How to Write a Novel

Before you write your novel, outline the book. How many chapters do you want or need? 12-24 chapters? Then you have 12-24 numbers in your outline. The outline can be written as a topic, sentence or paragraph outline. It can be formal or informal. The outline is a combination of character(s), theme(s), and storyline(s).

To practice outlining your novel, outline a favorite novel, let's say Steppenwolf. Study the outline. Take notes. Then outline your own original novel, according to what you have learned. You can also include a prologue and epilogue in your novelistic outline.

Do not use similar themes as your favorite novel. Don't imitate. Be original.

Note: Novels can use techniques from other genres: They can be poetic/lyrical, autobiographical/biographical, historical, journalistic, intellectual/philosophical, scientific, spiritual.

Of course, you can write a nontraditional, improvisational novel in which you don't outline, don't have any set chapters, perhaps even in stream-of-consciousness. Nevertheless, if this is your first novel, then I suggest that you work according to a schedule. Even if you write your stream of consciousness novel, in the revision, you should consider this method of outlining to rewrite the book.

Stream of consciousness novels is a technique that many young writers and oldsters make use of, and this technique makes novel writing appear easy; nevertheless, this is a technique that must be mastered as the other literary techniques. Usually it's best to use the technique of stream of consciousness within a novel rather than making the whole novel a stream of consciousness work, again, unless you're a master of this technique.

Please don't imitate James Joyce or any of the other masters of this technique. If you must use this technique, which has helped many to write their first novels, become your own master of the technique. How are you unique? How are you different? How is your character unique? How is your character different?

But as for this "novel" advice or "novel-writing" advice: Create a working title. What is your central theme or metaphor? This is a question you should ask yourself, among other novelistic questions. You might create a novelist's questionnaire, of questions that you ask yourself whenever you write any type of novel. If this is helpful, then this is for you to do. A novelist's questionnaire might be:

• What is your title?
• What is your central theme?
• Who are your leading characters? Describe them.
• What is your principle point of view?
• What type of language should you use with this novel?

Make a list of central and controlling ideas. Even if yours is not an "idea" novel, nevertheless, what are the central and controlling ideas? These ideas do not necessarily have to be central and controlling for you the writer, but significant ideas for your literary persona(s) and your principle and minor characters. These ideas do not have to be expressed within the novel, but can help you to select characters, setting, scenes, etc.

List the principle characters and describe them. Remember that characters are not just outward people but inward people. How do your character behave and act? How do they think? What do they look like. How do they speak? Create some sample dialogue for your characters. Use dialect sparingly.

Try to create the vocabulary and rhythms of speech of different characters of different regions and nationalities. Irish characters, for example, need not speak in traditional "Irish brogue." What vocabulary words are different from British and American English, for example? How are the rhythms of the language different? Are there different patterns of speaking? Listen to traditional Irish speech. Read and reread books by Irish writers. Do not stereotype speech.

What is the setting of the novel? What is it's time period? Contemporary? Historical? Futuristic?

You should have a storyline. What do your characters say and do in your story? What type of genre are you writing? Science Fiction? Romance? Literary? Viewpoint? What is the viewpoint of your novel? Experimental with several viewpoints. First person. Second person. Third person (Central Intelligence). Third person (Omniscient).

These are things that you should know before you begin writing. Again, you don't have to be elaborate, and you can informally write your ideas and your outline in a notebook, journal, on a yellow legal pad, use your word processor, or on index cards. In addition, you should be original: Original title, original characters, original storyline.

Of course, most stories have already been told many times by many people in different ways. Even when you read and learn about spiritual stories, if you study the various types of religions from the ancient religions to modern and postmodern religions, you find that many of these spiritual stories, like secular stories have been told many times by many different peoples.