Writing a Novel: The Novel Notebook and Your Writing Process

One of the most important aspects of any kind of writing, but especially novel writing, is keeping a novel notebook. I've self-published two novels on Amazon, and currently working on another two, one set in the late nineteenth century, and the second set around 1920. I've found that the best way of handling more than one project (besides any freelancing you might do) is to keep a separate notebook for each project. While most writers will be familiar with the writer's notebook, they may not keep a separate notebook for each project as it helps to keep my mind focussed on whichever project I'm working on at the time.

Here is a short extract from the nineteenth-century notebook called Ellie and the Cracksman. "While the two major characters are now quite clear to me, and their main motivations are also clear; other characters are still a bit hazy. It's one thing starting out with a plan, quite another sticking to it, especially when characters want to go their own way. One thing I've realised from this is that the characters need to develop in their own way, which isn't always the same as the picture I have in my head." (Ellie and the Cracksman notebook).

I chose this particular extract because a novel notebook is not just about the book itself, but the writer's own problems with writing a particular book and how they might handle it better. The novel notebook I've found is as much an exploration of how the writer feels about what they are writing, as it is about the book itself. By and large, keeping these notebooks is aabout understanding your own writing process as well as about the work itself.