1. So You Want to
Write a Novel (or
Short Story)?
PRESENTED BY AMANDA SAWYER
PORT CITY WRITERS GROUP
OSWEGO PUBLIC LIBRARY

2. You Need…
An Idea!
It’s a good idea to make a document on your computer
(in a word processor) or on Google Docs where you can
list your ideas.
Or if you prefer, carry a notebook around with you all the
time so that if you have an idea, you can jot it down.
Notes and voice recording applications on your phone
work too in a pinch.
Don’t have an idea??? Try one of these!
• Free writing
• Observe your surroundings
• Writing prompts

3. Know Your Audience
Who are you writing for?
• Children (pre-k – 2nd
grade)
• Middle Grade
(grades 3-6)
• Young Adult (grades
7-12)
• New Adult (around
ages 18-25)
• Adult
• Or a combination
• Some books cross over and are appealing to
more than one audience or age range.
• No matter what your audience is– write with
them in mind.

4. Know Your Genre
Fiction Non-Fiction
• Contemporary
• Romance
• Sci-fi
• Fantasy
• Crime/Thriller
• Historical fiction
• & more!!!
There are so many
options, or you can
combine multiple
genres.
• Memoir
• Biography
• Autobiography
• History
• Manual (or how-to)
• Educational

5. To Pants or to Plan… That is the question
Pantsing
• A flying by the seat of your
pants approach to writing-
-- anything goes.
• Allowing your story to flow or develop
naturally.
• However, sometimes this makes for a super
sloppy first draft.
Planning
• Outlining
• Some choose to go into a
lot of detail, outlining every
scene
• Character Sketches
• Research
• Knowing story and character arcs that
happen throughout story
Planning can be beneficial, but in some
instances it puts a damper on the natural flow of
your story or things change.

6. Or somewhere in between
People who fall in between pantsing and planning often do some planning before writing
a novel, but it’s not extensive.
They may do a character sketch or two, just to get an idea of who they are writing about.
They might have a couple of plot points in mind, or outline the first couple of chapters to
give themselves a decent start, but from there go where the story flows naturally.
a…plantser???

7. Important Elements of a Novel-
Your story needs characters – people from whose POV the story is told.
Protagonist (usually your main
character)- the person who you
want the reader to root for!
- You can have more than one!
Antagonist - the character
who causes your M.C. the most
grief!
- There can be more than one
here too!
Supporting Characters- other
people in your main character’s
world that interact with your
M.C.

8. Important Elements of a Novel-
They may change & develop while you
Write, but you should know at least some of the following:
It’s easier to know about your
Characters before you start writing.
Who are they physically?
• Age, gender, what they look
like, health, physical limitations,
diet, etc.
Who are they socially?
• Family, friends, career/ job,
education level
Who are they emotionally?
• Political beliefs, mental/emotional issues,
religion or belief structure, values or
morals.
And it’s also fun (and sometimes useful) to
know some of their likes & dislikes, favorite
things, and hobbies.

9. Your characters create the plot--- they need to
be compelling & 3 dimensional.
Each character needs:
• Your character needs
to want something & it
needs to be their
mission in the story to
get it!
A goal
• They might have smaller
goals along the way, but
should be moving toward
the overall goal to push the
plot forward.
• A great source of conflict in a story
or novel is when characters have
opposing goals and are struggling
against one another.
Common goals in novels are:
• Possession of something (money, the girl,
etc.)
• Relief from something (poverty,
homelessness, etc.)
• Revenge for something

10. Your characters create the plot--- they need to
be compelling & 3 dimensional.
Why does your character want/need to
accomplish their goal?
Your character needs
motivation for their goals
and actions.
Why do they do the
things they do?
Know this for all of your
characters--- it can be
attached to something
that happens in the
inciting incident, or in their
backstory.
The reason that your character wants to achieve a
goal should be a mostly internal motivation.

11. Your characters create the plot--- they need to
be compelling & 3 dimensional.
But your character can’t be perfect.
Without flaws, you risk your
character becoming boring, or a
Mary-Sue type character (in other
words, a snooze-fest)
Each character needs a flaw, a
real one, that gets in the way of
their goals in the novel.
It needs to affect how other
characters (and readers) will see
and feel about your character.
Flaws make your character
realistic.
Likewise, your antagonist (or bad
guy) can’t be all flaws either.
They need to have at least one
redeeming quality. The most
fascinating antagonists are
likeable some of the time.

12. Important Elements of a Novel-
But your characters can’t
get everything they want
all the time--- or even
most of the time.
(that’s boring)
Seriously, you don’t want to
put your readers to sleep.
So throw obstacles in their
way left and right,
preventing them from
getting what they want.
There needs to be conflict in
every paragraph, every
scene even.
Conflict helps to push
the story forward--- and
that’s what you should
use it to do!

13. Important Elements of a Novel-
Internal Conflict External Conflict
Your character’s own personal issues.
• Based on desire & fear
• Gives the plot significance and keeps the
character emotionally at odds until the
end of the book/story.
This should be what is really standing
between your character and their goal.
Can also work in conjunction with the
external conflict.
Know this: why does your character
have this internal conflict.
Conflict that effects how the characters
interact with one another.
War, separation, sickness, death, etc.
(physical things) are all examples of external
conflicts. These things are beyond the
character’s control.
Remember: Conflict helps to push the story
forward. Conflict stands in your
character’s way. In order for them to
reach their goal they have to overcome
their internal (and sometimes external too)
conflict.

14. Important Elements of a Novel-
What time period/place does your story happen?
Is it a real place/time?
(If it is, you might want to do some research)
Is it imaginary?
(You might want to do some world building.)
• Your characters need to react to the setting & what’s happening there.
• Setting an cause or be a great source of conflict.
• Your setting an even be a character in and of itself (of sorts)

15. Important Elements of a Novel-
World building helps to make your imaginary world more real for the
reader.
What’s important here?
• History of the people
• Conflicts
• How do your characters fit into
their world?
• What is the society like?
• What politics are there?
The small details are just as
important as the big ones,
they bring the world you
created to life.
http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-
literary-agents/tips-on-world-building-for-writers-how-to-
make-your-imaginary-world-real

16. Most of us have seen a
plot diagram that looks
something like this….
It’s good to keep story
structure in mind, but
remember, it doesn’t
have to look like this!
A lot of times rough
drafts end up looking like
this…

17. Here’s what you need to do:
• Introduce your Main Character (protagonist)
Make the reader care about them!
• Identify what their main goal is (and why)
• Hook your reader with an exciting inciting
Incident--- make them want to continue on to
Chapter 2.

18. Make a routine & stick to it!
It’s easy to put it off – don’t let that be you
The important thing is that you write
As hard as it may be, don’t go back and edit
your rough draft– save that for revisions.
Make notes of things that you want to change
when you revise.

19. Remember…
Rough drafts are sloppy--- it’s okay if yours is a mess!
No rough draft is ready to be sent to an agent or publisher--- revision is always needed.
The only way you can get that book written is to actually write.
Schedule time in your day to work on your book
You only become a better writer by writing.
It doesn’t hurt to study your craft--- read books and blogs about writing, plot, character
development, etc.

20. It’s a lot of hard work…
but you can do it.
If you devote time & effort
to your book, you can finish it!

21. Great online resources:
Advice, pep talks, & more
http://blog.nanowrimo.org/
Help writing your book from
beginning to end:
http://www.writersdigest.com
A writer’s basic toolbox & more
from author Susan Dennard:
http://susandennard.com/2014/
11/03/a-writers-basic-toolbox/
A blog with plenty of tips to keep
you going:
http://thenovelfactory.blogspot.com
Follow authors you like on
Facebook or Twitter, a lot of them
will post resources! And you can
talk to them about writing, ask
questions, etc.