#reafing

Listen, I'll be straight with you despite my lack of being straight. Just go for it. That is the biggest tip of all. Just start it, get what's on your mind onto the paper, then fix it later. If you don't, you'll quickly forget about where you wanted to take your story in the first place.

1. You can use inspiration from other books if you need to. That is 100% okay

Obviously, don't copy them or their ideas. But use them as stepping stones to begin and see where it goes from there.

2. Have the story in mind, but not the whole thing

The thing about writing is that as you go, you will get more and more ideas, and they will continue to change. Have a decent idea of what you want the story to be, what character goals are, who the characters are, plots, etc.

Ex. The book I'm working on now was supposed to be a dystopian novel about the government and how they created a disease that infects people. But more and more, as I've written, that story line hasn't exactly changed so much as improved.

3. Write for yourself, not for others

A personal struggle of mine, but it's true. When you're writing, don't think about what happens after. Don't think about who will read it and how many, just think about the story and getting your thoughts onto the paper and creating the story you want to write

4. Try to write something everyday, taking small breaks throughout the day

This helps a lot. Trust me. When I take breaks for days at a time, I literally forget what I was writing beforehand and have to reread a lot. Instead, try to write at least something everyday so that you have the story fresh in your head and so you can actually finish it