If you’re writing a rough draft for a full-length novel and you still don’t have much experience with it, you might have a lot of questions.
So here is an FAQ.
1. My characters aren’t going as planned. One is becoming more important than I intended and another isn’t developing as well as the others. What do I do?
Keep writing. Just keep writing. It’s an early draft. No one but you has to read it. You can fix all these development problems in the next draft.
As you write you’ll find that you deviate from your original plan. This is okay. Sometimes it’s better to deviate. You might find something better.
If you find that some characters are falling behind and you’re not sure what to do with them, try deleting them. Just get rid of them. It might help.
If you find that they aren’t as well developed, keep writing with them. Change something. Change the plot. Change a part of their back story. Just keep writing. These things do not happen all at once.
2. I outlined my plot, but now I’m starting to go another way. What do I do?
Same as above. Just keep writing.
You do not have to stick to your original plan. Better things may come along. Go with your gut.
And remember, you can write both. Write one draft sticking to the outline. Write another where you deviate.
3. I just wrote something, but I don’t like it. Should I go back and edit?
No. Editing will only hold you back. You will have a chance to rewrite this scene when you start writing your next draft.
Always keep writing. The quality at this stage does not matter. What matters is that you get the story down.
4. I really love this scene/character/passage/subplot, but I can’t get the rest of the story to work around it. What do I do?
Delete it. Just get rid of whatever is holding you back. You should not be reworking 90% of your story just so you can fit in that 10% that you really love.Â
If it doesn’t work, then it doesn’t work. Maybe you’ll eventually find a spot for it, maybe you won’t. Maybe it’ll eventually fit in this story, maybe it’ll fit in another one.
5. I want to end/begin with a dream, but I’ve heard it’s a bad idea…
It’s a very bad idea and here are my reasons why. Read that before you come complaining to me about how you’re somehow the exception. Everything thinks they’re the exception.
6. I think my story is too short/too long…
You are going to have an unlimited amount of chances to rewrite this story. Rewrites often lead to a raise or decline in word counts.
Don’t worry about the length at this stage. You’ll fix it later. You’ll find stuff to delete. You’ll combine things. You’ll extend subplots. You’ll introduce new things. Your first draft is not your final draft.
7. I’m having trouble with a scene/character/the layout of the story because I’m not sure how it would translate into a screenplay or if it would prevent my book from becoming a movie.
Your book is not going to become a movie. The chances of it becoming a movie are pretty much none. The chances of your book being published are also slim. If you want to write a movie, then write a screenplay.
