I have been writing for years, but it wasn't until recently that I decided to try turning my hobby into a career. The first thing I learned about writing fiction was that if you want to get a fiction novel published you first have to finish it. With non-fiction books, if your lucky, you can get a publishing deal just by pitching your idea to the right person, that's not how it works with fiction. You have to write the book, create a manuscript, and then submit the manuscript to a publisher for review. If they like it they will make a deal to have it edited and then published. So the first rule of writing fiction is to make sure you have the book finished before you go looking for publishers. Now everyone has there own system for creating a great Story but as many writers know the best way to start is with a simple idea. I personally start all of my stories with the main character. This, I believe, is the best way to begin. I think first of what I wish them to be, such as, boy, girl, man, woman, or some other kind of creature, and it can be anything, there's no rule that says the characters of your story have to be human. Then I decide how the character should look. What is he/she wearing, what color his/her skin, how old is he/she, etc... The next thing I decide is the character's name. This for me is the hardest part for many reasons. I like the names I chose to be unique, a name that isn't that common. Once I have a name I have to decide where my story will be based. Now this is a crucial decision, one that once it is made will set the story on the path towards it's eventual conclusion. When choosing a setting for your story you will find that the choice you make will influence where you chose the story to go and it is very hard to change this once the story is underway, so you have to be certain of where you begin a story because it will influence where the story is going to end. The next thing I do is chose the character's current objective, what is he/she doing right now and why is he/she doing it. Then I just see where the story takes me. I have found that if you come up with these basics and then let your thoughts wander your story will take on a life of it's own and before you know it you have an adventure playing its self out in your head and even you can't wait to find out where it will lead. Now the hardest part about writing a novel, I believe, is getting it all out of your head and onto the page. This, for me, is difficult because I think faster than I write or type so my mind gets ahead of my hands and I find myself doing a lot of back tracking. But it's all part of the process and I enjoy every minute of it, how about you?
