How does one start writing a novel?

Remember, just because 'some' people don't use method a, q, or x, doesn't meant that YOU should or should not use that method.

Pick what works for you and that's ALLLLLL that matters. Some people outline, some just jump in. Some people even eat coconut. Find what works for YOU. That's the key to being a writer.

I ususally think of a situation (a what if), then think through some ideas for the end. Come up with a few characters, then muse over how to start the story with something that's going to grab the reader by the shirt collar and drag them in, slamming the door behind. Once I get that first line or scene, I push, poke, prode, and otherwise coerce the words from my fingers, one sentence at a time.

The . . .

caw

What Clair said.

Figure out what works for you. And do yourself a favor; don't jump on every "fad" idea or theory on how to write a book.

Read a lot. Then write a lot.

Repeat.



It's really the only way to find your path.

blacbird said:

The . . .

caw

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He ...

She ...

It ... was a dark and stormy night.

CheshireCat said:

He ...

She ...

It ... was a dark and stormy night.

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No. Not Option 3. Please.

caw

Yup, type the first word. Then the second. Then the third...


Seriously, there's no one method. Some people write by the seat of their pants. And some outline. Some use the Snowflake method; many don't. Some start with a bunch of characters and throw them into a situation. Some determine what the story is about and go from there. And plot out the whole thing first, and some just start with the inciting incident and go from there.

It's like asking: "How do I start painting a picture?"


Well, you paint the first stroke. Then you paint the second. Then the third....

maestrowork said:

It's like asking: "How do I start painting a picture?"

Well, you paint the first stroke. Then you paint the second. Then the third....

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Or baseball. First you swing and miss the first pitch. Then you swing and miss the second. Then you swing and miss the third. Then you go sit down.

caw

Or sex. Then again, maybe not.

I'm in the dark. What's the snowflake method?

I usually start with "What if?" and the do "What happens next?"

I find, not just with my fiction but also my non-fiction, that I start before what I want to say. Basically, I show the reader how things reached the point where the story begins.

This may or may not get edited out later, but it helps me ease into the beginning. It gives me a running start so I don't have to stress about what to say in the first line or paragraph. For example, on my thesis, I started with the idea that served as a catalyst for the actual thesis. I do the same thing with fiction, starting with what serves as a trigger for the true opening action.

As I said, it can be cut later, in edits.

Chapter 1

Do you have a character with a problem that won't be easily resolved? Is that problem different from all the problems you've seen in the novels you read? Have you chosen a setting that will be interesting in its own right? Is that main character an interesting and unusual person?

Put that character into that situation and make them work like hell to solve it. Keep this up for 60,000 (more or less) words. Then let the character see how to solve the problem and spend the last several thousand overcoming all the obstacles that stand in their way.

That's one way, at least. There are as many others as there are books. Be interesting.

Good luck.

maestrowork said:

http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php

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He needs to rethink that moustache.

But seriously, I guess I can't call myself an "advanced fiction writer" since that looks like the hugest headache I've ever seen. The diagram alone frightened me. And he recommends trying to sell the book before it's actually written, which is not the norm in fiction, for an unpublished author at least. I'm sure it works for him and others, but it wouldn't be my cuppa.

To answer the OP, I start with a premise, a "what if" question, and then figure out who my characters are and what they're going to do. Personally, I like a rough outline, though I recognize it will change drastically as the story progresses. But I suspect you'll get as many answers as there are writers. So my advice is to just sit down and write. You'll probably wind up with pages of crap - I do - but you might just find the glimmer of your story or your first sentence or your protagonist buried in there as well.

Good luck.

maestrowork said:

Or sex. Then again, maybe not.

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First you swing . . . no, let's not go there.

caw

I've used the snowflake method, I've used the 'it's just a phase' method, I've used the 'rough outline' method, I've used the 'idea percolating in head for several months' method - and although they all have different way of getting you there, they all achieve the same: They give you a clearer idea of what the book is supposed to be about and who's populating it. But that's also all they do. This is all just prep work for the real deal: putting words on paper.

Here's the thing: you don't need any methods. What you need, is a premise for a story, a conflict, and a fairly good idea of who your main character is (but you don't really need to do the character charts unless you like those kind of things - it's more important to understand the essence of your character than what her favourite childhood food was). And then you need to sit down and write.

And that's really all there is.

It's like asking how you ride a bike. Only with more words.

seun said:

It's like asking how you ride a bike. Only with more words.

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I've never written a novel on a bike. I suspect it may be dangerous...

flyingtart said:

I've never written a novel on a bike. I suspect it may be dangerous...

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Tape recorder.

My first novel - I just wrote and used the words that fell out of my head. This time I'm trying to be organised. Which has only resulted in reams of little notes all over my desk. As everyone else has said - find what works for you. And then just start banging those words out.

Jeanettex3 said:

Hi, im not sure where to post this.. hopefully this is in the right place. But my question is, can anyone give me some advice on how to start a novel/book? At first i was using the "snow flake method" but then i came across a thread on this site about how some didn't use it. So i was wondering what did any of you use to first start out writing? Any advice? Any help would be very aappreciated.

Jeanette.

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With conflict. And a great hook.

JJ

Just as an example, I will explain the process of how I came to this outline. I haven't started writing this one yet, it's still in the outline process.

Inspiration: A club day for my FIL's vintage speedcar association. They all got to get their toys out and drive them around a trotting track all afternoon. Driving home, it made me think about how popular speedway was, how cool it was back then, how it's kinda becoming cool again now.

I like to keep my settings local. That was easy - there was a speedway a few towns away that is now a housing development.

Speedway was very popular with young people in the 60's, making it a perfect subject for my genre, YA. But I still like to write for the present. How to do that?

I know, make it so that a girl in this day finds out she's pregnant. She goes to her grandmother's and, through circumstances I haven't quite nutted out yet, finds out that her grandmother went through the same thing when she was her age - grandmother falls for a speedway motorcycle rider, he gets her pregnant then goes and dies on the track before she can tell him.

Then I thought about how this could open all sorts of worms, in that the girl's mother doesn't know that the man gran married is not her biological father. How to do that? I thought maybe some genetic thing that the girl may need to watch out for. I'm still working on that.

So, the details are sketchy, but I have the basic bones of a story there. I've only just recently started writing chapter outlines, which seem to help me see if there's a story with substance.

I know some people swear by the snowflake method but frankly it looks very confusing, and too much work for me!

Start with an idea that interests you - something you need to say - be enthusiastic. You will know when it's right. That's my take, anyway.

15ish years ago I had a wet cold marvelous afternoon, despite a massive migraine, being a character in a live action role play. That choreographed plot led to me writing a story about it, then adding my friends characters, then switching to another online RP and making up more characters and having adventures beyond that.

I'm into the 4th book, editing the 1st and will do the same for 2 & 3 and have only my original characters and situations in the series.

It all started with 'what if there's this woman with scales on her left side' then there's how that happened, her family, her upbringing, her friends, her enemies, her loves and hates, what's happening in the larger world, what ties things together, and on and on.

Everyone has a past, a present and a future. No matter the genre here's always more to write about the person, the climate, culture, the civilization, the cuisine. Stories end at some point but the characters have children, friends, enemies, their actions set another plot going.

So you write, and rewrite, and carry a small notebook with you for ideas, and have one in the toilet, in the living room, by the bed, in the car, because ideas are and do come from everywhere.