Getting Started with Writing

When I decided to take on this project it was with the realization that I really don't have a damn clue what I'm doing.

Sure, I've read a lot of fantasy over the years, but when I actually sate down to do it, I didn't know where to start.

I started, like thousands before me, with a google search.  I typed "How to write a novel” into the search box and started my quest.

I found out that there is no real cut and dry method. There are as many approaches to writing a novel as there are would-be authors.  Many people just sit down and start writing. I found out this is referred to as “the seat of the pants” style of writing. Others use extensive outlines detailing every twists and turn before they actually write anything. Randy Ingermanson teaches the snowflake method which is a hybrid of the two styles.

I liked Randy’s approach so I’m sort of giving it a try. I went through the first four steps and ended up with a one page outline of my idea that ended up being about 4 pages in reality.

I took a couple of weeks to massage my plot structure.  I went back and forth, adding and removing. One thing I noticed is just how cheesy and clichéd my entire plot structure read. It was like every bad piece of fantasy I've ever read rolled up into one.  I became discouraged at just how overused the structures were in my outline no matter how much I tweaked it.

I then thought about some of the greatest fantasy I've read by George RR Martin, Robert Jordan, and Brandon Sanderson. I broke down some of their plots and found that their plots were just as cheesy and overused as mine.  It wasn't the plot that mattered as much as the story. It’s how they tell the story that makes them great.

Reinvigorated, I decided to cut to the chase and start writing. I was itching to try. I wrote out some general information about the first few scenes I wanted to focus on and decided to give it a try myself.

File > New I clicked. The bright white screen came to life in front of me, cursor blinking, I sat and thought “Ok. Now what.”

Referring to my scene notes, I started to write. I plunged into the scene and made a bee line for the first conflict I devised.

An hour later I reviewed my work. I needed help. This was not what I had in mind. I decided to seek out at least a couple of books on writing. Something to give me a frame of reference.

On Randy Ingermanson’s site he mentioned a book by Dwight Swain called Techniques of the Selling Writer . This book has really helped me get started. I learned about showing vs. telling and the motivation-reaction unit.

Another book that’s really helped me get under way is Stephen King’s On Writing. His book was as entertaining as it was informative.

So I've taken some of these lessons to heart and I’m stumbling like a newborn through the world of writing. But, I’m trying, I’m writing, and I’m getting a little better every day.

Something about me...

This is my story. On the surface it's intended to be a chronicle of my journey toward becoming a self-published writer. Underneath its intention is to grow as a person. I want to face my fear, stare it down, and overcome. My fear is of public scorn and humiliation. I suppose everyone feels that way really.

I'm an introvert so this is hard for me. The Myers-Briggs personality assessment classifies me as an INFP (introversion, intuition, feeling, perception). In short I'm a dreamer.

On the surface I'm a successful application development manager. I've worked in IT for 17 years and have done well for myself.

I've been married to the same wonderful woman for 16 years and we've produced 4 great kids. We've even got a set of twins out of the deal!

I've been an avid reader my entire life. I've read hundreds of novels and quite a bit of non-fiction as well, but I've never written. Above all I enjoy a good book, but I particularly like a good fantasy book.

The fantasy genre seems to move me more than the others. Battles of good versus evil are more defined and I'm a sucker for a good quest.

So here I am. I've crossed or am near life's ultimate halfway point and I want something more. I'm a dreamer and a goal setter. I want to stretch myself and grow. I want to write a novel and more than likely many novels. Maybe its a second phase of my life, but I feel called to action.

I'm no stranger to goal setting and dreaming.

In 2009 I clocked in at about 270 on the scale and was heading even further north. My wife 'got real' with me and I decided that being overweight was causing me a lot of pain and unhappiness, so I did something about it. I lost 70 pounds by the end of 2010 and I've kept it off ever since.

Part of reaching that goal involved a lot of exercise. I'll admit this was very hard initially, but I ended up getting hooked. Running was (and still is) like crack for me. I ran my first half-marathon in 2010, my second in 2011 and figured, what the hell, I can run a whole marathon.

I went from a man that literally couldn't run for 20 seconds halfway down the block without wheezing and coughing to a marathon finisher in April of 2012. I finished that marathon in 3:57. The feeling of exhilaration when I crossed that line is part of the reason I'm here. I loved finishing that marathon so much that I ran another one this year. I just finished my 2nd marathon in April a whopping 3 seconds faster than 2012.

When I run I figure out a lot of stuff. Sometimes I figure out something big and it triggers the light-bulb over the head moment. I figured out I wanted to write while listening to an audio-book during a run. When I get my mind set on something, I have a tendency to not let it go .

That brings me to today, or the last two months really. I've decided to write a novel for many reasons. I'll list them in order of importance.

1) I want to find out more about what makes me tick. So far I've found that writing does just that.

2) I want to exert my creative side. I spent the first half of my life working with computers and application development. There is a certain creativity with that profession, but not quite the level of emotional creativity I'm looking for.

3) I want to write a great book because I like to read great books. I know what I like in a fantasy novel and I want to try if for myself.

4) I'd like to self-publish because it looks like its a lot of fun. The product you are selling is created by you. If you can't believe in something you've built with your own mind, what can you believe in? If I find success, that would be great. If not, then that's okay too.

I'll try to stay active here and write about the experience I'm having.

As it stands, I'm 12,000 words into my first draft. Its been hard to say the least. I read what I write and I think it reads like crap. As a newbie to all this, I'm struggling to convey what I'm seeing in my head with words on the page. I'm fighting the urge to go back and edit. I've succumbed only once, briefly. I will plow forward and come back later.

I'm writing daily and have no plans to stop. I get up at 5:00 AM, put on the coffee and work until 7:00 Am. That's when the house starts buzzing.

Every day I battle a voice inside my head that says I can't do this and what I'm writing is awful. My inner voice says people will mock what I'm doing and laugh at my thoughts when I open them to the world.

That's fear talking. That's my conscience mind trying to pull me back into the herd. Protecting me from pain. And, really, so what if they do. We all get one shot at life so why not lay all your cards on the table.

I'm hoping that writing is like training for the marathon, you get better the longer you keep at it.