- Decide your ending and middle first.
- Create your antagonist and protagonist so they have opposing goals.
- If writing genre fiction, stick to genre expectations.
- Don't forget about the setting. Make sure you choose details that enrich the story and add to it.
- Stick to as few points of view as possible. Ask yourself who has the most interesting version of the story to tell.
- Keep the resolution short. After the protagonist achieves their goal, wrap up any loose ends as quickly as possible.
- Entertain. Entertain. Entertain. People read to escape their lives, to learn, and to view other perspectives. Keep it interesting and keep it moving.
- Make sure every scene has a dramatic purpose that pushes the story forward in some way.
- Don't be afraid to change your plot.
- Make sure your plot structure is strong before you add in character, setting, subplots, and writing style. Plot structure is like a skeleton. Without it, the rest of the story can't hold up on its own.
- Do your research. Yes, it sucks sometimes, combing the internet to find out how many balloons of heroin a person could actually swallow, but someone somewhere will call you out on it if you get it wrong.
- Simultaneously increase the conflict and raise the stakes. Make a list of the dramatic events in your story and make sure each one raises the bar in some way.
- Find ways to keep your protagonist moving from one location to another.
- Add extra pressure by forcing a time limit on your characters.
- Add 2-3 subplots to your story that extend, complicate, or give different insights into the main themes and events of the story.
- Consider style and tone when plotting story events. Make sure they are consistent with the feel you are going for.
- Go deep instead of wide. It's better to have fewer subplots and take the time to really explore each one than it is to have many subplots that you only touch the surface of. When you're finished plotting, explain the plot to someone who isn't a writer. If they seem confused, you may have added too many elements into your plot.
- Make sure your story's opening is one that will hook the reader in and get them asking questions. Introduce the big dramatic question as early as possible.
- Give your character flaws that actually hinder them. Don't create Mary Sue and Gary Sue characters.
- Find a way to stay organized. Keeping track of all of your different story elements can be overwhelming, so develop a system to keep it all neat and organized. There are plenty of apps and software for organization, some being specifically created with writers in mind.
Here is a list of common software tools for writers:
Scrivener: Scrivener is a word-processing program and outliner designed for authors.
Evernote: Evernote is an app designed for note-taking, organizing, task management, and archiving.
OneNote: Microsoft OneNote is a program for free-form information gathering and multi-user collaboration. It gathers users' notes, drawings, screen clippings, and audio commentaries. Notes can be shared with other OneNote users over the Internet or a network.
LibreOffice: LibreOffice is a free and open-source office suite that comprises programs for word processing, creating and editing spreadsheets, slideshows, diagrams, drawings, and more. It is available in 115 languages.
Diaro: Diaro, or DiaroApp, is a multi-platform diary that you can download and use on an Android, an iDevice, or even on an Amazon Kindle tablet. You can also access your Diaro entries from any browser, on any platform, using the My Diaro App web app.
Todoist: Todoist is one of the most popular to-do apps in the market today. It comes loaded with great features that help boost productivity as well as organize tasks and set schedules and deadlines.
Trello: Trello is a web-based Kanban-style list-making application. It features boards, lists, and cards that enable you to organize and prioritize your projects in a fun, flexible, and rewarding way.
Ulysses: Ulysses is a writing app for Mac, iPad, and iPhone that offers a pleasant, focused writing experience combined with effective document management, fast syncing and flexible export options.
Google Docs: Google Docs is a very powerful real-time collaboration and document authoring tool. An online word-processor where multiple users can edit a document at the same time while seeing each others' changes instantaneously. Users can produce text documents, slide presentations, spreadsheets, drawings, and surveys.
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Start Your Novel
Non-FictionSo, you wanna write a novel but don't know where to start? Then this guide's for you! Inside, you'll find a step by step process for how to plan your entire novel, starting with only a basic story premise. You'll learn the basics of plot, narrative...
