Breaking New Grounds – How Do I Write My First Novel?

I have been thinking so much lately about doing a novel. Let me tell you where this is coming from. Since I decided to become a professional writer, I have had modest achievements as a non-fiction writer. Today, I have about six non-fiction books to my name, and I have worked with over a dozen or so authors to publish their books. I have worked on biographies, autobiographies, memoirs, and self-help books. The spectrum of non-fiction is one I can humbly say I understand fairly well. I understand it well enough to consider building a non-fiction book coaching practice to help first-time authors. This practice is to help authors who want to write their books without engaging ghostwriters. I believe you would have encountered this information in one or two of my newsletters. But if you haven’t, let me put it out right here and now: My book coaching practice for nonfiction writers is here! Hurray! So, if you or anyone you know needs my services, I’m just one email away. But I digress. 

I’m talking about my desire to break new ground and my inability to do it yet. Writing fiction has always been my dream. As a child, I wrote countless short stories that got lost in the uncertainties of growing, but that passion has remained. However, journalism probably took my eyes off that goal for a while, and non-fiction became my natural competence. So, as I approached my 50th birthday in 2021, I promised myself a birthday gift: a fictional offering. Given the short time I had to accomplish this, I went for a collection of short stories, which was presented during my birthday in September of that year.

Yet, a collection of short stories is not the same as the long form I crave. So, some time ago, I asked one of my writer friends, Olukorede Yishau, how he does it. Yishau wrote the acclaimed novel, In the Name of Our Father, which was nominated for the NLNG Prize for Literature in 2021. He followed this up with a collection of short stories, Vaults of Secrets in 2020, and yet another novel, After the End in 2024. My friend didn’t think I was serious about the question, so he laughed it off.

But I was serious, and I’m still serious about it. I have started taking baby steps towards achieving this dream, and I’m determined to work harder and become a master at it until it is accomplished. I’m not going to be ashamed to seek help in attaining this dream. It is, in fact, a milestone that I’m hoping to cross in the next couple of months, and I’ll surely invite you to celebrate it with me. 

In the meantime, what milestones do you aspire to achieve? We cannot afford to rest on the laurels of past accomplishments. Every achievement should inspire us to aim higher, work harder, and break new ground. The challenge before us is to continually surpass our previous records and pursue even greater success. This is the legacy we must all aspire to. Of course, it never comes easy, but everyone who works at it eventually gets there. 

So, what are you aiming for, what are the hurdles on the way, and what are the ways you plan to cross those hurdles? Share them with me by replying to this email, and keep the conversation going.

Have a great week.

You can buy my book, Every Journalist Should Write a Book, here.

Niran Adedokun,

Writer | Communications Strategist | Book Strategist | Author of Every Journalist Should Write a Book