I’ve had a few friends actually ask me (a silly unpublished writer) how I managed to finish a novel through to completion, let alone start a second one immediately thereafter. If some of you have been following this blog, you probably have read bits and pieces of how these two came to be. If not, then maybe this will help you in your own writing endeavours!

I recommend something like NaNoWriMo first and foremost. The goal is to write fifty thousand words in one month (November). You will most likely fail your first time, and maybe even your second, the point of this month is to just write. Not only that but virtually every other wannabe author is out there writing too, so you can all band together and support one another onward to glory! In fact, many of the people who follow my blog (and I subsequently follow) were from the past few NaNoWriMos. Don’t worry about planning. Just get something down.

For me finishing it was actually quite the challenge. Not because I didn’t want to write it any more, but because there is always a newer flashier idea that comes along. The way to over come this is to write that small snippet down (I use the stickies program on my MacBook) or convert it into the story you’re writing. For example you have an incredible idea about robots set in a steampunk world… well why not convert those ideas into your fantasy realm and instead of robots use some sort of magical army or undead? As these ideas either conform to your story or get out in one form or another, the story will push along. Setting a regular time to write is especially important. For NaNoWriMo I did it early in the morning (because who the hell wants to hang out at five AM?) and despite my lack of caffeine consumption it at least started the day off with a purpose. It was hard, but it also helped having something to look forward to when you wake up, aside from more sleep!

Also, to help my creativity along I set a target of one hundred thousand words for my novel and plotted out where I wanted to be every twenty thousand words or so. This didn’t hinder the writing as it gave the characters more freedom to develop and act out, where as if you plan too much then it can seem almost forced, especially as a new writer (trust me, i have tried).

In regards to writer’s block the only thing that helped me get past it was to write my way through it. There were a few days where I wrote absolute garbage. I mean that! Sentences didn’t flow, dialogue was rubbish, characters acted out in all the wrong ways and after reading over it for my next writing session, I simply axed it. Does that mean it was a waste? Absolutely not. In fact many of those rubbish scenes that will never see the light of day helped me polish the idea a bit better and came out sparkling like a… well, rough gem (I’m still editing)! Don’t be afraid to write garbage, because that gives way to doubt and also everyone writes badly at some point or another. Some people just have better editors nearby to help!

Touching back on converting ideas into your current story, I have been practicing that for over two years now. What this has done for me has given me an incredibly deep world filled with real events and flawed individuals. The added backstory gives weight to the current world and some ideas that don’t fit the current or past timeline may very well fit into the future. For both of my stories, magic has the same consequence but the world has a better understanding and acceptance of it. Not only that but much like technology evolves, so has magic. In fact all of this stemmed from the simple question, where does magic come from? Now I have two stories for it!

Anyway I must rush off, so much to do and never enough time to do it all! Let me know if you have any questions about how I came to complete the novel or on anything I’ve mentioned here! I am still not published, so I’m working on that but as I mentioned at the start… this is for those people who are struggling to even complete something! Hopefully what helped me will help you!