Advice: Writing Process 1

Brainstorming/1st Draft
Rewrite
Print with 2/3 readers
Self edit
Basic Edit
Editor
Formatting

The First step

That first draft can be hard to come by, but the hardest part is arriving at an end. Although before one sits in front of the white screen of doom to begin that 1st draft it is ideal to have some brainstorming planned out. 

What do you need?
1) You need an overall plot and a few of the points (typically a beginning, middle, and end the details can be made up in the drafting stage).
2) Some characters. These can take a while to develop but things like Character Conversations, Character Skeletons, and even creating your character with programs can help with this step (these three things are broken down to the right). 
3) A notebook or word document to write in.

It's not much. Actually, most plot lines can develop from pretty simple and random things. Songs can spark inspiration, candy, but the most common (for most writers) is the world around you. Notice things around you, take in the world like a young child: EVERYTHING IS AWESOME! Remember that and maybe that weird looking rock you tripped over can become a sign from some goblin for help.

Developing Characters:
1) Character Conversations- posing questions and then answering them as that character. Ex: How would you like the book to end?
2) Character Skeletons- outlines for characters (more here)
3) Character Creators- you can find various programs through google but here is one to make characters in anime style: clicky

The First Draft

NANOWRIMO                                    NANOWRIMO                                            NANOWRIMO

National Novel Writing Month

This program is amazing in its set up-which takes place in the month of November (which has started!). Currently, I'm in the middle of working on the third book in the Dream vs Reality series through this program. 
What is it?
50,000 words in 30 days. That's about 1,667 words every day, 5,000 every 3 days. It's a lot of words and Stephen King couldn't be any more right about the whole thing!
The scariest part is starting.
You sit there.
Staring at a blank screen.
Willing words to appear.
But how to start?

Simple, doesn't matter. Almost never do I keep my beginnings, I'll usually change them later! Just pick something and start writing. Once that first sentence is out the rest comes easier and soon you're on a roll. Now, you just got to keep it up.

When one is writing two forces are fighting each other for control. Your Muse and Your Inner Editor. These two figures can be pictured however you want, but they are constantly clashing into one another, the creative and the sensible. 
How these two are pictured differs from person to person. For me:
My Muse: she is a fairy named Musa who has earphones around her neck and is constantly on a sugar rush. She flies around and shoots ideas off at a billions miles an hour. Sometimes, her ideas make no sense and other times she'll leave to go on a vacation leaving me with some tough writer's block to handle.
My Inner Editor: she is a grouchy old librarian. I don't know why she is, since I've never met a grouchy old librarian in my life (in fact I usually befriend them), but Ms. Ryte is always "right" and is constantly shooting ideas down. "That's pointless", "How are you going to make that work?", or "Really? Are you really typing that?"
The trick to a successful first draft is to lock that Inner Editor up. Banish him/her from your mind and just focus on putting those random words and ideas onto a piece of paper. Once they are there? THEN you let the Editor out and you fix things so it all makes sense. For now? You have to get that first draft our and lock up that editor so your muse can fly. 

Talk to you soon, Natasha Rayne