Step One; Follow my blogs to stay updated with tips, tricks and other stuff you need to know about becoming a writer/novelist. Follow my journey, learn from my experience, use my ideas and more. You can find a lot of detailed blogs to help you with your writing journey on the table of contents right here --------> Step Two; Before you start writing, you need to know what you are getting yourself in to. Do research...lot's of research. I've always dreamed of being a writer but didn't know at all about how publishing works during most of my early life; i imagined it as a trip to some office, giving them the manuscript and expect the novel in stores in a few months or something. NO! Luckily just before i became serious i thought to google everything i could about the writing career. I suggest you do the same. What if the process includes something you are not ready for? You better know all this before you start writing because afterwards quitting would mean hard work gone to waste. I had to do tons of research before this but i think i may have made this easier for you by summarizing what I know and sharing my knowledge here. Step Three; Get yourself time; special time dedicated to story-thinking, planning and writing only! I know I needed to spend peaceful nights thinking the story from beginning to end; my therapist told me to officially call in creative time that I should give myself before going to bed to help with my sleep routing. Similarly you will need to figure out what works for you and fit this creative time and writing time into your schedule. Step Four; Noting down stuff, like a mind-map...or a summary, maybe a list of chapters, important dialogues and other stuff you fear you may forget by the time you start writing. Just begin scribbling before you start officially writing. Of course the technique varies from person to person but it's always better to have a rough outline before you start making the real masterpiece. I also had a bonus habit of doodling; this way i would never forget a scene and i could just look at what I've made and describe it. Hence, just keep a pen & paper around and start taking notes of all the ideas you have for your final writing. Step Five; BEGIN WRITING! Get everything you need (perhaps a personal laptop, a writing desk, notebooks etc), set up a timetable and start writing your story. You may start short...add details later, or maybe you'll have a whole novel written in a smooth flow. Either way, just start working on your manuscript, don't waste time, don't let the writer's block get to you and just get it done! Step Six; While you are still writing or when your first draft is complete, research on literary agents (i.e if you are not self-publishing) and if you think you have find a few suitable people...add them in bookmarks. Also begin to prepare a draft query letter, synopsis, hook etc but do not send it till the book is completed. In the time you get you can edit your letter till it reaches perfection. Step Six; Novel ready...or almost done, Hit SEND on you query letter and wait. Since reply to these letters take a while, it would be okay to send it before you edit or add details to the story and then begin proofreading and editing while you wait for a positive response. Keep polishing your manuscript, don't just think it's over once you've reached 'the end', keep working on it! Currently, this is the point where I'm stuck at and as much as I want to give up on my story after several rejections I know now that there's always room for improvement and I'll make most of the time I have to make my story better till it is accepted. So, I hope you found this blog helpful, best wishes - Iman Malik
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AuthorWelcome! My name is Iman Malik and I am an aspiring novelist who is dreaming to be a bestseller one day who can be well known as writer Iman Malik. Archives
September 2021
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