4 Must-Ask Questions Before You Start Your Novel

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

A little thinking before you start writing can make a huge difference in how easy that story is to write.

For some writers, a blank page is a scary thing to face. For others, they see all that white space as an opportunity, and can't wait to dive in and tell their story. The vast majority of us probably fall somewhere in between, with some ideas making us eager to write, and some fighting us for every word.

I've discovered through (often painful) trial and error, that my novels go smoother when I spend some time planning them before I write them. I don't have to figure everything out, but knowing what my core conflict is, what my protagonist needs to do, and who my antagonist is makes it a lot easier to write the first draft. I struggle less, my plot comes together more quickly, and the manuscript turns out much cleaner.

Not truly knowing what you’re writing is a big-time cause of writing frustration.

Do yourself a favor and take time to figure out your story before you do anything else.

1. Understand what your book is really about.

This helps you avoid the dreaded “premise novel” and having an idea without a plot.

This doesn't mean you need to know every detail of the plot, or even have an outline before you start, but it helps to know what the major problem and/or theme of the novel is. If you can't clearly identify what your protagonist is struggling with, and what problem has to be solved by the end of the book, then you might not be ready to write the novel.

The best tool I've found for clarifying an idea is to write a one- or two-sentence pitchline for it. This captures the essence of the story in a few sentences and forces you to really know what the story is going to cover. If that sentence is vague with nothing to plot from, that's a big red flag your premise needs more development.

(Here’s more with Understand Your Premise to Understand Your Novel)

2. Figure out what your protagonist(s) need to do.

Many a premise novel has stalled around page one hundred, because a great idea was set up, and then the writer realized the protagonisthad nothing to do once that idea was established. The idea was driving the story, not the protagonist—no goal, no motivation to act, no stakes, no conflict. The book was nothing more than the description and explanation of an idea.

An idea you love is a great start, but strong stories are about interesting people solving interesting problems in interesting ways.

I've written entire novels with multiple points of view and dozens of characters where not a dang one of them wanted to do a darn thing. Sure, they went where I told them to, recited their lines like good little actors, but nothing about the story felt like real people trying to solve real problems readers would care about. And this holds true if the problem is saving the world from zombies, or finding love when you've given up on it.

Being clear on what your interesting protagonist needs to do makes it easier for you to have them do it, which creates the plot and gives you things to write about. But that's only half the battle. The other half is...

(Here’s more with Two Questions to Ask for Stronger Character Goals and Motivations)

3. Know who or what your antagonist is and why that’s a problem.

The other half of writing a strong story is putting solid conflict in the way of your protagonist's goals. Once you know what they need to do, clarify why the antagonist is making it hard to do that. Even if the antagonist isn't seen until the climax, their actions will have consequences to what the protagonist is doing, often from page one.

The easiest drafts I've ever written have been ones where I knew going in who my antagonist was and what they were up to. Their plan was solid, their motives clear, and I knew how they were going to mess things up for my intrepid hero.

Remember—so much of what the protagonist does is due to what the antagonist has done, so this is a partnership you want fully fleshed out. 

It's the back and forth of trying and failing, winning and losing, that keeps readers glued to the page.

(Here’s more with 10 Traits of a Strong Antagonist)

4. Determine why it all matters.

One of the harder bits of feedback to receive after someone reads your story is, "Why should I care?" but it's some of the most valuable feedback you'll ever get. If readers don't care, they won't read, and it won't matter how well written a story is, or how cool the idea is. This is where the stakes come from, and weak stakes keeps readers from becoming invested in the story.

Whatever your protagonist is doing, give them a reason why doing it matters. Understand your characters' motivations and what's at stake for them if they fail. Just like the plot, you don't need to know every detail at the start of the novel, but having a general sense of why this is important will help you understand what’s at stake here.

A question I like to ask is, "Why can't the protagonist just walk away?" 

If you can't answer this, or the answer is, "They can but then the plot won't work," that's a red flag that your stakes aren't where they need to be yet.

(Here’s more with What's at Stake? How to Make Readers Care About Your Story)

If you feel confident about the answers to all four of these questions, odds are that your first draft will go smoothly and you'll run into fewer issues. You’ll still have things to work out, of course, that's the nature of writing, but you should have a lot fewer writing sessions where you stare at the screen with no idea what to do next.

A little planning can go a long way to ensuring your first draft is strong, solid, and won’t take a ton of revision to make it work.

How much planning is up to you—if you’re a big-time outliner, go crazy. If you’re more of a pantser, just think about the answers and let them guide you as you start writing. No matter how you prefer to write, having these questions percolating in your brain will help as you draft.

EXERCISE FOR YOU: Take five minutes and answer these questions. Expand on anything that sparks for you or gets your imagination going.

*Originally published on Writers in the Storm, October 2014. Reposted and updated here September 2024.

For more help on plotting or writing a novel check out my Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure.

Go step-by-step through plotting and writing a novel. Learn how to find and develop ideas, brainstorm stories from that first spark of inspiration, develop the right characters, setting, plots and subplots, as well as teach you how to identify where your novel fits in the market, and if your idea has what it takes to be a series.

With clear and easy-to-understand examples, Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure offers ten self-guided workshops with more than 100 different exercises to help you craft a solid novel. Learn how to:

• Create compelling characters readers will love
• Choose the right point of view for your story
• Determine the conflicts that will drive your plot (and hook readers!)
• Find the best writing process for your writing style
• Create a solid plot from the spark of your idea

Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure also helps you develop the critical elements for submitting and selling your novel once it’s finished. You’ll find exercises on how to:

• Craft your one-sentence pitch
• Create your summary hook blurb
• Develop a solid working synopsis And so much more!

Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure is an easy-to-follow guide to writing your novel or fixing a novel that isn’t quite working. 

Available in paperback and ebook formats.

Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. The Shifter, was chosen for the 2014 list of "Ten Books All Young Georgians Should Read" from the Georgia Center for the Book.

She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy.

When she's not writing novels, she's teaching other writers how to improve their craft. She's the founder of Fiction University and has written multiple books on writing.

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