How do you write a novel?

Oh well, here's my unorthodox way of writing :
1) get an idea
2) find a character, and most importantly, his/her name. A name is a reflection of the personality, and it will help with character development. Examples : Abby is a bubbly, intense girl, Pierre is a quiet strong presence, M. is a mystery...
3) figure out basically where you want to go, and how long you want it to keep going (in-story time)
4) get that first scene out. As in, where do you want to start? Intreoducing your main character? Carving out the world? Esposing a situation?
What you want to do the most is write down every scene or dialog piece or even simple sentence that comes to mind. It does wonders!

Also, good luck on this exciting adventure!

soooooo im still new to writing longer works, but ive been getting a lot of method inspiration lately from A: (screen)writing youtubers and B: the anatomy of story by john truby. truby is a screenwriter himself and a lot of the references are for film, but its applicable to any storytelling. he talks you through writing an original story with loads of really great advice along the way - i really recommend buying it or finding it at a library.

in terms of my own method, i started the book / comic when i was 16 and it was like. autobiography hidden under 500 layers of separation, built from an older roleplay story id developed. so the development was really different to anything else id ever written or will ever write. i try to work a lot of time with lists and structures, but i find the best way i work is just intuitive - i spend a lot of time with the story in my head, sometimes hammering out lots of details with crazy-looking notes, and then just feel out scenes, worry about structure in the edit.

something i really enjoy doing is like... working backwards? mainly because im still developing so i always find myself digging out of my own holes. so i list out all the things i dont know, and all the things i do - i answer the questions, and ask 'why' about the things ive established. through like, half a books worth of notemaking, i manage to happen upon the answers.

something important to remember, especially when youre new, is that the story you end up writing will not be the story in your head. itll probably be better, but it might be worse. lots of creators spend their lifetime going over the same story in different ways trying to capture something about it theyve missed. but when youre new, the fact is youre probably gonna dig yourself some massive holes - youre gonna be halfway through and realise the story you want to tell is totally different because your tastes have developed, your knowledge of genre and storytelling and yourself has developed. you can start again, but i recommend pushing through, carving something you like out of whatever situation you stick yourself into. you can always edit, you can always reboot, years from now if you want

always remember: prefect is the enemy of finished. go for finished, that is hurdle number one.

I often try to study the characters I work with different examples to see what types of characters can exist in what situations. Sometimes, goofy characters can work in dire situations if its all in the means of adventure or action. Sometimes it can be a role reversal, or even a study or deconstruction of a certain idea/trope/genre

Then I usually think of the beginning and the ending first, and then the middle afterwards (that way the ending can always be determined to change as I write). Sometimes, if needed, I'll write a prologue of a certain scene, with or without blatantly stating who's in danger, then I'll write every chapter leading to that prologue scene.

What helps me is listening to certain instrumental tracks that can fit with a scene. Not tracks with singing, or else the story will then veer off course. Taking breaks is another good idea because we can't all build the next city of Rome in a whole day. Breaks help to flesh out ideas and jot them down somewhere before you even start the dialogue or action scene. Sometimes, if you can draw, you can draw out the scenes you want (no storyboard sketches or animatics. Just a full drawing that represents the type of story/scene/moment you're going to portray in words). I like to draw Title Cards that give a good representation of what the story is, where it'll possibly take place, and who's the main draw to the story, especially in a series.

never bad to ask
I just write. I don't think about marketability, or if it's even good. and I write. then I spend hours editing and rewriting. but if I did not write without fear, I would never have anything to edit.

Once you get to rewriting, the common things to look for in a story, especially a novel, is the hook, and narrative voicing. be certain to do little or no telling that breaks the narrative flow and write an opener that really draws the reader into wanting to care about your characters and the plot.

the biggest part of writing well, comes with experience in writing and revision, and reading. read all the works you find joy in and think about the author's style. how can you incorporate their techniques into your writing, what are your takes on their styles?

sometimes for fun I'll try to mimic an author like Douglas Adams or Christopher Moore and see how their styles play out in other genres from theirs. At times it's nowhere near as good or refined, but in time anything is possible right?

How do you write right now? If you don't mind me asking. It definitely is a struggle to find the right words to express your emotions or thoughts on paper and that just really comes from practice. Your first stories are not going to be perfect but they're a start. I'm nowhere near how I was writing about a year ago and that's just because of writing here on Tapas and reading stories and I still have a lot more to improve. You will eventually find your style and if this is something you are passionate about then all you need to do is start getting words on a paper/computer. Once you have your words down you can go back and be like ok how can I make this better? What kind of emotions do I want to get out of the reader? What's the story I'm trying to tell? and so on. Sometimes my best work is just from sitting down and writing, without caring how I actually write or what I'm saying. I can get 10-15 pages from that and when I'm done I'll edit. That's how I start. Each person has a different way of writing and finding your style comes from practice. I hope you find your style!

What I usually do is just kinda write out stuff that happens like plot points, specific scenes, terrible jokes, etc—my outlines tend to read like someone excitedly recalling a story—and then just write mostly stream of thought from point A to point B and so on. Of course loose structure does usually mean more editing.

Not to take away from any of the above answers, but I have a very organized method to suggest if that appeals. A friend of mine, Lonnie Ezell, wrote an instructional manual for this. It's a very small book titled From Zero 2 Novel. I think it is still available as an ebook.

Lonnie lays out a series of specific exercises. His book reads sort of like a workbook in that way. If you follow the exercises, you end up with a complete outline for your novel at the end of the course.

I wouldn't attempt to lay out the process from memory. I will do give you an example however of the sort of exercise Lonnie has you do. On a blank sheet of paper, write a list of your favorite stories spread throughout the page. From each of these stories, list two to four themes from that story in a circle around its title. Look over the entire page and see which themes appear multiple times. Circle those. Pay attention to which theme appears most often. When you finish this exercise, you will know what theme and genre the book that you should be writing will have.

For me writing a story is like playing dollhouse just that the characters are more interesting and all happens in my head. But I don't write too much.

I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask as my methods are pretty unorthodox, but I'll tell you my weird method. Most of the time I don't outline at all, but if I do the only outlining I do for an entire story is written down on a physical piece of paper about very general things about story direction and characters. It's typically a page long if even that and it looks like this--
Characters:
World:
Story:
The thing with me is that my stories often take really different directions than I originally intend them to so I don't bother writing down much info.

Here are some other helpful tips: Storymaking is hard and can get complex and out of hand quickly. Some authors can write really long thousand-paged epics with dozens of characters and somehow keep things consistent, but I am not one of those people and I reckon most people aren't. So I suggest you keep things really simple and easy to follow with only a few characters (maybe three main ones and a few minor ones).

Another tip is to just have fun with it. A lot of authors stress themselves out so much about writing that they eventually find it to be torturous and give up on their stories. My advice for having fun with it is just to remind yourself that this is your first novel and it's a good experience for you regardless of how it turns out.

Another suggestion is to write a few short stories first. I tried to jump into my first novel too early and it didn't turn out so good. After that I began writing a lot of short and simple short stories that I found to be very enjoyable until I finally got to a place where I felt like trying a long-form story again. But definitely don't pressure yourself to write a short story if you're not feeling it. Just go for the novel if you're really passionate about it.

I know other people advise against this, but I also suggest you write in your novel as often as possible to keep up steam and your own interest in it--even if you're having writers block. Anything that stimulates your amygdala and brings out powerful emotions in you can also really help you become inspired to write. A sad song, a beautiful book, etc. Otherwise, just go for it and follow your heart!

This is similar to how I write! My problem then is that I find it hard to consistently release chapters for my on-going story T-T

Try making a deadline for yourself to meet and keep yourself inspired by your story by consistently thinking of interesting thing you want your characters to do and interesting ways for them to grow! I also find going on walks and runs can really stimulate your creativity, too!

exercise does wonders for the creative process!

Personally I just write as I go. I have some idea of the story outline in rough sketches, which I write my draft around, but interactions, scenery and details are left open. Then I write my rough draft like a madman. Edit. Edit. Edit.

Somehow I then have a novel.

I am not the most organised writer.

I, uh, honestly don't have any idea what I'm writing for my next chapter until it's written. Which is super helpful advice and makes me wonder why I replied to this post