When you write fiction, beginning each new novel is a fresh challenge because you’re starting from nothing. Your blank computer screen can be terrifying.
One of my writing students called me in a panic. “I haven’t written anything new in four months! What do I do? I need to create a publishing schedule.”
She’d become so involved with marketing her latest novel that she hadn’t even realized that she wasn’t writing new material. Yes, she was writing: social media posts, her newsletter, marketing materials… But she hadn’t started a new novel.
Believe it or not, that’s easy to do. We can become so busy that we forget what matters.
Can you write fiction when you don’t know where to start?
The unknown is scary. I enjoy writing a novel after I’ve written 10,000 words, but beginning a new novel is intimidating. And uncomfortable. There’s so much you need to know. Indecision leads to days of procrastination.
For example, I dislike naming characters, so I avoid it. I can spend days referring to characters as a collection of numerals, or I avoid thinking about the novel at all.
Here’s what’s worked for me: checklists.
On my primary task list:
- Genre and length;
- The novel’s concept: the seed idea and main character;
- Point of View (POV) and setting;
- Timeline;
- Style (voice)…
Let’s look at some practical tips to help you with your fiction career, and especially whenever you’re procrastinating on beginning a novel.
1. Create an Idea Bank to corral ideas
If you’re an author, you won’t just write one book; you’ll write many books. So stay open to strategies which help, such as an Idea Bank.
Your Idea Bank is precisely what it sounds like—a collection of bits and pieces which you gather in one space so that you can explore them when you need an idea. Remember to review your collection weekly, too.
Most of the ideas in my Idea Bank come from my various journals. An idea can hit while I’m driving, or sketching, or walking. My Idea Bank is an Evernote notebook, but you can keep your collection wherever you please, as long as you can find what you require.
2. Be like Dean Koontz: create a collection of titles and save them
Here’s an exercise which may work for you. Years ago, I read Dean R. Koontz’s book on writing fiction. He begins his novels by listing titles. If a title seems intriguing, he starts writing the novel.
Although I’ve tried this process, it hasn’t worked for me in the way that Dean uses it. I list potential titles, but never use any of them. However, it does get me writing, so it’s having a good effect. Try it. It’s a painless process and only takes a minute or two.
Remember to copy your potential titles into your Idea Bank.
3. Write in flow and don’t stop: add new ideas to your Idea Bank
A “flow state” makes you single-minded. You’re focused on your writing, nothing else. Hours may pass, but you’re unaware of them, you’re completely engrossed in your writing.
Although flow states happen naturally, they’re rare for most of us; we’re too distracted. However, you can encourage them. Some authors isolate themselves when they’re on a deadline. They take themselves to a friend’s cabin, or to a hotel.
Failing this option, try timed writing. I’ll set a timer for 30 minutes or an hour, hoping to encourage a flow state. Occasionally, it works. 😊
4. Use your subconscious: “command” ideas as Barbara Cartland did
Who was Barbara Cartland?
From Was Barbara Cartland a genius? And are you?
… she wrote 983 (books) and perhaps none won the Nobel Prize for Literature, but they’ve sold over a billion copies to date (yes, that’s billion with a ‘b’, and it’s not a typo). There’s just no way you can produce that much writing, appealing to that many people, unless you’re a genius.
Although Barbara Cartland’s books are unfashionable in today’s mad world (she primarily wrote “sweet” romances) I adored her when I was a beginning writer because she was so pragmatic about the craft of writing.
No wishy-washy “inspiration” for her. Ms Cartland kicked her muse into action every afternoon for decades, while lying on a sofa, and allowing her imagination full rein. (She had a team of secretaries who took dictation.)
When I searched Google, there’s precious little of Ms Cartland’s “my life and how I write” material online. It’s sad because every writer can learn from her. She was a writer of her time, and she could write.
From an LA Times article on her death in 2000 (she was born in 1901):
Cartland arrived in London at age 18, and soon began writing gossip items for newspapers for five shillings each… she befriended Lord Beaverbrook…”
As soon as she finished dictating one book, she asked her subconscious mind to provide her with the plot of another. The next afternoon, she duly received the plot, and began her next book.
5. Tap into your imagination for powerful creativity
Your imagination is your creativity. As writers, we tap into our imagination constantly.
In this article, Your Imagination: Use Your Most Powerful (& Dangerous) Writing Tool, we looked at exercises you can use to boost your imagination/ creativity.
My favorite is: daydream more. This can be challenging, especially if you’ve been castigated for “not paying attention” in your student days. If this has happened to you, you may spend years trying to reconnect with your creativity. Please persist. I advise my writing students to schedule daydreaming if they find it hard—five minutes of daydreaming three times a day is an excellent prescription for creative recovery.
6. Collect characters, the beating heart of your fiction
You need characters—why not collect them in your writing journal? People watching is fun and improves your observational skills.
Here’s W. Somerset Maugham, practicing observation in his wonderful A Writer’s Notebook:
Brooks. He is a man under the middle size, broad and sturdy and well-shaped; with a beautiful head, a good nose, and a broad, high forehead; but his face, clean-shaven, narrows down to a pointed chin; his eyes are pale blue, slightly expressionless; his mouth is large and his lips are thick and sensual; his hair is curly but getting thin; and he wears it long.
Write fiction using the above tips, then review your ideas each week
Try any of the tips immediately; don’t hesitate—if you tell yourself you’ll do it “later”… You won’t.
Keep using the tips for a week. Copy your ideas into your Idea Bank. Review your Idea Bank at the end of the week. Perhaps you’ve made a start on your novel? Keep writing, and remember to review your ideas once a week.
Happy writing, and good luck. 🍀
Make Writing Fiction Fun: Discover The Instant Plotting Strategy
Hate plotting? Discover an endless source of wonderful, instant plots.
Even Shakespeare used instant plots.
You can use them too.
All the plots you’ll ever need
The public domain is vast, and it’s packed with readymade, “instant” plots and characters. Canny corporation that it is, Disney recycles public domain stories, as do many other companies and writers. Disney has used materials in the public domain for many years, creating wonderful stories loved my millions. In Make Writing Fiction Fun: Discover The Instant Plotting Strategy, you’ll discover not only what comprises the public domain, but also how to use it as a resource for writing fiction and plotting. This book will help you if you’re: – Looking for great stories with marvelous plots and characters to make your own. – A new fiction author and don’t know where to start. – An established author, who wants a new challenge. Many bestselling authors have written books which have their genesis in public domain materials. – Looking for readymade audiences. Did you know that there’s an entirely new genre, Jane Austen retellings? These books sell, because readers who love Austen want more. – Keen to learn the craft of fiction. Allow the famous authors who wrote the classics to teach you. In this book I’m NOT suggesting that you use this free-to-use material as-is. (Although there’s nothing wrong with that.) You can use the material in many ways, and we’ll look at several. Have fun with these strategies. 🙂
