HOW DO YOU WRITE?

Writing a book is different for everyone. What I find that works for me is to begin with an outline, similar to an outline one would use in a major research paper. The purpose of this outline is to organize my mess of thoughts so that I can effectively write an exciting novel for my readers.

First, I jot down the many thoughts I have on a piece of scrap paper. Of course, I don't worry about if it makes sense. I just get them down on paper. Each thought has its own line on that piece of paper. Next, I begin to arrange these thoughts in order. I take a pair of scissors and cut out each thought, littering my desk with tiny strips of paper. As I study these, I ask myself what needs to happen first. This can be thought of as a list of things to do, or sequence of events that need to occur. I switch thoughts around, and around again, until something starts to make sense. I continue the switcheroo process until I'm satisfied I can move to the next step of the writing process.

I transfer these thoughts to my computer so that when I'm ready to, I expand each thought into paragraphs. Each paragraph becomes a tiny chapter. Think of it this way. If you read a chapter of your favorite book, then summarized it in 100 words, that's exactly what I'm doing. Only, I'm doing this in reverse order.

So, now that I have a bunch of tiny paragraphs, each of which is labeled with a chapter number, I begin reading what I've just written. I read the first paragraph (Chapter 1) and ask myself if it makes sense. Did I sufficiently summarize what I want to discuss in my very first chapter? Did I include something that will hook my reader? If not, I must re-write that paragraph so it conveys the message my readers need from me.

I continue down the list, reading paragraph after paragraph (chapter after chapter) and modifying them until all of these mini-chapters "flow" nicely. If there is a nice "flow" present, then I can begin writing my actual novel.

And that, my dear readers, is what I've done with She Never Knew. That will be what I will do again in my sequel, The Hidden Truth.