By Sara Domet

Writing a novel is a bit like cooking a gourmet meal.

You know you must include your individual ingredients: character, plot, setting, conflict, dialogue, action, etc. But how do you know how to throw them all together? What balance must you strike to achieve the right flavor?

How will you put all these elements of your novel together in order to shape it? How do you draw out character traits and plot conflicts in a convincing and compelling way? How will you balance these elements to achieve novelistic harmony? The first step toward turning your outline into a first draft is acknowledging that novels are written scene by scene (by scene by scene, etc.).

The Scene Defined
Think of your favorite movie. Or better yet, your favorite book. What was your favorite part? Did you say the part in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer when Tom returns to hilariously watch his own funeral? How about the part in The Lovely Bones, the knockout success by Alice Sebold, when protagonist Susie returns to Earth from Heaven to occupy Ruth’s body and finally kiss Ray Singh . . .  See More