Starting Your Novel

[imagoodgurl4]

Okay, so, I've got a couple of novel projects I'm working on. I've had ideas floating through my head for awhile and I recently finished college (as in, done forever...graduating in a week, yay!) so I've got about a month before I start my new job and I want to get some serious writing done.

I've written down my ideas, gotten a concrete idea where I want the story to go, but I'm having trouble starting the story. Not just like a chapter, but the whole thing. So, my question I suppose, is how do you guys get start the story? What gets your creative juices flowing? Usually I sit at my desk and I have to have music, as I cannot work in complete silence, and I usually end up staring at my screen for awhile and everything else starts to look far more appealing. And then I end up on here for a few hours (not a bad thing, but I need to write, hehe).

[TheIT]

Give yourself a time limit or a word count goal for each session, and just start writing. It doesn't matter if the words are good, it doesn't matter if they're bad, what matters is that you're putting words on the page. Expect false starts. Expect to run into walls. Expect you'll have days where words flow like honey and others where it feels like you're pulling out your own teeth. Just keep writing.

I suggest you look at the first posts in the Learn Writing with Uncle Jim thread in the Writing Novels forum where he describes BIC (Butt In Chair).

Good luck, and welcome to the roller coaster! :Sun:

[HourglassMemory]

I dont' know what music you listen to but if you'r elistneing to songs...or music with people talking or singing, it might distract you.

Try to get, if you can, either classical music or movie soundtracks.
search for music froma film you think has teh same feeling your stories will have in the end and listen to it.

Let the music guide you.
If oyu think you already have a scene...put different musics in the backround. Teh mood will change and different things can happen.

Music does help my creativity when I'm stuck. reading also motivates me to write. Whatching movies also does that to me.

[reenkam]

If you know what character you want o start with, throw them into some mundane situation that has nothing to do with your story.

Like, let's say you have a character named Pete. Well, Pete's gonna make some grilled cheese. So start with: Pete stared at the loaf of bread, wondering how long it took for mold to accumulate. He shrugged, deciding that the frying would kill any bacteria, anyway.

It's got nothing to do with the story, probably, but it helps to get the juices flowing, so to speak. Then you'll start writing the actually story and you can just go back and delete the nonsense stuff.

[Stew21]

YOu aren't going to get anywhere if you don't put words on the page. It doesn't matter what they are. You dont' even need to know where it's going. NO pressure, just words. write them. after an hour or two look at what you have: is it notes on what the story will be? an rough synopsis? a character sketch or two? a history/backstory of a place or time? Is it a description of the way the light plays off the pond at 5 PM, the flashing 12:00 on the VCR clock your character never learned how to set?
You get the idea. It'll all take you somewhere. And the words on the page is closer to that end than no words at all.
Write!
:)

[HopelessDreamer]

I agree with what everyone else has said: just start writing. You'll know if it's a good beginning once you get into the meat of the project. What started out as my first chapter in my original draft is now my third chapter, go figure...

[imagoodgurl4]

All awesome ideas, thank you, guys.

HourglassMemory, I do listen to music with words, but I don't find that it distracts me, it actually gives me ideas very often. I've tried the classical music route, but I can't stand it. I'll try the movie soundtrack stuff though, I do like the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack, lol.

I will do the BIC thing...I'll sit here tonight and just go...I'm just very tired of the false start thing. It's driving me nuts, because the idea is exciting to me.

Reenkam, that grilled cheese thing cracked me up. Literally...I had water come out my nose, just because I wasn't expecting it to be that mundane, lol. :)

Thanks guys, you're all helpful, as usual.

[JoNightshade]

Just start. And whatever you write, don't delete it. You're going to suck at first, but you have to keep writing if you ever want to get to being any good. :)

[Jamesaritchie]

I start by putting what I hope is an interesting character in what I hope is an interesting situation. Uh, not a mundane one, I hope, but a situation that will take the entire novel to get out of.

Honestly, this is the hard part for me. If I can get the interesting character into the right situation, the rest of the novel is easy by comparison.

[citizen_erased]

I did my first chapter about a year and a half ago and didn't do the second chapter until about a year ago. I've had so many pauses where i've just forgotten to do anything. This past 4 weeks i've written about 50k and for a year and 5 months before that i'd written about 5k...Anyways my point is... give yourself a daily target that you feel you can reach. Even if you don't reach it, as long as you write something then it's progress.

[blacbird]

You don't have to write the beginning first. In fact many writers don't do that. If you have characters, some idea of their relationship and conflicts, and a setting, write a scene involving all those things. Something that needs to happen within the novel, regardless of where it will wind up happening (you might not know that right away). But the major point is, Words Written. Not notes, or bullet-outlines, actual narrative words.

caw

[Wolvel]

Like everyone else has said write, if you never start you never will.

If your not sure how or where to start, just write down any scene in your head, even if it's the end of the story it should help you get the juices flowing.

[ZannaPerry]

Sometimes if nothing comes to me and I really want to write, I take a couple of breaths, leave my computer, and put my mind on something else and then come back and start writing again. I always read that if you occupy your mind with another activity it opens up your imagination.

As I've been told over and over on here, just write the story even if it's not coming out perfect on screen. After all, the first draft is only the skeleton of a great masterpiece. :)

But seriously, take some deep breaths and then start writing. You never know what will happen.

[ZannaPerry]

If your not sure how or where to start, just write down any scene in your head, even if it's the end of the story it should help you get the juices flowing.

This is what I have been doing. I write the same scene over and over to get it right. Sometimes I never get it right, but I keep practicing the dialogue, the setting, etc....

[aadams73]

Pick the point where everything changes for your character and they can't go back. Write from there.

Good luck!

[Wolvel]

This is what I have been doing. I write the same scene over and over to get it right. Sometimes I never get it right, but I keep practicing the dialogue, the setting, etc....


I have been there. Heck during one of my first edits of my finished book I found a whole page that was out of place. I wrote the scene and meant to move it when I put on my PC(I write my first draft out in full in a notebook with a ink pen). I forgot but found it later.

[Oberon]

I've never tried this, but it might work: Write a letter to a relative, a friend, anybody, and tell them about this great idea you have for a novel, outline the plot ("It's about this girl, who . . . ") describe your main character, or a minor character, give them an example of a scene that reveals something about the characters. Somewhere in there I bet there will come a point when you want to expand on something that excites you about the novel ("The volcano explodes, and spews ash that blots out the sky, and they have to run to escape the steaming lava. They run and run and run ..." And you're off. If it fits anywhere, put it in it's place and carry on, forward or backward, you have the first brick in the wall. Apologies to Pink Floyd.

It doesn't matter what you write. Describe the bread on your shopping list, it will carry you off. Let it. You're plunging into a wonderland of scenes and people and ideas. They will introduce themselves to you if you let them. The mechanics, the schedules, the music won't matter, you're scuba diving through the coral reef of your devising. Tell us about it.

Sorry, I got happy fingers. Stop it!

[Shady Lane]

I have to pretend I'm not really starting. I say, "This isn't the beginning. I'm just taking notes. I'm just getting a feel for the characters. I'm just screwing around. This doesn't count. I can erase this all."

Puh. Okay.

[Just Me 2021]

I write detailed character sketches and a rough outline, then just sit down and start pounding it out. The outline is bound to change as I write, but at least I have an idea where I'm going. And I'm with Jamesaritchie - make sure you've put your main character/s in a challenging enough position that it will take a whole book to resolve the problem.

[The Scip]

I think somone might have already said this above, so i'll just reiterate. Start it, and then when you get something down, don't delete it. I had the hardest time with this for a long time. Then i just said 'f' it and i kept writing. It's probably going to look bad, so don't go back and read through it unless you absolutely have to. Write it and just keep going. When you're done witht he whole novel and have 90,000 words, you're not going to want to delete it, just make it better, it's easy to deleted 1,000 words that took 45 minutes to write.

I hope that makes sense, but it might just be rambling. I haven't had my coffee yet.

Good luck!

[imagoodgurl4]

Wow, all really great ideas. After my morning coffee today I will be sitting down and trying to just write, write, write. (Gotta have the coffee first though, lol). I like the suggestion that said to have a dail word goal...I think I'm going to try that one first. I'll let you all know how it goes. Thanks for the ideas!

[Joe Moore]

So, my question I suppose, is how do you guys get start the story?Start your story at the moment that something disrupts your protagonist's universe and sets him/her on a quest. Good luck.

[davids]

Place fingys on key board-press some damned keys-flow baby and Scotch-fine Scotch and adjunct to best selling writers block which does not exist-once again-place fingys on key board-typewriter-or grip pen tightly-start!

[Esopha]

Try starting with this line:

"S/he looked up."

What did s/he see? Do? Feel?

[Danger Jane]

I just do some research and start. Keep researching and making notes as I write. The main thing is starting.

[citizen_erased]

Wow, all really great ideas. After my morning coffee today I will be sitting down and trying to just write, write, write. (Gotta have the coffee first though, lol). I like the suggestion that said to have a dail word goal...I think I'm going to try that one first. I'll let you all know how it goes. Thanks for the ideas!

Hope it goes well

[Doogs]

I usually end up staring at my screen for awhile and everything else starts to look far more appealing. And then I end up on here for a few hours (not a bad thing, but I need to write, hehe).

As useful a tool as it is, the computer can be terribly distracting.

I don't know if it is your style or not, but have you tried shutting yourself away with a pen and notebook? Does a great job of cutting out the distractions and helping you focus on your writing.

[imagoodgurl4]

Doogs, I have done the paper/pencil thing and it does work great for writing ideas and sometimes starting. I did try that the other night though to start my story and filled up three pages with false starts so it wasn't so much as that, though I agree the computer can be distracting, I'm just having difficulty finding the words to start. :)

[amber_grosjean]

The first piece I ever finished started out as a short story. After getting the rejection from a magazine, I was looking at it and the character yelled out, "This is only the beginning, Amber. I want to do more, write it down!" Of course, I listened to her. The story ended up being the introduction to the book, basically chapter one lol. It grew into a series that I've been trying to get published for the past ten years. Of course, it lost it during that time and have rewritten it from memory and really trying to get it published now.

There is a publisher looking at it right now who I actually found through a forum like this one, she requested three chapters and said she liked it so far and had some questions for me. I'm just waiting on those questions now, we'll see. But normally, when I write, I do just that, I sit down and write. Its the editing that makes the book take shape and the rewriting that makes it complete.

Amber

[imagoodgurl4]

Amber, good luck with those questions. Hope you get representation. :)

I totally agree with you that I need to sit down and write....been trying to, but I keep getting sidetracked, lol. Went out with some friends tonight to celebrate my best friend's birthday....saw a show involving some very very buff men and there was booze involved....and the booze and very very buff men were much more interesting than writing, lol. I swear, though, tomorrow...I'm actually going to get up early so that I can try and catch up on my missed writing. I will let you all know how it goes. Thanks for all the suggestions....I appreciate it. :)

[amber_grosjean]

I've read this over and over again, and this is something that is very true. As the writer, we have to find time to write. When everyone else is out swimming on a really hot day, we have to sit by and write. When we are sick, we have to write. When others are out partying, we must stick to our schedules and write. No one else can tell us when the right time to write is.

I have this problem too. Life gets in the way too often. Now I'm published and my methods really have to change. This is no longer that hobby everyone said wouldn't last, this is now a job in which I am being paid for. I own a company now. I must take responsibility and work or nothing will ever get done. lol

Now I get it. We can't force ourselves to come up with something great but we can train ourselves to become open to it. Go to your desk or where ever you write and just sit there looking at the blank screen or blank page. Do this every day at the same time for the same amount of time until something comes to you. It could be one sentence, a paragraph, or it could be something that takes you over your slotted time. Reprogram yourself to do what your heart desires to do, write.

I can't tell you how many times I've read similar things like that over the years and it just now has really began to mean something to me. I write about 2 hours a day (at night really). Sometimes, I can get my goal of 5 pages written, sometimes more and sometimes less but I am writing. If nothing comes to me, I will sit there and stare at the wall until it does. If my time is up before that happens, I go to bed. If not, I begin writing again.

We shouldn't give up everything. It was cool you went out with friends and celebrated a birthday. Please, don't think I am trying to tell you what to do or anything. Every writer works in his/her own way. An idea will come to you but you have to be open to it. You must decide if you want to keep pushing writing aside or you want to write. I've decided on writing because its my life, no more pushing it way like I had been when I was younger. That is why it took so long to find a publisher for me, I kept putting the love of my life on the back burner. Now it comes first lol. I'm happier for it lol.

I really hope this helps. If not, there are a lot of books out there on the subject of idea starters. I used one for Stolen Identity. Once the idea is there, your writing will begin on its own if you're open to it.

Amber