Three Vital Steps To Writing A Novel

Filed under Improve your book.

The Internet is packed full of writing advice – some good, some not so good…

I wanted to try and offer some advice that any writer could implement into their own work and see real, tangible results. So I turned to my own work and my own inspirations. For me, the one writer who has provided the most practical advice, which I have been able to use, is Stephen King.

So here’s three vital King gems, together with my own experience of how I used them to make my own writing better:

Write Quickly

I believe the first draft of a book — even a long one — should take no more than three months…Any longer and — for me, at least — the story begins to take on an odd foreign feel, like a dispatch from the Romanian Department of Public Affairs, or something broadcast on high-band shortwave during a period of severe sunspot activity.

Stephen King

Completing a first draft quickly was a trait that I also observed in Horrible Histories writer Terry Deary. I was lucky enough to work alongside Terry for a number of years and he always wrote quickly. As a result I work hard to not get bogged down when first putting the words on the page. I try to let them flow, forgetting about typos and structure, just splurging words onto the page. I feel that developing a sense of urgency, almost as if I am going to forget the words, is a real help.

CutThe Deadwood

I got a scribbled comment that changed the way I rewrote my fiction once and forever. Jotted below the machine-generated signature of the editor was this mot: “Not bad, but PUFFY. You need to revise for length. Formula: 2nd Draft = 1st Draft – 10%. Good luck.”

If ever there was a secret to writing good prose it is cut the dead wood. As an editor, as well as a writer, almost every manuscript I see needs slicing and dicing. I find the best way to approach the concept of stripping back your work is to look at every sentence and ask:

  • 1. Do I need to say this?
  • 2. Does it move the story forward?
  • 3. Can I say it in less words?
  • 4. Can it be cut completely?

Your instinct as a writer will be to resist, after all those words were the result of blood, sweat and tears. Yet, be strong. In almost every occasion a harsh edit will produce a better manuscript.

Don’t Fear The Fear

The scariest moment is always just before you start.

We writers are a gentle lot! We know that, if we achieve the one thing we desire, publication and recognition, it will bring with it the very thing we fear – criticism and rejection. Just look at any great writer, for all their fans, there is an equal number of haters. Yet, writers can’t let the fear take control. Starting, as King says, is often the toughest part. It is very easy to over think a project and convince yourself that you are wasting your time.

My advice is for writers to do two things. The first is to create windows of time to write. Set a start and end point, clear the diary and then just write. The second is to have a target word count. Don’t be over ambitious, five hundred words say, and then just write until they have appeared on the page. Forget the fear just write.

Who has influenced your writing in a practical way?

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  • http://talkingstory.org Rosa Say

    Your advice applies to just about every kind of writing there is… blog posts, magazine and newspaper articles, school term papers… not just novels.

    I find your first item, writing quickly, really does help with the flow you need in keeping on-point in a first draft, for if I stop to grab a link elsewhere, or look something up, my research can backfire and end clutter that I don’t see when moving to your second item, cutting the deadwood.

    It helps to sleep on it, because then the editing is less emotional. That said, I laughed when seeing your tweet for this, “Just accidentally posted tomorrow’s post today! Can you all pretend it is Monday when you read it!” … been there :-)

    • garysmailes

      Writing quickly is a real help to getting project finished. I suspect it is one of the tricks of the trade that many writers use. I find that when writing a blog post I use [link] a lot. This reminds me that I need to go and find a link when I re-read the post.

  • http://talkingstory.org Rosa Say

    Your advice applies to just about every kind of writing there is… blog posts, magazine and newspaper articles, school term papers… not just novels.

    I find your first item, writing quickly, really does help with the flow you need in keeping on-point in a first draft, for if I stop to grab a link elsewhere, or look something up, my research can backfire and end clutter that I don't see when moving to your second item, cutting the deadwood.

    It helps to sleep on it, because then the editing is less emotional. That said, I laughed when seeing your tweet for this, “Just accidentally posted tomorrow's post today! Can you all pretend it is Monday when you read it!” … been there :-)

  • Sarah Callejo

    I had some good advice from an author (Annie Burgh) who said, “if it works for you, it works” which may be debatable, but the point is you need to be self-confident and follow your own instincts.
    As you say, some readers will love it, others won’t, so try and be faithful to what you like when writing. Writers can get lost in so much contradictory advice, I think it’s best to stick to that of who you admire and fits in with your style.
    Thanks for the three steps, it’s a useful post.

    • garysmailes

      There is a growing concern amongst writers about the amount of writing and get published advice springing up across the web. You are correct in saying what works, works…

    • Sarah Callejo

      I’d like to correct myself, it wasn’t Annie Burgh who gave me the advice, it was Nicola Cornick and her exact words were “if it works for you, then it’s right for you”. However, Annie B. does give good advice too!

  • http://twitter.com/cathryanhoward Cath Ryan Howard

    I totally agree with Sarah (and Annie Burgh) – if it works for you, it works.

    On Writing is one of my favorite “how to write books” books, but for years the formula Second Draft = First Draft – 10% paralyzed me a bit. I felt writing 100,000+ words first time out was too daunting, and then I felt if I did it the other way (shorter first draft, add in more afterwards), I was doing it “wrong”. Then about a year ago I read Wannabe a Writer? by Jane Wenham Jones which, while being light-hearted and hilarious, does have some great practical advice that’s very down to earth. Jane described how the first draft of her first novel was only something like 59,000 words and that once the main A story was done and she could relax (!), she went back and added in the rest. I was astounded: a real, live, published novelist was saying it was okay to have a shorter first draft…?! Brilliant! I was off. And yes, my first draft was only 54k, but then my second was 84k and now I’m working on bringing my third/final up to 95k, and it’s worked. (Or at least, I think it has!) So while I love Stephen King and re-read him all the time for inspiration, if I’d followed his advice that’s all I’d be doing – still reading! ;-)

    I totally agree however with write fast. When I hear of writers spending a decade on a book I just can’t understand it. How do they keep it alive? How do they remember what’s been happening? And what are they doing that it takes that long..?! :)

    • garysmailes

      It is fascinating to hear the other side of the story. I suspect that what you are saying is that ‘there are no writing rules’. Perhaps we should introduce an internet ban on using the phrase ‘writing rules’ – ‘Writing Guides’ maybe a better phrase…

      • http://twitter.com/cathryanhoward Cath Ryan Howard

        Absolutely. A campaign, even! I love the internet for all its writing advice when it comes to practical things like queries, etc. (things we can all agree – for the most part! – on a right way and a wrong way to approach), but for writing itself I say do whatever works for you. It is definitely interesting to hear what works for other writers though, which is why I love books like On Writing, because not only are they motivating but they give you ideas about what you can try for yourself.

        • garysmailes

          You are correct in saying writing is a very personal thing. I think writers need to look at all ‘writing advice’ through suspicious eyes.

    • Sarah Callejo

      It’s nice to know I’m not the only one Cath, I tend to underwrite. If I followed the -10% rule my novel would turn into a short story!

  • http://wrightwriter.wordpress.com Heather

    A great post that sums up some great advice from Stephen King. On Writing is one of my favourite read-again writing books. Anne Lammot’s Bird by Bird is another favourite of mine. I use her ‘one-inch picture frame’ tip a lot when the amount of work that faces me seems too much to cope with. I just write what will fit in a one-inch picture frame–a short scene, a description, a small piece of dialogue. Piece by small piece the work finally gets finished.

    • garysmailes

      Writing in bite sized chucks is a great tip…

  • Sarah Callejo

    I had some good advice from an author (Annie Burgh) who said, “if it works for you, it works” which may be debatable, but the point is you need to be self-confident and follow your own instincts.
    As you say, some readers will love it, others won't, so try and be faithful to what you like when writing. Writers can get lost in so much contradictory advice, I think it's best to stick to that of who you admire and fits in with your style.
    Thanks for the three steps, it's a useful post.

  • garysmailes

    Writing quickly is a real help to getting project finished. I suspect it is one of the tricks of the trade that many writers use. I find that when writing a blog post I use [link] a lot. This reminds me that I need to go and find a link when I re-read the post.

  • http://childrenspublishing.blogspot.com Advnturs in Children’s Pblshng

    Love this: Formula: 2nd Draft = 1st Draft – 10%. Fantastic advice, great post.

    • garysmailes

      I suspect that cutting your novel by 10% is always good advice.

      • Jen

        I’ve heard this too and I think for the majority of writers it may be true. However, not everyone writes the same way. Dean Wesley Smith puts it well when he says there are “take-outers” and “put-inners” (apologies to Dean if I have that exact terminology wrong!) I’m a “put-inner.” If I were to take 10% from any of my novels, apart from basic line-editing, I would have a very sparse skeleton indeed.

        • garysmailes

          My experience as an editor is that slicing and dicing a manuscript is almost always the first step. Yet, I think the only consistent is that we are all different.

  • http://twitter.com/cathryanhoward Cath Ryan Howard

    I totally agree with Sarah (and Annie Burgh) – if it works for you, it works.

    On Writing is one of my favorite “how to write books” books, but for years the formula Second Draft = First Draft – 10% paralyzed me a bit. I felt writing 100,000+ words first time out was too daunting, and then I felt if I did it the other way (shorter first draft, add in more afterwards), I was doing it “wrong”. Then about a year ago I read Wannabe a Writer? by Jane Wenham Jones which, while being light-hearted and hilarious, does have some great practical advice that's very down to earth. Jane described how the first draft of her first novel was only something like 59,000 words and that once the main A story was done and she could relax (!), she went back and added in the rest. I was astounded: a real, live, published novelist was saying it was okay to have a shorter first draft…?! Brilliant! I was off. And yes, my first draft was only 54k, but then my second was 84k and now I'm working on bringing my third/final up to 95k, and it's worked. (Or at least, I think it has!) So while I love Stephen King and re-read him all the time for inspiration, if I'd followed his advice that's all I'd be doing – still reading! ;-)

    I totally agree however with write fast. When I hear of writers spending a decade on a book I just can't understand it. How do they keep it alive? How do they remember what's been happening? And what are they doing that it takes that long..?! :)

  • http://wrightwriter.wordpress.com Heather

    A great post that sums up some great advice from Stephen King. On Writing is one of my favourite read-again writing books. Anne Lammot's Bird by Bird is another favourite of mine. I use her 'one-inch picture frame' tip a lot when the amount of work that faces me seems too much to cope with. I just write what will fit in a one-inch picture frame–a short scene, a description, a small piece of dialogue. Piece by small piece the work finally gets finished.

  • garysmailes

    It is fascinating to hear the other side of the story. I suspect that what you are saying is that 'there are no writing rules'. Perhaps we should introduce an internet ban on using the phrase 'writing rules' – 'Writing Guides' maybe a better phrase…

  • garysmailes

    Writing in bite sized chucks is a great tip…

  • garysmailes

    There is a growing concern amongst writers about the amount of writing and get published advice springing up across the web. You are correct in saying what works, works…

  • 4kidlit

    Love this: Formula: 2nd Draft = 1st Draft – 10%. Fantastic advice, great post.

  • http://twitter.com/cathryanhoward Cath Ryan Howard

    Absolutely. A campaign, even! I love the internet for all its writing advice when it comes to practical things like queries, etc. (things we can all agree – for the most part! – on a right way and a wrong way to approach), but for writing itself I say do whatever works for you. It is definitely interesting to hear what works for other writers though, which is why I love books like On Writing, because not only are they motivating but they give you ideas about what you can try for yourself.

  • Sarah Callejo

    It's nice to know I'm not the only one Cath, I tend to underwrite. If I followed the -10% rule my novel would turn into a short story!

  • garysmailes

    I suspect that cutting your novel by 10% is always good advice.

  • Jen

    I've heard this too and I think for the majority of writers it may be true. However, not everyone writes the same way. Dean Wesley Smith puts it well when he says there are “take-outers” and “put-inners” (apologies to Dean if I have that exact terminology wrong!) I'm a “put-inner.” If I were to take 10% from any of my novels, apart from basic line-editing, I would have a very sparse skeleton indeed.

  • Sarah Callejo

    I'd like to correct myself, it wasn't Annie Burgh who gave me the advice, it was Nicola Cornick and her exact words were “if it works for you, then it's right for you”. However, Annie B. does give good advice too!

  • garysmailes

    You are correct in saying writing is a very personal thing. I think writers need to look at all 'writing advice' through suspicious eyes.

  • garysmailes

    My experience as an editor is that slicing and dicing a manuscript is almost always the first step. Yet, I think the only consistent is that we are all different.

  • Lisa Lofland

    When I hit a wall, I go to King’s book again and again for clear, concise advice such as this. Great post!

  • Lisa Lofland

    I return to King’s book often when I hit a wall of fear and frustration in my writing. Thank you for the reminders of some of his best advice. Great post!

  • Elisa Michelle

    I can’t tell you how much this has helped me.  It’s like this post came around at the perfect time! I’ve been struggling with my novel WIP, and the first piece of advice really gives me direction on what to do about it.  I’ll just write and write quickly!  Mr. King has a great point; after a while, I start to feel so detached from my story if it drags on.  Of course, his description is so much better, but you get my point.

    Anyway, great points. This advice is so simple but wonderful.

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