Write Your Novel Step By Step (Part 4)

This is going to be the third excerpt on writing your novel. I am going to try and put these editions out as quickly as I can but that is only when time allows. I love writing and that is what I am doing all the time. Am I a good writer? I don’t know. What I do know is that I am getting to be a better writer with every word I put on paper and you too can become a good writer. To write your novel just follow these steps that I am laying out and at the end you will have something that at least you are proud of.

16. Believability

It doesn’t matter if your character is evil or good. What does matter is that your reader believes he is real. When I write I make believe I am the character, I talk out loud and I take my time to imagine what he is doing next. Your characters actions will define his purpose. Your story is going to be a lot harder to believe if you have way too many characters. Some authors can pull it off but not a lot. So you are better off having a few characters of which you can make your audience focus on.

17. Your Best Friend.

A writer’s biggest challenge is developing a protagonist that is consistent through out the entire story. You have to remember this is your main character. Basically your story lives or dies off the actions of your protagonist. If your reader doesn’t care about the protagonist then he isn’t even going to make it from cover to cover.

18. Character Development

You have to figure out who you need for characters. You have to figure out what these characters are going to mean to one another. In some stories the characters love one another and in others they hate each other. You have to ask yourself what your readers want. Sometimes you have difficult choices to make. For example a character that you and your readers are in love with might have to be killed off to make the story take that next leap. Don’t get stuck on your decisions because if you do then that is where your story will end. Sometimes you have to be hard but that’s part of the business. I would recommend trying a few different things with your character. However don’t go with your heart. In this case you have to go with what you know is going to work. It’s your chance to play devils advocate so take the chance and run with it.

19. “Why”

As you get further into your novel you’re going to have quite a character built. You’re going to have the pages on your scribbler just filled with different points to your character. By now you should even know your characters shoe size and what color underwear they like to wear. Always ask the question why of your character. Secondly what’s even more important than that is answering it in your scribbler.

20. Be You

So many new writers like to try and make themselves sound like some one else. My favorite writer is Stephen King and I enjoy writing the same genre as he does but I can guarantee the two of us don’t sound anything alike. When I write I talk it out. What I am trying to say is I write out loud. Some of your work is going to get very ugly and awkward but you can deal with that later. So make sure you develop your own style and your own voice.

Okay this is the end of my fourth lesson on my step by step series on how to write a novel. Remember not everyone is going to write the perfect novel but at the end of the day if you keep following these steps I guarantee no matter what you will have something that you are proud of.

Dale Mazurek


Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ And lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://www.7dayebook.com/?hop=stcajo orhttp://stcajo.profitlan.hop.clickbank.net You can also contact him at stcajo2011@yahoo for any info on his writing or products.

In writing my novel I learnt a lot of things the hard way so I just wanted to put this series out there for would be writers to help them on their path to writing their own book.

Age Doesn’t Matter

This is fiction but it is my rendition of your unclassic love story.

Jake was 30 when he met 60 year old Mary. Little did he know at that moment that in a short while these two would love each other more than most people the same age do.
Jake is a contractor and Mary is a lady that wanted new cupboards built in her house. Mary was retired so she was home almost all the time while Jake was working on her cupboards. She didn’t mind paying the extra hours that the two spent talking. Some days Jake would be lucky if he got an hours work done. The two chatted about complete different lifestyles but somehow they kept each other laughing
Jake hadn’t showed up at Mary’s for a few days and this was unusual and Mary knew it so on the third day when Jake did finally show up she knew something was wrong. First of all Jake looked like hell warmed over, like he hadn’t slept or showered in three days. When Mary asked him what was the matter he just shrugged her off and went to work. That first day back there wasn’t 5 words exchanged between the two of them.
The next morning Jakes appearance did look better but his mood still sucked. Mary was determined to find out what was going on because by this point she considered Jake a friend and she didn’t like to see friends hurting. So finally after enough pushing Jake broke down and told her everything.
He explained that 4 days ago when he went home there was a note on the table from his wife telling Jake that she was gone. In the letter she explained that she had been seeing somebody else for over a year. Jake told Mary that the words in the letter were so cold. There was no sorry or anything just a bye. By this time Jake was bawling his eyes out. He felt silly doing it but he couldn’t stop. This woman had broken his heart.
As time went on his heart healed, he finished Mary’s cupboards but still stayed friends with her and he would even visit her a few times a week. One day when he was over he asked Mary to go out for supper with him. He didn’t know why he was doing this seeing that she was 30 years older but there was something that attracted him to her. Mary accepted and that night they went out for a very romantic supper. When they got back to Mary’s house that evening she invited him in and one thing led to another and that night they made love for the first time of many to come.
As time went on the two knew they had an unorthodox relationship but they also knew that they were in love and they didn’t care about what anyone said. 4 months into the relationship the couple moved in together and a year later the couple was married. Every day was a new love story for the couple. They made love until Mary was 73 and after that Jake was just happy to spend time with his soul mate. Other than the love making the couple never stopped being romantic. Mary was 85 on their 25th wedding anniversary. The couple had a huge party and Jake at 55 gave his bride a diamond ring that most women would have killed for.
Jake had just turned 60 and was getting ready to retire when everything came tumbling down. He got home to find his bride on the bed and she wasn’t waking up. So many emotions went through his head at that point. He just lay there remembering his life with his sweet Mary. He remembered the day they met. He remembered how many friends he lost and so did she because they thought the entire situation was a weird one. He and Mary showed all of the neigh sayers. The couple acted like teenagers right until the day Mary died.
Jake was asked after about the secrets to his unique marriage to Mary. He told everyone that he never looked at how old she was but rather how young. The couple never went to bed mad. They told each other that they loved one another everyday. And finally every morning started with a kiss and every evening ended with a kiss. There was no secret just old fashioned true love.