5 Must-Dos Before Starting Your Novel

Starting a novel is both an exciting and overwhelming process. With so many elements to juggle—plot, character arcs, pacing—it’s easy to dive in without a clear plan. In fact, many writers do dive in headfirst, only to spend hours staring at a blank screen later. Your time is precious, don’t spend even 10 minutes staring at a white blank page. If you build a solid foundation before writing, you can avoid writer’s block and ensure your story stays on track. 

In this blog post, I’ll share 5 things you must do before starting your novel.

1. Discover Who Your Main Character Is 

Don’t create your MC, don’t decide your MC, don’t copy your MC from another book. Discover your main character. Most likely, you already intuitively know who your MC is, now it’s time to draw those intuitions out. The best way to do this is to spend some time pondering them. 

My suggestions for pondering your main character: 

• Go for a walk. 

Allow your mind to wander about your story and your MC. 

• Sit at a coffee shop. 

People watch. Eavesdrop a bit. Consider how your MC is similar or dissimilar to the people around you. 

• Create a playlist that your MC would love. 

Consider songs and specific lyrics that might be of importance to them. Contemplate why those words would be important. 

• Create a vision board for your character. 

Consider what each image says about your character. Why does that image represent them, their life, or their situation?

• Imagine role play situations for your character. 

Place your character in a specific role, i.e. a cashier dealing with a rude customer, etc. How do they respond in that situation? What do they do? Imagining your character in various roles and with different troubles can help you to discover more about them. 

2. Give Them a Need and a Want 

After you’ve discovered who your main character is, you need to connect this character with the plot. The best way to do this is to distinguish between their need and their want. These two things will drive the characters’ actions and thus the plotline. 

• Want: What does the character want? Often, this is something external such as fame, revenge, money, or a relationship. The want should be revealed with the inciting incident, and should drive most of the characters’ actions.

• Need: What does the character actually need? This is usually something the MC is not aware of. It is usually something that they need to grow or change. Often, this is something internal such as self-acceptance, forgiveness, or understanding.

In many stories these two desires are adverse to each other. For example, in The Great Gatsby, Gatsby wants massive wealth to win Daisy’s heart, but what he really needs is acceptance.

But the want and need do not have to be adverse to each other. Sometimes, the want and need converge. It really depends on the type of story you’re telling. Commercial fiction (thrillers, mysteries, romances) do not always have adverse wants and needs for their characters. However, literary fiction almost always does. 

If your aim is to write a compelling story, it is a good idea to make your characters need and want different.

3. Decide on the Type of Conflict(s)

A good plot needs good conflict. Conflict is the backbone of any good story. Good conflict provides loads of opportunities for your characters to interact with each other and to make choices that will not only drive the plot but also reveal your characters’ personalities. 

Conflict also creates tension that will keep your reader reading. Deciding the underlying type conflict in your story will help you to clarify the stakes and plan out your character’s actions. 

There are several classic types of conflict: 

-Man vs. Man: The MC faces off against another character. Harry Potter, Hunger Games

-Man vs. Self: The MC struggles with their own internal battles, such as self-doubt. Fight Club, The Catcher in the Rye

-Man vs. Society: The MC challenges social norms or institutions. Madame Bovary, The Handmaid’s Tale 

-Man vs. Nature: The MC faces the forces of nature, like a storm or animal. Cast Away, The Old Man and the Sea

-Man vs. Fate: The MC struggles against a predestined path. Macbeth, The Fault in our Stars

-Man vs. Supernatural: The MC faces off against supernatural forces. The Haunting of Hill House, IT

Carefully consider which type of conflict aligns best with your character’s arc and the themes you want to explore. This will help determine the tone and direction of your story. 

Side Note(s): 

*Your story probably will have multiple types of conflict at different times. 

*The stronger the antagonist (or antagonistic forces) the greater your story.

*The antagonist (or antagonistic forces) need to steadily get stronger as the story reaches its’ climax.

4. Brainstorm Scenes 

Finally, it’s time to start mapping out the plot. It isn’t necessary to have every scene planned out from start to finish, but brainstorming key scenes will allow you to begin thinking about a plot for your story. 

Brainstorming scenes at this stage in the process is a lot of fun! You can just imagine small moments that will happen in your story. Or you can imagine the bigger-picture elements, too. Either way, it’s an enjoyable part of the pre-writing process and will help you to be even more excited about your story while also helping you to get a clearer picture of the structure.

While brainstorming scenes, think about these moments: 

- What is the MC doing when readers first meet them?

- What scene(s) will introduce the world of your characters?

-Are there any scenes that could show growth or challenges of the characters?

-How will we discover the antagonist? 

-Which moments will build tension and lead to the climax?

-Are there any scenes that can offer emotional highs and lows?

-Which comedic moments could be endearing to your readers?

After identifying a few key scenes, consider the bigger picture. Add in more moments of transition; how does your MC get from one scene to another one? Which scenes can we add more conflict to? Which scenes could be at the beginning or the end? Start to consider an outline and let these scenes be the building blocks! 

5. Hone in on the Climax and Ending

One great writing method is to write your story ending-first. Margaret Mitchell famously did this when writing Gone With the Wind. Some authors do write their book’s ending chapter first, or they try the “bookend” method. Why? Because if you know exactly where your book is going, you can more easily write the scenes that lead to that point. So, at least try to hone in on exactly what needs to happen in the climax and end of your story. 

The climax should be the most powerful moment of your story. Try your best to make it the moment of greatest tension between the main character and the antagonist. When honing in on the details of the climax, ask yourself: how can you make the climax’s stakes higher? How does your character’s journey lead to the climax? How does the climax change your character? 

Additionally, the ending often contains the climactic moment in which the MC’s need is fulfilled or at least realized. The readers’ satisfaction of the story will be found here - not in the climax. Readers will care more that the MC is fulfilled - that their need is realized - than they will about the intensity of the climax. The climactic moment matters just as much, if not more, than the climax itself. The climax and these ending moments really go hand in hand. So, try to hone in on a climax and ending as soon as you can. 

Writing a novel is a journey, and like any good journey, it’s better when you have a roadmap. Before you begin, make sure you understand your main character, the conflict they’ll face, the scenes that will shape their story, and where you want the journey to take them. By taking the time to plan these elements out, you’ll set yourself up for a smoother and more successful writing experience.

I hope these tips were helpful! If you need help with your first chapter or want individual assistance, please view my editing services.

Happy Writing!