STEP SEVEN

STEP SEVEN 

YOU'RE READY TO ROCK AND ROLL!

This is it. The training wheels are off. You have a snapshot of your novel and a rough map for creating it. You know which characters you’re bringing in, what they’ll face, and in what locations.  

            Step seven - start writing the story from the beginning and don’t stop until you have a complete first draft. Writing a novel really is this straight-forward when you break it into the seven manageable steps of the writing pyramid. Still feeling overwhelmed? Some things to consider.

1.     Get over the “every word has to be perfect” mindset. It’ll slow down your writing process. The first  draft is just that—a beginning.

2.     Set a daily writing goal and keep it realistic. I try to do a page and a half. If possible, set aside the same time daily for your writing.

3.     Keep your notebook on hand and refer to it often, adding new character points and sub-characters, names and places, so you’ll always have a reference guide.

4.     Fine-tune your outline as you write, which makes it easy to go back and find things.

5.     Keep your work well organized. If you do it as you go, you won’t struggle with things like missing chapters and out-of-sequence pages later.

6.     Second-guessing your work? Read it out loud. It’s amazing what comes to light when you hear the words.

7.     On days when you aren’t feeling creative—write anyway! That’s what the editing process is for.

Dear readers,

I wish you the best of luck with your writing. If you get stuck with anything, you’ll find a myriad of articles posted on writer’s blogs. It helps to get pointers from others who’ve been where your are.

      A special Thank You to Jess Lourey for creating The Pyramid Approach. I’m sure there are many other structure-resistant writers out there who will enjoy using such a simple guideline for writing their novel.

 Have a wonderful week,

MARLA