What's the Secret?
Begin with a concept of special interest to you—something you’d like to learn more about.
What Are You Most Passionate About?
I have a passionate interest in the humanitarian efforts before and during World War Two. I began my second novel by researching information about the Kindertransport that transported children out of Central and Eastern Europe, to Great Britain, prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. The train took as many as 10,000 children, primarily Jewish, away from the grip of the Nazis but also away from their families. That led to my search for those who helped to save families from the Nazis in other ways. I found that Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg reportedly saved 100,000 Hungarian Jews from Nazi persecution. Wallenberg became the inspiration for my second novel, “The Journal.” The first protagonist of my novel was “born”—Per Lundgren, also a Swedish diplomat. Lundgren wrote about helping to form an underground in Berlin, directly under the noses of the German government, during the war.
One Character Action Leads to Another
As you write, you learn to listen to your characters. What I heard in my imagination was that Lundgren’s journal was discovered by his great niece, Julia Hamilton, years after his death. My storyline took off from there. Two protagonists against a common antagonist—Nazis. Julia and I have a great deal in common—we’re of Swedish descent with an avid interest in history, especially World War Two and we love interior design. Uncle Per and Julia existed in my mind all the while I wrote the story. I didn’t experience writer’s block for one instant, I was too busy listening to what was happening. Many times I would write about a happening, then sit back and say to myself, “Wow, I did not see that coming!”
4 Steps to the Secrets of Writing An Exciting Novel
Question Yourself and Write the Answers:
- List two or three topics you’re interested in. Then pick the one that you’re most excited about.
- Write what it is about that one topic that you’d like to know more about.
- Research what you want to know. Take notes. Your research will take you on an interesting adventure that will be the framework of the storyline for your novel. Continue researching questions you think of and keep writing the answers until you see a clear beginning.
- Imagine the main conflict of your novel. In my case, the conflict in “The Journal” was how civilians would escape the Nazis.
Make it Easy to Stay Organized
- If you keep handwritten notes, keep them in a notebook. If you use sticky notes, you can organize them on the pages in your notebook (and even move them around). You can also use sticky notes to denote sections of your notebook. As you begin to write, you can create Word documents or Google docs on a computer.
- If you’re strictly a computer user, set up file folders before you begin to write. Track all of your research, including maps, references, images, plot points, etc. and be sure to save your work in files where you can easily find them.
- Whether you handwrite or work directly on a computer. All computer work needs to be saved in case of a crash. It can happen, so be prepared.
Don't Expect It
Maybe your entire storyline will pop out while you research, but don’t expect it. You will get your beginning from your research. If you relate to a main character as if he/she is asking the research questions, you’ll be able to imagine what your character will do—that’s when you begin to write.
Understand and Enjoy the Process
As you write, you will have more questions. You’ll do more research and get answers that will lead to the next action in your story. Don’t expect to have all of the answers at once, no matter how organized you may be. It all comes together a step at a time. The process you go through as you write a novel is an adventure leading to an exciting novel.
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