Hi everyone, I am wanting to write my first book. I have the idea and sort of know what I want to do. Is there a plan of action to getting a book from idea to completion? I have some apps that I can write character cards storylines and other things but I am wanting to know a good process of want I should do first, second, third etc. Does anyone have a process to follow where they do this step first then do this step next and this one after that and then the book is finished. I know there will be a lot of steps to do I am just after an ordered process to work with. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated Thanks
1. Have an idea 2. Extend idea into some kind of plot/story line 3. Make characters 4. Outline scenes/Chapters (if it helps) 5.Write...write..write...write..write...write x 10 6. Finito! But there isn't really any steps. Have idea? Write it. Begin with one word, and before you know it, you'll have 1000 words.
I'm writing a synopsis for my current novel, and it's helping me iron out a whole lot of details. I'd recommend it. Start with a one-paragraph to one-page summary, the kind you might see on a book blurb or IMDB. Then, expand it. Write a summary of each and every important scene and how things progress. These are important things to figure out even before you do that: 1. Main character and main conflict (In one sentence, what is your MC's overall journey or goal, and why - also, what/who is opposing them, and why: in one sentence.) 2. Fears (big-picture worries and phobias both), Joys, Personal Tastes, what makes them feel ___ (1. angry 2. threatened 3. calm 4. sad 5. excited 6. motivated etc). These things are important to know because they will help you flesh out your character, and what kind of things will trigger him/her and how he/she will react to said triggers. 3. Break down the big goal and big antag into smaller goals and antags: what kinds of obstacles do they face along the way, and how to handle them? 4. Secondary, supporting and minor antags and protags. These are people who aid or oppose your MC at various points in the story, and can be derived from point 3 above. 5. Big catalyst events: at what points do major changes happen
Making a book in ten easy steps: 1. Get idea. 2. Write down idea. 3. Expand idea to one-page synopsis. 4. Expand idea to two pages synopsis. 5. Expand idea to full book. 6. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. 7. Double-check that everything is fine. 8. Print it, read it and look for errors. 9. Correct errors. 10. Send manuscript to agents and publishers until you get published or give up.
1. have an idea for a book 2. sit down and start writing 3. keep on writing till you finish it ...many successful writers have no formal 'plan'... some may have a simple one, others very detailed ones... it's up to you to decide what works best for you... there's no 'right' or 'wrong' way to do it...
1. Write a one sentence summary of what you want to write about and use that one sentence summary to help you expand your itea. 2. Develop the characters and wrok your way around the one sentence summary (it doesn't have to be just one sentence, it just gives me an idea of what I want to write). 3. Then come up with the scenes you want to write. It should not be that hard though once you get through the first step of the writing process. The hardest step in writing is step one, which is knowing what to write. I had a hard time knowing what to write, but after I sat down to take a minute, my story idea popped out of my head. I'm writing my first movie script, "Unappreciative," which is a working script in progress and I'm lovin' it. I tried isolating the subject of my story so that I will get an illustration of how the movie should be told.
You don't need any apps. A good word processing program is all you really need. If you are a traditionalist, a typewriter. If you are an arch-traditionalist, then a pen and notebook. If it's your first attempt at a book, an outline might be helpful as a way of keeping you organized, but don't be so specific with it that it hems you in. You may also want to go back and do a new outline when you are part way through. I suggest this because you will find that what you plan to write and what you actually write may be two different things. As you write and describe your characters and the events that shape them, you will invariably think of things you didn't initially plan on doing - their characters will change from what you originally conceived them to be. This is why it is very difficult to skip ahead and write something later in the story and then write to "catch up" to it. Depending on the kind of book your writing, you may want or need to do some research. You want to be as factually accurate as you can be, even in a work of fiction. But research can also be a trap - some writers get so bogged down in research that they never start writing. Don't let that happen to you. If your story takes place over a long period of time, you may want to do a timeline for yourself so that things like characters' ages line up the right way. This is especially true if you are writing stories for several characters separately, but they all join up at some point in the story. My last project was about musicians who played together in a band when they were young, and who reunite in middle age to help one of the members. I went back and changed the age of my MC three times before I realized just to do the silly timeline to make sure I had it right (it was important for a number of reasons, not the least of which being which bands she liked at given ages). Other than that, it's as mammamaia (who is wise on all things to do with writing) said: just do it. Best of luck.
