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You may have an idea for a novel or a novella that’s been in your head for months or years.

It interests you and you want to birth something with it.

You want it to grow and become something real with flesh.

You want to create a story that, hopefully, will make it to a bestseller list.

Where do you start?

Maybe you have started, but now you’re stuck at chapter two, waiting in frustration for insight as to how the story should progress.

You’re a writer, so you can write.

What will your story be about?

What is the main idea behind your story?

Write a summary of your idea as it would appear on the jacket of your novella.

Read it over.

Is there anything you could include that would make it even more engaging?

It has to be consistently engaging, from the beginning through to the ending.

Structure your story.

You must know how your story will begin and end.

Then you should have a better idea of how to get fro one point to the other.

Sketch in the basic idea of your story.

Construct sketches of the overall plot and any sub-plots you want your story to have.

Decide on the setting.

Different things affect setting and setting affects how your characters behave.

Your novella can be set in summer or winter.

It can be set in the middle of a war or directly after a war.

Your story can take place in an office building on a tropical island or in an apartment complex in Dubai.

Wherever it is, your setting should be as interesting as the story itself. Don’t create a lackluster setting.

Decide on the pace of your story.

Will it have a relaxing, slow pace?

Will it urge the reader on with the characters as they race from chapter to chapter and is that necessary for your story?

Remember that your story should satisfy some need or craving that your readers have.

Think of what they may want. This is what will help them to continue turning the pages.

If their needs aren’t being met they will put the book down.