Having explored techniques as outlining. writing character biographies and repeatedly writing Chapter 1 in writing a novel, I failed miserably in each one. After years of trying, I have not given up by any means. From my research. I have learned a technique that I am using that I call,”Seeing a Novel Before it Happens.”

It’s true! It can be done! And as a reader of novels, you’ve probably done it many times. When you pick up a novel, you read an engaging summary of it in its dust jacket. Maybe the novel is about a character who is basically a loser. His attempts to earn money are a flop until a woman who dubs herself as “Lady Luck” sidles up to him at a bar and asks him to buy her a drink’ And he reluctantly agrees, knowing about her from his buddies and betting that his own luck will probably change for the worse!. At first, things seem to get better as he is introduced to the Lady’s manager and mentor, who promises great things will happen —- if he is willing to make another “investment.” That investment is in Lady Luck’s potential as an artist. The more gigs she gets, the more money they’ll all make. And so on.

Does our hero make that investment or not? Suppose the lady changes her mind and leaves with her manager. The hero.s luck has rub out and he is a loser once more.

more details about the main characters as what they look like and what motivates rhem. Why did they choose our hero? What kind of guy is he? Does he have a stronger reason for not being a perpetual loser? What happens to him in Chapter 1?

To get a better handle on what happens next. know your hero from the inside out. Is he aggressive or; An introvert?; What things bother him? What keeps him up at night and why?; What are his hobbies, fantasies?; What does he want now and why?; What keeps him from getting what he wants? An idea?;;Himself?; A friend turned enemy?

Make a list of your answers to the questions above.; Pay attention to the end. Have your hero choose an option and act on it. Does he succeed and why or why not?

In the end, you;ll have a broad outline of your story that includes your hero and his life changing problem. What happens if he is fired from his office job for his tendency to fall asleep at his desk too often?; On top of that, he has bills piling up and he desperately applies for jobs at local stores and department stores, and fails — until one day, he happens upon a clerk dressing a mannikin and jokingly suggests that he would be better than a mannikin.; So he is offered a dare by the clerk and accepts the challenge. The pay isn’t great but it is better than nothing.; What happens to the hero-turned-mannikin in the end?

Basically, novels are usually about someone who is in trouble. His/her life may have been going smoothly along until this big interruption happened and things are no longer normal. Why? When? Where? These are questions that will have to be answered as you write and think. Putting yourself in your hero.s place might help you answer modt of those questions. In the meantime, don.t be afraid to go for broke, Play with the possibilities and see where they lead. Have fun with it and keep[ plugging ahead,