I haven’t posted in almost a year, but this time I will not waste your time with excuses and lengthy explanations. I’ll skip to the post.
I am taking a public speaking class in college this semester and one of the speeches I have to make is a process speech. So for my speech I chose to explain how to write a novel. After I wrote the speech this morning I thought to myself that it might make for a good blog post too. So for those of you who might have thought about writing a novel, but never acted on that thought this post is for you. I know many people whom have thought about it, or started to write, but never finished. It’s a daunting thing to try, but I encourage you to do it. Once you try I am confident that you’ll enjoy it. So here’s my speech:
I am a writer. Writing fictional novels is my hobby. I have met a lot of people whom have said they tried to write a novel, but couldn’t finish or they found it too difficult to even begin. Writing a novel can be a daunting task especially since there are so many rules that tell us how to write. I think all beginners need is to ignore all the rules and follow three simple steps. First, brainstorm, think of what you want to write about. Second, just write. (In some cases I would say to skip the brainstorming step and just start writing. It doesn’t matter what you write about. Once you start the words will come to you). Third, Finish what you started. (This last step makes me sound like a hypocrite because I have only finished one novel and have started a bunch. At least I finished one. Or three, if you count my “novels” that I wrote as a kid).
Let’s start with the first step, brainstorming. This one is simple enough and you the only thing you need for this step is your brain. It would be very difficult for us to write a novel if we didn’t know who or what we were writing about. Who is our main character(s)? What is the story about? Without a plot, we don’t have much of a story. The plot, in the simplest terms, is a problem that our character has to fix. For an example we’ll use my character Dawn from my novel Darkest Before Dawn. Her problem is that her fiancé, Jacob, is missing. So now I know that I am going to write about my character Dawn and her adventures as she searches for her fiancé.
Now that we have brainstormed the next step is to write. You can use a pen and paper, or a computer for this one. This part of writing is the most fun, but it can also be the most challenging. In order to write you must write. Simple as that. Do not worry about your grammar or the quality of your work. To write a novel you need to finish your first draft and first drafts do not have to be perfect. Save your editing for later. If you are a perfectionist this is the hardest part. It does matter how bad you think it is, just write it down. You can fix it later.
So you’re writing, you’ve started your work and maybe you’ve even made it halfway through. Now all that’s left is to finish it. For me, this is probably the most challenging part of all. Finishing what you have started is important. It is empowering to finish a project and encouraging for when you start your next project. If you don’t finish writing that first novel you might never finish any of your other stories. If you finish your novel, then you can begin your next story with confidence and it will be easier to write the second time around. After four year of writing, I finally finish Darkest Before Dawn and that success felt amazing.
Now that I’ve told you these three simple steps I hope you might be encouraged to try your hand in writing. Once you know you can do it, writing can be so much fun. You have the ability to create your own fictional world and make whatever you want happen there. I want to challenge you to think of a story idea. Use your imagination and come up with something you wish you could read about. The first step to writing is brainstorming. Once you have an idea I hope you’ll be inspired to write about it and once you start writing, don’t stop, finish.
I am taking a public speaking class in college this semester and one of the speeches I have to make is a process speech. So for my speech I chose to explain how to write a novel. After I wrote the speech this morning I thought to myself that it might make for a good blog post too. So for those of you who might have thought about writing a novel, but never acted on that thought this post is for you. I know many people whom have thought about it, or started to write, but never finished. It’s a daunting thing to try, but I encourage you to do it. Once you try I am confident that you’ll enjoy it. So here’s my speech:
I am a writer. Writing fictional novels is my hobby. I have met a lot of people whom have said they tried to write a novel, but couldn’t finish or they found it too difficult to even begin. Writing a novel can be a daunting task especially since there are so many rules that tell us how to write. I think all beginners need is to ignore all the rules and follow three simple steps. First, brainstorm, think of what you want to write about. Second, just write. (In some cases I would say to skip the brainstorming step and just start writing. It doesn’t matter what you write about. Once you start the words will come to you). Third, Finish what you started. (This last step makes me sound like a hypocrite because I have only finished one novel and have started a bunch. At least I finished one. Or three, if you count my “novels” that I wrote as a kid).
Let’s start with the first step, brainstorming. This one is simple enough and you the only thing you need for this step is your brain. It would be very difficult for us to write a novel if we didn’t know who or what we were writing about. Who is our main character(s)? What is the story about? Without a plot, we don’t have much of a story. The plot, in the simplest terms, is a problem that our character has to fix. For an example we’ll use my character Dawn from my novel Darkest Before Dawn. Her problem is that her fiancé, Jacob, is missing. So now I know that I am going to write about my character Dawn and her adventures as she searches for her fiancé.
Now that we have brainstormed the next step is to write. You can use a pen and paper, or a computer for this one. This part of writing is the most fun, but it can also be the most challenging. In order to write you must write. Simple as that. Do not worry about your grammar or the quality of your work. To write a novel you need to finish your first draft and first drafts do not have to be perfect. Save your editing for later. If you are a perfectionist this is the hardest part. It does matter how bad you think it is, just write it down. You can fix it later.
So you’re writing, you’ve started your work and maybe you’ve even made it halfway through. Now all that’s left is to finish it. For me, this is probably the most challenging part of all. Finishing what you have started is important. It is empowering to finish a project and encouraging for when you start your next project. If you don’t finish writing that first novel you might never finish any of your other stories. If you finish your novel, then you can begin your next story with confidence and it will be easier to write the second time around. After four year of writing, I finally finish Darkest Before Dawn and that success felt amazing.
Now that I’ve told you these three simple steps I hope you might be encouraged to try your hand in writing. Once you know you can do it, writing can be so much fun. You have the ability to create your own fictional world and make whatever you want happen there. I want to challenge you to think of a story idea. Use your imagination and come up with something you wish you could read about. The first step to writing is brainstorming. Once you have an idea I hope you’ll be inspired to write about it and once you start writing, don’t stop, finish.