Ready? Set? How to Start a Book! by Vanessa C. Hawkins

 

 Vanessa Hawkins Author Page

I have so much going on this month I think my brain is going to spontaneously combust! Which, now that I think about it, may be for the better because it's been so cold here that a little inner fire may finally warm me up. Has anyone else been enduring the chill winter frost to the point that're holding out on the chance that they may randomly explode in a fiery inferno? Just me? Darn these Canadian winters!

But back to the point, which is that this month has been a flurry of things whirling about my head demanding my attention and seldomly seeing any of it. Why? Well, because I got a new gaming system from my husband and I've been furiously hacking and slashing at baddies all month, but also because I have been trying to get a submission done for a writing contest. 

Now usually, I don't put a lot of effort into writing competitively, but I really just got the gumption to try it out this year. I am pretty cynical about my chances of winning, mostly because I am submitting an erotica and I think the judges may be too stiff to consider it thoughtfully. 

HUR HUR... stiff...

But during my foray into competitive writing, I was asked by a lovely individual-- who reached out to me curious about starting her first book--how to begin writing a story! 

Well... as you can imagine, at first I was flattered. I mean, someone was asking ME how to write a book, which would infer that SOMEONE also THOUGHT I knew how to write one! A human being, who IS real, I'll have you know! Was asking me how to start writing a book because she believed I was learned enough to give advice!

I'm so touched...

But then I wondered... well... how DO you start writing a book, Vanessa? And I had to pause, because honestly I just flew from the seat of my pants when it came to writing. I had an idea--thought up in the shower, or while pretending to poop while my husband looked after our toddler--and then I sat down and let my fingers dredge it up from the pit of my stomach onto some word document that I'd either trash later or let simmer until it condensed into something tangible. 

But... that wasn't very good advice! Oh no, I thought. I'm a fraud! A con! I don't deserve this nice woman's faith! I can't possibly tell her to go have a poop and see what pops in her head... what do I do? 

What Would Picard Do?

So I asked her first what she was writing. It helps to know what genre you're getting yourself into. Conjuring up stories on the John is all well and good, but if you're writing historical non-fiction, you may have to go number two at the library. Regardless, the best thing to do is to have some kind of outline at some point. I've talked about pantsers before, and how some people just write by the seat of their pants--

Ahem... Me.

--but it IS good practice to at least write something down in terms of getting all your ducks in a row. I mean, compiling notes and character profiles and plot points is good, when you want to make sure everything is cohesive in the end. If Scarlet Fortune, the hard-boiled detective, is off to fight crime at the beginning of the book, it may be best to ensure she's not running off in Wonderland to find the white rabbit at the end. 

Does that make sense? ...No? 

Well your story should. So having a basic outline is usually good at some point. Like I said, I tend to start off spontaneously, wait till the plot begins to form into something I can work with, then go back and scribble an outline to build upon. I mean, there are always outliers to this method. Virgina Woolf's stream of consciousness as displayed in her lighthouse book doesn't seem to follow this rule, but I personally hated that novel and wouldn't recommend it to anybody. 

But at least 'Gina finished her book, right George?

I will spontaneous combust before I ever get to read 
Winds of Winter...

 So I suppose the best advice I can give about how to start a novel is to just start it. Write some stuff down, see how you feel about it. Write some more. Erase. Plan some--or not, if that's how you roll. Write more. Succub to your own self-doubt. Cry. Write a lot more. Be proud of what you've accomplished. Finish. Then gulp down a glass a wine of four to celebrate! 

Because ultimately the easiest part of writing a book is writing it. So, sorry if this is bad news bears... but when it comes to editing, publishing, MARKETING--which is the devil, by the way--that's where things get pretty messy, and complicated. 

But writing is art! And art is nebulous. Some people like to draw things and their drawings look like the things they look like, and other people throw up on a canvass and sell that to the highest bidder. 

Shhh... I'm making art...

 So my advice is to just write. Whether you plot it first, have to do eons of research or compile photographs, the most important part of starting a book is making sure all 26 letters of the alphabet are levelled out on the page in some kind of pattern that is at least pleasing to you, the author. Worry about all the other stuff later. 

Because you can do it. 

You can do the thing!  

 

LET YOUR CHARACTERS LIVE THROUGH YOU BY RITA KARNOPP

To create exciting strong scenes – make sure they vary from quiet to loud.  Lackluster to exciting.  Emotional to in-control.  Highs to lows.  Happy to sad.  Yet, they all must fit together like pieces of a puzzle.  Everything should snap into place and fit – nothing should stick out at odd angles.  Every part of the story should contribute and move the story forward, making it complete.

I don’t know about you, but I like to put myself in my character’s body, living the scene with his/her baggage, experience, flaws, and attributes.  Do the situations or challenges feel ‘real’?  What doesn’t feel believable?  You will know what needs changing by running your scenes through your mind like a movie – you are the character – living, breathing, and experiencing each scene you’ve created. 

You’ll find yourself rewriting - adding spontaneity from the character you’ve become.  You’ll make changes that transition the story better.  Step-by-step, you’ll feel, hear, touch, taste, and see yourself in the scenes of your character.  Do you believe them?  Did you miss any of the senses?  Add them in and you’ll be surprised how this will improve your story. 

If a scene feels confusing or uncomfortable – fix them.  Never leave them in hopes the reader won’t notice – believe me, they will.  Add deep internal emotion and allow your characters to have flaws that hinder their goals . . . making them realize they must change to have what they need or want by the end of the book.

You should laugh, cry, and get angry if that’s what the character experiences.  If the words don’t evoke this . . . rewrite . . . rewrite . . . and rewrite until you find yourself crying . . . laughing . . . and ticked with the world if need be.  If you don’t feel it when you write it – the reader won’t feel it when they read it.  It’s as simple as that.

Grab your reader right from the beginning . . . and don’t let go until you type ‘the end.’