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I've got some free time on my hands, so I've posted some tips for would-be authors based on advice I collected over the years that I found useful.
I. You are not original.
The story in your mind was already written long ago. Make your peace with that. There are no original stories anymore. You were thinking of writing a space opera full of interplanetary warfare and contact with different lifeforms? Lucian of Samosata has you beaten by 1800 years with 'A True Story'. Maybe a romantic drama full of love, betrayal and action? Homer and his Iliad were written 3000 years ago. Perhaps a tale of friendship and a quest for immortality? The Epic of Gilgamesh was rolling 4000 years ago. Don't try to be original, because you won't be. Modern humans have been around for almost 200 thousand years and they had nothing to do but think of new ways to kill boredom.
Strive to create your story instead of being original. Do you think George R. R. Martin was the first guy to come up with dragons? He wasn't original, but he was unique in his presentation of an unoriginal concept.
II. What if?
It's inevitable that when you plot your book, you will hit a mental brick wall. That's normal. I don't have a solution to stop this from happening, but I have one for getting out of writer's block. Start asking 'What if' questions to yourself about your plot. Suppose you are writing the story of a farm boy destined to be the savior of the world, i.e. The Chosen One. Seems simple, right? But The Chosen One has been done to death. You need to make your epic story unique, but the ideas seem to evade your mind like sand between your fingers. What to do?
Start asking 'What if' questions. 'What if' the protagonist was not the chosen one? 'What if' the Dread Lord was the protagonist or one of his friends? 'What if' the Chosen One died mid-journey? 'What if' is the perfect tool to use when you are in a corner. You don't have any obligation to use those scenarios in your story, but just getting out of your comfort zone and putting the ideas out there will work wonders to crush your writer's block.
III. Know every nook and cranny of your story before you write a single word.
You saved some money and took a trip to the Bahamas by plane. Everything is in order, you embark on the plane and fly away to the holiday of your lifetime. Seems pleasant right? But the pilot says in the intercom he actually does not know in which direction the Bahamas are and he will just wing it and make it. You would naturally enter a state of panic. Who put this guy in charge of my journey? Would you do the same thing the pilot did with a plane? Then why are you doing it to your story?
'Pantsing' your story may be great for those that want to just write and let it flow, but when you are 50 pages deep in your story and discover that the turn you took half a book away didn't work, you now have a problem in your hands. Plotting is optimal for those who need or want directions. If you are like me and plot your books, do it thoroughly. Every backstabbing, every murder, every laugh, everything that is important to the plot and moves the conflict forward.
IV. Conflict.
Few people will find a story about a Grandma in her 70s drinking a cup of tea and going to bed. Dare I say, no one will. But what if Grandma went to bed and was face-to-face with Toyotomi Hideyoshi? And what if Grandma's house was on fire? And what if her tea was actually poisoned, and she had to find a magical elixir in 48 hours to cure it? These are all ludicrous events, but they create conflict in your plot. Your protagonist must always be fighting an opposing force. Every step of the way, someone or something, must be there trying to stop him from reaching his goal. Everyone has a goal in life: fame, success, wealth, or even something as simple as drinking a cup of tea like Grandma's. But for the journey to be exciting, the opposing force must be there: Sauron and his machinations against the Fellowship of the Ring; the elusive Reapers in Mass Effect, or something as simple as the protagonist's own mind in Vanilla Sky.
Always remember that the obstacles must make sense. Encountering Hideyoshi in your kitchen would not be strange in a wacky or comedic movie, but not in a serious novel, unless you properly explain how he jumped half a millennium to the future.
V. Let go of perfection.
When you are outlining, know that your first draft will be garbage. No question about that. The only man alive that can write entire stories in the first draft and not edit a single line before publishing is Stephen King. You are not Stephen King. Not yet, anyway. Write, and keep writing, no matter how hard it gets. It can be just one paragraph, but write. Writing is a chore and loses its novelty fast. The only thing that will get you through the finish line is discipline.
Write daily. When you don't want to write, that's exactly when you need to write.
That's it. Five essential tips for all the writers out there. Hope you have learned something useful.
I. You are not original.
The story in your mind was already written long ago. Make your peace with that. There are no original stories anymore. You were thinking of writing a space opera full of interplanetary warfare and contact with different lifeforms? Lucian of Samosata has you beaten by 1800 years with 'A True Story'. Maybe a romantic drama full of love, betrayal and action? Homer and his Iliad were written 3000 years ago. Perhaps a tale of friendship and a quest for immortality? The Epic of Gilgamesh was rolling 4000 years ago. Don't try to be original, because you won't be. Modern humans have been around for almost 200 thousand years and they had nothing to do but think of new ways to kill boredom.
Strive to create your story instead of being original. Do you think George R. R. Martin was the first guy to come up with dragons? He wasn't original, but he was unique in his presentation of an unoriginal concept.
II. What if?
It's inevitable that when you plot your book, you will hit a mental brick wall. That's normal. I don't have a solution to stop this from happening, but I have one for getting out of writer's block. Start asking 'What if' questions to yourself about your plot. Suppose you are writing the story of a farm boy destined to be the savior of the world, i.e. The Chosen One. Seems simple, right? But The Chosen One has been done to death. You need to make your epic story unique, but the ideas seem to evade your mind like sand between your fingers. What to do?
Start asking 'What if' questions. 'What if' the protagonist was not the chosen one? 'What if' the Dread Lord was the protagonist or one of his friends? 'What if' the Chosen One died mid-journey? 'What if' is the perfect tool to use when you are in a corner. You don't have any obligation to use those scenarios in your story, but just getting out of your comfort zone and putting the ideas out there will work wonders to crush your writer's block.
III. Know every nook and cranny of your story before you write a single word.
You saved some money and took a trip to the Bahamas by plane. Everything is in order, you embark on the plane and fly away to the holiday of your lifetime. Seems pleasant right? But the pilot says in the intercom he actually does not know in which direction the Bahamas are and he will just wing it and make it. You would naturally enter a state of panic. Who put this guy in charge of my journey? Would you do the same thing the pilot did with a plane? Then why are you doing it to your story?
'Pantsing' your story may be great for those that want to just write and let it flow, but when you are 50 pages deep in your story and discover that the turn you took half a book away didn't work, you now have a problem in your hands. Plotting is optimal for those who need or want directions. If you are like me and plot your books, do it thoroughly. Every backstabbing, every murder, every laugh, everything that is important to the plot and moves the conflict forward.
IV. Conflict.
Few people will find a story about a Grandma in her 70s drinking a cup of tea and going to bed. Dare I say, no one will. But what if Grandma went to bed and was face-to-face with Toyotomi Hideyoshi? And what if Grandma's house was on fire? And what if her tea was actually poisoned, and she had to find a magical elixir in 48 hours to cure it? These are all ludicrous events, but they create conflict in your plot. Your protagonist must always be fighting an opposing force. Every step of the way, someone or something, must be there trying to stop him from reaching his goal. Everyone has a goal in life: fame, success, wealth, or even something as simple as drinking a cup of tea like Grandma's. But for the journey to be exciting, the opposing force must be there: Sauron and his machinations against the Fellowship of the Ring; the elusive Reapers in Mass Effect, or something as simple as the protagonist's own mind in Vanilla Sky.
Always remember that the obstacles must make sense. Encountering Hideyoshi in your kitchen would not be strange in a wacky or comedic movie, but not in a serious novel, unless you properly explain how he jumped half a millennium to the future.
V. Let go of perfection.
When you are outlining, know that your first draft will be garbage. No question about that. The only man alive that can write entire stories in the first draft and not edit a single line before publishing is Stephen King. You are not Stephen King. Not yet, anyway. Write, and keep writing, no matter how hard it gets. It can be just one paragraph, but write. Writing is a chore and loses its novelty fast. The only thing that will get you through the finish line is discipline.
Write daily. When you don't want to write, that's exactly when you need to write.
That's it. Five essential tips for all the writers out there. Hope you have learned something useful.
