Publishing Tips: Writing

This is the first in a series of publishing tips posts. We’re going through the process as we know it because it’s fun to share.

So where to begin?

Step One: Read

First, you read a lot of books. The more you read, the more you’ll absorb about what makes a good story. Like Stephen King notes: “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”

Step Two: Brainstorm

All right. So you’re a big-time reader. You inhale books all the time. Now you have to come up with your own idea. Where do you start?

Some writers say to write what you know. If you’re a librarian, write about that. While that’s all very well, some of us have lives that just won’t translate into a book in any interesting way. And you know what? That’s fine.

Something better to say than “write what you know” is “write what you like.” If you don’t like writing stories in modern times, then why should you subject yourself to that? Think of something that you enjoy and build on it. Say that you like The Hunger Games. Well, what do you like about it? Go beyond the plot. If you do another “people fight for their lives on a barbaric television show” plot, then you’ll likely get cries of “plagiarism” from folks (heck, The Hunger Games does anyway due to The Running Man having come way before it). While some people say there are no original stories, you should at least try to avoid being blatant about it. How about focusing on something more basic? Do you like how a kind-hearted boy pines after a girl who is almost like a feral animal, concerned only with protecting herself and her own? That’s something you could focus on. Then you merely have to put in a different (and original) context.

For a story, all you have to do is start with a germ of an idea. If you like orphan farmboys, then start with that. Don’t become overwhelmed by the possibilities; become excited by them. And don’t restrict yourself–if you find out one of your ideas doesn’t meld well with another, then let yourself change it. The good thing about coming up with the bulk of your story before writing it is that it is way easier to make changes at the beginning than it is later on.

Wondering about how to get a story moving? Check out Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth–particularly if you are writing a story in a genre like Fantasy and Science Fiction. The Monomyth describes the path of most heroes in most major stories–how they receive the “Call to Adventure” and often go into the “Belly of the Whale” (like the Death Star in Star Wars) and so on. I think I read once that George Lucas, while writing Star Wars, noticed that his story was falling in line with the Monomyth, and then he began to consciously model his story after the journey story described in the Monomyth.

So take inspiration from others without plagiarizing. Bounce ideas off folks. You might be surprised with what you come up with.

Step Three: Outline

We wrote a post on this topic which you should check out if you haven’t already, but I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to create an outline. Your story will be far more cohesive if you do this, and in addition, it helps you figure out and fix certain problems at front (before they are written and the “but I don’t want to lose all this work” whine cuts in due to the development of a major problem requiring a rewrite of certain scenes).

One good thing about outlines is you don’t have to work in order! If you have some scenes you are excited about writing, you can jump in there and do it. Similarly, you can stick in quotes that pop up in your head so that you’ll be sure to have them later.

Step Four: Write

When your outline is done, then you can dive write in. Stuff will probably pop up as you write, and if it does make sure you add stuff to the outline to reflect what has happened. All the work you put into the outline was totally worth it, and it can really help with issues like writer’s block.

When you first write, don’t worry about what people think or how long it’s going to be. Just get it out there. The other stuff will fall into place later.