Is Your Novel Ready to Be Written?

Developing a novel consists of hours spent with your imagination churning, connecting dots in a cloud of fiction. It's an exciting time, working out our first book idea. We're like the clichéd, obsessed character in movies with long strands of string connecting photos, maps, and notes all pinned to a corkboard. And that is how it has to be, at least in your mind, if you're serious about completing the book.

I like a clean workspace and tend to write almost exclusively from my imagination and memory. I am not a note taker. To begin a novel, I start an outline in Notepad and hash out the first ten scenes or so. That is usually the extent of my notes. And with both of my novels, I have deviated from this short outline, preferring to work off-the-cuff.

Some writers outline their entire book, thinking things out in advance. I’ve tried that, but usually come up with a better idea in the midst of composition. It is difficult to really get to know my characters until I have put them through the paces. I think outlining a novel is a great way to keep it organized, and helps the writer retain a larger element of control. It simply isn’t for me.

Whether you are an outliner/note taker or not, the tricky part is knowing if your story idea can support an entire novel. We're talking upwards of 50K-60K words, at minimum. If that sounds daunting, do not fret, it is easier than you think. I've written two novels (about to begin work on the third), and I assure you the length of your story hinges more on your idea and how many directions you can take the story.

For example, in my first novel, I wanted to write a ghost story about a teenage boy, with a troubled past, who was living in a haunted hotel. There were so many options between describing events happening at the hotel, the boy's past, the history of the hotel, and building relationships between characters, that I felt the story could endure. The final version came out to around 70K words.

The same held true for my second novel. I filled it with so many characters, all of whom have an agenda, that the story couldn't help but spill over the 60K mark.

By contrast, I've always wanted to write a novel with just two characters trapped somewhere. It would be heavy on dialogue (which I love to write) and be character-focused, instead of plot-focused. Unfortunately, at this time, I do not have the necessary skills to pull a story like off. Not if I want it to be novel-length. I could milk it for 10K words, if I'm lucky, but that is about it.

At this point in my writing career, I need to have a lot going on to sustain a novel. The focus of the story is what determines whether the book is popular fiction or literary fiction. Popular fiction is plot focused and for me is the easier of the two types to write. Literary fiction is character focused and requires a little for finesse to move the story along. It is a skill I work on every time I write.

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Look for the complete article by returning guest blogger Kendall Bailey (@KBaileyWriter) later today on The Official Prose. Blog at: blog.theprose.com.