How to Write a Brilliant Novel: The Easy Step-By-Step Method of Crafting a Powerful Story (Go! Write Something Brilliant) (3 page)

Game Plan:
I'm not talking plotting versus seat-of-the-pants writing here. I'm talking about a little journal that you keep
after
your writing session. Write down any thoughts you have for the next chapter, as well as your goal for the next writing session. Maybe you want to go back and revise the previous chapter, or fix certain words. Maybe you need more research. Maybe you just want to plow ahead, but have notes for revisions.

Keeping a journal of your writing time helps you focus on each writing session without having to ask, "Now, where was I?" This is especially true if a week or more has gone by in between writing sessions.

I know some of you who have little children are thinking, "Hey, I don't even have time to wash my hair—I can't possibly find time to write.” Let’s see, greasy hair versus seeing your dreams come true. You can wash your hair when your kids go to school.
No
, I'm not
that
bad! I like clean hair, but I well remember the days when I typed with my children on my lap, or stayed up late with my laptop while my husband snoozed beside me.

He sure woke up when I got that first contract.

I am a writer. And I promise not to quit until I’ve written “The End.”

Say it until you mean it. And then turn the page.

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that but the really great ones make you feel that you, too, can become great.

Mark Twain

Step One: Discover

Where
do
you
start?

I love
Dancing with the Stars
. Mostly because they take regular people (okay,
stars
) and teach them how to dance. So I took a dancing class. And realized I was in over my head. I just don’t move like dancers do. And there are so many different styles and music types. But the thing is, I do have rhythm, so I
could
learn to dance, and eventually, dance from the soul. First, however, I had to focus on the kind of dancing I wanted to learn, get down the basic steps, and practice.

So, you have an idea, a feeling, perhaps a character that has been roaming around your head for awhile, nudging you to develop a story. That’s a great place to start, but don’t put that pen to paper yet. First: What
kind
of book will you write? Think of it as dancing the Tango: You want to Tango, but you have to learn the beat of the music and the basic steps first.

So, what genre of book do you want to write?

Here’s
a
hint:
Take
a
look
at
what
you’re
already
reading.
If
you
hate
sci-fi,
and
your
TBR
(to be read)
pile
is
stocked
with
John
Grisham
legal
thrillers,
chances are you
won’t know
how
to craft a good sci-fi
story.

Books fall into segmented genres. Take a walk through the bookstore and check out the plethora of genres represented. Your book will fall inside one of these sections. Look at the main headings:

• Romance
  
• Mysteries or Thrillers Women’s fiction
  
• Chick Lit Sci-Fi Fantasy Memoirs Young Adult
  

Within those main headings, you’ll find variations:

• Romantic Suspense
  
• Romantic Comedy
  

And within those, even further variations: Historical, Contemporary, etc. Each genre, and the subgenres within them, encompasses particular elements.

For example:

Romance: Hero/heroine have to meet by chapter 3 (preferably chapter 1), they must have a Black Moment, they must have a happy ending.

Fantasy: Must have real-world rules we can understand.

Suspense: Must have an Ignition and a Ticking Time Bomb (or deadline).

Thriller: The format of the story is concentrated on what could happen to the characters.

Mystery: The dead body is at the beginning, and the focus is on what happened.

Learning these elements will be key to learning how to structure your novel.

How do you find these
elements?

• R
  EAD.
  Read your favorite authors, and then dissect their books to find out what works
  and
  what
  doesn’t.
  I
  keep
  a
  journal
  of
  all
  the
  books
  I
  read
  and
  refer
  to
  it
  when
  I’m lost or confused or feeling overwhelmed. T.S. Eliot wrote: “A poor poet
  imitates, a good poet steals.” Now, I’m not advocating plagiarism, but finding out what elements in others’ work you enjoy will help you in developing your own voice.
  
• Study particular elements of that craft.
  Buy a genre-particular writing book, such as the kind offered by Writer’s Digest.
  
• Write and write and write and get feedback
  . Join a critique group. It’s essen
  tial
  to get honest feedback from people you trust.
  

What do you know?
Your book is going to take research. I often write books about people or professions or places I’d like to visit or know about, because it forces me to do research, which I love. But my first books were written about a place I knew, with characters I’d met, and a theme close to my heart.

Everyone has something unique about them—their past, their education, their profession, their experiences, their culture, their interests. You are unique. And you will bring this unique perspective to your writing. It’s from this place that you’ll develop your platform for writing.

See, as we get further along, I’m going to ask:
Why
should someone pick up your book and spend the next few hours reading it? What makes your book unique and why are
you
the one to tell the story?

Are you a cop, telling stories about protecting the homeland? Are you a nurse, writing the next
ER
series?

Are you an archeologist, discovering the secrets of time? Are you a former CIA agent, unfolding the past?

More and more, agents and editors want someone who has a platform, someone who can give resonance to their story. With non-fiction, this is a no-brainer, but with fiction, that person can be harder to find. After all, I’ve never been a bull rider, so what could I possibly bring to a story like
Taming Rafe?
And, I’ve never been a Delta Force operative undercover in Taiwan, trying to rescue a kidnapped girl, so what authority could I possibly give to
Wiser than Serpents?

Well, let’s see. I lived in Taiwan and in Russia, and I know people who have known people who have “disappeared” into the world of human trafficking. I know friends who fought human trafficking, and I’ve had experience with being held against my will. I brought all these things to the storyline of
Wiser than Serpents
.

For
Taming Rafe
, I tapped into my love of all things cowboy, as well as my experience as a fundraiser and working with orphans overseas. I also spent time on a ranch, learning the ropes. (Pun intended!)

Even if you don’t have a platform, you have a reason why you are uniquely created to write your story. Dee Henderson, one of my favorite authors, said to me years ago, “Find what you are good at, hone that, and create a niche for your writing.” I chose Russia, and now out of my 45 novels and novellas, over half have some connection to Russia.

As a reader, you can probably define what draws you to a book. As a writer, you need to keep that in mind as you create a plot. I know what I like in a —book—what kinds of professions and settings and plots—and those are reflected in the books I create. Other authors seek out different plots based on their interests. But in the end, we’re all searching for some new perspective on life, a world to dive into, and something that delights our hearts. As you create your story, keep this in mind. Keep asking:
Why should someone read my book?
The answer should come from the following three functions of storytelling.

3 Functions of
Storytelling:

1. Entertainment
   
2. To escape into a different
   world
   
3. To understand, life, God, each other, ourselves.
   

I know you believe that your Staggering Work of Fiction is unique. That it’s never been told before . . . um, okaaaay. Actually, it’s never been told in
your
voice, in
your
style, but I have news for you:

There are six major plots in the world that all books follow. (Well, six that I’ve found. If you can find a new, different one, by all means, let me know!)

Basic plots connect with us in a way that holds our attention. Below, you'll find the six basic plots. The
best
stories, the epics, sometimes contain elements of all six plots, ending, as most of them do, with the hero and heroine brought together in perfect love and triumph of reaching the goal, the true happy ending.

In dancing, there are the basics: the two-step, the waltz, the tango, etc. Everything else is a variation of these. Through all the storytelling in the world, a handful of basic plots reoccur, so much so that every story can be boiled down to one of these six plots (with variations, of course, on setting, characters and endings). If you’ve already developed a plot, see where yours fits in:

1. Overcoming the Monster
   – A hero on behalf of a greater good sets out to take on and slay some evil, deadly foe. We see this in movies like
   Erin Brockovich, Jaws, Star Wars
   ,
   The Firm, The Pelican Brief
   , and one of my favorites,
   Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
   . (He’s overcoming the school principal!)
   
2. Rags to Riches
   – Someone faces external obstacles of society or personal opposition, and the story ends with her finding the real “riches” within herself, and in the end, getting her dreams.
   Cinderella, My Fair Lady
   , and
   Pretty Woman
   are examples of this.
   
3. The Great Quest
   – The story’s about the journey, the friends made along the journey, and how they band together to accomplish the task, win the treasure, or the war. Examples are
   Raiders of the Lost Ark, National Treasure, Saving Private Ryan
   , and even
   Amazing Race
   .
   
4. Home Again, Home Again
   – Stories about people leaving the world they know, being changed by the experience, then taking those changes home and adapting them to their world.
   Wizard of Oz, Sweet Home Alabama.
   
5. Beast to Beauty
   – A person is forced to go into a “prison” of some kind. They are finally redeemed, either by an outside liberator, or by personal enlightenment.
   Snow White, The Sound of Music, The Mighty Ducks, Gladiator.
   
6. See the Light
   – The stories are about people who are forced to re-examine
   who they are, or are in the middle of a misunderstanding, and they must find a
   new perspective to come through it and see the light.
   The Devil Wears Prada, Return to Me, Chasing Liberty.
   

A
Tragedy
is a takeoff of this type of plot without the happy ending.
Macbeth
or
A Beautiful Mind
shows what happens when the hero is sucked into a spell of darkness, the power of the ego. They initially might enjoy a
dreamlike success, but in the end the dream turns to nightmare, and they are destroyed.

Ask:

• What is your favorite movie or book? Does it fit into one of the Six Basic Plots?
  
• Study these plots. What makes them different from each other? What makes them the same?
  

Now, think about
your
idea. What plot does
it
fit? Answering this question will help you as you learn the
structure
of your novel.

Yes, actually they do.

So, let’s start with: What makes a great book?

The Four Things
all
Stories
must
have:

• Theme
  –
  What
  is
  the
  story
  about? What
  can
  we
  learn
  about
  ourselves
  or humanity
  or life or even God?
  
• Plot – What happens in the story? What choices do the characters make or respond to? What is accomplished or lost?
  
• Characters
  –
  Who
  are
  the
  players
  in
  the
  story?
  They
  are
  the
  ones
  who
  live
  out
  the
  story.
  I’m
  a
  firm
  believer
  in
  starting
  here
  with
  the
  development
  of
  your
  story.
  We’ll
  get to this in a minute.
  
• Setting – Where does the story take place? Setting can be a character too. It adds tone, and theme, and can even be
  a protagonist. And
  if your novel is a historical book, that is a part of the setting as
  well.