Paper ready, pen at hand and thoughts standing by, waiting to surface.
We begin with a moment of stillness
Pick up the pen (or start tapping on the keyboard) and we start the ‘book’ by jotting down topics that are burning within us: love, adventure, crime, philosophy, or some other thoughts that are nagging; let them spill out. Meanwhile, simultaneously your mind might be juggling titles for your book, “Love in the dark”, nah, “Mountains to climb” perhaps, and so it will continue until you start the process of writing. The title now takes second place; it was there to get you started – to rev-up the flow of thought.
Whatever subject you choose, feel the emotions attached to the thought. Most writers draw from life’s experiences and from characters they have encountered. Usually these experiences have been sad, happy experiences are less frequently written about.
Suppose we have decided to write a love-story. We have to decide who is going to be the victim and who will be the hero; is it a triangle? Then start constructing the character’s personality within this frame – work. Choose the name that you associate with that of a victim and the male name of the oppressor. Scribble the plot very superficially because it will change along the way as you get emotionally involved with the two main personalities. Pour your heart into the pages breathing life into the plot. Deciding how to end the story is difficult because one gets biased towards one or the other character – again it might reflect your own life experiences.
It is important to invest in a good dictionary and reference books, some books on psychology would be helpful in creating a plausible character. Always check your facts from different sources. If the reader catches you out on a fabricated statement he/she loses confidence in the rest of the story. The same with the location try and create a background you are familiar with – guess work will not do. If you are setting the plot in Rome it is essential you have been to the city, and you can reproduce the early morning smells of the city; or aroma of freshly baked bread and other small details which will carry the reader with you, to those sites.
The first chapter of the book is important, it sets the scene and the reader follows in anticipation. This is when the reader will either make a decision to stay with you for the next few pages or abandon you for another book. Also give the reader something to chew on. Provoke him/her to question, to doubt, or say ‘I never knew that’. Reading is an adventure, an experience but it is also a place where new ideas or information is received and makes the reader feel “well I picked up something that was enlightening or thought-provoking”.
The author must be aware at all times that he/she is writing for the reader and needs to hold their interest. This will decide whether or not it sells.
Stay safe, ———