There is so many ways that you can learn how to write a book. From different arches, story structures, and others. In the end you need the same principles to start and finish it. It doesn’t take only for those that are creative to do a book. It takes discipline, grueling hours, and persistence to finish a book. Somewhere in between, you will need to incorporate every one of the following (not in any particular order) to do so.
1- Plot
- It is the reason why you are going to invest so much time writing.
- What is it about?
- It is the why of the why?
- What is the objective?
- What are the main events?
- There are ways on how to develop a story but it is your main focus and it is your base on what you are going to bring other elements.
- Definition: An account of imaginary or real people and events told for entertainment.
2- Research
- The research will continue on for the other subjects.
- It is the most important part of your story.
- Many writer’s block occurs because of incomplete research.
- Even though you are inventing something you need to research to make it believable for your book.
- Definition: The systematic investigation into a study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach conclusions.
- Example of a detective story. What does a detective do? How he/she gets paid? Do detectives only work with the police? How one becomes a detective.
- Keep asking questions about the subject and become an expert of it. When you write you won’t disappoint people who might be knowledgable about the theme.
3- World
- Where does the story take place?
- Time? Past? Future? A parallel world?
- The world can affect how the characters interact. How they survive.
- Very cold weather can dictate clothing, flora, fauna, resources, transportations between others.
- Definition: Place, together with all of its countries, people, and natural features.
4- Characters
- The characters are the main conduct to continue forward with the story.
- It can be related to you, to me, someone in real-life or someone invented.
- They are the medium on how the audience is going to feel emotions towards the story.
- The characters can glorify or ruin a story.
- Definition: a person in a novel, play, or movie.
- Technically it doesn’t have to be a person. An animal can be a character. Toys! Ghosts, angels, demons, whatever can make the story go forward.
5- Main Conflict
- This is the main obstacle for characters to fulfill the objective.
- It is the stepping stone of the character.
- Definition: Struggle between opposing forces.
- It is the drive of the plot and is the reason why the characters have an “interesting journey”.
6- Villain
- Also known as the antagonist.
- It is part of another obstacle for the main character not to finish his/her goal.
- The antagonist not necessarily has to be a person. It can be society, climate, or just the person who writes wrong your name at the coffee shop.
- A good villain can also help a so-so character look better. And a crappy villain can also make the whole story go down.
- You need to invest the same or more time developing your villain as you did with your main character.
- Definition: a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary.
7- Sub-plots
- Definition: A subordinate plot in a play, novel, or similar work.
- They are going to be mini-stories in your main story.
- On these mini-stories, you are going to tell the main objective of why you are doing the story.
- Example: You want to talk about how the government is unfair, why you like doing yoga, being a vegetarian… this is where you create that information.
- The sub-plot will also be the place where you make your character(s) grow and give him/them the tools to conquer the main conflict or antagonist.
8- Climax
- Definition: The most intense, exciting, or important point of something; a culmination or apex.
- It is where the best action of the story runs.
- The WOW effect, it is the part where the audience waits after being invested so much time in the story.
- The final battle against good and evil.
- It is the part where the audience will not move out of their chairs or go to the bathroom… unless they are watching the story in the bathroom.
9- Finale/ The ending
- It is the end… but not the end.
- Definition: The end or final part of something, especially a period of time, an activity, or a book or movie.
- The characters got to their objective.
- They won the battle.
- But it is not the same as resolution.
- It is where the end of the story it is accomplished.
10- Resolution
- After the ending comes the resolution.
- It is where the characters, including villains, get their “pay-off” unless… they are dead.
- Definition: The action of solving a problem, dispute, or contentious matter.
- You can talk about what happened later on with the characters, how they evolved after the final battle. How society changed. It is a way that you could slow the intensity of how the story was finished with a little more information on the characters.
Later on, we will continue with more information on each and every one of these subjects so you can understand more about them. Keep every one these details in mind when writing a book. Do your research which is super important and most of all have fun while you create your marvelous world and make it interesting and as entertaining as you can.