Writing the Great American Novel has long been the ambition of many, and these days there are more avenues than ever before to explore ways of getting creative writing your novel and getting exposure. However, writing a novel is a huge undertaking and involves a lot of time, effort, and planning, and it’s not for everybody. If you are looking for some of the best ideas to help you craft the ultimate novel you’ve come to the right place.

Of course, there is no guarantee that you will finish your novel or be able to do anything with it once it’s finished. But, for a lot of people the process of writing and completing a novel alone is a huge achievement, and this should be the endgame at this stage. Here are some of the key elements to bear in mind when you are preparing and planning to write your first novel.

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It starts with a spark

Every novel ever written has started life as the germ of an idea, and this idea has been expanded upon sometimes over many years. The first thing you need when writing your novel is an idea, no matter how basic that idea may be. Now, it is entirely possible that your original idea will change considerably over the writing process, and this is absolutely fine, but you’ve got to have a strong idea to begin with. So, you should start brainstorming within the genre you want to write about, and try to come up with a great novel idea that you can expand upon.

Make time 

One of the factors that the majority of people who wish to write novels or screenplays, or anything creative, struggle with is finding time to be able to do it. This is particularly true if you are writing on spec, and you’re having to structure your novel writing around a full-time job, and possibly even a family as well. However, this should not discourage you, because every day people are doing this kind of thing, it is simply a case of making the time and prioritizing that which is important to you. For example, you might spend 60 minutes per night watching Netflix; instead that time could be dedicated to your novel. You could also spend time at the weekends or during early mornings bashing out a few hundred words when you get the chance. When you force yourself to make time to do something, it becomes easier to make yourself do it the next time, and the next time, and so on.

Getting creative

Another thing you’re going to need to keep on top of when writing your novel is ensuring that you stay creative as much as possible. This can be challenging, especially when trying to juggle issues like writers block or burn out. Fortunately, there are options like a character backstory generator, as well as software for writing novels, such as Scrivner that can help you hugely when trying to remain creative, get down thoughts and ideas, and help flesh out your story. You have to try to write through the block and get all the bad stuff out before the good stuff can flow, and this is one of the key things that plays a role in helping you get creative. 

Be more productive

One of the biggest challenges you face when it comes to writing your first novel is to be as productive as possible. You have to make sure you are working when you can, and dedicate X number of words per week to the project. There are plenty of productivity hacks you can use that will help you to be more focused, and produce more words when you sit down to write. Staying productive and working when you don’t feel like it is one of the key elements when it comes to writing your first novel, and this is going to be an essential step to master. Doing as much as you can to be as productive as you can could be a game changer, and this is a step that can make the difference between finishing the novel and giving up halfway through. 

There are a lot of things that you need to consider when you are trying to help write your first novel, and this is something you have to make the most of. This is something that you need to work on when you are trying to find the time and creativity to help you write the best possible novel you can.