"Fall In Love With Your Characters": How to Find Writing Motivation

During NaNoWriMo’s “In Your Pocket” Summer Drive, we’ll be posting “ My First NaNo ” stories from you, our amazing participants, and the writing tips you learned from your maiden voyage. Today, participant Sonia Mahajan shares why embracing your characters is so important: 

I remember that first, magical time: sifting through my piles of one-paragraph novel ideas that had never been completed, coming up with different names, finding the right font, and marking down the days on my calendar until that mind-boggling date: November 1. I waited, tingling with anticipation on October 30 for the sun to rise again so I could finally start writing.

And then, of course, when the morning of November 1 arrived, I met NaNo-itis: I banged on the keyboard for not planning enough and debated throwing my one-paragraph manuscript out the window. Of course, I didn’t—otherwise I might not be typing this right now—but instead grabbed my cup of tea, flexed my fingers, and set out to novel!

I wrote resolutely for five days… then not quite so resolutely. When November 26 came, I was behind. I remember the date clearly in my mind: it was the most audacious day of my noveling career (not very long at that point, but a noveling career nonetheless), the most important day of an author’s life: the day they finish a novel. I worked the whole day, spending the hours from eleven o’clock to two o’clock with my characters. I don’t remember much about what happened that day, except that I went from Chapter Four of my novel to Chapter Thirteen!

True, it was a book that I would never in my life try to publish, but it was my first book. I fell in love with my characters, met my word-count goal, and came out a winner. The question I imagine people asking me time and time again but never really happens? “Any tips for me, as a new novelist?” I get to answer it now!

Fall in love with your characters. You see this and you go, “Yeah, sure, that’s the advice I’ve heard from every author out there. Hogwash.” Trust me, I did too, for years, actually. Until I read Veronica Roth’s explanation. And I realized she’s right: Not every book becomes a bestseller, and some, frankly, never make it to the shelves.

If you’re writing a book just for it to become a bestseller, leave it behind. If you’re not going to embrace your characters, forget it. My first novel never got published, but hey, I still keep in touch with the characters I’ve created, and that’s what keeps the idea alive and real.

Develop a plot line. As a fantasy and sci-fi writer, I myself have learned (unfortunately, from experience) that without a plot line, you don’t have a book. I decided to wing it on my first book, a fantasy. Instant Disaster. Whether it’s in your subconscious or on paper, develop a plot line. Without one, books aren’t… books.

Always believe. (Yes, it’s a little soppy.) I think this can be easily overlooked, and it’s the simplest of the simple things to run into the Block Ness Monster and lose all hope for yourself and your novel. So give yourself a slap, pick up that pen, and get ready to call yourself a novelist!

Sonia Mahajan is a 13-year-old girl who loves to read, write, draw, and do anything else creative! She also loves dogs and music. She plays the clarinet and flute (but mostly clarinet.) She has won 4 OLL-run programs to date, but has yet to write a satisfactory novel. One day! 

Photo by Flickr user Zeptonn.