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In this lesson, we will cover the important concept of writing about what you love.  Once you grasp these two simple concepts, you can begin to look deeper into your novel. It makes no difference to me if you are a pantser (a person who sits down and starts writing) or a plotter (where you outline your novel) when you begin to write.

People have different comfort levels when it comes to writing a novel, and that’s okay. You should have some basic concepts of what a novel entails, especially if you self-publish or find a publisher.

A novel should be at least 60,000 words and no more than 90,000 words. Why do publishers like a limit of 90,000 words? For two basic reasons. One: A first-time novelist may have plot problems with a longer, complex plot, and Two: It is much more expensive to print the book. Just simple ideas that may get in the way of your success. You can do whatever you want.

How I write a novel may not be the way you write a novel. That’s perfectly all right.

I write about events in the 1940s and 1950s because I love that time period.

I have a certain genre I love.

I always have a main character that I love.

I always have a sense of the story I love

I love dogs…so they are in my novels.

I’m Catholic, and some of my heroes are priests and characters who profess to be Catholic.

I like good guys to win and bad guys to lose.

I also write about things that I’m passionate about or have some information that can help me write the story.

As you can tell, I already have elements of my story included every single time.

I can’t figure out how somebody can write fantasy and create a whole new world that they never experience. I wish I could do that.

My stories tend to be sentimental, hard-boiled, detective novels. Why?  Because I like those types of characters.  I like sentimental characters when they have to be… and when the need arises… to be violent.  Kindhearted and sweet when they need to be, brutal and unforgiving when they have to be. I like to write about a person who recognizes their need for redemption. That’s because most of us are far from perfect human beings, and we need redemption.

Lesson Two; we will talk about the very start of a writer being an architect and builder: We will dive deeper into how I put a novel together.