Books don't write themselves. It takes a lot of thought, a degree of heroism and in some cases a fear of heights to write a fiction novel. I know, sounds crazy needing a fear of heights. But it's true, unless you've experienced a degree of fear, it's hard to write about it with any conviction. But, that's where the imagination kicks in.
Some writers like to know in advance what it is they are writing about. Others go with the flow, into the zone and beyond.
Me? I have a mixed up method of writing. I don't write in a sequence of events. Chapter ideas pop into my head and I write the first draft for that chapter, completely out of sequence. But I'm getting ahead of myself... which oddly enough is how I write a novel.
My process for writing a fiction novel is simple:
- The plot pops into my head, unheralded. I have no idea where they come from. I'm certainly not thinking about a story when it happens.
- Next comes the novel's title. This rarely changes in the course of writing.
- This is followed by an image of the book cover, which I usually design myself or use free images from Pixabay and layer them using Gimp.
- Then I write about forty chapter titles. These usually pop into my head as I'm writing the first one, an odd sequential train of thought.
- After that, I write a line or paragraph for each chapter, again an odd sequential train of thought.
- And when all that is completed, I fill in the missing words.
I know, sounds a little crackers, and yes, it is a little crazy. But it works
Copyright © Tom Kane July 2025
If you're intrigued by the potential outcome of my writing methodology, then try reading one of my novels. The are all on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. Click here to see my novels on my website.