I’ve often heard that everyone has a book inside them. It may be true. But I think many people don’t realize how difficult it is to write a novel, let alone a good novel. First of all, you need self-motivation. You have to really want it, not so you can become famous, but because you have a burning need to write it.

You need tenacity, a willingness to keep writing no matter how difficult it is or how much criticism you receive.

You need a decent working knowledge of grammar and punctuation.

You need creativity/a good imagination.

You don’t have to write-what-you-know, but you need to be willing to do research to get the details right.

You need to read other people’s novels.

If you don’t already know how to create a novel, you need to study the basics of writing, plotting, character development, etc.

You need to be willing…