9 Things to Consider Before Writing a Fiction Book
The genre of fiction is characterized by its possibilities, which are endless, and by its scale, which is vast. Fiction writing is a fun adventure where you get to create a whole new world with different characters, majestic imagination, and wild possibilities. There is no limit in the world of fiction, and the author is free to create the world as they like.
But these books are written for people, and keeping that in mind, the author makes sure that their fictional world is not too massive for the reader to digest. They always try to form a balance within the book for the sake of the readers.
So, if you are a fresh writer and aim to build a name in the fiction category, there are a number of things you must understand before writing a fiction book.
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The beauty of fiction book writing lies in its limitless possibilities. From the tiniest atom to the grandest cosmic concept, fiction allows authors to shape worlds and ideas without the constraints of reality. You cannot put boundaries in fiction, and that is what makes this genre the most favorite genre in the literary world.
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But like we said, too much of anything is not good. You need to find a balance between your imagination and creativity. Try to limit them in such a way that they do not feel forced or too overwhelming to the readers.
And to find that balance, here is a list of things to look at before writing a fiction book:
1. Concept and Idea
It is extremely important that you have a clear idea of what you want to write about in your book. Is it going to be a story set in medieval times, or will it be something that will take the readers into your version of the future?
You must consider what are the unique factors of your story and whether the audience would like to read about it or not. One good thing about fiction writing is that nothing seems bizarre or out of place. It depends on the author’s skills to make it look normal.
With the power of their imagination, even a space cat will make complete sense to the readers. A great example of a misfit but fun fiction book is “Alice in Wonderland” and “Puss in Boots.”
2. Genre and Target Audience
You must also determine what genre of fiction you would like to write about. We suggest that you figure out where your expertise lies. Are you good at talking about romance, or do you ace in writing fantasies?
A fiction book can cover any genre of book writing, such as science, travel, adventure, and action. You only have to add a bit of creativity and imagination to it to turn it into fiction.
Also, your target audience really matters when picking a genre and idea for the book. For example: if you are writing for a mature audience, you get the liberty to talk about intimacy and even write a bit of violent scenes.
Whereas, if your target audience is under 13, you must try avoiding bold content and making it simpler so they can enjoy it.
3. Plot and Story Structure
Once you have clarified your idea, genre, and target audience, you need to work on the plot and basic structure of the book. You need to lay out the basic events of your book, such as how it will start, where it will lead, and how the whole story will conclude.
For example, if you are writing teen fiction, you can follow this basic writing structure:
- Start the story by setting up the basic surroundings of your main protagonist, and introduce the reader to the characters.
- Take the story forward by introducing the main conflict.
- After that, create an event around that conflict, leading the story toward the end.
You can even leave a cliffhanger at the end of the book if you wish to expand the story to more than one book.
4. Characters
Developing strong and relatable characters will play a major role in your book’s success. As fiction books are a work of imagination, the readers cannot relate to the plot and the problems surrounding the characters.
So, to help the reader connect with the characters, you need to craft them in such a way that the reader will understand their struggle and relate to their everyday problems. You can do so by:
- Introducing the character’s backstory. So the reader knows where they have come from and what is the reason behind their actions.
- Discussing why their motive is important.
- Lastly, making sure that there is a clear character arc to build the reader’s interest in the character.
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5. Setting and Worldbuilding
The world you are going to create for the readers will be the main highlight of your book. A great example of this is the “Harry Potter” series. People love it for many reasons, but the one thing that rules it all is the setting in which the whole magical world was created.
So, if you want to write a masterpiece that will be remembered for decades, then you need to take care of a few things when setting up the world for your characters:
- Create as vivid and immersive a world as you can. You do not need to justify everything that exists in this world, and that is the beauty of fiction books.
- Pay great attention to detail. Leave no loopholes for the readers to question anything within the setting. Fiction books do not have any pictures in them, which is why your words are the only thing representing the world. So, be as detailed as you can when explaining it.
Remember, people may read a fictional story to take a break from the real world. So, make it as attractive and comforting as you can to enhance the reader’s experience.
6. Theme and Message
A fiction book is a great medium to talk about a theme or deliver a message out into the world. Your characters can represent a culture, or they can even have some condition which is people do not talk about in general, for example:
- You can address gender bias and show your character’s struggle for equality.
- You can also discuss general taboos, such as LGBTQ, and how they are treated even today.
- Racism is also one theme that you can use in your book to promote equality.
Your book’s mess should not be extremely obvious, but it should not be too cryptic that the reader does not even understand it.
7. Research
We suggest that you must conduct thorough research on the topic that you are going to write about in your book. We agree that it is fiction, and it is all imagination and creativity, but you will still have to provide logical reasoning for some things.
If your book is about science fiction, you need to provide a logical explanation for the events. For example, if you are writing about a person gaining superpowers through lightning or an animal bite, you need to make sure that their powers represent that respective species.
If you are talking about a historic event, you can make changes to it. You can also study those events in depth to better understand how things went down. This research will also help you with crafting an effective storyline.
8. Writing Style and Voice
Your writing style and voice will determine the general tone of your book. There are 3 ways to narrate a book:
- You can use a narrator’s voice to tell the whole story. This voice narrates the story through a third-person perspective.
- You can pick a character and tell the story through their voice. The only problem with this voice is that it is a single character’s perspective, and you would not be able to explore other characters without the presence of the voice.
- Lastly, you can pick different characters to narrate different chapters. This way, you will be able to cover a larger ground, but it can get confusing for the reader.
The writing style also matters very much because there are many differences between US and UK English, such as different spellings for a few words like ‘Honor’ and ‘Honour,’ different phrases, etc. So, you can easily determine it considering your target audience, whether they speak US English or UK English.
9. The Cost of Getting a Book Published
Your book is something that you had worked on for almost months, probably more than that, considering the time of research and all the hassle you went through before you actually decided to write it.
So, you must want it to perform well within the market and for people to love it. For that, you need to look for a good and reliable book publishing company like Hancock Ghostwriters that would help sell your book in the right market.
But publishing a standard 150 page book can cost you somewhere between $2,000-$4,000. So, we suggest that you look for a cost-effective publisher like Hancock Ghostwriters that offers customized packages beforehand and lock a deal with them in advance.
Wrapping Up
When writing a fiction book, considering these aspects is crucial because they collectively contribute to the quality, appeal, and success of your book. They help you create a compelling narrative, connect with readers, and deliver an engaging and meaningful reading experience. By addressing these considerations, you increase your chances of writing a captivating and well-crafted work of fiction.
So, if you found these tips for writing a fiction book informative and are ready to write your next fiction book, our blog post on “How to develop a character for your fiction novel?” might help you along the way.
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