How to Start
I was talking to a friend recently who wanted to know my process for actually getting a book down on paper. I realized that, for those who’ve never done it before—and possibly even for those who have—starting a new project can be thoroughly daunting, or at the very least, confusing. For those fearless souls out there who laugh in the face of the all-consuming, vaguely terrifying blank page of doom, the problem may not be a lack of chutzpah; it’s that you’re not sure how exactly to take your creative energy and turn it into a book.
So how is it done? How, in fact, do you write a book?
Today, I’m going to focus on the getting started part. It’s important to note that there is no one right way to write a book. It’s a highly personal, highly creative process. You’ve gotta find a system that works for you—and the system that works for you on one book may not work for you on the next. Writing a book isn’t science, and it isn’t magic either; it’s something in between.
So! Take the following guidelines with a grain of salt. Use what you can; leave the rest. The goal is to give those of you who are in the I-want-to-write-a-book-but-I-can’t-seem-to-get-it-going pit a little boost up so that you can grab the edge and haul yourselves out. For those of you who are old pros and have already discovered a system that works for you, perhaps these ideas will spark some new life in your creative process.
Okay. Here we go.
Step 1: Get Excited.
Honestly, this part is a bit like falling in love. You can “date” different ideas. It’s perfectly fine to experience some false starts—projects that you’re excited about and feel sure are going to turn into the real thing. But in the end, you need to find a project with that deeper connection. It’s something you want to keep coming back to over and over again, something you’re not going to get tired of exploring and are committed to pursuing.
The project that ends up being the right fit might be something totally different than what you were expecting. The first three books I wrote were YA adventure stories, all very much my “type,” so to speak. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the idea for Book #4 popped into my head. It began as an idea to retell The Hunchback of Notre Dame in a contemporary setting and burst into unexpected life from there. Ultimately, the book explored homelessness, isolation, and found family. It wasn’t something I had ever pictured myself writing, and yet once I got the idea, I couldn’t get it out of my head. This one, something inside me whispered. This is the story I’m supposed to tell.
All this to say: Find an idea that holds your interest. Whatever it is doesn’t have to fit into the box of what you think you’re supposed to write. You are allowed to write about unexpected things, things that are outside of your comfort zone or your areas of expertise. At the end of the day, you just have to care about whatever it is. That’s really what it comes down to.
Step 2: Maybe Make a Plan?
I can be a bit of a superhero nerd. One of my favourite quotes from the third season of The Flash is in episode 22 when Leonard Snart, aka Captain Cold, is helping Team Flash with a mission: “There are only four rules you need to remember. Make a plan. Execute the plan. Expect the plan to go off the rails… Throw away the plan.”
While this strategy may have ultimately helped Team Flash defeat King Shark, it’s really not bad advice for writing a book either. I wrote a previous post about the merits of Planning vs. Pantsing and won’t go into detail about that here. However, I will reiterate that it can be very helpful to at least make a rough plan before you start—just something to give your work a bit of direction and momentum. Then, if you decide to veer off the tracks once you’ve started writing, that is entirely your prerogative.
How exactly do you make a plan? That’s entirely up to you. You could start with a theme (decide what you want to say through the book, then figure out how you’re going to say it). Or you could start with the plot (make a list of events, in order). Or perhaps you do both, plotting out the events in a way that points to whatever message you are trying to get across. (By the way, it’s okay if you’re not sure what your message is at the start. You can let the story tell you that as you go along.)
When in doubt, grab a pen and a notebook and start jotting down ideas. Planning can be messy. It can be full of question marks and scribbles and doodles. Doesn’t matter what your framework is. Just do yourself a favor and at least give yourself a direction to aim in.
Step 3: Take the Pressure Off. (Or Alternatively, Put the Pressure On.)
Some writers will tell you to write the first draft without editing your work. Let it flow, they say. Don’t worry if it’s no good. Just let the ideas out. You can clean it all up later.
I get it. I really do. That system does work for some people. Just not for me.
I like to feel good about my work as I go along. I don’t want to write thinking, “I know this is mostly crap, but I can fix it later.” I enjoy being careful with my words and ideas, even in Draft #1. Certainly, I still end up doing a lot of rewriting/reworking in later drafts, but I always want to feel proud of what I’m putting on the page. If it feels like a bunch of word vomit, I’m going to lose my inspiration and joy very quickly.
If the just-write-don’t-edit system works for you, that’s great! Seriously, it is. I think a lot of writers do that on their first drafts. But if for whatever reason you find that method challenging, please know that it’s not wrong to edit as you go. At the end of the day, you should be excited about your work, and you should be allowed to slow down and process what you’re writing as you’re writing it. There’s tremendous merit in that.
Do what you need to do in order to write with confidence. Some of us need to take the pressure off (don’t worry about writing perfectly); others need to put the pressure on (write as perfectly as you can). In the end, it’s between you and the blank page. What do you need to do in order to come out on top?
Step 4: Write Like a Reader.
Speaking of the blank page, if you sit down to write and find that all that blinding white space is causing you to freeze like a deer in the headlights, a helpful strategy can be to put yourself in the shoes of a reader. If you were picking this book up off the shelf at your favourite bookstore, what would you want to read when you flip to the first page? What would hook your interest? What would make you think, “Yes, this is EXACTLY what I wanted to see on the page”?
The beautiful thing about being an author is that you can tell whatever story you want in whatever way you want. No one is standing over your shoulder, demanding you insert a tedious descriptive paragraph here or a chunk of exposition there. Write the story in the way YOU would enjoy reading it—leave everything else out.
If you feel like a scavenger hunt, these books contain some of my favourite book openings I’ve come across:
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley
The Martian by Andy Weir
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Feel free to comment below with any books that you think have wonderful openings!
Step 5: Consider Finding a Trusted Reader.
There are writers out there who would challenge me to a duel over this piece of advice. I would accept, but as we are counting out our ten paces, they would turn and shoot me in the back, and then they would calmly blow the smoke off their pistol and turn and tell you that it would be wise indeed to forget what I’d said, unless you’d like to join me in the afterlife.
But here’s the advice anyway: It’s okay to let someone read your work before you’re done the first draft.
Now, be smart about this, always. If you need time alone with your work in order to get it out properly, then for heaven’s sake, keep it to yourself. It’s not always helpful to have someone looking at your work when it’s hot off the presses.
Except when it is.
Having one or two trusted readers who genuinely like your work can be a HUGE encouragement throughout the writing process. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Writing is lonely. If you’re serious about writing, you probably spend a lot of time with your head in the clouds—and those clouds aren’t always white, fluffy-bunny clouds. Sometimes, they’re black, thundering, horror clouds that are simultaneously soaking you and electrocuting as you’re passing through on your way to Neverland or wherever you were hoping to end up. It can be a mercifully grounding force to have someone who’s there with you, reading your work, getting a glimpse of what you’re pouring your time and heart into. It allows you to be seen—and sometimes, that’s all that’s needed to keep the black clouds from swallowing you completely.
If you decide to let someone read your work before your first draft is complete, make sure they’re not going to be too critical. There will be plenty of time to brutalize your manuscript once it’s done. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with having someone point out obvious plot holes or bits of wording that they find confusing. But during that first draft while you’re still in the throes of your creative genius, it might be better to have someone who’s going to cheer you on than someone who’s going to bring you to your knees at the point of their ruthless red pen. That’s the editor’s job, after all.
So, how do you start writing a book?
First, find something you’re excited to write about. Then, make a rough plan. Once you start your first draft, write as poorly or as perfectly as you want—whatever will give you the confidence to keep going. Make sure you’re writing the book you wish you could read. And finally, consider trusting someone to read your work and cheer you on.
Remember, as I mentioned in my post on how to Write Like a Martial Artist, showing up to do the thing—whatever “the thing” happens to be—is often the hardest part. Once you’re there, butt in chair, fingers on keys, chances are you’ve already done the hardest part. So chin up, brain on, and…go!
The Flash, season 3, episode 22, “Infantino Street,” directed by Michael A. Allowitz, written by Grainne Godfree, featuring Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, and Danielle Panabaker, aired May 16, 2017, on The CW.