Writing a Novel Part 3: Characters

Good evening friends or morning depending on what part of the world you come from. I apologize for the gap between my last post and this one. Life has been rather crazy recently with work, a doctor’s appointment, and driving people around (we were down a vehicle). Anyway, let’s delve right into this week’s topic: Characters.

By now, you have come up with the genre you what your book to be and the setting but a story is not a story without its characters.

The cast of your story can be broken down into two categories: Main Characters and Secondary Characters. What do I mean by main characters and secondary characters? I’m glad you asked. The main character, also known as the protagonist, is the one who is the lead actor i.e. the one the book is about. For example, the main character in JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings is Frodo because he is the one who has to take the Ring to Mount Doom to destroy it. Another example can be found in Agatha Christie’s Poirot series. Poirot is the main character because he is the one who is solving mysteries.

Another important main character is the antagonist. Not all stories have protagonists. If you are planning on writing a mystery, the antagonist is the killer. An example of a protagonist is Sauron in the Lord of the Rings.

Secondary characters, on the other hand, are people that compliment the main characters. For example, Captain Hastings in the Poirot series is a secondary character.

Now, you can have more than one main protagonist especially if the story you wish to write is a romance. To use my current WIP as an example, I have two main characters: my hero and my heroine. They both tell the story.

For this week’s homework, I want you to come up with a list of both main and secondary characters and if you like come up with their names too. One of the best ways to figure out who you want your main character to be is to figure out who you want to tell the story. Which leads into next week’s topic of Point of View. So let me know in the comments below who you have decided to be your protagonist.

Writing a Novel

Writing a Novel Part 2

Writing a Novel Part 2: Setting + Bonus

Welcome back friends to another week of Writing a Novel. If you are new here to this blog series or blog, welcome. I am glad you could make it and I hope you enjoy your time here. I will link the previous blog post down below in case you missed it. I hope you guys have been enjoying these posts as much as I have enjoyed helping others to understand the writing craft. Who is excited for this week’s topic? I know I am. So let’s get started.

Oh one more thing. As the title suggests, I have added a little something extra at the end of the post. So be sure to keep a lookout for it.

Okay, so you have already taken the first couple of steps. Though not addressed in my previous post, I consider the very first step to writing a novel is taking the initiative to say “I want to write a novel.” The second step which you have hopefully already completed is to figure out what genre your novel is going to be. Now it is time for the next step: Creating a Setting.

There are two steps to figuring out your Setting. Step 1: Where in the world do you want your story to take  place? And Step 2: What time period do you want it to be?

We live in a vast and beautiful world with so many options in which you can choose from for your characters to live in and interact in. You also have the option of creating a fictional town or city for your characters.  On the left, I have included a small collage of a few of my favorite places that I love learning about or have visited. Unfortunately, out of the four pictured here, I have only been to one: Boston, my home state’s capital. But despite not having visited the other three places, I have not let this stop me from setting my stories in far away places that intrigue me and inspire me. For example, I have written a couple of stories (never published or finished) that have taken place in Egypt. I also have an incomplete manuscript that takes place in England. Additionally, my current WIP’s setting is Hawaii as well as Massachusetts.

However, I do want to caution you with setting your novel’s story in a place that you have never been to can be challenging. I know it is something I have struggled with a lot over the years. But don’t let that stop you. Just be aware that it can be challenging. One way to make it less challenging is to come up with your own fictional town. For example, I created a fictional town in England in my unfinished manuscript that I hope to one day return to.

Step 2: 

Now that you have figured out what country, state, town or city in which you want your story to take place it is time to figure out what century you want it to be set in. Do you want it to be a modern story i.e. 21st century so you can use items such as TV, cell phone, laptop, planes and cars? Or do you want it to be a Victorian novel where women were not allowed to have careers and there were no TV’s or cell phones?

Depending on which period you would like to set your novel in, you will be required to conduct research. If it is going to be a Victorian era novel or even a WWII novel, you will have to done a ton more research than say for a contemporary novel.

Alright, now for the little bonus, I mentioned. I think giving your Work In Progress novel a codename is a great way to stay focus and to make it fun. My WIP’s Codename is Operation Aloha.

Homework: 

Come up with three to four places you want your story to be set in and list them 1-4, four being your top choice. Then I would like you to do the same for time periods. Finally, let me know down below what your top place and top time period is. And stay tuned for next week’s topic: Characters.

Last Week’s Post:

Writing a Novel Part 1: Genre

 

Writing a Novel Part 1: Genre

A good friend of mine has been wanting to write a novel for some time now but is unsure on how exactly to go about writing one. Through text messages, she asked me how I go about writing a novel. Instead of going into it via text because it could become a very long conversation, I decided I would do a blog series. Today’s post will be on how to begin.

The very first step in writing a novel is to figure out what genre you want your novel to be. There are many different ones to choose from. Do you want it to be science fiction? Or perhaps a contemporary novel? Or maybe even a contemporary romance or just plain romance? Or what about YA? Or historical fiction?

It is best to know ahead of time what genre category you want your novel to fall into because some will require more research than others. For example, science fiction and historical fiction require more research than say a romance novel.

Join me next Tuesday for the next post in the series: Setting. Let me know in the comments down below what genre you want your novel to be.