Just The Right Words For Your Novel

Ever struggle for words? All writers do at some time or another, but when we get them, there's an incredible rush of adrenalin, and this can be hard to describe. Words used to depict everyday human emotions and thoughts and expressions can absolutely mean one thing in certain contexts, and other things when used in a different way.

First we start with a scene or even a few sentences. Keep in mind what genre your novel is in. Is the story for children or young adults? If adult, there are many genres and even blended genres to keep in mind. There can be a fine line between erotica and porn, for instance. There's also hard and soft romance and the former may also cross over into soft erotica.

Ideas and words may come at any time so if your routine is to settle into the living room to watch some TV and you've turned off your main computer, then keep (in the least) a pencil or pen and a notepad handy, but an iPad or a netbook also works great. Anything you see or smell of feel while watching TV or out and about can trigger a whole group or sentences or paragraph or a simple few words. Email yourself these thoughts and print them out the next day. Watch live plays and shows as often as you can.

We often cannot connect why watching an opera (especially if you haven't seen many) can trigger an entire subplot in your novel. All you need to do is to take the concept of feelings from something which has moved you, and translate them into your own words. Novels are best written by people who are native speakers of that language. Every culture has the written word and stories, so no matter where you are born, you can add your own unique words to any writing.

Make it a habit to learn new words, too. Be keenly aware of the often subtle differences between love, lust, sex, sensual, etc. Plainly spoken body part words used in erotica can make a powerful statement and be certain to stay away from any "purple prose". Try and vary your descriptions because too much of anything is boring and will make readers either drift off or away from your book.

If you are writing your first novel for Epublication then we can't stress enough how important a cover is. Be prepared to change the cover if the book isn't selling. People cruising the web for Ebooks often notice the cover first, then if you get them to stop and read a sample, they may want to read the rest. If you cannot design covers then get someone to do it for you, and concentrate on just the right words for your novel, instead.

If you'd like to find out more about how to write just the write words, and other interesting subjects for writers, then check out Huebner's latest novel, The Mozart Killer, on his blog.