I did want to encourage everyone with advice I told myself. Don’t psych yourself out by trying to write a great novel. Instead, ask yourself “Can I at least finish writing a mediocre novel?” Finish and it might be better than you hoped or give yourself credit for.

I usually get back to the main arc of my outline, but without that guidepost, I get bogged down with where they should go next. My outline is the backbone and I just work at putting skin on those bones and making the connections make sense.

To me, the most fun is when characters start “writing themselves”; saying and doing things I hadn’t planned.

It depends entirely on what genre you’re writing in as well. Some writers employ metaphor and similes up the ying yang to illustrate their themes, I’m in the company of writers like Hemmingway. The iceberg principle draws the reader in through inference and lets them form their own ideas about the story and the characters.

Conflict is the most vital part of a story. Characters drive the conflict but without you just have words. Whether you write seedy morally ambigious protagonists and antagonists or a more traditional yarn, they need strong opinions backed up by actions. It’s cliched but actions do speak louder than words. A novel is not reality, it’s an embellishment that focuses on a specific time and setting of the character’s life.

Not every protagonist needs to be likeable. However, they need to be relatable. The idea of understanding someone you hate lets you see what you could have become or might be closer to in reality.

And in terms of pacing, the rollercoaster metaphor works. High, tense action interspaced with low key or normal moments. Life is fast and slow. Reflect in what you write and you’ll write a strong novel. Getting published? That’s an entirely different topic.

I have several ideas for and beginnings of novels, and a degree in English, but my biggest challenge is finding the resolutions for plot ideas that I come up with. Any suggestions for that?

Reply: have you tried buying some friends a beer and walking them through the story, asking for their suggestions/ thoughts? They might be able to help. In my mind (I am the author of this article)- you run the risk of being “stuck” forever and unable to move forward, unless you figure the resolution out- beforehand. For me, I am still able to add quite a bit of color and twist things around a bit that are more interesting (I do this in drafts 2 onwards-)- but I need to have the ‘bones’ of the story complete first.

Find someone you trust (who will give you bad and good feedback- don’t look for praise, you can always get them from your Mom or your wife) who can vet some of your ideas or writing. Some people join a writing group, some just send documents to friends and ask for feedback.

For those interested in more about self-publishing, check out the blog of JA Konrath. Lots of good information shared by him.