But what about dialogue and the other 'stuff'?

As this is a 'learn as I go'... I soon discovered there was lots of other 'stuff' to consider. Like dialogue, POV (points of view), descriptive passage, etc etc. Don't be put off. Once you start writing it soon becomes obvious - well it did for me when someone said "too much head-hopping". Go figure- I'd never heard of it. (It's number one below).
Yesterday it was the nuts and bolts, i.e., think of your novel like you are building a house, you need frame work, or essential elements(plot, characters, conflict and theme) for a story, today I'm going to add to that list. Groan, go on I did too.
All I wanted to do was write a novel... how hard can that be.... yeah right!
These are other essentials you need to practice for these help bind plot, character, conflict and theme together. Here, that daily practice of writing is a good habit to develop. They are like the 'and' or 'linking' words that brings it all together in your own unique way.

These include,

1. Point of View - whose head you are in when you read the story, 1st person, 3rd person or omnipotent (all seeing). Jumping from one to the other (head-hopping) in a scene tends to confuse the reader and is best left alone for a beginner like me... stay in one POV for a scene.
   
2. Dialogue - how your characters speak, can add color and dimension to a story
   
3. Show - as opposed to tell( a big NO NO I'm told) I'm telling here I guess. i.e. get your characters to live through their actions and dialogue to describe themselves, the theme, conflict through 'concise, specific description' (according to Sharon Sorenson). SHe's right, it moves the story along and keeps the reader engaged with that particular characters journey.
4. Imagination/literary devices - I've lumped these two together as I think they go hand in hand... this is using vivid language, imagery and things such as flash backs, symbolism and foreshadowing.
5. Be Consistent - especially with the mood and tone of the scene and the overall theme of the book
6. Word Count -Keep your framework to fit the desired number of words.... e.g.it is 100,000 plus words you are going to have to have a substantial plot and subplots, and the secondary characters will have a story woven through the main characters. If it is category romance then you leap right into the story as your word count will restrict development of other characters to any depth and your focus is on them with skilled use of all the above without excess words.
7. Significance - Make everything that happens, or is said, or done have significance to moving the story towards it goal and the overall resolution of conflict... if Mrs. Brown buys a bigger turkey than Mrs Green,... who cares - unless it is vital to the Christmas Turkey War between Mrs Green and Mrs. B and important to the story- you get the idea.
8. Know your market and Target Audience - it is vital to know where your book will fit on today's market, and the type of reader you wish to attract. Use the internet to study publishing house requirements, specific editor likes and dislikes, study what they are currrently publishing, read what is currently on the marketing the genre you wish to write. Unless you are lucky to be at the cutting edge of a new genre or wave of renewed reader interest in a specific genre - your story has to offer something that is unique to make the editor interested, but not turned off.
9. WRITE. WRITE. WRITE. - A novel in your head stays there...!

Cheers Robyn