Writing a novel and building a house are pretty similar when you think about it. Writers spend a lot of time dreaming about their ideal story. Eventually, they have to face reality and analyze whether or not the story will work. Authors, too, usually build from the inside out. In other words, they know what they want at the heart of their stories, and they build around that. This is where a novel checklist becomes essential because it targets the key considerations necessary when building a cohesive story that readers will find unforgettable.
PART I: THE BASICS
❑ working title
❑ working genre(s)
❑ working POV specification
❑ high-concept blurb
❑ estimated length of book
PART II: ORGANIZATION
❑ a beginning
❑ a middle
❑ an end
❑ paragraphing
❑ ideas in order
❑ is focused
PART III: MECHANICS
❑ punctuation
❑ capitalization
❑ spelling
PART IV: DEVELOPMENT
❑ main ideas
❑ main events
❑ themes
❑ details to support the above
❑ sensory details
PART V: EXTERNAL MONOLOGUES
❑ identifying the main character(s)
❑ character introductions
❑ outside POV description
❑ self POV description
❑ occupational skills
❑ enhancement/contrast
❑ symbolic element
❑ character and/or plot-defining
❑ setting descriptions
PART VI: INTERNAL MONOLOGUES
❑ character conflicts (internal)
❑ evolving goals and motivations
❑ plot conflicts (external)
PART VII: WORD CHOICE
❑ dazzling adjectives
❑ strong adverbs
❑ hardly any adverbs
❑ onomatopoeia
PART VIII: GRAMMAR
❑ subject/verb agreement
❑ regular/irregular verbs
YOU ARE READING
writing 4 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜: WRITING ADVICE TO MAKE YOU A BETTER WRITER
Non-FictionWriting is hard. Being a writer is even harder. But with "Writing 4 Writers," you CAN become a better writer. Every time I sit down to write, I reference this collection of writing advice from a variety of blogs, writers, and YouTubers: Jenna Moreci...
