As a first-time novelist, I’m no expert but there are a few things I wished I’d known from the day it dawned on me to write this book. Some things came naturally. Others required work. None of it is original, but this was the winning combo for me. Maybe it’ll help you find yours.

 

Front and center are these three words: Just do it! From that flows hands-on learning.

Another three words: Keep it simple! Pick a genre that’s not complex. I chose crime mystery of which there are several subgenres. What’s better than a whodunnit with an obvious goal; find the killer? But there are other simple genres like romance, western and action thrillers.
Literary fiction was not my aim. Just a great story that would keep readers entertained and flipping the pages. And pick a Point of View that’s simple like first or third person with a single protagonist. I chose third person. It took me awhile to figure out how to get inside the
protagonist’s head using third instead of first person, but that’s where I was most comfortable.

 

How about four words this time: Write what you know! I know commercial fishing in Alaska so that was my backdrop. It gave the book an authentic feel, and no research was
required!

 

Here’s four more words: Story structure, learn it! Kurt Vonnegut is well known for his offered plot line guidance. He throws the protagonist into a deep hole. The story is how the hero climbs out by the book’s ending (Kurt Vonnegut, YouTube). Aside from that trek out of the big hole (a hero’s journey), each scene should have its own set of pot holes that are navigated using five components (Story Grid, YouTube). This was the light bulb lesson for me. Start each scene (often a chapter for me) with an inciting incident that launches your protagonist on a path with progressive complications or obstacles to overcome until they reach the turning point complication that forces a crisis question for the protagonist to answer with an action, the climax. This choice is never easy because as an author, it’s your job to keep clobbering your hero with tough choices. The protagonist’s chosen action often reveals something of his or her character and allows readers to get to know the hero better without being told (remember, show don’t tell). The resolution is the final scene segment when you get to see how the choice worked out for protagonist. I often dropped inclusion of the resolution in the same scene (allowing it to crop up later) because I wanted to end it with a cliff hanger. I wanted each scene to leave readers wanting
more. A page-turner…

 

Are you a Plotter or Pantser? Plotters draft a detailed outline before they start writing. They’ve got a roadmap! They know where they’re going! They make fewer wrong turns than Pantsers. Pantsers write by the seat of their pants. I’m a Pantser. It’s an adventure because not even I know how the story will unfold. But I’m not a total empty-head. I know where I am going (to solve the murder). I just don’t know what’s going to happen along the way. So, for instance, when I started writing my book, Death in Dutch Harbor, I knew it was a crime mystery, I knew it would take place in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and that it would use commercial fishing as a backdrop to the action. I knew the protagonist was a veterinarian working with the local police chief and I knew she had a three-legged police dog and a couple of close buddies that were critical to the story. Finally, I knew someone would be killed at sea. I even wrote a prologue describing the murder (which later became a chapter), but I had no idea who did it or why. Armed with little else, I began to write. Each time I started, my brain seemed to relocate to the tips of my fingers, waiting there poised over the keyboard, for the action to begin. Where would it take me? I couldn’t wait to find out! By the end of the first chapter another dead body had washed ashore. After I wrote a few more chapters, I decided it was time to use a compass and so wrote the last chapter where all the whodunnit stuff was revealed. No pressure really because I knew I could change it later if it made for a better story, which I did. With the compass now pointed north, I returned to writing chapters knowing that each scene must drive the story forward in that general direction. In the case of a murder mystery, I knew I had to offer up a clue, a red herring or a complicating factor in every scene. My fingers marched across the keyboard anxious to see what it might be. I can tell you that there were a few times when I was so astonished, I stood up, walked to the bathroom mirror, pointed at myself and raved that I was a genius. “You are brilliant!” Of course, I’m not a genius but what a fun adventure, sort of like life itself. But there’s a downside to the Pantser world. It’s called revisions. Without the roadmap used by Plotters, we Pantsers are likely doomed to writing many revisions because our plot or characters take a wrong turn and get stuck in the mud somewhere. I’m not sure if a person is a born a Pantser or Plotter or if it’s a conscious choice. Perhaps something down the middle might be the best course. A Plotser? 

 

Finally, join or start a writing group. What's the downside to having a deadline, constructive criticism of your work, and a gang of new friends. I doubt I could have produced chapters at such a regular pace without my writing group. Thank you, Gang!

So, write the darn book. And take some courses along the way for a hands-on learning experience because I’ve just scratched the surface of what there’s to learn about writing a book.

 

Most importantly, have fun! Hopefully, you’ll get it published. Then write another…

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