Writing your first novel is a daunting endeavor and many novelists experience writers block before theyve even made it past the first page these writing tips will help you push through the block and ensure that your first chapter as rich and engaging as possible establish the tone the first page of your novel should give the reader a sense of your storys tone if youre trying to write a bestselling thriller youll likely want a dark brooding tone that leads us . Love your project novels are the longest of the long game it can take months or more likely years to write the first draft turn it into a second draft find an agent go out on submission and land a deal which is only the beginning of another very long process to maintain a connection to and passion for your project it must be . Sometimes writers learning how to write a first novel follow commonplace advice to put plot interest first yet if every event in your novel is made to fit a template it can feel forced and over cautious instead come up with the main events of your novel and describe each separately you dont even have to write them in sequence necessarily combine them at a later stage when you have a clearer sense of how they will all fit together this will make sure that no unnecessary scenes . Write 1200 pages to get 300 in a brilliant post on powells books blog joshua mohr argues that you might need 1200 pages of writing to get to a 300 page finished novel this was true of my first book and i suspect it will be true of the second