5 Tips for Starting a New Project

Writers always seem to be starting a new project.  We don't always finish them, but new projects or stories can be exhilarating. sometimes they are just what we need to get us out of our writing doldrums or excited simply because they are new.


Okay, you have a new idea.  What should you do about it?


1. Develop a concept.  That means what are you going to do with it?  Do you want it to be an adventure story about a girl lost in time?  How about a story about a woman who learns she is more capable than she realized? Or a man who finds he really does have something to live for. Think about your characters and what they want or what you want to do with the story.


2. Develop your people.  That can mean your main character, of course, but it might also mean something fun like developing an evil villain. Or maybe you want to feature the old lady next door with a secret she's hiding? (bodies in the basement?)


3. Give yourself a location.  Writing a setting can be fun, but don't get too bogged down with it so that you forget the story itself.  Try using your setting as another character. It can be a hindrance to your story -- like a blizzard that keeps your heroine in all day and prevents her from starting her mission or makes her do more research before she sets out so that it later saves her life. Or it can be the catalyst because she desperately needs to get to her brother to save his life with needed medicine.


4. Think about the ending.  Notice I said think. You don't need to know it to start. Just having a vague concept can help, but that doesn't mean you need to think everything out before you get going. Give yourself permission to change the ending before you ever get there and write with that idea in mind.


5. Start writing!  I don't care if it's a scene, a description, a dialogue. Get started so that your book is no longer just a concept. Put something into your computer, tablet phone, or wow...write it in a notebook or type it up.  Just get started.


Yesterday, I came up with this great idea and sat around thinking about a new story.  I thought about it and thought about it, and this morning I was still thinking.  Well, no more thinking. I am going to start it!


You can do that too! Don't just think or talk. Write.