Writing a book can be both thrilling and daunting for beginners. On one hand, the writer is excited to get started on an adventure that is unique and novel to this world. On the other, the writer might not know where to begin, how to move the characters along the story, or how the story is going to end. As a fellow writer pursing my master’s in creative writing, I can empathize with all the emotions writing comes with. That’s why after almost 17 years of writing, editing, revising, and beta reading, I have come up with a four-step breakdown of what a writer needs to know about their own story before they begin crafting.
The first step is to establish a target audience. Who are you writing your book for? Of course, you would want everyone of all backgrounds to read it and enjoy it, but the reality is in publishing, you need to have a target and it needs to be specific. Are you writing a middle school novel? If so, then maybe your target is children between the ages of 10 and 13. If you’re writing a romance novel, then maybe you’re targeting women between the ages of 25 and 45 depending on the character’s situation. Establishing a target age range or demographic doesn’t mean that no one else can read your book, it means that your intention is for this specific group of people and the marketing strategy for your book would shift for that demographic. If you don’t know who your target audience is, then look at your character and their circumstances. If they are a 16-year-old male, then your target audience is Young Adult. An example would be “Zodiac” by Romina Russel. Her series follows a 16-year-old female who is placed with a responsibility of leadership. This could appeal to readers between the ages of 14 and 17 because of age and peer relationships. Once you know the age of your character and your target audience, you can create your book using those parameters.
Now that you know your target audience, you can shift into creating the characters. Every book has a protagonist and side characters to help them along the way. But not every book has an antagonist who is a character. Depending on the genre you are choosing to write in, this can vary. As someone who writes Fantasy Fiction, my antagonist would have to be another character that prevents my main character from reaching their goal. If I were writing Contemporary Fiction, my antagonist can range from other characters, internal conflicts, or elements outside of the character’s control such as weather or a disease. I could have a much longer post about the different kinds of characters, but for now, I will discuss the main character and what to look for when creating a character. In all genres of writing, the main character needs to be rounded, meaning they need to have a goal, a personality, and room to grow. When creating my character, I would take into consideration the characters that are in my top five favorite books. What did I like about them? Their looks? Their character? Goal? What was their weakness? The first thing I had to decide was how they looked. What is common in most characters? How can my character be different from the norm without it being too outrageous? Creating unique characters isn’t about giving them purple eyes or silver hair. It can be realistic reactions or relatable personalities. They can have a striking feature, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be a streak of white-blonde hair. Maybe their striking feature is a chipped tooth or a jagged eyebrow. At the same time, you are building a background for this character. What is their race? Where did they come from? How did they grow up? How would my character react if they saw someone being bullied? How do they sound? Smell? What makes them laugh? What makes them cry? As writers, we distance ourselves from our character, but distance makes them feel truly fictional rather than human. The goal for me, is to make my readers feel like my character could be a human in this world, despite any fantastical elements they have or are faced with.
The next thing to consider is world building. I have been told from beta readers, peers, and my professors that my world building is my strongest suit. A tip from one of my Fiction Workshop Professor at Johns Hopkins University: “Find out what your strong suit is and build upon it.” This doesn’t mean you ignore your weakest points in your writing — for me its tense shifts — but if you show case what you are strong in, it makes your writing that much stronger while you fix your weakest points. If your genre is contemporary, then you may not need to consider every part of this element. Contemporary writers are bound by the laws, language, culture, and structure of the world we live in today. If you are writing a story based in a country that is different from your own, you will need to do some research. But if you are writing a fantasy/sci-fi world, then world building is at your mercy, and you get to play creator in the new world. When world building, you must consider five individual aspects that go into making a realistic, yet fantastical world.
• First, what are the laws of the land? Is there a government? A king? An emperor? What rules do all the people follow that is considered the norm? Understanding the laws of the land helps the reader build a parameter of what is acceptable legally of the character to do or what can get them in trouble.
• Second, what is the language like? Not in the sense of “are they speaking English”. Either way, you will have to write your book in your native language. By language, I mean, are the characters using words that are not suited for their time or world? The phrase, “That’s so cool!” wouldn’t be used in a novel set in medieval time. Maybe they would say, “That’s fascinating” or “How incredible”. If your characters speak different languages, then it’s important to let the reader know that the character is speaking in a different language rather than trying to write out the words and create a language. Christopher Paolini, the author “Eragon”, did this in his novel and it’s stylistically his choice. He also provided a dictionary for every word and every language in the back of the book. Veronica Roth’s novel, “Carve the Mark”, was in two different alien languages, but the whole book is written in English. These are two great examples to read from and to draw inspiration for language.
• Third, what are the characters wearing? This may not necessarily apply to contemporary as heavily, but it gives the reader a visual of what kind of apparel is available to the character. Even if you don’t want to get too specific, you can add in a feature clothing item that you want your reader to know this character wears. For me, my character wears an old, worn scarlet scarf. I don’t get into too much more detail about what she is wearing, but the scarlet scarf is important to her and has history. These specific items need to be restated to remind the reader that this character is wearing this item. Are women allowed to wear pants? Do men carry weapons on them? Or are the women the ones safeguarding? It’s a minuscule detail that goes a long way in helping the reader picture the world you painted more vividly.
• Fourth, and one of the most important aspects of world building: Culture. Are there festivals? Are there traditions? Is there music, religion, hierarchy within the family? This can be the hardest to craft as it may need the most research. Taking a blend of existing cultures to create your own unique culture is a great way to begin. Even looking into your own culture and traditions can help. I would caution when writing in the Contemporary genre when it comes to writing a culture that is not yours. Do your research, ask others for advice or for sensitivity, because you don’t want it to come off as offensive or presumptuous.
• The fifth and last aspect to consider in world building are the plants and animals. When I started writing, I turned a blind eye to the physical world I was creating. But it’s one of the characteristics that made the Harry Potter series so magical. I found it challenging creating new plants, new animals and creatures that were unique to the world I was building. I had to know what each creature looked like, how they functioned, how they smelled, what they ate, were they dangerous to my characters, are they endangered, are they magical. This went for plants as well. Not all the animals and plants had to be unique, but there had to be something unique and different about my world that would enchant the readers. Now most of this information is what I the writer would have to know. That doesn’t mean it has to be written out in detail in your novel.
The last break-down in crafting your book deals plot development, and is the most important element. The story needs to have some sort of stake. What is at risk for the character if they do not carry out their goal? Your readers want to know why they should bother following this character and their journey. As much as I love a great adventure, it’s not enough to keep me hooked. I want to know what a potential outcome could be if this person does not accomplish their goal. Most readers want to know what the stake is right away, so typically within the first three chapters. If your story is long and might turn into a series, I would recommend giving small conflicts for the character until you can tell your reader what the overarching conflict will be. This overarching conflict needs to be addressed in the first book, and I would still heavily recommend somewhere toward the beginning, or at least hinted at. In a series, each book has a different conflict that adds or builds toward the bigger conflict. It’s like a pulse on a heart monitor. There are moments of flat line where you build the reader up to a scene, then a spike in intensity where the character must overcome a challenge you threw at them, keeping the stake in mind.
These four breakdowns can be developed at any point in your crafting process. If you feel strongly and inspired to develop your stake, then take the time to puzzle it out. If you feel you want to start with understanding your main character on a fundamental level, then have an interview with them. Or maybe you’ve already started writing and you realize that you haven’t fleshed out the laws of the land and culture. All these can be worked on through the first, second, third, fourth drafts and edits and revisions. When you start to ask for beta readers, be prepared to ask them questions such as:
• What would you like to know more about? The characters? The world?
• Do you feel the stakes/conflicts are high enough?
• What did you like about the story line? What did you find hard to understand?
• Is the dialogue natural?
• Is the setting visual?
As you send out your manuscript for others to read you start to get a basic understanding for what specific questions you want answered and which answers are repeated. Knowing when to take suggestions from readers and when to thank them for their opinion is a whole other subject matter.
Take some time in your development stage, but always remember to have fun in your creative process and writing. If you aren’t enjoying it and having fun, then your readers surely won’t. Passionate writers create passionate readers. So, find your inspiration, a nice place to settle alone with your thoughts and characters, and enjoy the process.
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