: Re: Everyone has a book in them, but in most cases that’s where it should stay. Does that apply to me? Everyone has a book in them, but in most cases that’s where it should stay I'm not

@Rivera824

Vote Up Vote Down

Find a method or structure to help you get started. I used the Snowflake Method www.advancedfictionwriting.com/articles/snowflake-method/ but there are others.
I was in a similar position to you last year (except for the retirement bit). I had an idea that had been swimming around in my head for years, but I didn’t know if I even wanted to write it down, let alone how to go about it.
When I stumbled upon the Snowflake Method, I thought it might be fun to put my idea through the first few stages, just to see what happened. This particular method worked for me because it broke the process down into small steps, starting off with a single line and building up gradually. It gave me opportunities to practise writing paragraphs and single pages before tackling the whole novel, as well as providing a simple overall structure for the book.
By the time I got to the last stage - writing the first draft - the story just flowed out. For my own sanity, I ignored the general consensus that first novels are rubbish. As an older person I have read many hundreds of books and absorbed a lot of excellent writing style. I may not have written fiction, but one way or another I’ve written a heck of a lot of letters and documents, and along the way I’ve developed a style that is at least readable, and an ability to self-edit. This self-confidence stopped me feeling like I was wasting my time.
A year later, the third draft is getting good responses from beta readers. It may never get published (although I'll give it a go) but at least people have read it.

(0)

Login to post a comment!