A Novel ✎ Adventure

Apr 6

So, you want to write a novel …

For many people, writing a novel is a “bucket list” sort of task—like running a marathon, learning a new language, or climbing a mountain. Or maybe you’re like me … an avid reader with a head full of your own ideas you’d love to see on a bookstore shelf or brought to life as a movie.

Whatever your reason for wanting to write a novel, I’d like to help. Of course, there are countless guides to writing novels you can turn to for assistance, and if you follow this blog, I’m sure I’ll point you toward a few. That said, I hope to offer a different sort of help. My plan is to take an online college novel writing class, craft a new novel for that class, and let you inside my head as I do so. Along the way, I’ll also share my new novel with you, so you can read my draft as I develop it into a finished product. And finally, I’ll share with you all the tools and strategies I’ve used—both in the past and for this project.

Now, before you ask … yes, I’ve written a novel. A failed one … which is my motivation for this project. But I’ve also completed three other novels and won an award for one of them. More importantly, each time I’ve successfully climbed the novel-writing mountain, my process has changed for the better. I’ve become more efficient and effective. What used to be a nerve-wracking adventure filled with doubts—Will I do it? Will I complete it? Will anyone like it?—is now a confident, albeit taxing, journey. What first took me over a year to complete is now a much shorter journey. I’m currently working on six separate stories, and by the end of 2023, I intend to add two or three finished novels to my list of accomplishments.

So, I’d love to share what I’ve learned with anyone attempting to climb the Mt. Everest of creative writing—the epic journey of writing a novel. I’m offering to be your novel-writing sherpa, so to speak, and save you from potentially fatal mistakes, encourage you to keep going, and show you some tricks and tips to help you reach the summit called, “The end.”

If that sounds good, I’ll see you again soon!

Best wishes,

WCM

may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

without the express written permission of the author.

W. C. Markarian