A few days ago, I shared a post titled ‘Checklist for a Novel #1’ which was a look at the current manuscript and a focus on what’s working from the ‘big picture’ point of view. I used Hit Lit: Cracking the Code of the Twentieth Century’s Biggest Bestsellers by James W. Hall – all American bestsellers – as the basis for this checklist.
In today’s post, I’m investigating a Checklist for a Breakout Novel. I don’t recall where I found this list, but I’ve used it before as a guide.
- Inspired concept – unique selling proposition that avoids common stories
- Larger than life characters – vivid, leap-off-the-page, emotionally connect with readers
- Create big, interesting, real, lovable yet flawed characters
- Make your characters suffer – who is the one ally your character cannot afford to lose? Kill him off. What is the one article of faith sacred to your MC? Undermine it. How much time does the MC have to solve a problem? Shorten it.
- Create inner conflict for the main character – Invest the main character with two goals, needs, wants, longings, yearnings, or desires that are in direct opposition to each other. Wanting two things that are mutually exclusive creates inner conflict, being torn in two different directions, and that is what makes a character truly memorable.
- Secondary characters need to be well drawn, critical to the story, have their own flaws. You can’t have too many secondary characters – or it gets confusing.
- High stakes story – build and build the tension
- Logical flow from one scene to another – according to author Elizabeth George in Write Away: Think of the events in the novel as dramatic dominoes; your scenes should tip from one domino to another to another.
- Plot needs to veer in unexpected directions
- Deeply felt theme – the humanity revealed by the story
- Vivid setting – a setting imbued with emotion
- Voice – be a musician with your voice; find the music and the cadence; add original turns of phrase and extra levels of feeling
- Deeply satisfying ending
Now, doesn’t that seem straightforward?
What criteria do you use when evaluating your manuscript?
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M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel THAT WAS THEN is a contemporary thriller. Mary’s other novels, THE ADMIRAL’S WIFE, PARIS IN RUINS, TIME AND REGRET, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook or on her website www.mktod.com.
