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Write your novel in three organized and distinct steps - the same three steps employed in the process of baking a cake.
Writing The Novel is Like Baking a Cake by Susan Wingate As easy as 1-2-3? Definitely not, but similarities exist between baking a cake and writing the novel. How many times have you made a cake in your life? Yes, there have been the failures and so-so attempts but after a couple of times, the process went a little smoother and you see that after the third stab at it you’ve really gotten the hang of this cake-baking task. You mix the flour sugar milk and eggs, you add the chocolate (or vanilla) for flavoring, you beat and stir it into a creamy substance and then you pour it into a pan and bake it. But, a tasty cake is nothing without frosting. And, a spectacular cake is nothing without decoration. Right? So, let’s go through the similar and practical steps of baking a cake and compare how these steps are to that of writing the novel. Step One: Baking a Cake: Mix all of your ingredients together, pour the mixture into a pan and bake. This step is where you spend your time planning and getting the cake’s foundation ready. Writing a Novel: Write your first-draft. This is the step where you will spend most of your time. You will decide on character, scene and plot structure. This is the step where you write and organize the format of your story. This is also the step where you get the bulk of your writing finished and into a complete but skeletal structure in one file on your computer. Step Two: Baking a Cake: Let your cake cool in the refrigerator for at least two hours then put on the frosting. Writing a Novel: Walk a way from your writing for no shorter than a week and no more than a month. When you come back, print out your story. Do a complete read-through from start to finish in the novel’s entirety and note editions on this paper copy. Key your editions into your computer file and identifying this file as the newest file. During this editing phase you will correct typographical errors, make sentence structure stronger and identify areas that might be missing or need extra work. Note these areas ONLY and move forward. During this phase, don’t stop to write new work or to fix the areas in your computer. Simply, complete your editing through until you reach the last page. Step Three: Baking a Cake: After the frosting has set, apply decorations and candles to make the cake appealing. Writing a Novel: After editing, go back and layer in literary elements that will make your story sing. Interject elements like in subplot, build on character traits, bolster scene description, increase conflict, add sensory qualities and infuse transitional components to smooth out rough edges between scenes. If you can think of writing the novel like baking a cake, your process will be more controllable and reading your novel will be like biting into cake!
The copyright of the article Three Steps to Novel Writing in Writing Novels is owned by Susan Wingate. Permission to republish Three Steps to Novel Writing in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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