Any lovely authors on here today?

[GoodHearted]

I'm off to Wales on Monday with my shiny new laptop. I've always loved writing, in fact on an old thread on an old username (ranting about my bag of shit love life) I had dozens of posters telling me they were drawn to my writing style. So I'm going to start trying again to write a fictional novel. I have no idea yet on what it's about, I'm hoping the break will inspire me somehow. So... any tips? I assume if it's meant to be it will come naturally but how do you start? I have loads of time to invest into this and it's a little dream of mine. Even if nobody ever reads it!

It's not entirely true that if it's meant to be it will come naturally! Writing can be hard work and there are always days when it feels like dragging yourself through treacle. So don't be discouraged if the muse doesn't descend and my best advice is keep writing regardless!

There isn't one set way to do it. I'm a planner so I will always sketch out the outline of a novel before I begin writing. You might be a pantser and prefer to see where the writing takes you. Some writers like to set word counts so have a target per day or week to hit. That can be motivating and it's certainly satisfying to see the numbers stack up.

Go for walks, be observant of what's around you and let your mind wander around your plot and characters. The writing might take place at a desk but a lot of the thinking will happen on the move.

Take books to read and consider what makes them enjoyable and what will or won't work for you. Books on the craft I'd recommend would be Stephen King's On Writing and also Save The Cat! Writes A Novel (brilliant to help you plan).

Enjoy the break and good luck! I think writing with the mindset that it's just for you and not worrying about what anyone else would think is the best approach. Write the book you want to read!