Learning how to write a novel is democratic yet the odds of completing a novel aren’t encouraging.

2. How to write a novel: A step-
by-step planning guide

4. Learning how to write a novel is democratic yet the
odds of completing a novel aren’t encouraging.
According to The New York Times, more than 80% of
Americans have a book idea in mind but less than
1% start writing. Out of every 100 people who begin,

5. only three complete a book and of course, a very
small fraction among them will find a literary
agent and get published. (Please see “ Finding
a Literary Agent”) So how do you beat the odds?
First off, I don’t believe you need a MFA or an
expensive writing course. Capturing your thoughts
in words is the most basic of human expressions.

6. After you’ve consulted these resources to know
some guiding rules, read how to write a novel
below and begin writing the moment you are
done. This has worked for me each time despite
having no formal writing training:

7. 1. Crystallize your Theme
The most memorable novels deliver deep
meaning in an entertaining package. Crystallize
your theme by knowing how you’ll deliver both.
This is what I noted for THE YOGA OF MAX’S
DISCONTENT before beginning the novel, for
instance:

8. Meaning: Finding the cause of human pain and
suffering.
Entertainment: A rugged external adventure
through exotic locales—hidden Yoga ashrams,
the top of the Himalayas, surreal Indian night
markets etc.

9. For Catcher in the Rye, it might have been:
Meaning: Making sense of adolescence
Entertainment: Recently expelled from school, a
kid has a series of strange quintessentially New
York experiences.

10. Typically, these will be ideas that have occupied
your thoughts for years so once you define your
overall theme, your words will flow.
2. Know your protagonist & key characters.
Put pen to paper on the following aspects of your
protagonist & a handful of key characters to fully
understand them:

11. Desire: What do they want badly? Make it
concrete. Eg, “enlightenment” is too broad but
“learning Yogic practices in the Himalayas” maybe
a good jumping off point to push deeper.

12. Back Story: Why do they want it so badly? What
experiences in childhood, in relationships and
career have shaped that overpowering desire?
Human complexity and contradictions: A “kindly
grandmother” is a type. “A kind but insecure
grandmother, afraid of her mortality and hanging
on to her busy family” is a fleshed out character.

13. Trajectory of change: Stories captivate when a
character is transformed through the journey.
Where does your character start? How does he
end up? Harry Potter is a great example of this.
We see him get more and more comfortable in his
skin as the story progresses.

14. Physical: Finally, now that you know your
characters emotionally, give them defining
physical characteristics—a name that conveys
something; unique physical characteristics which
may or may not affect their emotional journey eg,
Harry Potter’s scar; speech and mannerism quirks
eg, Holden Caulfield with his “goddam” and
“phonies”; anything which gives a flesh-and-blood
sense of the character.

15. The above requires a fair amount of thinking and
will likely evolve tremendously through the course
of writing. But doing the exercise at the beginning
will make you see fissures within a character, his
or her conflicts with other characters, and thrust
the story forward with a propulsive force.

16. 3. Write your log line.
The log line is the one sentence summary of your
novel. Knowing this will give you tremendous
clarity about your overall story as well as the
worthiness of it. A few examples:

17. TWILIGHT
A young girl falls in love with a vampire who loves
her but thirsts for her blood at the same time.
HUNGER GAMES
In a dystopian future, a young woman must fight
for life in a death match televised live.

18. BREAKING BAD
A high school chemistry teacher becomes a drug
lord.
THE YOGA OF MAX’S DISCONTENT
A Wall Street banker becomes a Yogi in the Indian
Himalayas.

19. As you can see above, an ideal log line has a
protagonist, a hint of their conflict and enough
curiosity value to make you crack open the pages
immediately. Keep refining yours—it will give
definition to your story. If you can’t crack a
compelling log line, perhaps it’s time to re-think
the story.

20. 4. Find your title
This will likely change but forces you to
understand the dramatic focus of your story.
5. Set your schedule and begin writing!
As I noted in my creativity post, the trick for an
effective writing schedule is to reach a synthesis
between the opposing forces of being too rigid
and too flexible, working very hard and slacking
off and planning your writing vs.

21. letting the story evolve. Here is the schedule that
works best for me:
-Mon-Fri: I write for one hour after work three days
out of these five.
-Sat & Sun: 4 hours each.
If I write more, my output suffers. If I write less, I
don’t get much accomplished.

22. -Physical Factors: I love writing in a neighborhood
coffee shop and disconnecting my Wi-Fi during
this time, remembering Jonathan Franzen’s sage
advice: “It’s doubtful that anyone with an Internet
connection at his workplace is writing good
fiction.”

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