What I Wish I Knew Before I Started Writing:

This is for all the new writers: The things I wish I knew before I started writing. Hopefully, this will be of some help!

1) Outlining & Planning Are Essential

In the writing world, there are said to be two types of writers, plotters, and pantsers. Or another way to say it is outliners and non-outliners. I'm a plotter/outliner. But, I didn't know there were such things as plotters and pantsers when I started my writing journey. But regardless, I still ended up being a plotter nonetheless. Now, this could be mainly because I have a Type A personality and I'm a slight perfectionist. But even if you aren't, even if you think you're a pantser rather than a plotter I still firmly believe it's essential for everyone to do some form of planning or outlining of their book before they start. Because if you don't outline or plan how do you know what is going to happen in your story? As the author, it is your job to know the story that way you can tell it. This all comes from outlining.

Now, let me be clear, I have nothing against pantsers. I admire them while at the same time, I'm slightly scared for them.​ But even if you are a pantser you need to have some understanding of your story which is only found by outlining. While I'm a plotter and I outline my novel's chapters I don't outline everything. My outlining is bullet points of the essential things that need to happen in the chapter. So I'm not a crazy outliner who writes paragraphs for each chapter as an outline. I just write down what I need to know so that when I sit down in front of my computer and stare at that blank page I know what I'm doing. This is why I find it essential to writing.

2) It's Hard

I know that's a very basic statement, but it's something you need to know. When I used to think of writing I thought it was an easy thing. You had a story idea you got to know the characters made a short very brief outline and then you just started writing. Boy was I wrong. Writing takes so much work and it is very time-consuming. You need to know that before you get into this. Because if you don't you're more likely to give up. Now, while it is hard and time-consuming I want you to know it is worthwhile. Because the best things always come from accomplishing something hard.

3) Things Are Likely To Change In Your Storyline

Like I said above, I'm an outliner. So, in the beginning, I outlined my entire novel and then started writing my book. But when I started writing I realized my outline was entirely wrong. So I had to change a few things. (Well a lot of things, but that's beside the point) The point is, you need to be aware that as you begin to write your story things are bound to change from what you originally planned as you go. This is because you get to know your characters better and therefore are able to write a story that fits them. Your outline/storyline is likely to change. But, this is perfectly okay! This is only because you are changing as a writer. And only good things can come of it. Trust me!

4) Characters Are Bound To Change

As I said above, things in your storyline are bound to change and the same is true for your characters. Your characters are likely to change from your original idea of them. This is because as you write them you get to know them better. Therefore they will change. Your characters are also bound to change as your storyline does. I had a character in my first novel who changed drastically. In the beginning, he was just a controlling Ex boyfriend, but as I the story went on he went totally off the rails from my original plan. So as I said before, things will change as you grow and write. And that's okay because it's how things are sometimes.

5) It Will Take Time To Figure Things Out

The whole process of writing is a process! And it takes time. Lots of time. It takes time to figure out what you want your story to tell the reader, to figure out your characters, and to figure out the best way to plan the story. It takes time to figure all of these things out. So, be aware of that as you go into this. And don't try to rush things. Or force things. It takes time. Lots of it. But, the best things come with time.

6) Sometimes You Will Write Trash

One of the hardest things I had to learn while writing is the fact that sometimes you're going to write trash and that's okay. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I want my writing to be perfect as I'm writing it. So I had many days where I would start writing and then stop because I didn't like what I was writing. I would just sit in front of a blank page and type and delete, type and delete over and over again. It was discouraging. Then I heard a quote that is still in my head to this day, "You can't edit a blank page." This quote made me realize that sometimes it's okay to write trash because I can and will edit it later. Or by writing something bad I then realize what I need to write instead. This happened once with one of the chapters in my first book. I wrote probably 5 pages of the chapter but I wasn't feeling it. It was only after I wrote 5 pages of something mediocre that I realized what I had to do instead to make it great. So I deleted those 5 pages and started over. And now it's a chapter I love.

7) The Beginning Might Be Slow

When I first started writing it took me between 3-4 months to write the first 5 chapters of my book. It takes time to get into a writing routine where you're writing 2,000+ words a day. Honestly, I'm not even sure you should strive to do that in the beginning. But you can if you want. Don't let me turn you away from that if that's your goal. What I'm trying to say, is don't pressure yourself to these huge writing goals. If you start out slow where you're only writing a few hundred words every couple of days that's okay. Do what works for you and your schedule. And remember it takes time to build a writing routine. Yes, you will have to start striving to write as often and as much as possible but don't pressure yourself into doing that in the beginning unless that is what you want to do. And even if you're striving to write 2,000+ words every single day be aware it will take time to get there and the beginning will be slow going. But that's okay. Everything that's good takes time. Don't beat yourself up about it. Because that will only make things worse.

So, those are the 7 things I wish I knew before I started writing. I hope it will help all of you new writers out there! I know I could have used something like this before I started writing. Hope all of you are doing well and that this helps in some way.

Please leave a message in the comments of things you wish you knew before you started writing.

And remember if you have any questions please leave a comment or contact me. I'm always willing to help however I can.

With Love, Kathryn Hawke