I'm Very New

[PrettyScrappy]

Hello! I am very new to writing, but have recently had an amazing idea for a book I would like to write. I have put down my road map and have mostly finished world building, but am having some trouble with my outline. I know what my inciting incident, midpoint, and ending will be, but I'm not exactly sure how to get from the beginning to the midpoint. My story is a journey and I have a general idea of what I want to happen, but specifics arent really coming to me. Any advice? Thank you all!

 

[BAYLOR]

You've found the right place . Welcome to Chrons.

 

[CTRandall]

Tricky. My first instinct is to say start writing. Get your inciting incident on the page and try to move on to your midpoint. You will likely have several false starts that don't work but I find this process helps me discover new paths through a story.

Alternatively, write your inciting incident, write your midpoint, then see if you can find a path between them. Once you find that path, you will likely have to rewrite either the beginning, midpoint or both, but that's the nature of the writing beast.

I faced a similar issue with my current WiP. Like you, I had a solid start, middle and end but the connective tissues were fuzzy. I had half a dozen alternatives outlined, none of which did quite what I wanted. As I wrote the opening chapters, however, the characters and conflicts became more clearly defined and this helped focus the story.

 

[DLCroix]

Hi and welcome! Now, tips? Just take a look at the threads and you will find a lot of advice on various aspects such as the creative process itself, on preaching or not to the reader, on arc and character descriptions and treatments, on writing blocks, etc. , etc etc. You've come to the right place, so come in and make yourself comfortable.

 

[The Judge]

At some point even the most assiduous plotters have to stop plotting and planning and outlining and they have to start the actual writing. So my advice is to stop worrying about where to go and just get on with the business of bringing your characters to life and let them fathom it out. So write. Write in strict chronological order if you want, or choose a good scene that you're eager to write and start there and weave backwards and forwards as necessary, or write a few lines of dialogue or description. Just write.

I know everyone wants to create the perfect novel from Day One -- been there, wept over that -- but this just doesn't happen. Your first draft of your first book will need a lot of work, and you're not going to short-circuit the process by worrying about it in advance. In the immortal words of Buddy Fidler, no one hits a hole in one the first time they swing a racket. You may know that you've somehow got to get the ball from the tee to the green, but until you actually start hitting the blessed thing you've no real idea how it's to be done. So, take the first swing and see where the ball lands, and take it from there!

Good luck with the journey!

 

[Hugh]

Welcome and good luck!

 

[JJewel]

Good luck on the project, my advice if any is let it flow naturally. The more effort you put in trying to fill in the cracks the less you put in creating the big picture.

 

[tinkerdan]

Definitely start writing.

I noticed that you have a lot to start--yet no characters are mentioned.

My stories might have great ideas(at least to me)and I have planned out the setting and the essence of the three acts. However, they just don't gain mileage until I find the right character to fi(or not quite fit)into the story during all those events(acts).

Where are your characters? And for that matter--what type of narrator are you going to chose to tell(show?)the story?

 

[TWErvin2]

As was indicated above, start writing.

Don't expect the first draft to be anywhere near perfect. There will be revision after revision as you refine the story. Getting words down and fleshing out the world and characters and their journeys will help you find the way from beginning to midpoint, and to the end.

 

[Wayne Mack]

Welcome and good luck with your story!

I am also very new to this and I started in a similar situation. My suggestion is to start putting words to paper and let small decisions guide your characters and plot from one major scene to the next.

I started with three scenes pictured in my mind: an opening grabber, a middle love interest realization, and a conclusion. I started writing the beginning and as I thought more deeply about my imagined world questions would arise in my mind; how would the characters act and why? what is the logic behind the environment and what are constraints that exist? Answering these provided stepping stones to the middle and precursors to the conclusion. Primarily when writing from the middle to the conclusion, I would find myself feeling boxed in by choices I made and would sometimes go back and revise the most recent section (I chose to leave earlier decisions intact). As the story developed, I realized that it will very much need a second pass revision for clarity and at least one new early chapter to eliminate a late in the story info dump.

That is what I have done for my initial attempt. I encourage you to start writing. I would also recommend taking several hours (10+) and review the Brandon Sanderson YouTube writing lectures at Write About Dragons This can also be found in the discussion area Writing Forums

 

[Ori Vandewalle]

I know everyone wants to create the perfect novel from Day One -- been there, wept over that -- but this just doesn't happen.

Indeed.

Along those lines, it's good to be excited about your awesome story idea, but the main value of that excitement is in getting you to write. If you're very new to creative writing, you're probably going to need a lot of practice to become decent at it. So the enthusiasm you have for your story gives you the push to do the writing, get the practice, and enjoy the ride.

But you may never figure out how to write the best version of this story; you may never be satisfied with what you've written. That can be disappointing, but it's okay. If you've practiced honing your craft, you will find other awesome ideas in the future, and you'll write those, too, and slowly you'll get the hang of figuring out whether you can turn any particular idea you have into a story, and how best to do that idea justice.

 

[PrettyScrappy]

Definitely start writing.

I noticed that you have a lot to start--yet no characters are mentioned.

My stories might have great ideas(at least to me)and I have planned out the setting and the essence of the three acts. However, they just don't gain mileage until I find the right character to fi(or not quite fit)into the story during all those events(acts).

Where are your characters? And for that matter--what type of narrator are you going to chose to tell(show?)the story?

I have two main characters right now and an antagonist that I have explored a bit. I'm still working on laying down a magic system, but I think most of that will unfold itself once I start writing.
I think I am telling this story from third person. It seems to be what will fit my story best.

 

[radcasby]

Welcome! I'm 100% sure you will get all your questions answered here on this site as I had mine. )

 

[Droflet]

Yeah, Scrappy, like the others have said, start writing. You'll be amazed what happens when the creative juices start flowing. Don't worry about the hiccups, just keep writing. Hemingway said, 'All first draughts are crap.' And he didn't exactly say crap. First draughts are what rewrites were made for. Write something, take advice onboard, rewrite it till you think it's acceptable, then post a segment for evaluation. Good luck with your efforts.

 

[TaraRyan]

One technique that seems to add some fun in the in-between spots is to ask what is the worst thing that could possibly happen? It worked for the 100. Also K.M Weiland has some great tips on character arcs How to Write Character Arcs - Helping Writers Become Authors

 

[Toby Frost]

I would suggest thinking of some mid-level events that could happen in the course of the story. I see writing a novel as like a trip across a sea, stopping off at various islands on the way. Each island is a high-point in the story so far, involving a discovery, important conversation, action scene or the like. If there is a secondary plot, it will probably get resolved on one of the plot-islands. The Moria sequence in The Fellowship of the Ring or the Burke subplot in Aliens would qualify.

Writing the story will help, in that ideas of where it will go next will start to appear. But it helps to have a smaller, closer dramatic point to aim for as well as the ending, which will be a long way off. Good luck!

 

[Alan Aspie]

Any advice?

Know your characters upside down and inside out. And know what makes them tic.

Motivation and what it's based on is the main thing.