How To Write a Novel Step by Step: Develop Objects

As you write your novel, objects will come into view. You will need to describe them in some detail according to their importance.

I suppose that you saw one of the zillion Titanic movies. The ship was an object. In the latest version of Titanic, there was a necklace. These are important items.

Movies don’t describe objects -- they just show them. As a writer, you must describe objects so that your readers can "see" them. Here's how you can make notes about your objects before you write the novel. (If you are using novel-writing software, it will give you a hand.)

1. What is the name of the object and what is its importance?
   
   • Name: Rustled Horse
   • Importance: Bart (the antagonist) stole the horse.
2. What is the description?
   
   • Color: Strawberry Roan
   • Past Owner: Jake Henderson, a local rancher.
   • Characteristics: A nasty disposition but good bottom. (Bottom equals endurance in old west parlance.) Hates dogs. Nervous and antsy. Ugly greenish yellow teeth.
   • Odor: Like a horse.
   • Sound: Snorts a lot.
3. What research sources are there for your objects?

   If your object is of such importance as the Titanic, then you will have to describe it in detail. For a ship, you would have to find a ship that fits your story. For a war novel, you might be able to find the layout of a typical World War II destroyer (Tin Can) on the Internet.
   

   • Online research. Let’s give that a try. Yes, at NavSource Online, we see many photos of the exterior of destroyers including close-up deck photos and photos of damage. But your characters must tromp around the decks, the companion ways, and climb the ladders. They must fire the guns, drop the depth charges, and man the lifeboats.

      

     You need more detail.

     Your readers must know the bow from the fantail and they must sniff the bilge. They must see props of other ships flip out of the water in high seas and feel it when it happens to their ship. They must feel the governors that keep the props in control when they are free in the air rather than bucking water.

     We still need more details.

   • Book research. I didn’t have much luck on the Internet finding the interstices of a destroyer but I found that there are plenty of books on the subject. In the good old days, I would just go to a used bookstore to find books on subjects related to what I was writing. My used bookstores now are Amazon.com, Alibris.com and ABEbooks.com. I seldom buy a new book if there is a used one available.

     In books, you will find firsthand accounts of World War II sailors. They will tell you what it is like to be blown against a bulkhead, be caught on a burning deck, swim though burning oil to a life raft, etc.

     In a book we can find what the guts of the ship are like, the sick bay, the captain’s cabin, the ammunition holds, the watertight doors, the ladders and bulkheads, etc.

     Sometimes we must read to write.

4. Write practice dialogue to introduce objects.

   George Pigsty said, "That’s a mighty fine horse you got there, Bart. Darned if I haven’t seen that horse somewhere. Just can’t place it. Strawberry roan? 'He's about the worst bucker I've seen on the range. He'll turn on a Nickel and give you some change.' Always liked that song."

   Bart spit in the dust at his feet and said, "I like that song too, Pig Head, just not the way you sing it."

   Or how about this?

   Ensign Bagdad pulled his hood down to cut out the frigid water from the Atlantic squall. He yelled over the wind to Bronson, "What happened to Frederick?"

   "Undid his lifeline, Sir. He’s gone. Sometimes I see him when he’s on a wave crest."

   Writers write, right?

Now you are ready to move on to Part 4 -- developing your story line.