I wished I learned to write a novel when I first started out (back in 1987). If I knew then what I knew today, I’d be a rich man! For one thing I would change the way I turn out material. The two things I would do is to 1) produce more writing material and 2) I would turn out better prose. Seems simple doesn’t it?
How to Learn to Write a Novel – the Right Way!
Successful writers write better more often. They utilize a simple method that allows them to excel when most wanna be writers fail. The big challenge is that new writers and many long lived writers never took the time to learn to utilize the method correctly. This article will help you master the technique.
Easy Steps to Novel Writing
Do you remember the scene in the film “Secret Window” where Johnny Depp is sitting at his computer and he’s looking at the screen where a single paragraph stares him in the face. He reads it, ponders it and then hits delete. As funny as this sounds it’s what many failed writers do. You see when you look at that sentence, or paragraph, critically it utilizes a part of the brain that is different than the part of the brain that is used to write. Critical thinking stops your momentum and switches to a vastly different part of the brain. You see you can’t write and edit at the same time. You can only do one at a time. So Step 1 is to write non stop. You need to make a concerted effort not to re-read what you just wrote. In fact if you are sure you made a spelling or grammatical error – don’t go back to correct it. You’ll have time to do it later. By concentrating on the task at hand you will find that not only can you write more but the language will begin to flow more naturally – resulting in fewer deletions.
The next step is to break away from the writing; go for a walk or watch television. This will give your brain time to fall into the more critical editing state you need to effectively make corrections. You just spent a lot of time writing and if you don’t take a break – your mind will not see the necessary edits you require.
After taking some time away from your writing you will hopefully come back ready to edit the work you’ve done. This is the time the part of your brain responsible for being critical comes into effect. You will definitely find spelling errors, grammar mistakes and even huge sections of writing that are completely useless and will either be deleted or re-written entirely. As you gain experience writing fast you will learn to get a lot better and you should see the number of errors and confusing elements of your writing disappear altogether.
In addition to getting the words written, you will find that the method discussed above will also help you in fighting writer’s block. Writer’s block is actually a necessary evil. It is your brain working in the edit mode. That’s why everything you write is essentially criticized to the point where you are left feeling like you can’t put down another word. It is also the main reason many would be great novelist have ended their career early. The edit brain told them they were no good…that this writing is pitiful…etc. Instead of feeling totally paralyzed by writer’s block, learn to use it when you need to. If you find yourself staring at a black page, go back to the previous days work and start reviewing. Many writers find that they will naturally begin to go back into the creative writing mode, and when that happens just let it fly!
