Have you ever read a book and wondered how did they come up with that idea?  Have you ever wondered how long it took the author to write it?  Well, in the last few months I've been trying to write a novel with my best friend so I have learned a bit about the writing process.  Even though I'm not a professional writer I have experienced a few problems writers go through and learned some tips to get through them.

First, if you feel overwhelmed writing stories you should break things down into smaller steps.  The first step is simply thinking of one or more problems you would like your characters to face.  Develop this into a storyline by deciding what types of things the characters need to do to face their problems.  Next, choose characters and give them personalities.  You can fill in the details as you go.  Once you finally start writing, go back periodically and change it a bit.  The first piece you write in never the best.  My story is nowhere near done but it has already been changed a lot.  Whole scenes have been added and removed.  The characters, though, still face many of the same perils as was first planned and still act the way they were first created.  Another big change I went back and made was in the prologue.  At first I wrote the story through one of the main character's point of view, but I later thought it would be easier for the reader to understand if I told it from the point of view of the brother of that same character.  My friend and I have even changed the plot a bit to make it clearer and more interesting to the reader.

The Best advice I can give is to start simple.  Don't jump ahead and start telling the story before you provider the background for the storyline.  An example of developing a storyline might be that two kids move to a new place and meet a strange person who makes their lives very interesting.  Soon they find that this strange new person is a magical being, and they find out there are many magical beings that live among everyone else around the world.  Then maybe the three of them spend their time on the run trying to find special magical items.  Those items may be the only way to end centuries of needless bloodshed.  There, I've already got an idea for a story.

Next I'm ready to add characters.  I think I'll start with the strange new friend.  I'll name her Clarissa and she will be a strong-willed witch who can be brash, but also be kind and brave.  She's willing to put others ahead of herself.  Maybe she had a family member who was killed in all the bloodshed and will stop at nothing to end it.  The two kids who moved could be boyfriend and girlfriend to each other.  Maybe I'll name them Alex and Kennedy.  I'll make them extremely protective of each other.  Maybe I'll name them Alex and Kennedy. I'll make them extremely protective of each other.  Both will be brave, but slow to accept the world they are now entering. You can start as simple as that.

As you work on the story you can expand on your idea and add new details to it and take some away.  Maybe a crush or friend betrays them and they have to fight their way out of captivity.  As I've said, writing is very exciting and can be a great time to let your imagination soar even if it is a lot of work.  Just remember to try not to leave the reader behind.  They will get board quickly if they can't understand your story.  Get creative, you can always fix something later if you don't like it.  Find something to write about and start! My best tip of all is if you don't start you'll never finish.