How to Write a Breakout Novel

Writing a breakout novel is no simple task. Sure, one can crank out a first draft within weeks or months. But most authors toil in obscurity for years before ever being considered for publication. Most aspiring writers give up before even completing a first draft. Know that while it is possible for your first effort to be a hit, chances are you will have to follow the 10,000-Hour Rule. That is, for someone to become world-class at anything, it requires ten thousand hours of practice. This concept is well-documented in Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers.

There are exceptions, however. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck wrote an Oscar-winning screenplay while attending Harvard. Dan Brown, bestselling author of The Da Vinci Code, started writing at the age of 29 after failing as a musician. He was inspired to write after reading Sidney Sheldon's The Doomsday Conspiracy while on vacation in Tahiti. Three years later, he quit his job as a teacher to become a full-time writer. Brown subsequently published three novels--Digital Fortress, Angels & Demons, and Deception Point--before hitting it big with Da Vinci Code. His first three novels sold less than 10,000 copies each.

Getting Started

It may seem obvious, but every breakout novel is written one sentence, one word at a time. The aim of your first draft should be to get ideas, settings, characters and story down on paper. The draft need not be perfect. You shouldn't be overly concerned with spelling, grammar or punctuation.

To compose longhand on paper, or on a word-processing program, that is the question. John Grisham wrote most of his early works on yellow legal pads, whenever and wherever he had free time. On the subway, at city parks, et cetera. Chuck Palahniuk wrote Fight Club while working as a diesel mechanic, literally. He kept a notepad at work. In between working on trucks at his job, he wrote the first draft of his debut novel. Stephen King famously wrote Carrie on an old typewriter in his laundry room.

Composing your novel on a computer is another option. If you are a hunt and peck typist, consider using some typing tutor websites or programs to increase your typing speed. Even if you're an adequate typist, increasing your speed (especially those tricky characters) will reduce the bottleneck between your brain and the keyboard. You want the words to flow from your mind as effortlessly as possible.

If Microsoft Word seems like overkill, consider using a lightweight program to compose your first draft. Some great alternatives are Dark Room for Windows, or WriteRoom for OS X. These programs allow you to write in full-screen mode, reducing external distractions. Or consider using a text-editor such as Notepad, Notepad++ or EditPad Lite (for Microsoft Windows). If you're on Mac OS X, considering checking out TextMate, TextEdit or TextWrangler.

The Story

Your story will either make or break you. Resist the temptation to chase the latest craze. How many novels about wizards have you read post-Harry Potter? Vampires and Werewolves became hot after Twilight. While there is a market for copycat works, they are only read by a niche audience, hungering for more of the same genre. Countless aspiring writers are currently working on their own post-apocalyptic take on The Hunger Games.

For your novel to become a breakout success, you will have to carve your own unique path. Lead the herd. Don't be a part of it. It is likely that you already have an idea for a story kicking around. Perhaps many more. Resist the temptation to start many projects without ever making any real headway on any single one.

If you are struggling with picking an idea and running with it, consider yourself a mere conduit. Your muse, perhaps just the story itself, is the real source of your creation. You are a mere vessel, conveying the story to the broader world. Let the story be sucked out of you.

Structure

Most beginning writers abhor the idea of structure. The common refrain is: learn the rules before you break them. The most common and prevalent framework for creating new works of fiction is The Three Act Structure. This structure can be applied to any type of story. From bedtime, to fiction, to screenplays. Have you ever read a really horrible work of fiction? Were you left with that feeling "why did I even bother reading this?" Chances are it failed to follow a basic three act structure.

Act I is the setup, where you introduce your readers to the setting, characters and situation (conflict). Act II is the confrontation--a series of complications and mini-crises that your characters must face. In Act III, your story builds to the final climax. It ends during the denouement, when all of the loose ends are tied up. Even if you have dreams of writing a trilogy, the main story in your first work should come to a resolution. The denouement is when you'd start dropping hints of the conflict that will build in future works.

If your novel is a fictionalized account of real events, perhaps a thinly-veiled memoir, it can be difficult to shoehorn in a story structure. Some writers have had great success with this. For example, Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything Is Illuminated. Or Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney. These authors were inspired by events in their own lives and crafted a compelling story around a narrow subset of their lives.

Writing Your Novel

Set a goal for how many words a day you'd like to complete. Many successful authors recommend writing every day. You'll find prolific writers like James Patterson and Janet Evanovich cranking out words seven days a week--even Sundays! If a hectic schedule is an obstacle, consider writing during a lunch break or carving out an uninterrupted hour before work. Even setting a small goal, such as 500 words a day, can have a huge impact. You'll find yourself wanting to write well beyond your small daily goal. At just 500 words a day, you'll produce about 180,000 words per year. That's about the recommended length of two full-size novels. At 1,000 words a day, you'll be on pace to produce three or perhaps even four novels a year.

Rewriting Your Novel

Never show a first draft to a potential publisher. Publishers expect to see a solid, mistake-free draft from unpublished authors. Rewrite your novel at least once or twice before seeking additional help. One great resource for this is Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne and Dave King. It will help you not just with grammar and punctuation, but also with basic mechanics and unwritten rules like "show, don't tell."

Consider joining a local writing group. These can be hard-to-find, selective clubs. Use Google and other local resources to find these groups. One option is Meetup.com. While getting feedback may not be a panacea, it can lead you in the right direction. If most of the other writers in your group think that your plot is moving too slow, chances are they're right.

Be weary of feedback you receive from friends and family. They may have hidden, even subconscious, motives. Perhaps they want you to remain in your present career--to not get any wild ideas about quitting your job and becoming a writer. Or perhaps they are overly-supportive, unwilling to tell you that what you've written is uninspired dribble.

Getting Published

Before submitting any query letters or approaching publishers, ensure your manuscript is without spelling, grammar or punctuation mistakes. Consider hiring an editor just for this task. You may be able to find someone to do this for several hundred dollars.

Subscribe to blogs of industry professionals, especially editors who receive numerous query letters. They will show you what not to do. Some of the better ones are Query Quagmire, Query Shark, and SlushPile Hell. Be humble in your approach to publishers. They receive hundreds of submissions each week. Have someone double and triple-check your query letter to ensure it does not contain any spelling or grammatical errors.

Self-publishing may be an option if you keep getting turned down. However, some of the biggest bestsellers were originally rejected by numerous publishers. Stephen King's Carrie was rejected "dozens of times" before it finally found a publisher. J.K. Rowling was turned down by dozens of publishers like Penguin and HarpersCollins. Harry Potter was eventually published by Bloomsbury, a small London publisher, after the CEO's daughter begged her father to print the book.

Taking the self-publishing route means that you will have to do your own marketing and build your own following. Author J.A. Konrath provides a treasure-trove of self-publishing wisdom on his blog. Amanda Hocking, age 28, has sold nearly two million books as a self-published author, earning her millions. However, don't expect to become an overnight success as a self-published author. The self-publishing success stories you'll read have come from authors who have a large catalog of works to publish. However, platforms like Amazon Kindle, iBooks, and Smashwords allow you to keep a much larger portion of the profits.

Ultimately, writing the next breakout novel is up to you. It takes grit, determination, imagination, dedication, and a little luck. Let your muse guide you. Let the words flow. The next breakout novel may be within you today.