Book Writing #3 - Starting Over

Perhaps the worst part of writing is starting over. It is when you wake up one day and realize that what you're writing is not what you originally set out to write and it no longer has the same hold and direction that you wanted it to take. This can be heartbreaking and recently is something that has nagged at me, personally.

My Personal Experience

For the past year or so, I have been working with my co-author to create a fantasy series. We worked hard and created dozens of documents detailing every character, their backstories, their interactions, and the place they have in the world. We created an entire world with five main characters and we had a rough outline that would span 5 books - not just one. There was a beginning, a middle, and an end. We had characters we loved and characters we hated and a plotline that was solidly there, following our characters through their weaving stories. We even, in fact, finished the first book and had gone through editing it once and we started drafting the second book. 

It was at that point that I realized I no longer was in love with the story I was writing. While we were writing our fantasy series, I had gotten an epiphany. I had the idea for an entirely new story and I was excited about it and, better yet, it was a standalone. Suddenly, I began to notice the cracks and the faults in my 5-piece fantasy series. 

Solutions

Unfortunately, only you know what you want to do when you come to this realization, but here are some general pathways I've noticed that people tend to take.

1. Keep pushing - accept the fact that your writing didn't go where you wanted it to go and go back through it. Take out parts you didn't want and add parts that you feel are needed to make it the story you love again.

2. Start over - take your story and completely rework what you have. Since you know what you didn't like the first time around, you know what to look for. With this, you don't even necessarily have to start from complete scratch, just edit the crap out of it and cut it to bits. The story you originally wanted to write is in there somewhere.

3. Find a new story - put aside your manuscript and, literally, start over. New characters, new world, new genre, new feel. This can come naturally, like it did for me, or you can discover one. If your old story doesn't speak to you creatively, maybe a new one will.

Of course, this is entirely subjective and I have no room to tell people that these are their only options. You make your own story and no one can tell you what to do about it, but I've noticed that this is generally the roads the people take when they wake up and realize they don't love their story. I've heard many published authors say they feel this way about books they eventually got published. They pushed through the bad thoughts and found a way to love their writing again, but that can't be the case for everyone. Don't give up on your creativity and know that there is always a solution.

Book Writing #2 - Character Names

Characters are a big component of your story. People can relate to your characters, because of their experiences, morals, and even name and appearance. When it comes to names, a few things need to be kept in mind.

Reminder: Names can be whatever you want. Don't let anyone tell you your names aren't good enough.

1: Gender can make a difference

There are plenty of names that can be considered unisex and, in some cases, the character in question might not have a specific gender (agender, gender fluid, etc.). Keeping this in mind, naming your main female character "Robert" is extremely unconventional and, while it isn't necessarily wrong, some readers might find it odd. Likewise, there aren't many male Kaitlyns floating around. 

Not to say that your male hero/villain/side character can't be named "Ashley", it's just unconventional.

2: Ethnicity and Heritage

This is mainly in play for nonfiction or realistic fiction books, but it can also come into play with fantasy as well. If you want to keep specific regional names, you might want to research a bit to get names as close as possible to the portrayed culture. 

3: Tips and Tricks

To people that I've discussed names with, I almost always get the question "How do you come up with your names?" Let me tell you, it is a layered process. More often than not, I have the specific character already built in my mind. Name is the last thing I come up with. This means I have their purpose, ranking (in a fantasy setting), appearance, age, and everything plotted out. 

Being completely honest, I open a lot of baby naming websites. Sometimes I specify a region and sometimes I know what I want the name to start with and I just go from there. If I find a name I really like, I might try to spice it up a little or keep it as is depending how "ordinary" it is. 

Other times I open a name generator and hit refresh over and over. 

I might take the name Katherine and turn it into Katera or the name Francis and turn it into Farius. (I really don't know, guys, I write fantasy. What can I say? Weird names come with the territory.)

The times I get really stuck I just hit random spots on the keyboard and it can actually work.

Names can be whatever you want them to be, but using baby naming websites/generators can be a huge help.

Happy naming! 

Book Writing #1 - Building Your Plot

The plot is one of the most important things to consider when you're writing your book. It is the driving force for all of your characters and gives the reader something to follow along with. For many authors, the plot is the first thing they come up with when they are considering a new story.

Step 1: The first idea

The first idea can be something super small. For some, the first idea can be that they want the story to be centered around a single character or multiple. The first idea can be as simple as "I want this person to save the world" or "I want character 1 to be against character 2 from the start and they are forced into a situation that makes them work together".

The first idea can also be a case where the author wants to write a book similar to one they love/loved as a child, but make it their own.

Step 2: Picking your genre/audience

This seems a little obvious, but the genre is very important. With genre, there are certain aspects of the plot that would work in one genre but would be completely out of place in another. Usually, advanced technology would not be in a High Fantasy book and elves and magic don't go in a Sci-Fi book. Of course, there isn't a rule against making your story different or even changing your ideas away from the norm, so don't let this discourage you!

As for the audience, you wouldn't be writing a book with adult characters with large amounts of cursing and sexual tones as a Young Adult novel and you wouldn't be writing a whimsical fairy tale for college students. Finding a balance is important!

Step 3: Solidifying your beginning, middle, and end

Making sure your characters have a point A to leave and a point B to get to is super important, but the middle is what makes or breaks a book. The hobbits didn't just leave the Shire and end up in Mordor! They had to go through Rivendell, Gondor, and endless forests and adventures in order to finish their quest.

Step 4: Side plots/quests

Meeting a new character, facing a monster, having a computer glitch, joining the rebellion are all great side plots for your characters. It's how they overcome obstacles and interact with others that really makes a great book. The main plot is what the story is about, but no plot is complete without some bumps in the road.

Additional Notes:

Don't be afraid to change your plot! In fact, it most likely will change. The plot you start with probably won't be the plot you end up with. As you get to know your world and your characters, things are going to evolve and change. The person you intended as the villain might not be the villain at the end!

Writing out, mapping, and all forms of diagrams could be EXTREMELY beneficial as you go! It keeps your ideas organized and everything running smoothly.



Disclaimer: I am not a professional, this is just based on my experiences.