I am fortunate to have some really amazing people in my life who support me unconditionally and who have fully embraced my writing journey. That said, creating characters is my favorite part of writing. I love thinking up the little nuances that make someone an individual. The most fascinating thing is how characters develop as you write them. They never turn out quite like you envisioned at the start of a story. As a reader, I am a huge fan of series books. I tend to read very fast, and when I am done with a book, I am not ready to let those characters go. It’s what drove me to write a series.
How do you start writing a book? This is the question I am most often asked about writing. I started with a four book series called The Roads Collection. In my first book, The Perilous Road to Happiness, the story that resulted was not at all what I set out to write. The old saying that you have to go where the story takes you could not be more true. Looking back at writing a first book, I would say my methodology was quite rigid. I agonized over every word of the first book. I was terrified (unnecessarily) about sending my manuscript to the editor and even more so about releasing it for perfect strangers to read. I didn’t really know how to write a book, and I knew even less about the difficulties of post-production. The part that comes after writing a book was almost harder than the writing itself. Self-publishing is not for sissies! Marketing, distribution channels, cover templates, epub files – it’s enough to make your head spin.
The second book, The Precarious Road to Starting Anew, was so much easier. I relaxed, my writing style relaxed, and as a result, I think it’s a much better book than the first. I still had a fairly prescriptive approach for the second book though, structuring it around one of the characters from the first book and his six brothers. I also got to include some fun critter characters, which plays off my real life as a critter mom of dogs, cats, ferrets, and a pig. As I write this, book two is with the editor and I am ready to tackle another round of post-production. Surely it has to be easier than the first time around. The second book is exciting in that it will launch its own series called The Cookes of Collingswood.
Now, the third book, The Sordid Road to Rhapsody, is a whole different beast. Talk about relaxed! I am writing with no outline and only a vague idea of what I want to happen. It’s embracing going where the story takes you to it’s fullest and I am really enjoying it.
Book four, The Treacherous Road to Rescue, will take me back to a more prescriptive format as that story is very clear in my mind.
Are you saying to yourself that you have always wanted to write a book? My advice is to do it! It will be hard, frustrating, disheartening, and scary. But, on the flip side, it is one of the most rewarding process you can go through. Here’s some tips that have helped me started:
- Find a character development worksheet online – the more detail you create, the richer your characters will be
- Discover your own methodology. For me, I have to have an image of what the characters look like. I actually cast my book like a movie, finding just the right actor or actress to play the part. Just think, I will be totally ready for Lifetime or Hallmark to call about turning my book into a movie!
- Make the hard choices. Sometimes your story will demand going in a direction that is difficult or uncomfortable. Make the hard choice. It will result in a better book.
- Consider beta readers. I have three or four people who I trust to give feedback. For book two I did one round with the editor and made all of her recommended changes. I sent the book to my beta readers for feedback. You’ll want to find people who will be honest and give you good suggestions. It doesn’t help to have readers who won’t tell you what’s lacking.
- Set a daily goal. Mine is word count because it’s an easy measure. Some days my word count goal is met with ease and some days it’s like every word is a herculean effort. Write every day. For me, one thousand words a day is my goal. I would say I meet that about 95% of the time.
- Find your writing oasis. Create an environment that is conducive to being creative. I am so lucky that I have my own writing sanctuary!
I promise, if I can do it, you can do it! I hope you’ll join me on The Road to . . .
Amazon Links:
The Perilous Road to Happpiness (The Roads Collection Book 1)
The Precarious Road to Starting Anew (The Roads Collection Book 2)
Note: All the pictures in this article were provided by TJ Meadows.
