Fred Fanning's Blog, page 6

Passed Halfway Mark

I am still participating in the National Novel Writing Month contest. I hit a wall at about 28,000 and now at 36,000 it is getting harder to come up with things to say in the novel. The best advice I have heard over the years for times like this is just keep writing. That is what I am doing.

Writing a Novel

I decided to participate in the National Novel Writing Month contest also known as NaNoWriMo. The contest asked you to write a 50,000 page novel in 30 days. I first tried this in 2012 and was able to write 16,000 words. In 2014 I decided to try again. This time I did a little research and read a couple of books on how to write a novel. I developed a beginning, middle, and end. From that I developed a sketch of each character in the book. Lastly I developed an outline. Each chapter got a paragraph of the story. I think there were 42 chapters in all. I think the preparation is key to the success of writing a novel.

My First Novel

I have signed up for the NaNoWriMo 2014. This is my second try. My first try I only completed a little over 16,000 words. This time I have taken some advice and completed a list of characters and an outline. I think these two items will help me win this time.

Research

As I write my first novel I find that researching the details to make the story line relevant. Having published three non-fiction books I am used to doing research for those topics, but was surprised at the level of research needed for a fiction novel. I do realize how important an accurate and believable story line is and will do the research necessary to write the best novel I can.