6 Novel Writing Exercises
Writing a novel is one part of endurance, one part creativity, and one part planning. Sometimes the stories can write themselves, but you still need to know the characters you want to include and the places you wish to take them. These novel writing exercises will help you practice the skills you’ll need to bring that novel to its exciting conclusion.
#1. Practice Your Time Commitment
If you’re writing 120,000 words, they aren’t going to write themselves. You’ve got to sit down and write out every single one of them. This takes time. One of the most effective exercises to practice this commitment is to keep a log of how you spend time during the day. How long are you on Facebook? How many TV shows do you watch? How often do you play video games?
By tracking this data, you can then reduce each item’s time and put that time into your novel writing. Then you’ll need to practice having this time in your schedule for 1-2 weeks so you can get used to it.
#2. First Line Majesty
Their very first line can define many novels. It’s like the thesis statement for the entertainment the novel is about to provide. There are numerous great first lines in literature out there today. One of the best is by William Goldman from The Princess Bride:
The year that Buttercup was born, the most beautiful woman in the world was a French scullery maid named Annette.
This is the hook that brings readers into the rest of your novel. Practice a few first lines each day to see what comes to mind. You may discover a creativity spurt that allows you to craft a story around that one line.
#3. Word Association Exercises
In the world of writing, the words that are used are essential. Without variation, you end up giving readers boredom because there is nothing new. Take Fifty Shades of Grey as an example of this. Christian Grey almost always uses the word “Come.” Ana is constantly referring to her “inner goddess.” If you say, “You’re always ready,” fans of this novel will know what you’re talking about.
The fact is that you can say the same thing but express it differently, thanks to the complexity of language. Using word association exercises can help you do this. What would be another way to have Christian Grey say “Come” and still be demanding? Could Ana describe her subconscious differently? The more you practice these exercises, the more versatile your language skills will be, generating the variation your novel needs.
#4. Read Your Notes
One of the issues that authors run into is being unintentionally repetitive. This is because they pick up their writing without reviewing what they’ve previously written. You may not have time to re-read 14 chapters of work on your novel, but you could re-read the words you wrote the day before. It’s an exercise that Hemingway always performed before writing new material, so its value is proven.
And if you haven’t written anything in a day or two, then go over the novel notes you’ve jotted down to refresh your memory. That way, your words have consistency.
#5. The One Chapter Per Day Exercise
If you’ve ever read a James Patterson novel, then you’ve seen a unique structure. His chapters are very brief – sometimes only half a page in length. This leads to a book that has 100+ chapters almost every single time. Now maybe you want to write longer chapters than that, or maybe you don’t. If you have a 30 chapter book you want to write and write one chapter per day, you’ll have that novel finished in a month.
The average chapter length in words is about 2,500 words. This is because a chapter is a scene for your novel. Although there are no set rules for chapter length, if you follow this length as a guideline, you’ll find that you’ll begin to look forward to each new scene every day you write.
#6. The Interview
Experiences bring a novel to life. One way to gather these experiences is to head out in public and ask random people some questions. It can be awkward at first, and there will always be people who avoid you, but the responses you’ll receive are worth the time and possible embarrassment. Interviews don’t have to belong. Just a simple question or two that can help you round out your characters can make all the world’s difference.
Novels tend to fail because they aren’t as authentic as they could be. These novel writing exercises will help you reach that needed authenticity while staying consistent, allowing you to craft the tale that has been in your mind all this time.