Alex Kostin

My plan of Work:

1. I create 1/2 characters.
2. I write a chapter with them.
3. I come up with the new chapter.
4. I introduce new characters.

1+2+3+4+action+nice scenery=novel

RomanticRose

Lin,

Drop in some time at a RWA meeting. You will meet lots of published novelists who use character work. It only constricts the growth of your character if you allow it to do so. It just doesn't work for everyone.

I don't consider the character work a separate event from writing the story. It's part and parcel of the process for me -- just like proofreading and editing.

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quarterscot

No, actually, don't listen to Lin. Listen to Ken. Of course you need a pretty good understanding of your main characters early on in the novel. That doesn't mean pointless checklists saying 'Favourite Colour', 'Favourite Food' etc. But you need to know who they are, what they're like, where they came from, how they might react to events. Otherwise where does your plot come from? In fact, what you end up with isn't a plot at all. It's just things happening, one after another, to a lot of brainless mannequins.

The best developments in my best novels came to me when I started to map out my characters' back stories. Events in their pasts would impinge on their present, and their future; so the story has somewhere to go. And no, these novels haven't been published. Possibly because I never tried. I've got a job, writing is my hobby so I don't share this obsession with getting published.

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Andrew
http://whyisthishere.co.uk

TE4SE

I normally write the ending then the beginning and then do the middle last the middle is always the difficult part. It depends what you are writing about?
I try to keep descriptions of characters to a minimum. This is so their story can be incorporated in a sequel? I think its better to let the imagination let you see the character?

Rob Almaraz

I think the best way to start a novel is to answer some basic questions like, 'why am I writing this?' and 'what do I want to accomplish by writing it?'

Seriously, you have to find your own process and stick to it. I came up with a storyline and thought I could outline it. As I continued to write, the outline changed over and over again. I always knew what the outcome of the story would be, but how my characters developed depended on how the previous chapter was written.

Do you have an idea of what you want your characters to learn, ie. how their character arcs will develop and what the internal and external struggles they will confront will be?

I think once you know what your story is about and what obstacles will face your characters, then you can start developing settings and themes and struggles.

Good luck.

tellerKay

I have a sudden burst of inspiration, than sketch a brief plan before i get to work, which i am able to adapt along the way.

Then again, i am amazing.

RSD

I nibble around the outsides and then eventually bite into the middle. Usually I finish with a nice refreshing glass of milk.

Wait... no... that's how I eat a Reese's.

I usually start with a rough outline of what I want in each chapter. Then expound on this over the process of a few days. Next I break the chapters into manageable pieces. Placing chapters together that have something in common like theme, characters, plot, etc.

Then I take those pieces of work to another clean area to work in (new document). I start forming the ideas of the chapter and jot down notes of key elements I'd like to happen. Next I break down what I want to say in each paragraph. Then fill those paragraphs out with description. But then there are other times I just start writing and it flows on down the page.

cclay

My stories seem to start with a single thought or idea. From there I create a very loose outline and more importantly for me, an ending. I need the ending in order to ensure that my scenes are all leading up to what I intend to end with. (Not that the ending doesn't change as well before I get to it at times.)

And then I just start writing. I let my characters develop themselves during the first writing. I also let the story take shape with the first writing. When it is complete, that is what I call a detailed outline of the story.

I then go back to the beginning and develop the scenes more thoroughly now that I know exactly how the story is to be presented and what will happen when. I add facts to support later chapters and add all that I can to develop the characters.

But the main thing that I do when I write is just write. I let the story flow out of me and see what happens. I have learned over time that forcing myself to write does not work for me. I have to be in the mode and I can tell when I am not because the story seems to become stale to me.

Chuck

Suzip

I will spend absolutely ages developing the characters. So that I know exactly what they look like, likes and dislikes, make notes on aspects of their past....loads of information that I need to know but the reader may never actually find out. Then I start to write with the basic premise I have in mind and let things develop. Lots of rewriting of course, although my actual editing needs work.

Sam Winchester

Listen, acp751, no one can tell you the right or wrong way to write a novel, cuz there isn't one. When I started my first novel, I didn't have a clue who my main character was, who the baddie was, and where the novel was going, or even how it would end. Authors will tell you this is bad, not having an outline. That's poppycock! My second novel, admittedly, had an outline. I knew the start and the finish, and all the rest was just getting from those two. But my third novel, I hadn't a clue. I just got an idea and started writing. It flowed from there. I didn't even know the ending until about two-hundred pages in.

So, there is no right or wrong way. You do it in a way that you feel comfortable with.

Hope this helps.

Your friend, Sam.

Adamboy

I just get a rough idea in my head and start writing. It has worked with my first 80,000 word novel very well as it has a good bunch of characters and integral sub-plots.