Becoming a Writer: Where to Begin

 I am a dreamer. I love stories, either reading them or writing them. If I am not reading a story, I am writing one in my head. Only sometimes do I actually write them down. Does this sound like you? Does your brain reach for a story like a street drug? Do you ever say "I'm sorry, you're interrupting me." to someone because you're busy conversing with the voices in your head? Then maybe you are born to be a writer!

  But, where do you begin? You've probably heard this before: Write what you know! But it's so true. Even if you are coming up with a fantasy world where everything is different than reality, there has to be some feelings, experiences, or interests you can draw from to inspire your story. Think about: What do you like to do? What do you enjoy reading about? Then, sit back and daydream. Go back to pretend land like when you were a little kid and imagine your story playing out like a movie in your head. They say every character in an author's story is a reflection of the author because it comes from his or her own mind. So don't be afraid to endow them with a little bit of you. 

   Once you have sort of played out a story in your mind, mentally "replay" once or twice. You'll notice how your imagination changes certain details, sometimes even for the better. Less important details are forgotten. Eventually, you need to actually write something down! It doesn’t matter if you start at the very beginning of your story or somewhere in the middle. Replay the story in your mind and let the words flow out of your fingers onto the keyboard or handwriting onto a pad even if it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Write and write and write. And when you can write no more, take a break. Come back with fresh eyes and read it. With your story still in your mind, try to find the threads of it in the nonsense you wrote down. Now start a fresh page and begin again. This time, try to add more clarity and structure to your thoughts as you write them down. Just like an artist molding a bit of clay, it starts out a messy glob, but if the artist keeps the finished image in his mind, the clay (or in your case, your story) will eventually become what the artist intends. When you rewrite, describe each scene in your mind as they come to you. When your brain just can’t take it anymore, stop. Trust me, it is very possible to turn your brain into a gloppy unusable lump of clay if you concentrate too long without a break (speaking from experience). Spend however much time you need re-daydreaming your story and solidify it in your mind before you return to the keyboard. I would say try to even try to take your mind off of the project for a while, but I wont tell you to do something I have found to be impossible. Ha!

  When you are very sure what your story is, if you're like me, you will barely be able to contain it. Each time you come back and begin writing, your story will form and shape and get better and better. I have found that some of my early scribblings when I begin a book are very helpful later on when I forget some of the finer details I didn't want to leave out.

  This has been my own experience when it comes to beginning a story, or at least a longer story. But if you are reading this and are a more seasoned author and have a different experience, I’d really love your input and I’m sure my readers would as well. 

   I don’t know if any of this was helpful to someone. I hope so. If there’s a question I could answer, I will certainly try to do so in the comments.