{"id":153,"date":"2020-11-13T09:58:18","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T09:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/?p=153"},"modified":"2025-05-09T09:36:25","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T08:36:25","slug":"how-to-plan-a-novel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-plan-a-novel\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Plan A Novel: A Step By Step Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You have an idea. You want to write a novel<\/a>. You know that\u2019s a big undertaking \u2013 a huge one, in fact. But what next?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you just pull your boots on and start marching? (A terrible idea in almost every case.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or do you start to plan your journey? And if so, how? This can seem like a journey without maps, where most routes can easily lead to disaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, worry ye not, these questions have solutions. Understanding how to plan a novel is both the most important question you face right now \u2026 and a completely achievable goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this post, we\u2019re going to give you, not a template exactly, but a set of tools and a clear understanding of the way forward. It\u2019ll probably take you several weeks to plan your novel out (and \u2013 a warning \u2013 those weeks feel like damn hard work, even though you\u2019re not racking up the word count and throwing chapter after chapter down onto the page.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planning A Novel: The Need-To-Knows<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The single most important job you have now is to understand what you need to know about your novel. Sure, then you have to start filling in the blanks, but the first task is simply to generate your headings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And here\u2019s what you need to know about the book you\u2019re going to write:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Genre Is It? Who Are Your Readers? What Kind Of Books \/ Authors Are You Most Like?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t have to answer those questions in complete detail. You won\u2019t in fact know the answers until you\u2019ve written your book. But you need some rough idea. If your book doesn\u2019t sit at some natural point where readers gather, then either you are a genre-busting genius (unlikely), or you have a commercial disaster on your hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are The Genre Expectations Of Your Novel? What Kind Of Length Does It Need To Be?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you know your genre well, you probably have the genre-expectations wired into your bones \u2013 which is good. But it\u2019s still worth being a bit explicit about it. There\u2019s no point writing a light chick-lit type novel of 180,000 words \u2013 those things are normally half that length, if that. Likewise, if you are writing a tense techno-thriller with a ton of slapstick moments, you may just have an unsaleable mess on your hands. Read up on average\u00a0chapter lengths<\/a>\u00a0and overall\u00a0word counts<\/a>\u00a0so you know what you\u2019re aiming for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Do You Plan To Publish The Book: As An Indie Author Or Via A Traditional Publishing Route?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Maybe that question is a tiny bit premature, but the rules for self-publishing<\/a> and trad publishing<\/a> are a bit different. It probably helps to have a rough sense of your likely endpoint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yes, you can change your mind during the writing process \u2013 but remember planning a book is different from writing a book. You can make a plan, then change your mind halfway through \u2013 but you\u2019ll still be a mile better off for having made the plan in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

What Is Your Story?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You need a rough sense of the overall shape<\/a> of your story. We\u2019ll talk about this more in a bit, but you need a sense of<\/p>\n\n\n\n