Melanie Nilles

I’ve learned a lot over the more than ten years since I decided to start putting my imagination into words. I’ve learned what process helps me to write better. Now, it’s a consistent process of putting one foot before the other, or in the case of writing, one finger in front of another (on the keyboard).

The writing process I follow may not be quite the same as the next writer, but it works for me. If someone starting their first novel asked what they should do to reach the end, this is what I would tell them…

Defining your world:

The first step is to answer the following questions:

1. What is my premise? Often this is phrased as a “What if…” question. This can be more clearly defined by asking yourself what the purpose of the story is. Often that involves having a good idea of points A and Z but not necessarily every point in between.

2. Who is my main character? (male/female, human/alien, age, height, weight, hometown/world, experience/background, skills, hobbies/interests, etc.) What is their purpose? What is their name?

3. Who will my MC interact with? For this, define the existing and future friends, teachers, bosses, enemies, etc. Define the parameters of each. This will give you a reference to keep your characters consistent, although their individual personalities will evolve and become clearer the more you write them. At least you’ll have a good start.

4. What do I need to know before I start? Is it medieval fantasy–research weapons and fighting styles, culture, etc. Is it space opera–research the sciences (geography, physiology of animals/humans, etc.) I’m not saying you have to be an expert, but it gives credibility to a story to have some basis in fact and it keeps readers from being pulled from the story. A lot of research can be done along the road of writing, but you’ll always need some basic understanding of something before you begin. Keep a file of information gleaned from websites, books, magazines to reference anytime you need. Online forums can be helpful as you’ll find a lot of personal experience readily available.

5. What is my setting? This is not just the location but also the culture and time period of your story.

6. Where do I begin? Starting is always the hardest point. I could write a whole post on beginnings. The first time anyone writes a story, they have the tendency to want to write a few pages of background to “set the mood”. Screw that! Get into the action. Intersperse bits of setting with the action. Begin in the middle of something and go from there. The best way to do that is to write where you want to then cut everything up to the a good place in the action. For a first story, it often involves cutting out the first two or three chapters. That’s where you begin–in the middle.

Those are the questions I start with. I build bios for all the characters I know I’ll need from the beginning. Often other characters come up along the way, but unless they turn into part of the regular supporting cast, I don’t bother to write bios. I also make sure I know why I’m writing the story, where I want it to go.

Outlining:

The second step is to outline. I don’t mean your standard outlining, unless that’s what works for you. Rather, I’m referring to writing out scenes and defining how your characters transition from one point to the next. For some people, this step is pointless; they prefer to write “organically”, that is to just let the story come. I contend that those people do outline, but just keep it all in their heads.

The kind of outline I refer to is more of a synopsis. That is, the outline is composed of paragraphs of action, usually scattered scenes in which I see my characters accomplishing something towards the end, the climax, of the story. Write down whatever you see. It may change by the time you reach that scene, but you’ll have a better idea of what you want to accomplish, and maybe that scene doesn’t do it but you take bits of it and insert them into other scenes instead. That’s fine.

The point of an outline is as a guide. You don’t have to stick to it. As you get to know you characters, you’ll make modifications. However, at least with an outline, you’ll know about where to insert plot points and introduce different aspects or resolve subplots. I would advise it for any beginner. You might argue that it takes the fun away, but I say it doesn’t if you don’t let it. An outline can be a huge help, especially when you can’t write all day every day.

Writing the story:

This is the part everyone sees as writing. It’s putting the words down. Characterization, dialogue, plots and subplots, action, description, narration… It’s all a part of writing. Choose a place and time to write and stick to it. Set goals for yourself–so many words per day or so much time per day. Put yourself in a place where you can’t be distracted and make sure anyone else in your household understands that it is YOUR time and they can’t disturb you, unless your house is on fire or someone’s holding your cat hostage with a shotgun. WRITE! Any other time, you can do what you want or ponder your story.

Edit:

I don’t think I need to define this step. But I do need to say that you should wait for any major editing until you’re done with the story. I like to give my story a couple reads right after I’m done. After that, I put it aside for some time and move on to the next story. How much time? That depends. Sometimes I’ll think of some detail and I have to go back and make the change after just a few days. However, I try to give myself at least a month. I may go back to a story several times over a year or until it finds a publisher. I never quit editing. After a while, however, you’ll get sick of the story, so give yourself some time to get it out of your mind so you can go at it fresh.

You’re going to think the story is perfect after you write “THE END” but it’s not. You may even think it’s perfect after a couple edits, but it’s not. It never will be, but that’s okay. Just continue editing.

The point of editing is to not only clean up grammar and spelling, but also to close any plot holes, to make sure your characters are consistent throughout the story, and to tighten the writing. Critique groups and beta readers can be your best friends for finding these since they have a fresh view of your world and aren’t immersed as you, the writer, are.

Edit some more:

Don’t overdue the editing, but make sure the manuscript is the best it can be before you even consider submitting it anywhere.

Agents and Publishers:

Do your research and make sure you check what agents and publishers want and how they want to be contacted. Follow their guidelines on their websites.

Good luck!