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Good afternoon readers! You're looking mighty dashing today, if I might say. I realize I can't see you, but I still say you're dashing.

How did you like Monday's post? Today I'm going to expand on it a bit, to explain a little more of my process.

Question #2: How do you get started?

If the first question people ask me is about how I get ideas, then the second by far concerns how I actually start to get that idea down onto paper.

Firstly, note that it's easier for some people than it is for others. A lot of the writers I know, my friends, take a lot longer than I do to get going. But if you ask me, I take a while too. I like to get things done at a faster pace. Don't ask me why, because I really don't know.

1. Write down the basics of the idea.

Obvious, isn't it?

I start out by writing it down in its basest form. This mostly involves writing down anything and everything that had to do with the idea, like where the story takes place, what year or era it takes place in, and what's going on around the story at the time it takes place. This is usually the easiest part, because it's all about getting it down.

For me, this only takes a matter of 5-10 minutes tops. 

2. Figure out the first character.

This takes a little longer. If you have Scrivener, then you have a good start — they have character sketches worked into the program, so you'll have a decent idea of how to create your character. Decide whether they're male or female, what color eyes and hair they have, even things like the length of their nails and the timbre of their voice. All of these may come into play in the story. Also, note things like their characteristics, things they like and don't like, things that would push them into whatever role you want them in, what they might be lacking in their life, etc.

Generally, this process takes about half an hour — just for the first character.

3. Get crackin. And if you fail, crack again.

Last but not least, I start writing. Usually I start with the idea that this is probably going to be a short story, and then when I get deeper in I find out whether it's a short story or a novel (I'll go into detail on Friday on how to tell the difference when you start writing a short story or novel).

Frequently, this process needs to be started multiple times. Just starting a story generally takes me a day or two. Once I get the first scene down in the way I like it to be, things go far more smoothly.

But from what I understand, a lot of people take even longer — and that's not a bad thing. The point is, you have to try.

If you don't try, then you've basically given up from the very beginning.

[love]

{Rani Divine}