I recently started reading a series about three Supernatural sisters fighting to save the world and noticed quite a few errors at least once in each book.

Mind you, I know that I make a lot of errors in my writing but I don’t have an editor to proofread everything I write. So what steps can you take to make sure that your novel comes out practically error free?

• In Microsoft Word or some other word processor that has the ability to check spelling and grammer errors. Of course, this isn’t 100% effective and can sometimes show errors that are actually correct, but it is a good start.
• Have a friend, relative or even a school teacher that you know proof-read the manuscript. Sometimes you can catch a lot of errors by having a fresh pair of eyes look it over.
• Read the manuscript out loud to yourself. Do the sentences make sense? Do they sound complete?

Which of these steps do you already take? Even if you are just doing one of them, you are off to a good start.

Any other ideas on how you can keep your writing error-free?

• How to write a novel Part 1-Creating a schedule and choosing a story
• Books Online
• How To Write A Novel-Introduction
• Writing a novel part 2-Start Small, Debunk myths, and choose characters
• How To Write A Novel-part 4-More on Character Development

What you need to do is analyze your characters, what do they do to each other? Which direction are they going? Is that one in love with that character? And also the most important question of all: what will interest your readers?

When dealing with character development, you need to be ruthless. Most first time writers stop when they reach this are because they don’t know what choice to make because the possibilities are so fascinating and they cant make a choice.

Keep moving the story forward event by event and try to remember that each change might change a character. You get to decide what changes there are in the novel.

As you develop your characters ask yourself “Why?”,  “Why does he or she do this?”, etc.

Todays Assignment:

• Finish developing your characters
• Begin planning out events in the story.
• Make choices regarding your characters

p.s many people have searching how to write a novel introduction. I will write this up into a post after the “How to Write a Novel” series has concluded.

• Writing a novel part 3-Characters, Plots and Protagonists
• How to write a novel Part 1-Creating a schedule and choosing a story
• Writing a novel part 2-Start Small, Debunk myths, and choose characters
• How To Write A Novel-Introduction
• Typos In Published Novels

As they come to you, write them down on their respective papers. Just remember that every character needs to have a reason for being in the story.

Develop the stories plots and characters together. One important rule in creating a novel is to never separate your characters from the plot. They must do something that contributes to the plot and brings the story to its climax.

The characters have to be believable so that people reading your novel can feel that they could exist for real.  Two important things about your characters that will draw them to the reader are their actions and purpose in life.

The protagonist of the story must be strong, because this is your stories major character. You will want your readers to care about the protagonist.

Todays Assignments

• Develop your characters, and cut out characters who do not belong in your story.
• Begin developing your plot along with your characters
• Develop your protagonist.

• How To Write A Novel-part 4-More on Character Development
• Writing a novel part 2-Start Small, Debunk myths, and choose characters
• How to write a novel Part 1-Creating a schedule and choosing a story
• How To Write A Novel-Introduction
• Becoming Jane-A Movie About Jane Austen

Don’t start out too big with your novel, but rather look for a story that is small but means something to you.  Don’t reject ideas that wouldn’t lead anywhere in your novel, write those ideas down and file them away. You never know that they might become part of your next novel.

I am going to debunk a little myth here: you don’t always have to write what you know. The person who wrote Memoirs of a Geisha wasn’t a geisha, he was a man and he learned about the lives of geisha through research.

Okay, here is your assignment for this post.

• Pick your characters, because they are harder to choose then the actual story.

• How To Write A Novel-part 4-More on Character Development
• Writing a novel part 3-Characters, Plots and Protagonists
• How To Write A Novel-Introduction
• How to write a novel Part 1-Creating a schedule and choosing a story
• Pre-Launch Introduction

Remember to create some time in your schedule to relax as well, for example you could set a time to write an hour in the morning before heading to work, and 2 hours after you have your dinner. After those two hours, put your supplies away and do something fun like spending some time with your family. It is also a good idea to choose a day or two during the week for non-writing days.

Now comes the first big assignment of this e-course, but don’t fret there is no right or wrong answers.
Decide which story you want to write, you don’t need to have al the details thought out but rather a vague idea so that you can begin the writing process.  When writing a novel, procrastination can be your biggest nemesis. The time has come for you to begin planning your novel rather then talk about it.

Todays Assignments
1. Make a schedule and follow it to the best of your ability.
2. Also plan relaxation time.
3. Decide upon the story you want to write.

• How To Write A Novel-part 4-More on Character Development
• How To Write A Novel-Introduction
• Writing a novel part 2-Start Small, Debunk myths, and choose characters
• Getting There
• Writing a novel part 3-Characters, Plots and Protagonists

Image Via Stock Exchange

To be a good writer all you need is the right amount of passion and a gentle nudge into the right direction. That is what this series will basically be doing. The important thing is to try, and don’t make excuses as to why you can’t be a writer.

If you think time is a restraint, think about other writers. They are most likely dealing with children, husbands pets, running their home and in some cases their other job. Yet they still find the time to write. Create a schedule for yourself and devote at least an hour or two a day to writing your book.

Remember, some things can’t be learned but other parts can. This concludes the Introduction to the How to write a novel series and be on the look out for part one. For now, just choose your writing spot and stock up on paper, pens and/or pencils. If your using a computer, do the same because there are some things you might need to jot down.

• How to write a novel Part 1-Creating a schedule and choosing a story
• Note to any subscribers
• Writing a novel part 3-Characters, Plots and Protagonists
• How To Write A Novel-part 4-More on Character Development
• Official Launch