Writing a novel

If you are like me, you start a story. You think you have a good idea, you write a couple of pages and think "this is stupid." Or, "I don't feel like going through with it."

Before I starting writing seriously I wrote for hours on end, just thinking of ideas and writing a few paragraphs. Usually I just wrote short, two-page stories.

But then I joined the Middle School Writers Group at my library. It changed everything. I found out about a website called NanoWrimo, where you write a novel in the month of November. You set a word count goal and just do it. 

Well, I wrote a novel in November.  I started with a small goal--5,000 words. It increased to 8,000, then 10,000 and I ended my novel with 18,000 words. 

It might not sound big, but writing that novel in a month was incredible. In the end, I didn't like it. For three weeks I went through bad writers block and low self esteem. I had just spent over two hundred hours on this, and it sucked. But what happened? My confidence with writing went from maybe 30% to 200%. Writing that novel told me I could do it. I could do anything, I wrote a novel in a month! Now I have an idea for a novel that I love, and in just a few weeks I'm pretty far.

My tips for starting:

1. Have a goal and don't quit until you have reached that goal and have gone beyond it. If you really are a writer, you don't quit. Start out small.

2. Have publishing in mind. I have read that most first novels are rejected, but like I said. If you really have a deep passion for writing, you don't let rejects shut you down. And, you never know! Maybe some company loves your manuscript. Just picture your finished novel in book format, it really does help! 

3. Look for ideas. I have my own, secret Pinterest board where I pin cool ideas and pictures. Once I found a really cool setting that was perfect for my novel. I also look for pictures of people that match my characters. It helps me picture who I am writing about more vividly.

Once you're there:

Okay. You started a novel and you like where it is going, in fact you are already on chapter 16! Here is what I do when I'm at that point:

1.  Word Choice. I love cool, whimsy words. Write with a thesaurus nearby, look online. Try to create a seven word sentence with three new words in every chapter.

2. Go back and re-read your story every couple of chapters. I like to edit on the way.

3. Continue to search for ideas. My first novel draft that I thought was finished, wasn't. I went back and added scene after scene, after scene. 

Writing a novel is fun, challenging, and boosts your confidence. And who knows? You could be the next Harry Potter :)