These are my tips based on the way that I do it. I am a published author, however that does not make me an expert in the slightest. I learn new things all the time. Every person is different, meaning their methods will also be different. What may work for one person, potentially may not work for another. The most important thing about writing is finding a way that you are comfortable with and will enjoy. what is the point of doing something if you don’t enjoy it?

You want to write a book? That’s great! Whether it is just for yourself, or if you’re aiming for it be published, or just posting it online, you want to be happy with it.

The first thing everyone has to do is choose the subject they want to write about. It can be anything from the norm (high school romance) to the extreme (aliens battling vampires kind of thing). If you know, then you are already part of the way there to creating a novel. If you don’t, don’t worry! You’ll get there.

One of the main things that I follow, as I believe in it deeply, is a quote by Toni Morrison which says:

“If there is a book that you really want to read,
but it has not been written yet, then you must write it!”

Are you are dying to read about vampires fighting aliens (going back to my earlier example), and you have an idea of what you want to happen? Keep reading books about one subject, and are wondering why there isn’t a book out there about it in another way (the idea for my book that is published was as a result of this)? Go! Don’t let me keep you – write it!

After you have found the genre and subject that you want to write about, the next thing to do is start planning (or alternatively, if you are a “going with the wind” kind of person throw all those papers that you were going to plan on out of the window, and start to write. You may want to learn about the world you’re writing about as you go, and that is totally fine!). The way you plan and how much you do is mostly all down to you, and how you feel it will help you best. The main things that you should plan (if you’re going to) before you put fingers to keyboard or pen to paper are (again these are my thoughts. You don’t have to do all, or even any of them):

• Your main character. You may find it helpful to do a profile of sorts on your character, determining all of their physical and personality traits. You may even want to go a bit into their background, finding out what made them like they are, and what their weaknesses/strengths are (no-one is perfect, so don’t make your character that way. It doesn’t make them seem real) however this could be done at any time after you feel like you have got to know the character better. The picture below is a profile on my MC. It was done after I finished my book, for my publisher’s sake (although I had something much more detailed while I was writing it), but it gives you an idea of what I mean.

• At least the main plot arc, and some plot points to guide you. What do you want to happen overall in the story? Where do you want it to end up? It may also be good, but not essential, to start thinking about your subplots at this point. It doesn’t have to be as detailed as planning the individual chapters, but if you think it would be helpful to you to have a plan that in-depth, so you stay on track, you can do so.
• Your antagonist. Similarly to your main character, you may find it helpful to have a profile on them.
• Your love interest (if you have one). Again a profile may be helpful (you get the idea…)
• If you are writing about a specialised topic/subject, let’s say for example it’s set in the 1940s, then make sure you have done as much research as you can about that time. You don’t want your main character making a call from a cell phone, when they weren’t invented until 1973, or using slang that wasn’t known at the time, or dressing in clothes that are not of the time. Making notes is always a good idea, so you can just look at them while you go along, instead of searching for it all again.

OR

Forget everything that I just said, and learn about the details of your world and characters as you write.

If after all of that, you are not daunted and haven’t run off screaming at all the work it takes before you have even started, then it is time to write your first chapter.

I always start with the very first chapter of the book, but you will find that some writers move around the book, and don’t write in chronological order. I usually write it the way that you read it, however every so often, if I have a flash of inspiration of what I want to happen later in the book, I will write the scene out and work up to there.

When you start writing you need to keep in mind that the first chapter needs to hook the reader in, and intrigue them so that they want to continue. It’s not going to be a quick and easy thing to do, it’s going to take work. The first chapter, and line, is usually the hardest, but don’t give up. Look at how other writers did it – what books hooked you in? How did they start it? What was the first line? Take what you learnt, but be original – do it your way.

I looked around on the internet, to see what other people said on the matter, and found some of these points about what NOT to do (I’m paraphrasing):
– Don’t start with something that is not real (imagined, dreamed), this could annoy people.
– Don’t start with the character waking up (which I am guilty of with one of my books).
– Don’t start with the middle of dialogue. You would only have to explain it, and it could be confusing.
– Don’t have too little dialogue. You don’t want to bombard the reader with description. It could get tedious (I may be guilty of this too in one of my others… oops).

The only reason I did not include my own don’ts are because I feel like there is no correct way to write a story. There are things that could potentially put off perspective readers, and publishers, however the points stated above can be acceptable in some circumstances. It may be needed in the story that you are writing. Why put restrictions on creativity? Isn’t the whole point of creativity about using our imagination, and doing something original? I’m not saying that the points are wrong, but at the end of the day it’s how you want to do it. If you want your character dreaming that someone is talking, and then woken up by an alarm, why can’t you? Let your imagination take you where it wants, and don’t feel like you have to follow rules.

It may take a couple of attempts to get into the story but, eventually, you will find your flow.

This leads me perfectly onto the next topic: First drafts.

Your first draft is not going to be your best (no matter how good of a writer you are)! The first drafts aren’t the ones that are published, even with the best of writers. You’re going to find mistakes. Mistakes happen, and they can be rectified when you go over it all again. I find mistakes all the time in my writing, heck there may even be mistakes in this blog, it makes you human. No-one is perfect.

The most important tip I have about starting a book is: enjoy it. Whoever reads it will be able to tell whether you as a writer enjoyed writing it – your passion will come across in your work. If you don’t, it may come out sounding forced, and you don’t want to look back at it and not feel entirely happy with it.

I hope that this wasn’t too confusing or a lot of different points for each tip, but writing a book is all about how you feel most comfortable, and is different for everyone. I will go on to explain some of these points further in future posts. So, please let me know in the comments how you found this post, if it helped you, if there are any points that you are unsure of (or want expanding on), and if you have any tips of your own! Let’s help each other!