Tips and Tricks for Starting Authors

So, you want to write a story. A novel, an internet webcomic, whatever floats your boat; you want to make one. Either you were inspired by your favorite author, had a compelling dream one night, or you were bored with all the current media and wanted to make your own to show how it's done correctly (that one might have been me). Either way, you want to get into writing. That's great, but you may not know where to begin. Do you have no idea how to actually get into writing? Well, allow me to help you with your author journey.

Before we continue, I want to say that I am not an expert, at least not yet. I am barely halfway through finishing my first novel. This guide is primarily a sort of documentation of my own process for writing. How I, and most likely several others who taught me these tips, started their first stories.

The Idea

Every story starts with a simple basic idea. It can really be in the form of anything. Perhaps a medieval themed story with magic and dragons, or a murder mystery. Likewise, the idea can come from anything, whether you’re reading another piece of literature and like an element, a particularly vivid dream, or just a random thought. Personally I got the idea for my story in the shower at 2 in the morning, if you need a tried and tested method.

Here is my first and arguably most important tip: write your idea down. If you like it, record it somewhere. There have been times when I thought I had an excellent idea, but never went anywhere with it simply because I forgot about it. If you think it's a worthwhile idea, hang onto it.

Getting Started

With your basic concept, it's time to expand upon it. Really get a solid idea of what your story is supposed to be. You should figure out it’s genre, setting, tone, etc. A light hearted action adventure in the modern day is far different from a grimdark futuristic dystopia, or a steampunk Lovecraftian mystery set in the 19th century. 

There is no need to dive head first into the first draft. It's good to make an outline first. A series of plot points strung together to make the skeleton of your story. For example, “Character A is living a happy life when their hometown gets attacked by a rival clan. Character A survives, and journeys across the world to get revenge. Character A has a confrontation with the main villain, and after a long duel they emerge victorious.” As you progress with your planning, you can add more specific points to expand upon your story. An example of this is, “Character A meets Character B who helps them find the main villain”. 

As a rule of thumb, try to only include events relevant to your story. While some fluff is nice, an excessive amount of side plots and filler can break the pacing and bore your reader. Keep it simple, but not too simple.

Worldbuilding

Build your world to suit your story, not the other way around. A common mistake I’ve found with a lot of novice writers I interacted with is that they create a beautiful and detailed world with lots of lore and culture to be explored, but have trouble fitting some sort of narrative into it. I’m not saying it's not impossible to start with the setting. In fact, such a style is usually perfect for projects like role playing games with lots of player interaction. But, from experience, I can say it's a lot easier to mold a world to the needs of the plot rather than the reverse.

Here is also where you start thinking of your characters. The main protagonist and antagonist, the core cast, the important side characters, etc.. Get down some basics; their role in the story, what they are like as a person, and what their goals are. For more visual media like a webcomic, it's also crucial to come up with a look for your character. A complex, unique design can be interesting, but keep in mind that you will draw this character repeatedly, so simplicity can go a long way.

The First Draft

You now have your story planned out. Now, it's time to get started for real. The hardest part of writing a story is writing the first sentence. All I can say is to power through. After that initial roadblock, the rest will flow smoothly. Many times I’ve sat before my draft just waiting to write the first words, only to then spend hours and hours writing away. 

In the words of Ernest Hemingway; “Don’t get discouraged because there’s a lot of mechanical work to writing. There is, and you can’t get out of it. I rewrote the first part of A Farewell to Arms at least fifty times. You’ve got to work it over. The first draft of anything is shit. When you first start to write you get all the kick and the reader gets none, but after you learn to work it’s your object to convey everything to the reader so that he remembers it not as a story he had read but something that happened to himself.”

Peer Review

I think it goes without saying that getting feedback is a good thing. Many novice writers I’ve come across are often too shy to get reviews in fear of getting negative feedback. I understand that nobody wants their work criticized. Alas, it’s important to learn from your mistakes. The amount of times I missed a spelling mistake or the wording of a sentence didn’t make sense to a reader, only for a reviewer to catch it and make me aware of it. It’s also helpful for seeing whether readers actually enjoy your story and what parts. It lets you know what to improve upon. Perhaps some characters are a bit boring, the pacing is a bit slow, or some details just don’t make sense. 

But, it's important to remember that it is still your story. At the end of the day, you are still the one making the decisions about what goes in. I’m not saying to ignore all criticism because you don’t like it. Instead, I’m saying to take criticism into consideration, and decide whether to use it or not and whether or not it is actually helpful to you.

Ending Thoughts

Unfortunately, I cannot provide any tips for publishing or advertising your work, as I haven’t done that myself yet either. I hope this documentation of my writing experience can assist you with your works. In general, I recommend reading lots of works of the same media you are interested in to understand what works and what doesn't. Finally, if you need someone with a bit of experience to check over your upcoming idea, feel free to reach out to me. I would be glad to offer assistance.

Image obtained from Squarespace