I'm so pleased to share a guest post from author, Toni Kerr. Toni's young adult novel, Descendant, will be making its Debut, November of 2013!
Starting a Novel from Scratch
A
blank slate can be just as overwhelming as a landscape of laundry and
clutter on every surface. But instead of shielding my eyes and
pretending it's not there, I'll explore the empty space with baby steps!
Why
am I suddenly faced with a blank slate? Because I've invested 100% into
one series—one set of characters with a fascinating set of
circumstances that I absolutely love. I can't stand walking away from
that, but right now, while I wait for the editor's letter, I have
nothing to edit, nothing to revise, and nothing waiting in a file
somewhere.
I've
accepted the fact (to some degree anyway) that I need to start
something new, even if what I write never sees the light of day. I need
to because I'll go insane if I don't (and certain writing friends would
smack me upside the head).
But
planning a novel from nothing is a new concept for me. My first novel
ran without boundaries or guidelines. Not that I'm complaining about
that, but I'm sure some pre-planning will save me countless hours and
many many rounds of editing.
And
so, as with anything that seems overly daunting, I've broken my task
into itsy-bitsy baby steps to help me get started. I haven't written
that first line yet, but now I know my genre. I have five strong
characters and know exactly what makes them tick, how they relate with
each other, and I know where they need to start and finish emotionally. I
sort of know my theme, but I'm leaving wiggle room for change as the
story reveals itself.
I'm
sure there are as many ways to start a novel as there are writers, but
from what I know now, that I didn't know then... here's what I've done
to break it down.
Baby Step #1
Research
Genres—to refresh your memory on definitions and basic word count
expectations. It'll save you from having a novel that doesn't fit in a
defined category, and from having to cut 40k because it's way beyond a
healthy range.
Baby Step #2
Theme—this
might come later, but think about it now. There are many blogs and
writing sites listing popular themes—some fit certain genres better than
others, and they do spark a few ideas. Having a theme will keep the
story on track.
Baby Step #3
Basic
Plot—Sadly, most novels can be boiled down to these: overcoming the
monster (be it society, some sort of evil, or another person); rags to
riches; the quest; voyage and return; comedy; tragedy; rebirth. Even
romance falls into these topics...
Baby Step #4
Brainstorm
for Ideas! I didn't love Nathan B's query formula when I was trying to
write my query, but I was amazed by how simple the plot should be
(according to his formula). I swore that for my next novel, I'd write
the query blurb first, just to keep my plot THAT simple (I'll of course
let it grow from there). So here's his formula:
[protagonist
name] is a [description of protagonist] living in [setting]. But when
[complicating incident], [protagonist name] must [protagonist's quest]
and [verb] [villain] in order to [protagonist's goal].
Keep playing until one or two actually sound workable. (feel free to skip to Baby Step #5 if you're in a hurry :-) )
Some examples:
Shredder
is a beta fish living in a handful of water. When he is transferred to a
nearby pond, Shredder must live up to his name and fight bigger fish in
order to establish a new territory.
(yes, goofing around, but have a little fun to get yourself started!)
Lori
is a 3rd grade immigrant from Earth living on Mars. When the Martians
decide they've had enough invading, Lori must convince her classmates
and teachers to be peaceful, contributing citizens in Martian society
and prove themselves worthy to the Council in order to survive the
night.
(eh-not feeling it)
Oak
is the last tree living in a middleclass neighborhood. When the city
threatens to widen the road, Oak must reach out to a little girl and
remember the ways of his ancestors in order to convince the city to let
him live.
(definitely
not feeling it. At this point, I'd probably go tackle a 10-minute
project and see what else I can think of. I'm finding the formula is a
hindrance, but by now, I definitely have the idea of keeping it simple.)
Natalie
is a hotshot surfer living on the beaches of Australia. When a group of
cute college boys hire her as their surfing guide for spring break, and
one gets killed at every location she takes them to, Natalie must solve
the wave of mysterious deaths before authorities arrested her for
murder.
Wow!
There's some decent potential there. And it came a little more
naturally when I gave myself permission to wander from the formula. Too
bad it's not the genre I was going for!
Next, we need characters for whatever the great idea is.
Baby Step #5
Character's Photo ID
I
love sifting through Google images for characters. If I know the sex
and age of my character, I usually start by searching hairstyles. For
example: teen girl hairstyles
A
search like this generates nice headshots, which I find most useful
when I don't know exactly what I'm looking for—a spark in the eye, maybe
some attitude. I save images for every character as I find them, even
though I might find something better later. If nothing jumps, I'll alter
the search. Such as 'Emo girl hairstyles', or, if I have more
information, such as wanting red hair, I might try 'Irish girl'.
Baby Step #6
Give the characters a life.
Start
a new .doc for all your characters. I like to keep them all in ONE
document, separated by section breaks. That way, when you need a very
specific detail that you swear you wrote somewhere, you won't have to
search through multiple files to find it. (Been there!)
Insert
each character's image and fill in the personals. Age.. goals..
interests... biggest regret.. and what's keeping from reaching their
biggest goal? The information will depend on the genre/age of the
character. There are character sheets and interview forms available all
over the place (gotta love Google!). I usually combine what works for
me.
I
also like to add a few paragraphs about how each character relates to
all the other (main) characters. Interesting facts come out of these
relationships, whether they are used in the story or not. For example,
if character #1 and #3 were a hot item long before #1 and #2 start
dating, it might explain why there is such a bitter tension between
them. What if they belong together? I'll bet that would make an
interesting thread...
Speaking of threads....
Baby Step #7
Outline!
My first novel was not outlined. I had no idea where the characters
were taking me, but I went along like a good little typist and didn't
get in the way. Maybe that's why it took me so long to get it
streamlined?
This time, I'm trying Martha Alderson's plotting
system, and so far, I think it'll work great. My scenes are not fully
formed yet, but I know where I want to start, the point of no return
(end of the beginning), and the final climax. I'll let the characters
work out the rest. The good news is, I should be able to keep them
heading in the right direction.
How much planning went into your novel before you let the characters speak for themselves?
6 comments:
Thanks for the post Toni. And I love Martha Alderson's plot program! Her plotting system is wonderful.
For creating my current book, K.M. Weiland's Outlining YOur Novel: Mapping Your Way to Success helped save me a lot of work. I initially thought an outline might be stifling, but all it really did was move that creative brainstorming into a different stage of the writing process.
I used Martha Alderson's system to check that I'd hit all the right points in the finished draft. It was tedious to chart the entire book, but once I'd done it the unnecessary scenes and dropped timelines really stuck out.
Hi Toni! Love this post! Thank you for the baby steps, and good luck on your own journey to starting a brave new world. :)
awesome post :D And yes, certain writer friends have their smacking hands all primed and ready ;D
Thanks, guys! (gals) So far, the journey is, um, limping along. Slowly. Michelle, I depend on your virtual smacks! I probably deserve a few for all the work I didn't do today.
Reminds me of that bumper sticker... The beatings will continue until moral improves. LOL
Thanks for the info! And yeah, I think having an actual draft would help when analyzing scene worthiness for plot. Still, it helps to understand the bigger picture before I get started. :-)
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