Welcome, to the third and last part of the lessons I learned while writing the Traitors Trilogy. In the first article, I shared seven fundamental steps I used to make my books successful. In the second article, you got nine tips which helped me become a better writer.

In this article I will share with you 5 crucial points I used to outline my idea into a story.

I believe there is magic in a book for every writer, to entertain, if not to educate and explore your impact on the world. The bad news? It’s hard to write, publish, and promote your book, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. It’s an intimidating undertaking, but you don’t have to make the journey all by yourself. Use these powerful tools I am sharing with you will help you write an outstanding fiction tale.
”A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” — Richard Bach

You may not be perfect from the start but don’t worry, keep writing, keep going, and you will get better. Even Stephen King trashed his manuscript,” Carrie.” He didn’t think it was good enough. However, his wife, Tabitha, picked it up from the trash can and encouraged him to finish writing the story. Carrie sold over 1 million copies in its first year as a paperback.

“Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any.” – Orson Scott

A well-written book is your gateway to a higher authority, celebrity, and the key to becoming a successful author. That’s good news.

The job of a writer consists of making something out of an idea. You want to turn that idea into a story. How do you do it? There are tips and tricks you can use to build a strong structure to write a gripping novel.

5 Fundamental Points To Turn Your Idea Into A Book.

1. Outline/Plot. You start by outlining a map of your idea, either on paper or in your head. Plan what events will take place in your story. A story is not static; it evolves. There is a beginning, a middle and the end. Plan the events that will take place at these three levels. An outline can be a rough sketch or a detailed framework. As in everything in life, the best results are achieved from planning.

I did use an outline in the beginning, when plotting the trilogy, but once I got into writing the story and knew my characters well, they took over, and I followed their path into whichever ideas they dropped in my head. All writers are different. Feel free to do what suits you best.

2. Character Sketch. The characters are the building blocks with which you assemble your story. The characters carry your tale, both emotionally and physically. It is vital that you have a good idea of your characters’ personality, how they react to events in the story. Make them realistic to the reader. Give them motivation enough to move the plot forward. Remember, new characters can be introduced into the plot if need be at any one point, and original characters can be eliminated if required. However, be careful not to kill your protagonist.

In my case, I used a detailed character sketch for the Traitors Trilogy. I had many characters, and I wanted to know each one of them well, especially my protagonist, Martina. I went into detail about what she likes to wear, her favorite meal, how she spends her weekends, what makes her laugh, and what aggravates her. She turned out to be a compelling central figure in the story.

3. Setting. Decide, when and where your story is taking place. On a mysterious planet, island, in the far future, in Stockholm, last winter. Provide this information in the first chapter. Even when you are writing a scene, think about setting. It gives the story a sense of place, and it paints a picture in the readers’ mind that makes the story seem real.

The setting was crucial in my writing. I used the four seasons — winter, spring, summer, autumn to effect the mod of the characters, and the weather was crucial to affect a sense of foreboding.

4. Decide on how long the story will be. Look at the outline you created, and the events planned between the beginning and the end. Will they carry your characters to the end? If the activities fit into a thousand-words short story, then you have a novella, an account between 20 000 – 50 000 words. However, if you have enough events for a full novel, then that is a story of an account between 50 000 -100 000 words.

With the trilogy, I knew from the start; I was going to write three full novels. It was five years of non-stop intensive writing, and I enormously enjoyed writing the series.

5. Decide on the genre/category of your story. Will it focus on two people falling in love; romance, or does it involve things that don’t exist; science fiction/fantasy, or is it a mystery? Decide on which category. It will help you stay focused on the story you want to write.

Thriller novels are my favorite genre, and the Traitors Trilogy, though, a thriller/suspense novel, it has a subplot of romance. I liked taking in the whole picture of my protagonist, her private and public life, which highlighted the social and personal issues of realistic fiction.

Now, we have a plot. That is what we have just outlined. We have characters, events, settings, and the length of the book. You are ready to start writing. Don’t fear to start writing. Nothing is carved in stone. Your outline doesn’t have to be perfect from the start. It can be changed, adjusted, or improved upon as you write. After all, it is the final product that defines a writer.

I hope you are eager and excited about writing your book. Start drawing a map of your ideas, and while you do that, read your favorite author. Look at the writing, pay attention to the word choice, how the characters and setting are described, how the characters act, and what they say. Be conscious of how you feel when you read details about the characters and dialogue, and then try to figure out why you feel that way.

In Love and Light,

PS: If you are interested in knowing more about our courses on Writing Good Fiction join my mailing list.