Characters, dialogue, plot, setting, and scenes are the main ingredients of your novel. These writing elements must be skillfully executed throughout the beginning, middle, and ending chapters. If you master all of these, most likely you will produce a spectacular work of fiction.        

Characters

Characters are the most important aspect of your story. From the onset, the fictional person you have created must be thrust into a complex situation and captivate the reader so powerfully that he or she keeps turning the pages to see what happens next. To accomplish that feat, your central characters must be well developed.  

Since your characters have lived in your head and you know them, select names that feel right for them. Most writers own a baby’s name book to choose suitable names. Next, you can design a biography for each member of your cast. Those writers who like to jump right in and tell their story might skip this step. For them, the character's life history will be created as the story unfolds. 

Others will write a bio that consists of details, such as physical appearance, educational level, family background, and financial history. It should include personality traits, life experiences, and other attributes that you may think of. The hero and heroine of your story live and breathe as actual people. Like all of us, they have a certain outlook on life. They could have crazy fears, silly habits, possessions they treasure, favorite foods they can’t resist, or a certain someone who he or she secretly loves.  

Incorporate all of these traits that make us all human into your leading cast. People will identify with them. Draw from the rich source of your own emotions and what you have observed in others to make your central characters so flesh and blood real they leap off the page. Make your hero or heroine stay with us long after the story is over. Moreover, make the protagonist desire something throughout the story that creates an electrifying plot, shows the depth of his or her character, and teaches us something about life.  

Dialogue 

A number of writers have a natural flair for writing dialogue while others must develop this skill. An interchange between characters should provide facts that keep the story moving. Conversations should build conflict and drama. Dialogue should reveal the speaker’s personality, educational level, etc. It must tease us with the sexual tension between characters who long to seduce each other. It should sound like real speech minus the mundane words that don’t elevate the story. Dialogue often provides details of the back story, foreshadows significant upcoming events, and shows us a character’s sense of humor.    

To write dialogue effectively for a novel, study actual conversations. People don’t usually give long speeches. They say a few words or sentences before another person responds. As well, don’t give everything away too fast. Spoon feed information. Avoid writing he said and she said too often. Use it when we might be confused about who is talking.  

Additionally, watch your verbs and adverbs, such as in the example, “Give me those flowers,” Mary commanded vociferously. The verb in this sentence makes the writer’s style appear stilted and interrupts the story flow. The adverb may send many to the dictionary and detach them from the novel. Using stereotypical language and clichés are not advised either. Let each character have an individual voice that makes him or her interesting.   

Plot

A plot is the sum of all events that take place in your story. Fascinating characters intermingled in a thrilling plot create an exceptional novel. It starts with a critical situation that sets off the novel. From there conflict arises. The conflict becomes complicated. It leads to the most dramatic moment. The resolution and conclusion follow.  

Great plots come from highly imaginative writers. A writer needs a moving storyline structured to captivate throughout the beginning, middle, and ending chapters. The author needs to know when to heighten the tension and when to lessen it. He or she should know when to write narrative and when to add dialogue. In addition, the author needs to know when to throw in a surprise or twist.  

Many authors create a storyboard to plot their tales easily. A method used in screenwriting, 3 x 5 index cards work well with this. On one card, simply write a sentence or two about each scene that you envision for your novel. An example of a scene on a card is Jasmine walks into the room and confronts Tim about the affair. The scenes don’t have to appear in order. Organize the cards after you have completed all of the scenes. 

Setting

A setting is the mental picture that an author paints, which transports one to a time and place. Include seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching into a setting to make it come alive. A setting sets a mood. If your novel takes place in a depressing atmosphere, your choice of words should reflect that. If your novel occurs in a glamorous environment, your careful choice of language should express that as well. 

Although setting is an important element of any fictional work, an excessive amount of artsy prose on a page will cause a reader to skip over it in favor of the action and drama. Don’t be sparing with the setting’s description either. Balance this aspect of fiction. Your words should be so rich with mental imagery that you and your reader feel as if you are experiencing whatever the character is. Overall, setting is the stage on which your cast of characters play out their existence. 

Scenes

Scenes are the building blocks of drama. Novels can have any number of scenes per chapter. They can convey one character’s viewpoint, or viewpoints can alternate between chapters, paragraphs, or during other parts of the story.  

Scenes play a crucial role in a work of fiction. They move the story forward, reveal information, introduce problems, add foreshadowing, flesh out characters, increase suspense, provide atmosphere, arouse emotions, develop the premise, and offer other attributes that allow a reader to get lost in the world the author has created.

*Creating information is published by award-winning, best-selling author Loure' Bussey