A couple of weeks ago, I shared the amazing news that I am now a published author. The response from that post has been incredibly overwhelming for all of the right reasons. I feel blessed that we are a fantastically supportive community and I have so many fantastic readers.

In this post, I want to share some more information with you guys. I want to share why I decided to write a novel, how I developed the plot and how I got started. The thought of developing a novel is a daunting thought and, in this post, I want to help any aspiring writers by sharing my experiences. Including the good, the bad and the fucking frustrating.

 

 

What inspired me to write a book?

Each night when I go to bed, I tell myself stories. Crazy I know, but bear with me. My anxiety goes into overdrive as soon as my head hits the pillow. I used to worry about conversations that I had held, what other people thought about me and the day ahead. So, instead of overthinking, I decided to control my thoughts and change my thoughts. Instead of allowing the panic to take over, I instead began to weave a yarn. I would think of characters and then make a narrative around them. Then each evening when I got back in bed, I would think of the next part of the story.

 

How I began to map out my thoughts.

The thoughts that I had in the evening, I realised that I had to capture them. For me, I would take my iPad and scribble notes onto the screen when I thought about them. Then, in the morning when I was more aware, I could make sense of them. The easiest way that I made sense of my thoughts was by drawing a literal timescale of the book that I had dancing around in my thoughts. From there, I could write down plot points and so much more. I created a messy, rough plan, then I could formalize that and turn it into something I could work from.

 

How I began the writing process.

Once I had managed to get my scrambled thoughts onto paper, it was just a case of getting stared. I would say that with each book I have written, it is the getting going that is the hardest. Once I have some words on paper, I find that it flows incredibly smoothly. But finding that opening sentence, which defines my writing style and sets the tone, I really struggle with. Normally for me, it involves me closing myself in my dressing room at my desk, loud music on and then it comes naturally to me.

 

How my one novel turned into a collection.

After I had written the first novel, the second one came pretty quickly. I was back in bed, telling myself made-up stories as I fell asleep and with the chapter closed on the first one, I decided to move onto a new story. That was the case for all of the books in the series. As soon as I finished writing one, I thought that my brain would need a cool down, but that was never the case. One book, rolled into another and then into another. It came very natural to me and I put that all down to my anxiety and ADHD!

 

Why I decided to release the books.

For a while, the fact that I had written the book was satisfying enough. The fact that I was able to generate, proof and collate five books of my own was a sign of a job well done. However, I kept thinking about them sitting in the cloud and I figured that they were going to waste. Plus, I have read the books that I have produced a few times and they are reminiscent of the books that I have read by other authors. So, on the off chance that just one person may enjoy them, I figured that there was no harm in putting them out there.

 

Why I decided to self-publish.

When I finally gained the courage to release the books into the world, I had to think how I was going to achieve it. There are two main routes. The first is the more traditional route of sending your manuscript to publishers in the hope that they pick it up. The next is that you release them into the public domain via self-publishing routes. At the moment, I am pursuing the traditional publishing route, but before I lose my nerve and hide my novels away forever, I am going to look into self-publishing them as quickly as possible.

 

As always, I hope you guys enjoyed this post. Writing a book is one hell of a feat. Even if they flop upon release, it is such an accomplishment. There are so many times I have spoken to people, and they have stated that it is a bucket list task of theirs to write a book. Yet here I am with a collection of them under my belt before the age of 30. More than anything else, I am proud that I was able to stick at this and I have some books on my shelf that I can proudly say that I wrote. If you have a nagging feeling in your mind that you want to write, I am here to prompt you to go for it.