Have you tried to write a novel but couldn't keep up with the hard work required to write one? Well, I have a couple of tips to help you write one! Though I can't say that I've finished a Novel, I've even dropped a Novel due to stress at school, there are a few things I would like to share with the community, I've learnt a lot during the time I've started to write one.
1) Try to write at least a thousand words every day!
This one is actually optional, but it helps a lot if you want to be efficient and get writing experience. I wrote around 2k words every day, and that was the reason I dropped one of my novels, it took up too much time!
Every bit of free time you have lying around, you can use it to write a few hundred or a thousand words. It helps to get you in the habit of typing for long and staying focused.
2) Staying focused!
This helps quite a lot. When I started writing, I would always get distracted. I never really focused on writing which made me around twice as long if I didn't focus on doing one chapter. This is a very important step.
A side note is also having motivation! Without motivation, you can't get writing what so ever. When you write, you want to try to get into the mood. For me, I try to challenge myself: 'Can I really write this?'
3) Having a plan!
Without a plan, you will likely forget most of the world building and Original features that you put in your world. In my opinion, you cannot write without a plan. Why? Can you fit so much information in your mind without the use of a plan? My guess is a no.
Writing a detailed plan is the best. If you don't write detailed enough, then your characters may become shallow and one dimensional. You must also consider characters from their point of view. The opponent your MC may face may not only just care about that one girl! He has a different life! If you make it seem like they will forever chase the MC for one girl, then that really makes that character same un-original and one dimensional.
4) MAKE A PLAN FOR CHAPTERS TOO!
This is what really affected me the most. I remember when my teachers when I was like 10 telling me to draw a story mountain, what happens at the beginning, middle and end or introduction. climax, peak and conclusion. It seemed very useless because you could at max write a couple hundred words back then, but now is different! You want to first plan your story from beginning to end, then split it into different stories, 'arcs'. You can plan each arc the same as a story, beginning to end.
After planning your arcs, split them into chapters, like arc 1 will have around 3 or 4 chaps. Now, many may have already done that, but could you do more? You may have written your plan for the chapter, but it is still vague and the events you include are just too short or long for one chapter. What can you do? Well, there is a better way to plan. First, split your chapter further (I know this process is very long, but this is what it takes to be more organised and efficient) into main points that will happen in your chapter:
Chapter 1:
-Introduce Steve and describe his facial features, body and personality in the first person
-What he does (runs a pound shop)
-When he is at home and sleeps, he appears in an open and endless grey space
-Meets god, doesn't believe
Most people usually plan for one chapter but they think it is too long or too short. Some may end with a chapter around 300 words, others around 2 or 3 thousand words. The best way to avoid that is for you to try to include how many words you want to include in your plan:
Chapter 1: 1.3k words
-Introduce Steve and describe his facial features, body and personality in the first person (300 words)
-What he does (runs a pound shop) (300 words)
-When he is at home and sleeps, he appears in an open and endless grey space (400 words)
-Meets god, doesn't believe (300 words)
Since most face problems with their chapters being too short, the best way to add to their word count is to add a layer of description that makes their character's feel more lifelike.
These are all the tips I have for now. I'm quite new myself, I've only written around 100k words, so not an expert. If anyone has any tips, you can probably expand on mine. Idk if my tips were messy or not, but I'm sorry anyway.