Writing Life Turning Your Idea into a Novel with Kate McMurray

How does an idea become a real book? It requires some planning! Planning a novel has two major components: planning what you are going to write and when you are going to write it.

So in this webinar, we will discuss how to think about story in advance of writing so that even your vague idea can solidify into something you can write. And no stodgy outlines with roman numerals here! We’ll discuss some fun ways to think about story and plan out what you need to know to write the novel.

Then we’ll discuss how to plan your time and set reasonable expectations for what it will take to finish the novel. Some key takeaways:

• Story is not just characters doing things. There are some essential things you need to know—characters, conflict, motivation—before you write the first word of your first scene.
• Different writers have different preferences about plotting before they write, so think of this as some prewriting activities to warm up to the level of plotting you’re comfortable with.
• Making time for writing is a challenge, especially if you’ve got a job and a family and many other obligations! So we’ll discuss some tips for making time to finish your story.