Valley of the Bees is the book that taught me I could actually finish a novel—or at least something very close to one. I wrote it right after finishing my creative writing graduate program, at a moment when I had plenty of ideas, plenty of ambition, and absolutely no completed long-form fiction to show for it.
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Up to that point, I considered myself a pantser. I wrote by instinct, followed my curiosity, and trusted the story to reveal itself as I went along. The problem was that nothing ever made it to the end. Clearly, my preferred method wasn’t getting me where I wanted to go.
If you’ve been following my blog the past couple of weeks, you’ve probably learned a lot about novel structure and how to outline an idea as part of the planning stage of the novel writing process. You may be wondering, what now, brown cow? Well, I hope you have a lot of notes and ideas at the ready because it is finally time to outline your novel!
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By now, I hope you have settled on one or a couple of story structure outlines that will meet the needs of your novel or novels. I say, “or novels” because at this point, you may still have a couple of ideas that you are hashing out. While you may be tempted to narrow your focus to just one at this point, I say keep working on all those ideas for now, at least until a clear forerunner emerges. Just make sure you settle on one novel to draft at a time. Right now, you still have plenty of time to consider which novel you want to write first. For now, let’s jump into our next writing assignment.
Writing Assignment #3: Outline your novel
Outlining a novel is a personal process, and there is no one “right” way to do it. However, here are some general steps you can take to outline your novel:
The Larry Brooks story structure is one that I have used several times and find to be very useful when planning a novel. It is a structure that I will detail here in depth because – to me – it seems to be one of the more effective methods of outlining a novel.
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Brooks is a writing coach, author, and speaker known for his expertise in the craft of storytelling. He is the author of several books on writing, including Story Engineering: Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing; Story Physics: Harnessing the Underlying Forces of Storytelling; and Great Stories Don’t Write Themselves: Criteria-Driven Strategies for More Effective Fiction. Brooks is also the founder of Storyfix.com, a website dedicated to helping writers develop their storytelling skills. Brooks’ approach to writing emphasizes the importance of structure, character development, and genre expectations. He believes that successful stories must meet certain criteria, and that writers who understand these criteria can create stories that are more engaging, satisfying, and marketable.
The Hero’s Journey story framework was first described by Joseph Campbell, a scholar of mythology and comparative religion. Campbell’s influential book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, first published in 1949, examines the patterns and themes that recur in myths and stories from cultures around the world. (I highly recommend watching the below interview of Campbell with Bill Moyers to learn more.)
In the book, Campbell outlines the monomyth, a narrative structure that he argues is present in many of these stories. Campbell’s idea was that the Hero’s Journey is a universal pattern that reflects the human experience of transformation and growth. He believed that the monomyth could be found in many different cultures and historical periods, and that it offered a powerful framework for understanding the ways in which stories shape our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
Pro Tip: Grab a notebook or your laptop and take notes while you read today’s post– just jot down ideas and plans as you review each task listed. Tomorrow, I’ll be coming at you with your first writing assignment!
The first step in the novel writing process is the planning stage. The planning stage of the writing process is crucial as it sets the foundation for the entire writing project. During this stage, a writer typically engages in several activities, all designed to prepare for the drafting stage. This step is essential because once you sit down to write the first draft, you’ll be prepared to “just do it” without getting sidetracked or bogged down in details that may never make it into your final draft. The planning stage of the novel writing process includes the following elements:
Brainstorming is one of the first steps of the novel writing process. Image created with Canva AI Image Generator.
Generate ideas: The writer starts by brainstorming and generating ideas about the novel they want to write. They may use techniques such as mind mapping, freewriting, or listing to generate ideas. There are a variety of free online story idea generators that can also be helpful. These include plot generators and name generators by genre, among others. If you don’t already have an idea for your novel, play with these resources until you have something fun that you will enjoy writing. Remember, this is a fun experiment, so feel free to be as silly as you like if it helps you stay engaged with the project.
Write on the World 