Last time I told you about using time effectively to make your novel a reality. Today I want to tell you about one of the most important tools you can have in your novel writing skill set. If you’ve got this one, then you’re more than half way home in the process of writing a powerful and sellable novel. But if you don’t, all your efforts will be for naught. In fact, it’s the major reason would be novelists remain would be novelists. I’m talking, of course, about… knowing what your story is from beginning to end, from the first page to the last, and every page in between.
Knowing what your story is going to be, from beginning to end means the process of writing just became a snap. You’re limited only by how fast your pen can fly across the paper (or your fingers across the keyboard).
I’ll give you an example to prove my point. Let’s suppose you wanted to write a story that would convince people that while doing good and kind things is a wonderful virtue, you’ve still got to be careful that you aren’t a victim of your own efforts.
After you sit and ponder that for a few minutes, you’ll likely give up or move on to something else.
Now, what if I simply told you to write the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Well, with that you’d have no problem at all. It’s a well-known fairy tale and with even the least bit of encouragement, you could weave that story into a substantial piece, perhaps even a novel. No problem at all.
And that’s why you simply must have the story in mind (or better yet on paper) before you even begin writing your novel. Know what’s going to be happening on every page, beginning to end, before you even begin writing your first page.
Time for a little unabashed, self promotion: If you haven’t asked for my Free CD, “How to Write a Book On Anything in 14 Days Guaranteed!” then you’re just plain nuts! It’s free, no charge, but you can bet this $100 CD will be carrying that price tag very shortly. How do you get it? Just email me at Free CD, Please, or CD_please@writeabooknow.com and make sure you include your name, your mailing address and your telephone number in the email. Now, back to the article…
That’s really why I spend so much time in my manual showing students how to create not just an outline, but a page by page blueprint of your novel. The short time you spend on this process will mean the saving of weeks, months, even years of the writing process. It really is the difference between starting from scratch and giving up, or just writing the story of Little Red Riding Hood.
I know what you’re thinking. You want your story to be more than just the retelling of a fairy tell. You want your story to be original, and far more complex than that simple fable. Besides, isn’t there something wrong about using some one else’s story?
Okay, here’s a bonus secret for you. Originality is not only overrated, it’s counterproductive. To begin with, Wihelm Grimm didn’t create the story of Little Red Riding Hood. He heard it somewhere and wrote it down. If you try to be original, you’ll likely create something that most people don’t want, or don’t like. You’re much better off starting with a story that everyone likes, and then changing it to satisfy your need for originality.
Take Little Red and make her a young, vibrant, although somewhat naive woman in Manhattan. The altruistic act goes from visiting Grandma, to taking over a near bankrupt bookstore. The wolf? A competitor who tries to trick her into losing everything. The hunter? Her knight in shining armor. Hey, you’ve got the basis for just about every romance novel ever created! If you want, change Montana for Manhattan, bank for bookstore and roll back the date to 1876.
But whatever you do, make sure you’ve got the story all set out and ready to go before you start writing word one. That way you can turn Little Red Riding Hood, or any other story you can think of or find, into a first rate novel in record time.
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Cheers,
Steve Manning