Most novel writing tips sound great in theory and fall apart the moment you sit down to write. You need advice that survives contact with an actual manuscript.
These 15 novel writing tips come from what published authors, professional editors, and writing coaches consistently agree on — the fundamentals that separate finished novels from abandoned drafts.
1. Start with a character who wants something badly
Every strong novel begins with a character who has a clear desire and a real obstacle standing in the way. Not a theme. Not a world. A person with a problem.
Ask yourself: what does my protagonist want more than anything, and what is the worst thing standing between them and that goal? The tension between those two forces is your entire story engine.
Jennifer McMahon, bestselling author of eight novels, advises writers to begin with character rather than plot. Characters drive decisions, decisions drive scenes, and scenes drive the narrative forward.
If you cannot describe your main character’s desire and obstacle in one sentence, your story is not ready to write yet.
2. Outline before you draft (even loosely)
You do not need a scene-by-scene blueprint. But you need to know where your story is going before you start writing it.
A simple outline prevents the most common reason novels get abandoned: the writer gets lost in the middle. Even a rough sketch — beginning, two or three major turning points, and an ending — gives you enough structure to push through the messy parts.
Savannah Gilbo’s first-draft roadmap breaks novel outlining into ten manageable steps, starting with identifying your “why” and ending with a scene-by-scene plan. You do not need to follow all ten, but having some kind of map prevents you from writing 40,000 words in the wrong direction.
If outlining feels restrictive, try the “tent pole” method: identify five to seven major scenes your story must hit, then write freely between them. You get the safety net of structure with the freedom of discovery. For a deeper walkthrough, see our guide on how to outline a novel.
3. Write your first draft without editing
This is the single most repeated piece of advice from professional authors, and for good reason. Editing while you draft is the fastest way to never finish a manuscript.
Your first draft exists to get the story out of your head and onto the page. It does not need to be good. It needs to be complete. You can fix clunky dialogue, patch plot holes, and tighten prose in revision — but you cannot revise a blank page.
Set a daily word count goal that works for your life. Stephen King writes 2,000 words per day. If that feels aggressive, start with 500. The consistency matters more than the number. Track your progress in a spreadsheet or journal so you can see momentum building.
4. Make every scene earn its place
A scene that does not change something — a character’s situation, knowledge, relationships, or emotional state — is a scene that can be cut.
Before writing any scene, ask two questions: what changes by the end of this scene, and what are the consequences? If you cannot answer both, the scene is not pulling its weight.
This does not mean every scene needs explosions or plot twists. A quiet conversation where a character realizes they have been lying to themselves counts. A walk through a childhood neighborhood that shifts a character’s resolve counts. What does not count is a scene that exists only to describe a setting or fill space between the scenes you actually care about.
5. Build characters with internal contradictions
Flat characters want one thing and pursue it in a straight line. Interesting characters want conflicting things — love and independence, justice and revenge, safety and adventure.
Give your protagonist at least one internal contradiction. A detective who believes in the law but bends rules to protect his family. A shy woman who craves attention but panics when she gets it. These contradictions create the kind of tension that makes readers keep turning pages.
For practical techniques, our character development guide walks through building multi-dimensional characters from scratch.
6. Read widely in your genre (and outside it)
Reading is not optional for novelists. It is training. You cannot write compelling thrillers if you have not read enough thrillers to understand the genre’s rhythms, reader expectations, and conventions.
Read the bestsellers in your genre to understand what is working now. Read the classics to understand what has always worked. Then read outside your genre — literary fiction if you write commercial, science fiction if you write romance — to find techniques you can borrow and adapt.
The National Centre for Writing recommends reading with a writer’s eye: pay attention to how authors handle transitions, dialogue tags, pacing, and chapter endings. Reverse-engineer what works.
7. Get the point of view right
Point of view is one of the most consequential decisions you will make, and one of the hardest to change after you have written 50,000 words.
First person creates immediacy and intimacy — the reader lives inside the narrator’s head. Third person limited offers similar closeness with more flexibility to shift between characters. Third person omniscient gives you the broadest canvas but is the hardest to control.
The right choice depends on your story. A psychological thriller about an unreliable narrator almost demands first person. An epic fantasy with multiple storylines usually needs third person. Choose early, commit fully, and keep perspective consistent within each scene.
For a deeper breakdown, see our post on first person point of view and how it shapes reader experience.
8. Write dialogue that does double duty
Good dialogue reveals character and moves the plot forward at the same time. If a conversation only does one of those things, it is working at half capacity.
Every line of dialogue should tell the reader something about who is speaking — their education, their emotional state, their relationship to the other character — while also advancing the story. Cut small talk, greetings, and pleasantries unless they reveal something meaningful about the character.
Read your dialogue out loud. If it sounds like people talking, you are close. If it sounds like a textbook explaining the plot to the reader, rewrite it. For detailed techniques, our dialogue writing guide covers formatting, subtext, and common pitfalls.
9. Start scenes late and end them early
One of the fastest ways to improve your pacing is to cut the beginning and ending of every scene. Enter the scene as close to the conflict as possible. Leave the scene before the conflict fully resolves.
This technique, borrowed from screenwriting, creates forward momentum. The reader is always catching up, always anticipating what comes next. It also forces you to cut the setup and aftermath that most writers overwrite.
Nathan Bransford, literary agent turned author, emphasizes starting scenes with action or dialogue rather than description. Drop the reader into the middle of something happening, and fill in context as you go.
10. Use AI tools to accelerate your process
Writing a novel is a massive undertaking. Modern AI writing tools can help you move faster without sacrificing quality — handling outlining, brainstorming, drafting scenes, and overcoming writer’s block.
Our Pick — Chapter
Chapter.pub is an AI book writing platform built specifically for long-form manuscripts. Unlike general-purpose AI writing tools, Chapter is designed for the unique demands of book-length projects — maintaining character consistency across chapters, generating outlines, and helping you push through stuck points in your draft.
Best for: Writers who want AI assistance purpose-built for books, not blog posts Pricing: $97 one-time (nonfiction) | Varies (fiction) Why we built it: Most AI tools are designed for short content. Novels need a tool that understands narrative structure, character arcs, and the 80,000-word long game.
Over 2,100 authors have used Chapter to create more than 5,000 books. It will not write your novel for you — but it can help you finish it.
11. Kill your darlings during revision
The phrase comes from Arthur Quiller-Couch, and it remains one of the hardest lessons in writing. If a passage, scene, or character does not serve the story, it needs to go — no matter how beautifully written it is.
Save your deleted material in a separate file. Some of it may work in a future project. But do not keep it in this manuscript out of attachment. Every unnecessary paragraph slows the reader down and weakens the story around it.
The best revision strategy is to let your completed draft sit for at least two weeks before you start editing. Fresh eyes catch problems that tired eyes miss.
12. Fix your pacing by varying sentence and chapter length
Pacing is not just about what happens in your plot. It lives in your prose structure.
Short sentences create speed and tension. They punch. They land. Longer sentences slow the reader down, inviting them to linger in a moment, absorb a description, or process an emotional beat. Alternating between the two gives your prose rhythm.
The same principle applies to chapters. A thriller might alternate between long, atmospheric chapters and short, cliffhanger chapters. A literary novel might let chapters breathe. Match your chapter structure to the emotional experience you want to create. Our guide on writing fast pacing breaks this down in detail.
13. Create a writing routine that survives real life
The writers who finish novels are not the most talented. They are the most consistent.
Build a writing routine around your actual schedule, not an idealized one. If you can write for 30 minutes before work, that is your routine. If you write best at midnight after the kids are asleep, protect that time. The specific hours do not matter. What matters is showing up regularly enough that your brain learns to shift into writing mode on cue.
Jerry Jenkins, author of more than 200 books, says the most important writing tip is simply to schedule time and treat it as non-negotiable. Professionals do not wait for inspiration. They sit down and work.
14. Get feedback before you think you are ready
Most writers wait too long to share their work. They want the manuscript to be “good enough” first. But you cannot accurately assess your own blind spots. You need outside perspective.
Share your work with beta readers or a critique group after you have finished a complete draft and done one round of self-editing. Not before — you want feedback on a story that is structurally complete, not a collection of polished chapters with no ending.
Look for readers who read your genre. A literary fiction reader giving feedback on your space opera will not understand genre conventions and may steer you in the wrong direction. The best feedback comes from people who know what good looks like in your specific category.
15. Finish the book (this is the tip that matters most)
According to writing industry surveys, roughly 80% of people who start a novel never finish it. The single most important thing you can do as a novelist is push through to the end of your first draft.
It will not be perfect. Parts of it will be bad. Some chapters will need complete rewrites. That is normal. Every published novel went through the same ugly first-draft phase.
Give yourself permission to write badly. Set a deadline. Tell someone about it. Do whatever it takes to reach the words “The End.” Because a finished rough draft is infinitely more valuable than a perfect first chapter sitting in a drawer.
Common mistakes that stall most novels
- Rewriting chapter one endlessly instead of moving forward. Your opening will change after you have written the ending anyway.
- World-building for months without writing scenes. World-building is research. Scenes are the novel.
- Switching projects when the current one gets hard. The middle of every novel feels impossible. Push through it.
- Ignoring story structure entirely. You do not need to follow a formula, but you do need rising tension, a climax, and resolution.
- Writing in isolation for years without any outside feedback. Fresh perspectives catch problems you will never see yourself.
FAQ
How long does it take to write a novel?
Most first novels take six months to two years from first draft to finished manuscript. The timeline depends on your daily word count, revision process, and how much of the story you figured out before drafting. A consistent 500-word-per-day habit produces a complete 80,000-word first draft in about five months.
How many words should a novel be?
Standard novel length varies by genre. Literary fiction and thrillers typically run 70,000 to 90,000 words. Fantasy and science fiction can go longer, from 90,000 to 120,000 words. Romance novels tend to be shorter, around 50,000 to 80,000 words. For a first novel, aim for 75,000 to 90,000 words — long enough to tell a complete story, short enough to maintain pacing.
Should I outline my novel or just start writing?
Both approaches work, but some form of planning significantly increases your chances of finishing. Pure “pantsing” (writing by the seat of your pants) leads to more abandoned manuscripts than outlining does. If traditional outlining feels stifling, try a loose structure: know your beginning, your ending, and three to five major turning points in between. That is enough scaffolding to keep you on track while leaving room for discovery.
Can I write a novel with AI tools?
AI can accelerate your novel writing process by helping with brainstorming, outlining, overcoming writer’s block, and drafting scenes. Tools like Chapter.pub are designed specifically for book-length projects. AI works best as an assistant that handles the mechanical parts of writing while you focus on the creative decisions that make your story unique.
What is the best advice for first-time novelists?
Finish the draft. Everything else — craft, style, structure, voice — can be improved in revision. But you cannot revise something that does not exist. Set a realistic daily word count, protect your writing time, and push through the inevitable rough patches in the middle of your manuscript. The writers who succeed are the ones who finish.
