writing a novel – Read First Chapter.com

How to Brainstorm A New Story

WHAT TO DO IF YOU NEED TO WRITE A STORY AND YOU’RE STUCK:

Mastering the art of writing captivating mysteries. Unleash your creativity and weave intricate tales of crime and suspense.

This worksheet is geared for those who want to write a mystery or crime novel. It helps with writer’s block too. It breaks down the process into small bite-sized pieces and it will get your motor going without any effort.

Just follow the suggestions, summed up easily below, and you will have at least the start of something within minutes. There is a link below to download the three-page instructional and checklist.

If you are an intermediate novel writer, here is a graphic of the overall process without the instructional questions:

THIS WORKSHEET HAS MULTIPLE PURPOSES:

If you are stumped for a main story, or if you are stumped for what happens now, or even if you have written yourself into a bit of a corner, this instructional will help, along with your own creativity and thinking, to bring about new possibilities.

Jump into the series of steps wherever you are in the writing process and it will help you restart your engine. Once you go through the process a time or two, I’m sure it will become your go-to procedure.

THE LISTS | CHOOSE FROM COLUMN A AND COLUMN B:

Below is a closer look at Page 3 of the Worksheet where it will give you a wide birth of choices for mysteries and/or crimes. It’s hard for one mind to think of all the possibilities without some kind of aid no matter how creative one is.

START THE WORKSHEET BY CHOOSING A CRIME OR MYSTERY:

Let’s talk about how to use this work sheet. Choose a crime or mystery from the list below and make up a potential perpetrator. Don’t waste time on what he or she looks like. Then start asking the following questions:

Why would this person want to commit this crime?
What could be going on in his/her life that would make him/her feel they needed to commit this crime?
How would he want to cover his tracks?
What specific knowledge would a character need to pull off a crime or swindle like this? In other words, is he/she an accountant and that makes it easier to commit a financial crime?
Then ask: Who would need to help him or give him/her cover? Add necessary characters and think about a connection. Is it a family connection? Is it a romantic connection?

THE NEXT SET OF QUESTIONS TO ASK:

Once you have a perpetrator and the cast of necessary characters, then it’s time to answer the following questions:

What could go wrong in the commission of this crime that would create tension or mystery? (He drops a glove or a drop of blood.)
How will these clues ultimately lead to his/her exposure? (How will this clue be found?)
How can this end in a way that would let justice prevail? (How and who will find the clue?)
How will the culprit ultimately be caught? (Is he cornered by an accuser? Is he arrested? Does he confess?)
What is one clue that can be minimized in the beginning of the story but will turn out to be the one who catches the bad guy?

NEXT SET OF QUESTIONS:

List the things that could go right for the perpetrator — like a second, more-likely suspect pops up and suddenly all eyes are not on the real culprit anymore?
Could there be other likely suspects that would also have motivation to commit the crime?
As the story grows, add whatever crucial characters are needed (witnesses, husbands, wives, bosses, helpers, etc.) who you will need to make the crime and solving of the story happen.
If you get this far, it means that you have a viable storyline.

THE SKELETON OF THE CRIME:

Before you exert too much energy fleshing out any character or story details, be sure to check to make sure you can design a three-prong storyline out of this budding storyline. One prong will be a red herring storyline, someone who may look guilty, but is exonerated in the middle or end of the story. The second prong is a second suspect or a wrong suspect who will look guilty for a large segment of the storyline. And the final prong will be for the real culprit. In order to have a story that works, you will need a believable crime that can meld these three prongs into one suspenseful story.

As you use this worksheet and these techniques, a crime skeleton will emerge. Some attempts at this will go flat in the early stages for any number of reasons. But some storylines will begin to almost shape themselves.

I always make four believable storylines and then choose the best one. Then I know I have the best of my ability at that time in my life. Once you know you have a storyline and a lineup of stick figures and character roles that can technically pull off the mystery, so to speak, then you can begin to build real characters and an actual story.

THE CHARACTERS BUILD THEMSELVES:

Once you know what will be needed for the three-pronged storyline and what traits the lead characters will need to play out their parts, the characters will start building themselves into two-dimensional characters. You can take the characters up to deeper, three-dimensional characters as you flesh out your main story and subplots.

LIST OF MYSTERIES, CRIMES & GENRES

I hope this is helpful. Once you know you have a workable storyline, then it’s time to take a look at my Ultimate Character Development Worksheet. This will help you bring the stick figures to three-dimensional with a full character arc.

MYSTERY NOVEL BRAINSTORMING FOR BEGINNERS

THE BEST TIP I CAN PASS ON TO BEGINNER WRITERS:

Writing a novel is a huge undertaking. There are many things that go into the writing of a fiction story. The best tip I can pass on is this: Break everything down into little bite-sized pieces. By doing this, you can reduce a huge project down to do-able portions that can be done whether you have 2 hours a week to write or two full days! It only requires a little planning and organization.

ALL NOVELS REQUIRE SOME SUSPENSE:

Regardless of what type of novel you choose to write, all stories require at least a semblance of suspense. Suspense is what hooks the reader into the story, and it is what pulls the reader along the story and keeps them reading. Suspense creates a question the reader desires an answer to. The greater the suspense, the more hooked the reader will be.

READING OTHER AUTHORS:

It’s important to keep reading as your own journey as a writer continues. Each author has a different style and uses different storytelling techniques. The stories don’t even have to be great. You can learn from the good, the bad and the bland. Just analyzing what made a book bland is a great lesson in itself. Did the story need more action? Did the story get stuck somewhere?

When I read novels now, I can usually tell whether the author is a pantser or a plotter. If the story sags in the third section, I can tell the author got caught in part two of the three-act structure.

The books I read now are twice as enjoyable because I experience them as a reader but as an author too. I get to enjoy the story itself but also watch and learn the author’s storytelling techniques too.

WATCHING MOVIES FOR INSPIRATION:

When I am in the process of writing my own novels, I tend to read less because I’m reading and proofreading my own pages. During these times, I like to vegetate by getting lost in a movie. I watch movies specifically to learn from them. Believe me, you can learn a lot about the actual storytelling craft from watching movies. They can also be a source of inspiration for your own stories.

It took me almost a year to come up with my first story for a novel. One full year. I didn’t know where to start. I had ideas, but didn’t know how to brainstorm them into a potential story.

WHERE CAN DO YOU GET IDEAS FOR A FICTION STORY FROM?

Ideas for stories in the beginning will come from TV movies, Cinema movies or other books you read. Reading other authors is crucial no matter where you are on the writing spectrum. However, when you’re new, you can learn a lot from watching mystery or crime noir movies. I like movies from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. The movies in these decades didn’t have CGI and the directors had to use the stage to tell the story. They used wider shots and props to assist the storytelling. By watching these older movies, you can learn a lot regarding writing.

The movies of today show the location scenes once and then do close up shots of one character talking and then follow it up with another close-up shot of a character talking. There’s not that much to learn about storytelling from these movies. It’s a shame because the sets are absolutely gorgeous, especially in the fantasy movies.

To the left (or above) is a screenshot of the Wikipedia page that comes up when you search “1940 in film”. This will give you all of the films and a tiny synopsis of what the films are about. You can pick whatever decade appeals to you.

READ THE SYNOPSIS FOR THE MOVIE FIRST:

It’s a good idea to read the synopsis before you view the movie. Knowing at least a basic outline of the story will allow you to absorb more as an author. If you go into the movie blindly, you will be “experiencing the movie” as a viewer only. By knowing ahead of time what story will be unfolding, it will allow you to watch specifically for certain scenes to unfold. You can watch what tools are used to move the story along.

For example: Notice in the scenes how much information is passing to the viewer by the setting. Besides the timeline of when the story is taking place, it often will give you shots of recognizable icons from certain cities. There are so many techniques you can learn from watching these older movies about all of the tools used to lay out the facts of the story and how suspense is created. Below is a list of things to watch for in stories:

How does the movie show the location of the story? Do they use icons, or text on the screen? Do they use snippets of dialogue? Each movie you will learn different tricks for showing time and location.
How does the story show either poverty or opulence?
How does the movie present the premise? There will be at least dialogue about what the main character wants or needs. Notice how this is done.
Notice where the suspense of the story starts. Even in non-mystery stories, there will be at least a thread of suspense. It might be suggested by a vision that one character and the viewer see and no one else does. Or it may be a little gossip that passes in a short conversation.
Notice how the passage of time is handled. Is the passage of a few years spoken in dialogue or is it projected in some other way?
Notice how the writers show the character’s weakness or fallen nature.
Notice the change in locations in the story. This is often how the story is kept moving forward.
Notice when the suspense gets stronger.
Watch for how the writers will use lies to create a sense of worry or dread.
For any twists in the story, notice how abrupt it happens. Also take the time to notice if this was foreshadowed in the beginning of the story. Readers love foreshadowing.

MY SUGGESTION FOR A MOVIE:

If you are looking for a suggestion, I would suggest Rebecca for the first movie. This movie was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and it has a lot of gothic atmosphere. There is also a psychological plotline in this story so it is a goldmine for learning storytelling tools.

Most of the synopses on Wikipedia give you an outline of the story but they don’t have spoilers in them. Sometimes I only read about six paragraphs on the really long ones because the purpose is only to know a little bit about what the story will be about so you can watch for how things are handled on film. You can easily translate any of these tools to novel writing.

GOTHIC MOVIES: Gothic movies are great at showing how to introduce fear and suspense into a story. They are also a great place to learn how to use the atmosphere and the location and backdrops to add to the suspense.

FILM NOIR: These movies are great to learn character development. Film Noir is usually about all fallen characters. In other words, they are all sinners, but some characters are bigger sinners than others. This is a great way to learn how to craft a fallen

LONG SERIES: These are great to learn about how the location and things in the room or backdrop help to relay the story. You can learn a lot about the passage of time, how flashbacks are handled, how to introduce new characters in preparation to take the story in a new direction. Miniseries like Downton Abbey and other miniseries are a great place to learn about what is going on.

MELODRAMA: Melodrama has fallen out of favor in recent times, but I personally think it needs a comeback. You can learn about melodrama from old world soap operas. I think the only one I can think of is Dallas. It’s on either Amazon Prime or somewhere else you can watch it. These types of shows are good for showing how to blend romance, cheating, and other emotional scenes into the story.

You don’t have to commit to watching the entire soap opera. You can learn a lot about storytelling tools by watching only a few shows.

Blow is a copy of the entire Brainwashing Sheet I referred to above. You can read the blog post about how to use it here.

And you can sign in to download your copy of the sheets below:

Writing Fiction or Memoirs With a Purpose

IT’S IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHY YOU WANT TO WRITE.

E Words-Writing-with-a-Purpose veryone writes for a reason. Knowing why you write is important, especially as a beginner writer. Writing a book is not hard, but it can be a long process. If your purpose for writing is clear, this will give you the energy and inspiration to spur you on if and/or when the going gets a little tough.

Are you writing for pleasure? Are you an avid reader and you want to write the books you never found? Do you want to write around some social commentary you have a desire to share? Writing is a form of sharing. What is it that you want to share? Your wit? Maybe Satire? Have you always been told that you’re funny? Do you have a unique take on society that you think people would like?

I love stories and movies that have a backdrop of Catholicism in them, like The Godfather saga, or The Supranos, or even Ray Donovan. The Catholicism in these stories felt familiar to me and I believe it gave the story a layer of depth as it tapped into religion and culture which tends to anchor a group or family. So I write novels that have either a backdrop of Catholicism or a ribbon of Catholic sensibility passing through it. Of course, I leave out the blasphemy that Hollywood loves to toss in there on occasion!

I also write as part of my legacy. I began to write in 2018 when I moved to Central Florida, which I considered my pre-retirement. Now I have retired and I write full time. I feel that my books will be part of my legacy. I’m clear on my purpose for writing.

ARE STORIES JUST BURSTING TO COME OUT OF YOUR HEAD?

Some people are what I call natural-born writers. They do have stories bursting out of their hearts and heads. Often, these people fell in love with reading as children. Reading was an adventure. It took them up, up and away. Some people have always had a desire to author their own stories. If this sounds like you, you are a natural-born author.

This is usually a sign that you have been given the gift of authoring. These gifts are Heaven-sent, and predate schooling and other influences in your life. If this is the case, embracing your fate is probably the next best step to take.

Words-You-Are-Your-Legacy

DO YOU WANT TO WRITE AS PART OF YOUR LEGACY?

There are trades and arts that seem to fall by the wayside in each generation. But often, how to do certain things is lost to history. Do you know how to do something that you feel you need to leave behind? Do you want to write about how you did something that is now fading from the world?

There are young people who don’t know how to write a check anymore. They don’t know how to address an envelope for the mail. Some don’t even read cursive writing anymore.

Listening to a lecture by the learned intellectual and researcher Thomas Sowell, he stated that when Rome fell, the western world lost the art of making bricks. Then when the western world got back on its feet, they had to import brings from England because the art of making bricks died with the civilization. Cement was invented in Rome. They made all of those brick arches — but the art was lost. What is it that you know how to do that you feel compelled to record for prosperity’s sake?

I’m old enough to remember ‘phone guys’ that worked for Bell South or whatever the phone company was called back then. These men — they didn’t have phone women back then — would show up with big toolbelts and gaffs or lineworker boots on. These boots had cleats or little metal spikes in them that was a safety feature. These men know everything about the phone system. They would climb the wooden telephone poles and they could fix phones outside on the pole or inside in the houses. They were familiar with the entire system. That is one group of technical workers that have fallen away.

Is there something about an art form or a job that you knew that you want to pass on for prosperity sake? You can write a novel around it and it will serve two purposes: It will be a way for you to tell the story of your industry or job and you will be documenting how life was at a certain time in history.

DO YOU HAVE A BURNING DESIRE TO SHARE A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE?

Author signing autograph in own book at wooden table on white planks background Very often life dishes out some hard times to some of us. Did you experience, survive and prosper through some difficult times that you feel compelled to write a memoir about? You don’t have to have been a famous celebrity or someone with a Moses-like mission. You may have fell on hard times and you want to share your experience, strength or faith that kept you going. People love inspirational stories.

Writing a memoir can also be part of your legacy. Someone three generations down the road may be curious about how the family was back in your times. By having a published memoir, you can share your perspective on things during the times you lived.

Today people no longer write letters. Most photos live on phones that may be lost or stolen. Even photos in the cloud could easily be lost to history without the right username and password. By writing a memoir, you may be someone who is documenting the present in a way that historians in the future may be very grateful for.

SO WHY DO YOU WANT TO WRITE A BOOK?

What do you think? Do any of these reasons resonate with you? Make your first writing assignment to list the reason or reasons why you choose to write.

Here is a video where I had a few more words to say about finding your reason to write!

MYSTERY NOVEL BRAINSTORMING WORKSHEET

This worksheet is geared for those who want to write a mystery or crime novel. Even those wanting to write literary fiction, you will need some level of mystery or suspense to keep readers hooked into your story. Literary fiction is about character studies and life studies than technical mysteries, but every book needs at least some level of suspense or surprise every so often to keep a reader’s interest. Even in a slice-of-life novel or a family saga, there needs to be something that is mysterious about the plotline.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS WORKSHEET:

When I first decided to write a novel, it took me one full year (I’m not kidding!) to even come up with a crime. Today, using these methods I’m about to reveal, it only takes me two to three days to think up three or four mystery scenarios.

My wish is that this worksheet will help those beginners who don’t know where to start and are still trying to think of a good crime.

THE LISTS | CHOOSE FROM COLUMN A AND COLUMN B:

Below I have lists of crimes and also mystery genres. This list is meant to jog your memory and get your creative juices flowing. All of the crimes can be swapped into any genre. The list at the bottom is of multiple genres, but this is not an exhaustive list by any means. Just look at the categories on Amazon to get a feel for how many book genres there are today.

START THE WORKSHEET BY CHOOSING A CRIME OR MYSTERY:

Why would this person want to commit this crime?
What could be going on in his/her life that would make him/her feel they needed to commit this crime?
How would he want to cover his tracks?
What specific knowledge would a character need to pull off a crime or swindle like this? In other words, is he/she an accountant and that makes it easier to commit a financial crime?
Then ask: Who would need to help him or give him/her cover? Add necessary characters and think about a connection. Is it a family connection? Is it a romantic connection?

THE NEXT SET OF QUESTIONS TO ASK:

Once you have a perpetrator and the cast of necessary characters, then it’s time to answer the following questions:

What could go wrong in the commission of this crime that would create tension or mystery? (He drops a glove or a drop of blood.)
How will these clues ultimately lead to his/her exposure? (How will this clue be found?)
How can this end in a way that would let justice prevail? (How and who will find the clue?)
How will the culprit ultimately be caught? (Is he cornered by an accuser? Is he arrested? Does he confess?)
What is one clue that can be minimized in the beginning of the story but will turn out to be the one who catches the bad guy?

NEXT SET OF QUESTIONS:

List the things that could go right for the perpetrator — like a second, more-likely suspect pops up and suddenly all eyes are not on the real culprit anymore?
Could there be other likely suspects that would also have motivation to commit the crime?
As the story grows, add whatever crucial characters are needed (witnesses, husbands, wives, bosses, helpers, etc.) who you will need to make the crime and solving of the story happen.
If you get this far, it means that you have a viable storyline.

THE SKELETON OF THE CRIME:

THE CHARACTERS BUILD THEMSELVES:

LIST OF MYSTERIES, CRIMES & GENRES

Peek Behind the Novel – Layer 8

QUICK REFRESHER OF WHAT I DID IN LAYER 7:

Just as a refresher, in Layer 7, this was a long and tedious proofread. Using my list of troublesome words, I searched out all of them all throughout the manuscript and made corrections, deletions or additions.

This technique breaks up the proofread into different formats. By doing this, it prevents me from just "reading over" all of my mistakes, which is too easy to do as the author.

WHAT HAPPENS IN LAYER 8:

In Layer 8, I do a read-back. In Microsoft Word, I use the Read-Aloud feature that is contained on the Review Tab. By listening to the book read aloud by someone else, it doesn't skip over mistakes like I do as the author. By the time I'm finished with Layer 7, I've read and reread this book too many times to trust my eyes to spot every error.

The Readback:

I listen to every word during the readback. In this layer, I not only catch whatever misuse of words escaped my view in the last layers, but I also choose to change a sentence or two based on how it sounds. Many readers repeat every word in their heads, so if a sentence is back-to-back with one that makes it hard to say or understand, I rewrite it to correct that problem.

After Layer 7, I always feel that the book is picture perfect -- but I find at least several words or areas that I choose to change. I read-aloud the entire book.

CREATING THE TABLE OF CONTENTS

The last thing I do is create the Table of Contents which I will explain here, but you can see done live in the video below.

While the manuscript is open in Microsoft Word, click on the References Tab. Select Table of Contents. Choose Custom Table of Contents. (Picture on left above)

Once the next dialogue box opens (Picture on right above), uncheck both boxes under show page numbers. I reduce the headings number from the default of 3 to 1. This is because I only use Heading 1 for my Chapter Headings.

This is all you need to do before clicking OK, which will produce the Table of Contents for an eBook.

IF YOU NEED TO CHANGE OR MODIFY THE FONTS OR SPACING, ETC:

The picture above is where you change any or all of the settings. The dialogue box in the middle comes up when you click on modify in the first dialogue box. This is where you can change the font family and/or the font size.

This would be useful if you have a short TOC and want to fill the page; you can increase the font. Likewise, if you have only one or two lines of the TOC that spill over to the next page and you want to fit it onto one page, you can reduce the font size or change the spacing on the third dialogue box (that opens if you click on modify in the second dialogue box). You can alter the spaces before and after the paragraphs and this will help you add or subtract space.

IMPORTANT: Be aware, that once you click on the first modify choice in the first dialogue box (on the left), when you click out of this, Microsoft word will -- on its own -- recheck the boxes asking for page numbers. So if you modify anything, you will need to uncheck the page number boxes again! This can reek havoc with beginners! I'm talking from experience.

Once you "Okay" to close all of the dialogue boxes, the last okay will set off Word to create your Table of Contents.

THE EBOOK IS OFF TO THE EDITOR:

At this point, the eBook is now ready to go off to the line-editor. Because I have taken the time and made the effort to give my book a thorough proofreading, the editor won't be spending time on correcting silly mistakes I should have found on my own. She will be focused on my prose and how things look and sound. That's what I want her focused on.

If you take the attitude that "why bother with all the proofreading, it's going off to the editor?" -- you may wind up with a book that comes back merely proofread with very little line editing. At the end of the day, you are paying for an editor's time as well as their expertise. So my advice to beginners is to do all of the proofreading so you get more line-editing, which is what you want.

HERE'S A VIDEO ON THIS SAME MATERIAL:

Peek Behind the Novel – Layer 7

WHERE WE LEFT OFF IN LAYER 6:

We compiled the novel into a Word document and named it “Manuscript from Scrivener”. That’s where we now pick up with Layer 7.

This layer is another proofreading layer, but there is a little formatting we will do in this layer that I will go over below. There is also a video at the end if you want to see me talk about it in a little more detail.

LAYER 7 – STEP ONE

Copy and paste the chapters into my eBook template. The purpose of this is so that I don’t have to redo all of my styles. It’s easier to just do a copy and paste.

LAYER 7 – STEP TWO:

Using the find feature, I go over all of the troublesome words in my list. I do this before I begin to proofread the story.
I read only the sentence with each of the words and change them if needed.

LAYER 7 – STEP THREE:

Change the Heading 1 formatting, if needed
I fix the normal and no-indent normal formatting throughout the entire book.
I add in simple page breaks between chapters

LAYER 7 – STEP FOUR:

I stylize any chapter headings or chapter timings.
Using the find and replace feature (Control H), I replace *** with ❖❖❖❖.

LAYER 7 – STEP SIX (OPTIONAL)

Filled in my Main Character and Minor Character Lists

LAYER 7 – STEP SEVEN:

Proofread the novel fully. This time I focus on style and prose. I do polishing in this layer of proofreading.

LAYER 7 – A QUICK VIDEO:

DO YOU NEED AN EBOOK WORD TEMPLATE? Click below to download the template I use. I stripped out all of my own information and you can fill in your own information. It has all the extra pages.

The Top 10 Obstacles to Finishing a Novel

PEEK BEHIND THE NOVEL

I’m in the weeds!

scrivener-peek-behind-the-novel I am knee-deep in Level 4 of writing the next book in the Jack Nolan Detective Series. I thought this would be a good time for me to take a break and reflect on what happens when I’m ‘in the weeds’ writing a novel.

Even though all writers have a different writing routine, I would venture a guess that most of us feel some of the same fears and face some of the same obstacles.

STARTING A NOVEL IS EASY:

DP-drawing-woman-and-computer When you first sit down to write a novel, everyone is filled with enthusiasm and creative energy. It’s exciting. It’s new. But as the manuscript begins to grow, before it feels finished — or even ready to be polished, it feels cumbersome, heavy, and overwhelming. At least for me it does.

FEAR OF FAILURE:

Even though the story and plotline felt great at the beginning, there comes a point where a fear of failure sets in. Am I going to be able to finish this? Does this plotline even make sense? What happens if this storyline is not that great? Maybe this mystery isn’t enough. Maybe the dots are not going to all connect.

It’s possible to get paralyzed by a fear of failure at any point during the writing of a novel. It’s not a one-and-done operation. No one sits down, starts writing, finishes writing and ta-da, there’s a book. Writing a novel doesn’t work that way. It’s a long process. It’s a multi-layer process.

When these fears pop up, and they will, it’s important to remember that many writers feel these doubts and fears. It’s important to remember that everyone of us fails at something at some point in our lives. The good news is any novel can be redone, re-written, revamped, added to, or massaged in any number to go from mediocre to great. It’s a work of art in progress until it’s handed over to the publisher. Knowing this is empowering.

WRITERS BLOCK:

DP-writers-block-woman Writers block is another common problem among authors. This often sets in after that initial period of excitement about the novel wears off. At some point the writing of the novel shifts into a project requiring some heavy lifting. There’s always a phase or two where the author has to tough it out. We have to keep at it.

It’s important to know ahead of time that writer’s block may set in at any time while you’re writing. I find that deciding to just sit down and go over what I’ve written ‘to get my place’ or to ‘get into the flow of it’ is enough to get over any writer’s block. Just by sitting down and starting to read through it, the project recaptures me. Even on days I feel I have nothing in me, I can suddenly be pulled into writing before I even know it’s happening. If you can commit to look at your project for fifteen minutes, this can be enough to recapture your enthusiasm.

LACK OF TIME:

Many wannabe authors have busy lives and don’t have a lot of time to devote to writing. There are certain years — especially in a parents’ lives –where raising kids is more than a full-time job. But where there is a will, there is a way.

There are ways to steal away an hour or two in any given day. It does, however, always require some level of planning. Don’t be afraid to plan writing time into your day and give it a higher priority than ‘the back burner’. Even if you are a parent or a caretaker, pursuing your own dreams is important. It keeps you engaged in life. It makes you a better parent. It can even make you a better day worker. Think of your writing as your own personal mission in life.

PERFECTIONISM:

Perfectionism can be another stumbling block for authors. Everyone wants to write a masterpiece. But at some point, you need to also know that nothing in life is perfect. Don’t let your ideas of perfect get all wired into your ideas of excellence. They are two different things.. If you looked close enough, you could find a few imperfect brush strokes in the Mona Lisa. If you read Harry Potter enough times, you may catch a plot hole or two. It’s important to know the difference between excellence and perfection. One is doable and one is not doable by human beings.

FEAR OF REJECTION:

Will my readers like the book? Will the book be good enough to get a literary agent? What happens if my book gets bad reviews? There are any number of fears of rejection that can cause us to stop writing. Decide ahead of time you won’t allow these fears to stop you. Like I said earlier, think of your writing as a mission God has given you. This is your life’s work, along with your other worldly responsibilities. Your writing could be an opportunity to pass on things you have come to learn in your life. That’s a purpose. Or maybe writing is a way for you to share the gift of storytelling that you know you were born with. That’s a God-given purpose. Whatever the reason, it’s important to not allow fear of rejection to get in the way.

SELF-DOUBT:

Self-doubt is a tool of the devil. It’s easy for any human to start thinking they aren’t perfect, so maybe they aren’t good enough to pull off writing a novel. And the reason I call it a tool of the devil is because it can start with just a tiny little insignificant thought of self-doubt. But it can snowball and get bigger and bigger and bigger.

During these times when I feel self-doubt, I think of my writing as therapeutic for myself. It’s something I’m doing for me, not for anyone else. Any fear of rejection that occurs, thinking I’m doing it for myself, it takes away any sting self-doubt may have. It removes any power it has over me. It turns the tables on this.

DISTRACTIONS:

woman-multitasking-distractions Distractions are one of the biggest obstacles to completing a novel. One reason is because life does serve up constant small and big emergencies that have to take first priorities in our lives. So an emergency distraction can throw a whole well-planned writing schedule up into the air in a heartbeat.

One of the weapons against distractions is get clear on what a real emergency is verses a situation that can take its place in your daily routine. You don’t always have to sacrifice your writing time just because someone else doesn’t have to wait or suffer a small inconvenience. Always ask yourself whether you have the right to protect your free time or whether you are dealing with a true emergency, a situation that requires you to replan in that moment.

Parents with kids can fall into a trap of giving up all their free time based on a constant stream of kid demands. Giving in to every child whim is not the definition of a good parent. Protecting your free time and expecting your child to work within your schedule is not bad parenting. It’s the sign of someone who is good at balancing their lives.

I learned a long time ago that I have to protect my free time as there are armies of people in the world who would harness me as a free resource in their lives. They would demand and expect that I do all the things they don’t want to do if I allowed it. We’re responsible to set our own boundaries with people, and that includes kids.

RESEARCH:

too-much-research Most novels require at least some research. The internet can be a blessing with research but it can also be a curse. It’s a blessing because the days of having to travel to a public library are over. It can be a curse because the research can suck you in and you can use up all your valuable writing time doing too much research.

The tip I would pass on to any new writer would be to not do the research until you have already laid down your plotline. This will avoid research for things that wind up on the editing floor, so to speak. Subjects or issues you you think may come up in the story may get cut as you firm up a plotline to fit within the space of a novel. There’s nothing more frustrating than looking back and seeing hours and hours of wasted research time.

Too much research can also lead to another problem and that is ‘information dumping’. That means that many authors can’t resist the opportunity to write into the story things they learned from their research that are not really relevant to the plotline. This may be fascinating to us as authors but it’s boring to readers if it doesn’t move the story line along.

EDITING THE BOOK TO DEATH:

Another trap to finishing a novel is to get caught up in a never-ending edit of the book. This usually hooks in with perfectionism problem in some way.

I break up my editing into stages so that each time I go through the book, I focus on only one thing. For example: The first edit is to check to make sure I have put my descriptions of locations and people in. The second time I go through it, I look at sentence structure and make sure the chapters flow without any time gaps. The third time I pass through, I look for verb tenses. The next level is looking for the words I like to use too much like okay and just.

By having a solo focus, it prevents you as the author from getting caught in changing everything all at once. This prevents you from being able to focus on anything.

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAP OF FINISHING THE NOVEL:

finishing-a-novel Once you complete a novel, there is a little sadness that sets in. This book is no longer your baby. It’s no longer your little pet project. Once you hand it off to an editor, it becomes a shared work, so to speak.

Very often, authors who have abandonment issues or fears of depression, they don’t like to end anything and that includes writing a book. When I hear people saying they took seven or ten years to finish a book, I’m astounded at what could have taken them so long. They kept the book as their little baby for an entire childhood.

My Peek Behind the Novel series is about writing in layers. I feel that writing in layers is a way filled with techniques that keep me writing, keep me on track, keep me on schedule, and allow me to complete the novel, no matter how much research it requires.

These are just a few of the obstacles that we, as writers, face when undertaking the writing and completion of a novel. If your goal is to write a novel, don’t give up on your dream. Keep writing, keep pushing yourself, and eventually you will complete your novel.

A Peek Behind the Novel Series – Writing in Layers – Chronology of a Crime

WHERE WE LEFT OFF:

In the first installment of the Peek Behind the Novel Series, I wrote about working four different plotlines before choosing one. By working on four of them, it helps me ‘improve’ on some storylines and when I have four to choose from, I am able to go into the project knowing that I have chosen the best one. It’s a technique that I use to build my author confidence.

THE FIRST LAYER OF WRITING A NOVEL – THE CHRONOLOGY OF A CRIME

In the first layer of writing, I focus only on the crime or mystery. I make a list of the chronology of the crime. How it happens, who it happens to, how the detectives are assigned to the case. I focus only on the crime. I don’t think of subplots, or dialogue or even the outcome. Only on the crime itself, almost like a Forensic Files show.

This layer of writing is only a chronological list of the crime or mystery and how it plays out. Mine looks like a list with small paragraphs and one line clues. It could even look like a printout from Google maps!

DIVIDE AND CONQUER:

Once I have the chronology of the crime, I begin to break the chronology into four parts. Nothing fancy; just Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4. By breaking the crime up into four sections, I’m preparing it to be plugged into the ‘four-act play’ format. I never took to the three-act play because the center section is too unstructured and it’s twice as long as the other sections. It’s called one part, but it’s really two parts in one. It was too asymmetrical for me. So rather than using a three act structure, I break Act 2 into two separate parts.

PART 1 – Introduction to the Detectives and Normal Life:

In Part 1, the detectives hear about the crime or mystery and are somehow assigned to it. That assignment is different in each case. I start in their normal working lives and have them pulled into the crime.

This part also entails the scene of the crime and whatever clues may or may not be present. One or maybe two suspects will arise at the scene or shortly thereafter.

Part 1 – The Inciting Incident:

In a police procedural, being assigned to the case is the inciting incident. They are called into this crime investigation whether they want to be or not. Part 1 will end with the inciting incident. They have seen the scene of the crime and have gathered their first clue or clues. They are now off on a quest to solve the crime.

Part 2 – The Investigation Begins:

The Jack Nolan Detective Series is about two detectives, Jack and Fiona, who have personal lives that are also in flux. Part 2 introduces the subplots about the detectives and the early investigations they go off on.

The facts as well as clues begin to trickle into the storyline so that the reader can start trying to10 guess who committed the mystery or crime.

The end of Part 2 is the midpoint of the story, so I try to have a twist or a revelation that changes the direction of the investigation in some way.

Part 3 – The Truth Begins to Seep Out:

Early in Part 3, the last suspect will appear and the detectives will be trying to figure out who has the greater motivation. Or which of the suspects had the time and opportunity to commit the crime. Also in part 3, the masks on the suspects begin to fall and their secrets are exposed and a couple even are caught in a lie or two.

The end of Part 3 is the equivalent of a Dark Night of the Soul. This is a place where maybe the detectives can’t figure out who did it, or they know but can’t find proof, or there is a chance the bag guy or girl will get away with it for one reason or another. It is a low point. This could also coincide with a low point in one of the detective’s personal lives.

Part 3 ends on this darker moment. I want the reader to be worried that the detectives won’t solve it in time, or the bad guy will get away with something.

PART 4 – The Big Reveal

The beginning of Part 4 is the big reveal. There is one clue or one revelation that confirms the guilt of whatever the real bad guy is. This sets up a situation where the bad guy is going to get away, or the detectives have to trap him or her — however you choose to ‘solve’ the case.

The second part of Part 4 is where I as the author, very quickly, wrap up the whole crime. I like to do this in case my readers are reading with one eye open. People are busy today and often they may miss something. So I like to spell it out very quickly — because I don’t want to bore the readers who were paying attention — how the crime occurred and how the evidence was there all along.

Next you wrap up the subplots and resolve and reveal anything that is hanging in the air, like the red herring, or how other suspects couldn’t have done it. You also want to wrap up the subplots on a satisfying note.

IF YOU ARE WRITING A SERIES:

My series are four or more books, so the personal lives are written a bit like a soap opera. The characters do have a full character arc in each novel. They learn something in that book that I reflect on in the end, but I also drop a clue at the end of the mystery/crime that the story will continue in the next book.

I DON’T WANT TO GET AHEAD OF MYSELF:

I’ve just given you a bird’s eye view of how the book will proceed when marrying all four parts of it together. But this first layer is only the chronology of the crime.

I also end this layer with a section I call “How it will end”. It never ends the way I think it will, but committing to an end this early at least gives me a direction and a destination. It’s easy enough to change the chronology when the story takes a natural turn or changes within the creative process.