Writing a remarkable literary fiction novel is one of the most challenging things to do. This genre is mainly avoided since it includes creating believable characters, a captivating and coherent story, and using only the right words when delivering the story. Just like a linguistic triathlon in which we’re all competing. It’s not easy to write literary fiction. This isn’t one of those genres where you need a lot of creativity, fantasy, and a wild imagination to write a great book. It’s about human relationships, experiences, and the message that it conveys to people.
Literary fiction is entirely different from the genres you’ve encountered. This one rings with truth. It isn’t easy to portray since it also shares a part of the author’s experience or someone else’s more relatable experience. It’s an experience that everyone can relate to and most often dream about.
So, what can you do to make this daunting task easier? You do what the triathlete does: you isolate the task’s three components—characters, story, and language—and work on them separately. Here’s how to do it:
Begin with a cast of characters
List every significant character in your book and describe every feature that the readers can visualize, including their physical and psychological attributes, behavior and mannerism, and social standing. Make a list of their eccentricities and research their relevant backstories. Take note of their interactions with other characters, as well as their hopes and dreams, motives. Think about what is at risk for them in the book you’re about to write. Put all of your thoughts, even the terrible ones, on paper.
After writing, let it cook for at least a few days, if not longer. Imagine your characters conversing, facing challenges, and what they could do in various situations. Make a list of everything that comes to mind, including any problems the characters might face; think of the possible outcomes.
Create a captivating and coherent story
As previously stated, literary fiction is all about the message. The best way to write a captivating and coherent story is to start with a story you love to write about. Many authors write at their best when they’re emotionally immersed in their characters and story.
Whether you’re writing a literary review or a book, it’s always a good idea to start with a list of events that you want to include in your story. But how can you determine the proper sequence of events? That is something that only your instinct can decide. What appeals to you the most should be at the top of the list. In other words, it’s all about the outline, whichever comes first or last. That being said, as you go over your outline again and again, trying things out and switching things around in the way that only word processing allows, you will notice that there is a natural order. Just start writing and let your characters do whatever they want while you watch the story grow and record it with only a few prods here and there?
Using the right words
Literary fiction is all about using the right words, conveying the right message, and, most importantly, writing in the tone that best suits the story. As an author, you want to write a page-turner—a novel that keeps readers interested from start to finish. Use the active voice in your story, if possible. Sentences should generally follow the noun-verb-object pattern.
But what exactly do we mean by “right words?” For example, suppose you’re creating a story set in the Middle Ages. From its characters to its plot, you most likely based everything on that time, and if this is the case, it stands to reason that you would write in the manner that best fits this century. Furthermore, when creating this story, you cannot use phrases that are too complicated, simple, or modern.
After you’ve created your literary fiction, you check at ReadersMagnet’s self-publishing services if you’re interested in publishing your book; we offer an affordable and quality book publishing and marketing service. After all, choosing the right publishing partner can be the difference between your literary fiction book’s success and failure.
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