Now I decided to write a novel after a lot of drama went on in my life and I needed a positive way to let out my anger. I had been having nightmares about the story line of my book since I was ten. I still have them, but as I get older the story progresses from a scene, to a novel. It started out with only six characters. My main character Elizabeth was a princess stolen away to fight her father. That was the story. That was it. I was ten, give me a break. Back then her now love interest Seth Kennedy was her best friend. It wasn't until I was twelve that I thought I could make it into a romance novel. My story progressed in my head for two years (closer to three actually) before I put anything down on paper (and guess what? No more princess!). My dreams have been my main source of inspiration, and I found the only way for me not to fear the dreams was to put them on paper, because a lot of them were very gruesome.
I suppose that was step one of starting a novel If you want to get any where, you need inspiration. Currently I take inspiration off of anything including, dreams, music, other novels, movies, and personal experiences. Another thing I think you need is pressure. One of the reasons I stuck with the novel was because I had one hundred people over me telling me that I would never do this. I felt the pressure to finish the book and shove in their faces, as if to say haha, look how far I have come.
All it takes is an idea. It has to be good, yes, but never put an idea because it is far fetched, or you don't think you could do it justice. Writing is a skill, just like everything else. I didn't pick up a guitar and already know how to play it, just like when I started writing it was dreadful. Now granted if you are older you will have more quality in your writing but if you are starting off young like me chances are you won't be much better.
Now back to the idea of something being to far fetched. Have you seen half of what people are writing about. We have Star Wars, Twilight, The Mortal Instruments, The Hunger Games. Hell I even remember reading a very clever story about a girl who got sucked into facebook (literally). My story is far fetched, and it takes me two hours flat to make someone somewhat understand what it is about. Nothing is too far fetched if you can make it interesting to the reader.
All you need to do is give writing a chance. If you have an idea and are considering writing, write four chapters. By then you should know if writing is for you. I knew as soon as the rising action started that I had to do this, and if I didn't I would regret it for the rest of my life. Now I don't know what I would do with myself if I wasn't writing. Sure, it is a big change in your life and you need to set aside time to write, but think for one minute. Think of that moment when you finish your novel. Hell I get pleased when I finish reading a novel, but the feeling I got and still get after writing one is priceless. You write for the giddiness you feel when you have one more chapter to go, that second when you fall in love with your heroine, the moment you cry when you kill off your favourite character, and that first person telling you your work is amazing. I can't describe it. -Erin
Post a Comment