Writing a Novel Step by Step

Start this adventure by getting to know your teacher, Cristina López Barrio. She tells you about how she discovered her passion for storytelling as a child and how she made a name for herself in the publishing world. She also shares some of the most influential authors in her life and her work.

Next, stimulate your imagination with some creative exercises and explore original ideas. Learn why it's important to create rituals to overcome the blank page and analyze factors that may cause writer's block. Then, dive into your inner world to explore yourself and your imagination.

Now it's time to start working on your project. Outline the concept and plot for your story. Develop your characters and add dimensions to their personality through conflicts and explore the figure of the narrator, a crucial step in shaping the tone of your novel. Then, learn how to use objects as a narrative technique to create associations for the reader between concepts, characters, and places.

Next, see how to approach two key components of any novel: the setting and the time frame. Ask yourself some questions like when is the action taking place, how long will it last, and where will it happen. Then, learn how to play with the order of events to create tension.

Once you've got all the pieces in place, start writing the first lines and find the narrative voice of your story. Cristina shows you different possible beginnings and explains the golden rule of writing a novel: There are no rules, anything is possible if it makes sense in the world you've created.