The Four Steps of Writing
Before You Begin
Before you even begin writing, you should read books.
Reading books not only gives you inspiration, but you can also learn a lot about word usage, shock values, new words, writing styles and so on just by reading another author's work. Most of the time you don't even realise that you're learning while reading.
The fact is that every single one of the world's most famous authors are also the world's most famous readers. They are brilliant at what they write, because they read books and show respect to other authors.
Reading books not only gives you inspiration, but you can also learn a lot about word usage, shock values, new words, writing styles and so on just by reading another author's work. Most of the time you don't even realise that you're learning while reading.
The fact is that every single one of the world's most famous authors are also the world's most famous readers. They are brilliant at what they write, because they read books and show respect to other authors.
Step One - Lighting Your Imagination
All stories start in the same place. Your imagination.For centuries stories have been passed through generations, tribes and civilisations using nothing more than the power of language and imagination. All it takes to write a good story is you.
For most people, this is the easiest part.
Planning is essential for a good story to emerge. You should keep notes about all of your ideas, no matter how small or ridiculous they are. If you think of a plot, character or location name, theme, a quote, or anything at all that can contribute to your story, write it down.
You should always write your ideas down. Always. Even if you tell yourself "nah, I'll remember that again later" - trust me, you won't. Once you've forgotten an idea, it has gone forever. You have probably just missed your chance of being a millionaire author and one day you'll be reading another millionaire author's book and you'll think "hey! So that's what the idea I had two years ago was ... too late now".
I'll say that again, because this is important.
Have an idea? A random thought? Big or small, funny or sad, amazing or ridiculous? Write. It. Down.
Carry a notepad with you. A diary. Decorate your house with post-its. Write on a napkin. Whatever you can.
In fact, in today's world, there is no excuse for not being able to write things down because most of us own mobile phones. You have your own electronic notepad right there in your pocket. Use it. If you saw something that gave you the idea, write the idea down on your phone and then photograph that object on your phone.
Remember the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words? Well, that's wrong.
A picture is actually worth a million words.
For most people, this is the easiest part.
Planning is essential for a good story to emerge. You should keep notes about all of your ideas, no matter how small or ridiculous they are. If you think of a plot, character or location name, theme, a quote, or anything at all that can contribute to your story, write it down.
You should always write your ideas down. Always. Even if you tell yourself "nah, I'll remember that again later" - trust me, you won't. Once you've forgotten an idea, it has gone forever. You have probably just missed your chance of being a millionaire author and one day you'll be reading another millionaire author's book and you'll think "hey! So that's what the idea I had two years ago was ... too late now".
I'll say that again, because this is important.
Have an idea? A random thought? Big or small, funny or sad, amazing or ridiculous? Write. It. Down.
Carry a notepad with you. A diary. Decorate your house with post-its. Write on a napkin. Whatever you can.
In fact, in today's world, there is no excuse for not being able to write things down because most of us own mobile phones. You have your own electronic notepad right there in your pocket. Use it. If you saw something that gave you the idea, write the idea down on your phone and then photograph that object on your phone.
Remember the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words? Well, that's wrong.
A picture is actually worth a million words.
Step Two - Planning And Brainstorming
Spend at least a day brainstorming and writing ideas before you begin your story. Use all of the notes that you have taken and try to piece them together to see if something can be made from them. Put aside the ideas you don't use, they can come in handy for the next project.
You need to decide the genre, what the story is about, what the plot is, where the main setting is, what year/century it is and so on. You should also use this opportunity to think about potential characters - what do they look like, where are they from, what is their purpose in the story, what are their names?
If your book is based on or around a historical event or a real place, you need to research that event or place. People will be annoyed with you if you claim the Battle of Hastings was fought in Paris.
if it is a fictional place, still, you need to research. Again, people will be annoyed with you if your story is set on a planet in impossible circumstances (eg - "Markus examined the bright pink trees dotted on the surface of Falmaria, the stunning blue gas giant" - stop right there. Gas giants don't have surfaces. And it is impossible for anything to grow on a gas giant. Do your research!).
When choosing names, make sure they fit the genre, location and time the story is set in. If your story is set in prehistoric Russia, you're not going to get very far if you call your main character "John Smith". And try not to steal characters from other books, for example, don't use the name "Catniss Evenbeen" from Tanem because it sounds too similar to Katniss Everdeen from Panem in Hunger Games. Authors, particularly rich ones, tend to enjoy suing people for stealing their ideas.
Scott says: "Be creative. Be original. Don't be a dick."
See my blog post here for tips on brainstorming methods - Jolly School of Wordsmithery: Methods of Brainstorming.
See the "Writing Perspectives Guide" and "Elements Of A Novel" pages on this website for more information and guidance.
You need to decide the genre, what the story is about, what the plot is, where the main setting is, what year/century it is and so on. You should also use this opportunity to think about potential characters - what do they look like, where are they from, what is their purpose in the story, what are their names?
If your book is based on or around a historical event or a real place, you need to research that event or place. People will be annoyed with you if you claim the Battle of Hastings was fought in Paris.
if it is a fictional place, still, you need to research. Again, people will be annoyed with you if your story is set on a planet in impossible circumstances (eg - "Markus examined the bright pink trees dotted on the surface of Falmaria, the stunning blue gas giant" - stop right there. Gas giants don't have surfaces. And it is impossible for anything to grow on a gas giant. Do your research!).
When choosing names, make sure they fit the genre, location and time the story is set in. If your story is set in prehistoric Russia, you're not going to get very far if you call your main character "John Smith". And try not to steal characters from other books, for example, don't use the name "Catniss Evenbeen" from Tanem because it sounds too similar to Katniss Everdeen from Panem in Hunger Games. Authors, particularly rich ones, tend to enjoy suing people for stealing their ideas.
Scott says: "Be creative. Be original. Don't be a dick."
See my blog post here for tips on brainstorming methods - Jolly School of Wordsmithery: Methods of Brainstorming.
See the "Writing Perspectives Guide" and "Elements Of A Novel" pages on this website for more information and guidance.
Step Three - Draft
The next step is to write up a draft of your story. Don't worry too much about it making sense, as long as you can follow it. Just get all the details you planned and brainstormed onto the paper.
The draft is like a jigsaw. You are piecing the story together bit by bit. And, admittedly, slowly. You need to fit in all that you have brainstormed. This is also an opportunity to add in more ideas that you didn't think of in the brainstorming session or remove ideas which don't seem to work well in practice.
The draft is like a jigsaw. You are piecing the story together bit by bit. And, admittedly, slowly. You need to fit in all that you have brainstormed. This is also an opportunity to add in more ideas that you didn't think of in the brainstorming session or remove ideas which don't seem to work well in practice.
Step Four - Rewrite And Edit
After the draft is done, start again.
Yes, that's right. All over again.
You have put your story jigsaw together, gotten your events in order and such. Now it is time to edit everything and turn it into a brilliant story. You need to add details to make the book visually stunning (see Elements Of A Novel). Make sure the grammar is perfect, make sure it is styled wonderfully and triple check five times that everything fits/works in place
Yes, that's right. All over again.
You have put your story jigsaw together, gotten your events in order and such. Now it is time to edit everything and turn it into a brilliant story. You need to add details to make the book visually stunning (see Elements Of A Novel). Make sure the grammar is perfect, make sure it is styled wonderfully and triple check five times that everything fits/works in place
Writing a novel is very quick, easy, painless and work-free.
That's a lie.
Writing a novel is just as exhausting as a full day working in an office. Being an author is a full time job, which is why most authors work from home a lot of the time. It is exhausting because you are using your creative juices, which tires you. In fact, a lot of famous authors of the past have openly admitted to being regular nappers. Naps give the brain a break from the exhaustion. Just stopping your writing and then doing something else like watching TV won't give your brain a rest, because it is still being used to watch the TV.
Writing a novel is slow, difficult, draining and is a full-time job.
But, those who stick with it will be rewarded greatly. Who knows, maybe you're the next Stephen King, Agatha Christie, Charles Dickens, Roald Dahl, J.K Rowling or Suzanne Collins. The only way you'll ever find out is by sticking to it.
That's a lie.
Writing a novel is just as exhausting as a full day working in an office. Being an author is a full time job, which is why most authors work from home a lot of the time. It is exhausting because you are using your creative juices, which tires you. In fact, a lot of famous authors of the past have openly admitted to being regular nappers. Naps give the brain a break from the exhaustion. Just stopping your writing and then doing something else like watching TV won't give your brain a rest, because it is still being used to watch the TV.
Writing a novel is slow, difficult, draining and is a full-time job.
But, those who stick with it will be rewarded greatly. Who knows, maybe you're the next Stephen King, Agatha Christie, Charles Dickens, Roald Dahl, J.K Rowling or Suzanne Collins. The only way you'll ever find out is by sticking to it.