Dear O'Abby: How do I start?

 Dear O'Abby,

I've been wanting to write a novel for years and years, and this year, I have resolved to actually do it.  I have an idea I think is pretty solid, but I'm just not sure exactly how t physically start writing a book.

Any tips for a newbie?

Happy New Year,

Greenhorn

Dear Greenhorn,

I wish it was a simple as that, but like many things, there is no one way to write a novel.  Every writer has their own process for starting, and finishing a book.  And the only way you're going to figure out how you like to do it, is by trying it out.

That said, I can give you some things you can try to see if they suit you....

Some writers like to do a lot of planning before they start writing the actual book.  This may include writing detailed character studies to better understand the way these individuals will behave in certain situations.  If you're writing fantasy you may want to do some work on developing the world of your story so you understand the way things work there and the way your characters might fit into the societies you're creating.  If you're writing a mystery or thriller you way want to write a timeline so you can make sure things are revealed and hinted at in the right places.

Some writers like to have an outline of their novel written ahead of time so they know basically what is going to happen in each chapter and that the scenes they plan to write fit nicely and drive the story toward its conclusion. Other writers just wing it and start writing and find their stories through the writing process.

But you can do both. Outlines can be as detailed or loose as you want them to be. Personally, I never write more than a page or two, just outlining the bare bones of what I think the story might be.  And if I veer away from that in the writing process, so be it.  One thing I've learnt though, is writing the ending early on is generally a good idea if you're basically winging it, because it gives you somewhere to aim.  Again, if you end up going elsewhere and it works better, so be it...

Another thing I personally find useful is to write a query letter for my novel pretty early on.  That helps me see if the story has enough stakes and if I can easily find the throughline and spine of the story.  You can even try to get the entire story into a single sentence or logline to test the strength of the story.  If you can do that, then you've definitely got something!

So my best advice to you is to just sit down and start.  You'll learn pretty quickly what works for you and what doesn't doesn't.

Best of luck with the writing.  Have fun with it.

X O'Abby