Are you currently working on your book? If yes, then you can benefit from some writing tips. As starters, you might want to use visuals while plotting your story. Your book’s plot is basically your characters doing things.
But whatever your characters are doing needs to take place in a setting. The setting is a place within your story. You can browse the kind of aesthetic that you are looking for. Subsequently, you can pin specific settings and specific places to a new board.
This will get you loads of ideas about potential settings.
Believe in Yourself
If you believe that your writing isn’t good enough, then you are probably right. But you are also wrong. The thing is that no one on this planet can write your specific story but you. So, out of all the writers who have ever lived – you are the best equipped to write the story that you are working on.
Of course, your self-doubt will stand in the way of progress – but – it can also be a positive sign that you are actually getting out of your comfort zone and writing a story that pushes you to your creative limits. Self-doubt is something that everyone experiences.
So, if someone tells you that your book idea won’t work, you should ignore them at all costs. Any book idea – no matter how bad it appears at first glance, can become a great story if there is enough passion and skill behind it.
Now, there is such a thing as a bad idea for a book, as some ideas are better suited for different mediums and shouldn’t be stretched into a novella. Some book ideas are incredibly clichéd which are better avoided than turned into books.
But – no matter how weird or insignificant your book idea might seem – there is always the possibility that it seeds into a great story that actually sells.
Use Settings for Scene
You need a process wheel to create scenes. You can find aesthetic images on the internet, such as Pinterest. You can save the images that you find the most appealing and create scenarios while looking at the settings. For instance, if a scene in your plot takes place in a cemetery, you can look at the picture and create a series of actions that your character might be doing, such as digging up a body.
This action could prompt the character to other actions, such as finding a ghost. This sort of link can be established through the locational aspect of the plot.
So, if you need some guidance in creating a good scene, this is a foolproof and easy way to create new scenes in your book.
Use Writing Software
If you are an aspiring writer, you should know that you have choices available regarding writing software and online writing apps that are exclusively designed to make the writing process easier. Now, if you have never used writing software before, you might think that this isn’t important – but – it absolutely is important.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with Google Docs – but – there is a slight chance that you might lose a file and lose the entire writing project. For your actual draft, you are all set with using Word – but – you can use mind maps or other writing and drafting software for your brainstorming.
When you are brainstorming your writing project, it would benefit you to have everything in one place. When you are brainstorming, you are planning your story, world-building, and planning your characters in detail. The ability to do all of this in one place is quite flexible and accommodating for you as a writer.
So, you will want to check out the best writing apps and software that allow you to streamline your writing project with this type of flexibility. The right writing software can work as the ideal website for your book.
Intuitive Writing
The next writing tip that can help beginner writers get into the flow of writing is intuitive writing. Now, this aspect is different from pantsing a story, which basically means to fly along and go the paths wherever the character takes you.
So, when we say intuitive writing, we mean it in the sense of plotting, where you plot the story intuitively. One thing that you can integrate into intuitive writing is to come up with random book quotes. You can incorporate the quotes in dialogue pieces.
You can also think of things that your readers will highlight or even put on a T-shirt once your book is published. The opposite of intuitive writing can seem to be research. Now, research is important – but it can also be your worst enemy.
To speed up the writing process, you should focus on completing your first draft and only do a bare minimum of research to integrate important plot details. However, other than the most basic research elements, you will want to leave research for the second draft.
The worst that can happen is for you to get sucked into a research rabbit hole while you are working on the first draft of your story. The thing is that if you do fall down that rabbit hole, you may never come out of it – and neither will your book.
Know Why You Are Writing
It is incredibly important for you to know why you write. If you don’t have a good reason to write your story, which can be as simple as enjoyment or even a profound message you want to share with your ideal readers – you won’t be able to see the novel through to the end.
So, throughout the writing process, you will want to remind yourself of the why – what inspired you in the first place to pick up a pen or open your laptop and write the first sentence of your project. There must be a solid reason why this story matters to you specifically.
Once you know your why, you will write with greater ease and enthusiasm, so understand the motivational aspect and stick to it throughout the writing process.
