| In the Beginning. | | | | A sense of place. |
| You must hook your reader with a compelling | | | | To give your novel a sense of verisimilitude, you |
| opening by exciting curiosity. Take a look at | | | | need to give proper thought to the time and |
| people browsing in your local bookstore and you | | | | place of you novel's action. If the place actually |
| will see that many a sale has been made after | | | | exists, do some research to ensure you have the |
| reading the first couple of pages. | | | | basic details correct for the time frame. E.g. you |
| Consider using a prologue to mystify and to add | | | | wouldn't find a tractor in Regency London for |
| intrigue. | | | | instance! |
| Characters. | | | | Dialogue. |
| These must express the themes and messages | | | | This can reveal a lot about your characters. Their |
| contained within your novel. They need to be | | | | education, social background and self esteem. |
| subject to all the human frailties real people have | | | | Dialogue can also give pace to the plot and create |
| to contend with. Give them problems and issues | | | | a sense of urgency. Don't forget, dialogue is not |
| to solve, either physical or psychological and don't | | | | real speech! You should make every word count! |
| make them one dimensional. Make sure you have | | | | Don't include the waffle usually included in real life |
| at least one character your reader can clearly | | | | conversations. Also, be careful with slang and |
| identify with. | | | | swear words. The over use of profanity |
| Write back stories for all your main characters. | | | | becomes boring and will switch the reader off. |
| This will help you see them as real people and | | | | Plot. |
| give more weight to your novel when you come | | | | All novels have some kind of plot even if |
| to write it up. | | | | character led. Write a short paragraph to explain |
| If all your characters are looking a bit bland, look | | | | what your novel is about and the problem it is |
| around for some larger than life types to spice | | | | trying to explore or solve. Should be easy if it is a |
| things up. The tabloids are a good source for | | | | crime thriller. You may have to think about it a bit |
| off-beats, but you might find inspiration down the | | | | more if it is a more literary novel. |
| pub! | | | | |