HOW TO WRITE A COMPELLING NOVEL continued...

3. Write about something you know, something you're familiar with.  It comes across as more authentic.  There isn't much you can say about what you don't know.  You need to research what you don't know if that's what you want to write about.  Once you research it, you know it, so it's still writing about what you know.

HOW TO WRITE A COMPELLING NOVEL continued...

2. Think like a journalist.  Provide Who, What,Where,Why and How

HOW TO WRITE A COMPELLING NOVEL

1. WRITE IN SCENES.  This satisfies writing's cardinal rule, which is, "Show, Don't Tell."  Think of each chapter as a play composed of scenes.  You are a spectator or eye witness of the scene.  Then record the action, which is what happens; the dialogue, which is what each person says; description, what the people look like; location, where the scene takes place. (Come back another day to see more points.)