10 Things To Do BEFORE Starting Your Novel
September 25, 2023
Things To Do Before Starting Your Novel
There are about a million articles out there with advice for authors writing their first novels. They’re full of sentences like “write every day” and “pick a good story idea.” Great, thanks, super helpful.
I’m sure someone is finding what they need from those websites, but this blog is all about the things you need to do BEFORE you sit down and start writing. This is all about the prep work, baby!
Keep reading for ten actionable tasks to complete that will set you up for success when you want to write a novel or short story.
1. Expectations and Mindset
Ok, I know this one is a little woo-woo and you might not be into that, but too bad. Setting your expectations might be one of the most important things to do before starting your novel.
Will everything you write be perfect and amazing? Nope.
Will you be able to write 2,000 words every single day until your novel is finished? Probably not.
Will you send your novel to your editor and they’ll immediately send it back saying “OMG! It’s flawless! No notes!!” Absolutely not.
But wouldn’t all those things be nice? Yeah, they sure would. But you’re human. Humans make mistakes, humans don’t always hit their word count goals, and humans really love to hold onto perfectionism.
Time to let it go. Writing a novel is a messy affair.
Get your expectations and your mindset in order now so that when you’re fully in the weeds of your story you don’t let yourself get discouraged because everything isn’t going as planned.
I suggest finding a mantra or two and putting them on a piece of paper in your writing space. When you write and rewrite, take a second to look at it to recenter yourself in the process.
Need some mantra ideas? Here are a few of mine:
I’m just a human, doing my best.
Opportunity doesn’t knock until you build the door.
It’s a privilege to be invited into the creative process.
Know going into this that there will be stumbles, there will be mistakes, and there will be plot holes you aren’t quite sure how to work through, but you just have to keep going. A messy first draft is better than no first draft at all. Just. Keep. Going.
2. Know the Genre
As a romance author, people might think it’s easier for you to write a novel because you already know how it is going to end: with a happily ever after (HEA). And yeah, knowing there’s a HEA certainly makes some aspects of writing a novel easier, but I actually think starting with a prescribed ending can make things tougher in the long run.
You have to get your characters to an ending that everyone knows is coming, but do it in a fresh, exciting way. That takes talent!
The best way to know if what you’re doing is working?
Read a lot in your genre.
Study your genre.
What sticks with you when you read? What makes you swoon? What makes you DNF? Someone with a huge knowledge of their craft can answer these questions. (If you’re looking for a short and sweet book that details all the story beats for romance, be sure to read Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes. It’s a fantastic resource!)
*Note, the above link is an affiliate link and I make a small commission if you purchase using it.*
3. Plan, Plan, Plan!
This section is for both pantsers AND plotters. Sorry, pantsers, I know you were hoping to get to skip one, but no such luck.
It’s totally fine if you don’t want to outline your entire novel. It’s also totally fine if you can’t start writing until you have every detail nailed down.
This section of the blog actually really doesn’t have anything to do with outlines. It’s all about the planning of four specific things to do before starting your novel that will make writing your romance easier.
Characters
I used to be a virtual assistant and before I started pitching my services to online businesses, I created an ideal client. I knew my client’s name, what she liked to eat for breakfast, her favorite movie, how she would act on a first date…everything! I knew her problems AND I knew how to solve them. I knew her dreams AND I knew how to help her reach them. I basically created a character profile.
As romance authors you need to have at least two fully-formed character profiles before you begin writing. Romance novels have at least two protagonists (why choose and poly romance have more) and they each need to have distinctive voices, distinctive dreams, distinctive quirks, and distinctive conflicts. They are well-rounded, which means they exist outside of your story and the romantic conflict you create.
Once you know your characters, sit with them a little bit. Imagine they are with you at the grocery store (what are they buying?), in the car (what traffic laws make them mad?), or on a hike (what do they talk about?). If you can hear their voices in your head, you’re on the right track.
Conflict
The romantic conflict of your story is the main conflict, but it’s not the only one that should exist. What other issues are your main characters having? What is each character’s conflict or emotional journey outside of the relationship? What is happening in their lives (together or separately) that is causing conflict for them? Figure these out now so you can weave them seamlessly throughout your novel.
Tropes
Romance is all about the tropes. No, you don’t have to use any, but it certainly makes marketing your book a little easier!
I suggest you get clear on which tropes you’d like to use, and how you’re going to use them. If you don’t like outlining your novel, this will help keep you on track as you write. If you know what you’re focusing on in terms of tropes it can make creating the rest of your story much easier.
(Not sure where to start? This article lists the twelve most popular.)
Setting
Sense of place is not just a city name or a location. It’s how the place makes the characters feel. It’s what affects how they move through a scene. It’s what can sometimes drive the action.
Don’t neglect the sense of place in your novel. If you don’t have a clear picture in your mind of where your characters are, then neither will your readers.
4. Break it Down
I love to plan. I love to outline. I love to make goals. I realize not everyone’s brain works the way mine does, so it’s ok if planning makes you want to tear your hair out!
I do think it’s important to have a goal in mind when starting a big project or the writing process. I know you’re thinking duh Kaitlin, the goal here is to FINISH THE BOOK, and I hear you, but having a more specific goal will help you in the long run.
The first thing you’ll do here is figure out your word count goal. Romance novels are typically around 80,000 words, so that may be a good benchmark for you. Does this mean your romance novel can’t be 150,000 words? Or 65,000 words? Of course not! It’s just a goal, not a binding contract. 🙂
Then, ask yourself when you would like to be finished with your first draft. One year from now? Three months? Two years? Pick a goal date, but know that you can always push it back.
You have your word count goal and your first draft finish date…so now figure out how many words you need to write each week to reach your goal. Is it attainable? Can you reasonably hit that weekly word count? If it’s too much, then it’s time to adjust.
Breaking down the process of writing a novel into manageable chunks will help you:
- Stay on track.
- Stay accountable to yourself.
- Stay motivated.
(Looking for more help creating your self-publishing timeline? Download my FREE Self-Publishing Planner at the bottom of this page.)
5. Do Your Research
One of the things to do before starting your novel is research. Yes, editors fact check, but you want to make sure you are writing from a place of basic knowledge about your characters, their professions, and their location. Your novel isn’t an encyclopedia, but it should feel authentic to readers. Readers DO notice mistakes, and those mistakes can take them out of the story.
In fact, recently a bestselling author had to address reader concerns about the age of one of her characters because his age was too young for his profession.
As an author, you want to avoid taking readers out of the fantasy of the story you’ve written. A good rule of thumb is, anything you don’t intimately know…give it a quick Google!
6. Create Your Elevator Pitch
Creating an elevator pitch, or a one sentence explanation of your novel, is helpful for a number of reasons.
- It helps keep you focused on the most important elements of your story.
- It helps you figure out what your book is really about. (If you haven’t thought about themes or conflict, sometimes writing an elevator pitch helps bring some of those issues or missing pieces to light.)
- It’s great to use with family or friends who say, “Tell me about your book.”
Now’s the time to create one, while everything is fresh in your mind and isn’t muddled by all the details and dialogue you’re about to create. I suggest putting your elevator pitch somewhere visible as you work. It can be helpful when writer’s block hits to read through it and remember the core elements of your story. Go back to it frequently and see if the story you are writing matches up with your pitch. If not, either get your writing back on track, or create a new pitch!
7. Have a System
There is so much that can go wrong while writing a novel. The biggest headache is a loss of data or a computer crash. Don’t let this happen to you!
Back up your data!
Figure out how you want to save your story, and make it part of your routine every single time you write.
Flash drive? Hard drive? Cloud? Get all of this in place now so you aren’t scrambling as you write.
In addition to backing up your data, you also need a system for placeholder text. A lot of authors will type in ADD SCENE HERE or REPLACE WORD throughout their manuscript so they can go back in and add, edit, or adjust later. To avoid sending your novel to your editor with some of those still in the text, create a system for all the notes you write to yourself.
You could write them as capital letters and then highlight them in a bright color so they jump out at you as you scroll. I had one author who started all her notes to herself with her own name. That way she just had to ctrl+F for her name and all her notes were highlighted.
However you choose to do this, make sure it is consistent throughout your text.
8. Acknowledgments Start NOW
The best piece of advice I have for you is probably this:
Open a document on your laptop and title it ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. Leave it open while you write and add to it each time someone helps you.
It doesn’t have to be nicely formatted, or even in complete sentences! Just write a basic list of NAME + how they helped you. When you’re totally finished with your novel and ready to publish, then you can go back in to edit and format nicely.
You don’t want to be scrambling trying to think of all the people who helped you get your book baby into the world. Keeping a running list as you write will make this so much easier!
9. Don't Keep It to Yourself!
One of the best things to do before starting your novel is tell people you are doing it! This is huge! You’re writing a book!
Tell people so they can encourage you and celebrate you as you write!
And if people know you’re writing a book, they can help you celebrate when you reach milestones in your writing and self-publishing journey.
The people in your life want to support you, but they can’t unless you tell them you’re writing a novel.
10. Start With Action
It’s time to write your first sentence.
I know I said this was all about the things you do BEFORE you start writing, but I just couldn’t help adding this one to the list.
This one is really important. The first line is critical, so make it good! No pressure, right?
Sit with it. Think it through. Create a few options.
And always (always always!) start where the story begins. Do NOT start with description or boring action. Remember, your readers want to read an engaging story—they aren’t interested in watching your character wake up and go through her morning routine!
One of the things to do before starting your novel is really workshop this first line until it hooks the reader and sets the tone for the story.
Stuck on this one? Check out this article from Writer Mag for six tips!
Are you ready to do these 10 things to do before starting your novel?
OK you’ve handled all the prep work. You’ve got a plan of attack for your word count goals, you know the major beats of your story, you have systems in place to make writing easier, and you’ve got a winning first line.
Time to get the first chapter out onto the Word document!
And if you finish your manuscript and want a trained editor to look it over with kindness and precision…well, I’d be honored to work with you. Send me a message via my Contact page and let’s chat!
Need help keeping everything organized as you work toward your publish date?
Download my FREE Self-Publishing Planner!
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