1.3 GETTING STARTED

Activities for generating ideas

X Meets Y

Flip the script of a popular concept/story

Focus on the miniature/details in life

Eavesdrop

Headlines

Artwork

TASK: If you’re not ready to commit to a full-length novel, test your idea out as a short story first. 

Planning

There are many ways you can plan your book.

• Three act structure
• The snowflake method
• Full synopsis
• Mind map
• Chapter by chapter plan
• Closing line
• Writing scenes on index cards and deciding on the best order for tension.
• OR even just knowing roughly where the book is going to end or what the primary tension/climax is.
• Research

REMEMBER: don’t over-plan. Don’t use planning as a procrastination method to avoid actually writing your book. At some point you need to wean yourself off the planning stage and plunge into the scarier, harder, more exhausting writing stage.

The snowflake method

• Write your story in one sentence
• Decide on your protagonist
• Write a paragraph on settings
• Add a beginning, middle and end to your story description
• Write short character summaries
• Expand your story description to 2 pages
• Keep adding details until you’re ready to write

TASK: Answer the following questions for your story: Who are the characters? What is the setting? What are the themes? What is the primary idea?

Remember before you get started. Writing is a process. It takes time. Very few writers can turn a book around in a few weeks. You’ll come across writer’s block. There will be days when you write a whole chapter. There will be days when you don’t write anything at all. Sometimes, you’ll want to delete your book entirely. DON’T do this.

We can help you muddle through the process, ride the highs and dig yourself out of the lows. We’ve got you, and you’ve got this.