need to learn the styles of others first to feel inspired, don’t be afraid to do so — this leads to my next point.
B) Influence from other books
It’s okay to copy or use others’ writing as a reference to begin with. While you develop your manuscript, it’s key to have several reference books (be it fiction or non-fiction depending on what you’re writing) to keep yourself aligned with a similar writing style.
This is obviously one of the reasons why authors are urged to read externally as much as they can. For me, I try to soak in as much fiction & non-fiction as I can, and I do it in the following ways:
For technical writing ability (in my fiction books), surprise, surprise; I read other fiction novels. Even if I was writing a sci-fi, reading fantasy & rom-coms wouldn’t be a poor choice. It’s all about soaking in as much as I can to focus more on my writing style, without the need to constrain to a certain genre.
For story outlining, plot creativity, and world-building — I go for a variety of stuff. Even manga, anime, TV shows, and other works of art.
For non-fiction, I read newsletters, Medium articles, and even just LinkedIn posts sometimes; many are well-crafted and structured.
C) Use of tropes, themes, and motifs
Every writer may have an identifiable pattern of tropes, literary themes, motifs, and other connecting plot points across their portfolio.
I advise that while you write, investing lots of consideration into your tropes, themes, and motifs will impact the quality of your literary output by a long shot. If things go right and you’re deliberate about everything, expect your choices to mesh well with your technical writing style (highlighted above), and expect your own pattern to emerge.
Step 2: Keep. Things. Simple.
You see a plethora of fancy tools and processes to write, plot, outline, and so on. Don’t be distracted. Be sure to keep everything — your manuscript, your notes, your aids — all in a clean space.
The essence of writing a good piece or becoming a published author is literally: don’t stop writing. And in order to do that, make sure your writing environment clears away any friction or obstacles limiting your creative output. I too was a victim of this — I used this tool named PlotFactory for my story-writing, as well as other use cases. Don’t get me wrong, the tool is amazing in what it aims to achieve: being a one-stop location for everything a plotting writer desires: world-building tools for objects and elements, character management, notepads, word tracking, and even forums for writing communities. I still recommend it for any plotter. What I’m suggesting is that if you’re a beginner, don’t overcomplicate your entire writing environment. Try things out, but if you notice yourself weaving strings out of your comfort zone, tone things down.
Nowadays when I write, I literally have three documents open:
My actual manuscript
My notes & story outline
An Excel spreadsheet that documents every chapter and its word count, as well as a quick one sentence highlight for its contents.
Okay well, I lied; obviously, I have a thesaurus open as well :)
Declutter the tools you use if you think writing requires more than what I listed above. Complicating your creative environment makes everything harder to track, or could even hinder your execution agility.
Step 3: Start a portfolio, publish online first, and start small.
You’re not going to blast away Team Rocket style once the release of your first novel or piece of literature arrives. Well, at least most likely not. You need to establish a portfolio of works first, and climb your way up.
Marketing is a whole ‘nother beast in and of itself when it comes to the author community, and I’ll dive into that more deeply in another article. However, for all beginners (myself included!), I recommend writing as many pieces as you can, long or short. Once you establish a simple track record of finished pieces, that’s when a portfolio can shine its brightest.
Similar to when designers showcase their previous projects on a visual portfolio somewhere online, writers can ABSOLUTELY DO THE SAME. Having a portfolio takes you across that imaginary barrier which constitutes your legitimacy as a writer (as ill-sounding as that is), since others have a much direct and organized way to view your past work. Why do you think designers and other artists have portfolios?
You can create an author website, or use other portfolio tools tailored for writers to depict their best pieces. Even Medium could be considered one for non-fiction writers like bloggers. Elna Cain’s blog can help you get started. For the platforms you can first publish in and then link to, many exist today which are free for you to try: Wattpad, Webnovel, or even just selling your pieces for cheap on Kindle.
I chose to draft my own author site — and although it’s quite raw, it’ll help me scale in the long term: https://seykafu.com/books.html.
Finally:
Hire an editor and/or proof-reader if you can afford. Once you get your hands dirty and make significant progress on your scripts, many nuances arise: grammar, structure, spelling, sensibility (do your figures of speech make sense given the context?), and even the content itself, such as characters and plots. Not everyone can afford these folks; their time is incredibly valuable and expensive, so finding friend or family volunteers to help out could generate significant impact.
About Me
My name is Kasey, AKA J.X. Fu (pen name). I’m passionate about (you guessed it) writing, and thus I’ve found myself deep in the abyss on weeknights creating novels. I’ve written two so far: a fantasy/action/mystery, and a romance-comedy. I do this while working a full-time tech PM job during the day.
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