HOW TO GET STARTED ON WRITING YOUR NOVEL
Have you always wanted to write? Have you a got a story inside you that is dying to get out? Are you asking yourself, why haven’t I started writing? or how do I even start?
You know writing is not that hard. You probably do it every day. Send a text, compose an email. Write a memo at work, a report, write a thank you/happy birthday card….writing is in your blood BUT writing a novel or short story….Ah, that’s a different kettle of fish, another can of worms, a horse of a different colour! (I’ve often wondered why those sayings always involved animals but have never found the answer).
Let’s take a step back and examine how some great authors came to start their writing careers.
Toni Morrison – a single mum with two kids joined a writer’s group and realised she would have to share some of her writing. She thought back to her childhood and remembered an incident and wrote about it – not just what happened but what it meant. She eventually turned it into her first book The Bluest Eye which she completed at age 40 while working and raising two children. How dedicated is that?
Hemingway didn’t start writing seriously until he was 27 and went on a road trip to Spain with some friends and viewed his first bullfight. The idea for The Sun Also Rises came to him and he started writing before he even returned home. Many of the characters in the novel were based on those friends. Hemingway said he wrote 2,000 words per day and finished the book in less than a year. How obsessive is that?
Nora Roberts, romance novelist, first started writing seriously when she was in “lockdown” at home with her two small boys during a 1979 blizzard. Roberts states that surrounded by snow, a dwindling supply of chocolate, and no morning kindergarten what else could she do? It was meant to be—now she writes a new romance novel every 45 days. How romantic is that?
Stephenie Meyer (Twilight series) says that she was first inspired by a dream she recalled when she woke up one morning. ‘I didn’t want to lose the dream, so I typed out as much as I could remember, calling the characters ‘he’ and ‘she.’ How spooky is that?
The Bronte sisters started seriously writing novels after a failed attempt at opening their own school. They wrote under male pseudonyms after the Poet Laureate Robert Southey advised them in December 1836 that “Literature cannot be the business of a woman’s life, and it ought not to be”. They did not take his advice! How fortuitous is that?
JK Rowling’s story is well known but worth repeating. The idea for Harry Potter came to her while waiting for a delayed train in 1990. Over the next five years, she began to plan out the seven books of the series. She wrote mostly in longhand and made mountains of notes. Harry Potter was finally published in 1997 when she had a young daughter and had just finished her teaching degree. How magical is that?
So how about you? How are you going to get started? Nora Roberts says you really only need three things; The Three Ds : Discipline, Drive and Desire
YOU MUST HAVE
- A passionate idea of what you want to write about (Desire)
- A goal of writing a set amount per day (Drive)
- A focussed approach -do not be distracted or procrastinate (Discipline)
Get into the habit of a daily word count – here are some author examples to inspire you:
500 words – Hemmingway, Graham Green, Ian McEwan, Carol Shields
1000 words – Sarah Waters, Holly Black, Peter James,
2000 words – Stephen King, Charles Dickens, Nora Roberts
5000+ words – Jon Creasey, Michael Crichton, RF Delderfield,
This is sound advice – write every day in a regular place, at a regular time and with a regular word count. BUT what happens if you don’t, if you can’t or if that doesn’t work for you? Will the God of Writing strike you dead on the spot? Will your mind become diseased and wither away? Will your writing friends abandon you and call you a loser? Of course not (although I don’t know about your writing buddies, they often believe in tough love!). Just as every track is not the right way for every hiker, writing methods are different for each writer. Your writing style needs to be the right one for you. Find your most comfortable style and stick to it. Whatever works….just write….
Here is a list of ideas to get you into a routine of writing every day.
- Write a dream diary
- Write a blog
- Write interesting newspaper articles as a fiction story
- Write a journal
- Write a poem
- Write a short story
- Write your novel
Identify your passion
My passion for writing started with two blogs and these have helped me get back into regular writing. Just the act of blogging every day helps keep the creating juices flowing. Your passion might be singing, drawing, reading, dancing, history, or something as eccentric as snakeskin collecting (whatever that is!). It’s a matter of identifying what you love most in the world. Once you have a topic you are passionate about, create a blog, and then post articles as regularly as you can. Whatever it turns out to be, keep at it, don’t let work, chores, family, or social events interfere. It’s about the freedom to be yourself and nurture your talents and creativity. The momentum will carry you along. What are you waiting for? Share your story!
I found once I started writing regularly, ideas came to me and I found my calling. I joined a writing group and that has been my main support. We only meet monthly but in between, I’ll look for interesting articles, podcasts, competitions and interviews about writing to share. While I am doing this ‘research’ I come across ideas and posts which have helped to inform my own creative works and keep me motivated.
Your Writing Nook
One other thing I wanted to share is that just like a Guinea pig, who feels safer in its own special corner, we writers also need a special place to write our novels. Somewhere quiet, or cosy, comfortable and familiar—where we can write without distractions. Find a nice spot in your house with a comfortable chair and writing implements. If its impossible to find the right spot in your house, try the local library or café. Plenty of cafes don’t mind if you only buy one coffee and then sit and write for hours, (if they are not busy). Choose a quiet time and a comfy spot.
Above all just pick up the pen (or the mouse) and start writing!