Two different ways of approaching a horror novel

Many people who are thinking about writing a horror novel are often motivated when they get an idea. They are excited about putting their thoughts down on paper and they are excited to see where their idea will take them. However, as soon as they open up their laptop computer and sit down to write, they may stall. The ideas that were thriving in their minds have dulled and they don't know how to turn that idea into a full-length novel. Many will give up before giving it a chance.

Yes, writing your novel is hard. It is tough to produce a great piece of fiction that people will reach.

Some people are talented and they can write a whole book based on a simple idea or inspiration. But Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and other famous horror writers have a certain way to work. While some people will plan out their novels, others sit down and just write whatever comes to mind. If you are struggling to write a book, here are some tips to help you through your planning, so you can get that book published and on the market.

Planning it all out

Many writers choose to plan out their entire novels before they write the first page. It takes a long time to plan out an entire novel and there are many methods to doing this. One of the more popular methods is the Snowflake method. When using this method, writers start with an idea and then they slowly expand that idea by turning a single sentence into a paragraph and then a paragraph into pages.

The idea is that you write a longer synopsis of your boo, adding characters and scenes along the way. By planning out this kind of novel, you are minimizing your chance of writing yourself into a corner and leaving important scenes or events hanging.

Develop as you go

If you are a brave writer and you feel you can keep track of every scene, every character, and every statement made by your characters, you can try to write your novel as you go along.

This means you can try to write your story, chapter by chapter, without having planned out where the story will go. Some writers enjoy this method because the story develops slowly and organically.

The danger about this method is that you can mention something in one chapter and forget to wrap it up in a later chapter. Readers may be confused as to why a character or event was mentioned if it never plays a role again in the book. With planning, you have a bigger chance of avoiding these loopholes.

What writing method do you use? What do you think is best for a new writer who wants to write a novel?