Why Writing a Novel Isn't That Different From Going to Space

When I was a child, the dream of becoming a published - to say nothing of famous - author was like going to the moon. Sure, I'd seen the moon, and I knew about rockets, and I'd seen pictures of people on the moon, but when I really thought about going there there were a gazillion miles of space in between me and the moon that I couldn't get across. Even now, having lived to the once impossibly old age of fifteen, the fantasy of going to space is just that - a fantasy.

And in the same way, writing a book can seem like an impossible possible task, whether or not you want to do it. You've read books, you've heard of, maybe even met authors, even thought of cool premises, but read as you might, you can't see yourself crossing the journey that is a gazillion words, all about the same story.

I know I definitely couldn't.

Before I start talking about novel writing, I should establish something: Everyone does it differently. Some sit and churn out 4000 words a day (I can do 1000 words an hour if I know what I'm going to write, but I've never written for more than 3 hours), others write 5 words and edit 7. Similarly, some have notebooks or word documents stuffed with planning (the plotters), while others just sit and let it fly (the pantsers). What's important is getting to the end. I don't think speed matters much, but the plotter vs. pantser thing is actually pretty interesting. I generally think of there being a spectrum that most writers fall on that looks something like this:

These are things people actually do or claim to do. There are people who will tell you that they aren't in charge; their characters tell them what to write and they write it. There are people who prefer to just do it. There are people who know exactly how the story's going to end before they begin. There are people who love outlines.

Before I put a finger to keyboard, I made a list of chapters and wrote a short description of every scene that happened in that chapter and made up the fictional civilization's language. On my spectrum, I fall about here:

You might look at this and conclude, "She's a control freak." And maybe I am, especially plot-wise, though my characters will never do anything it doesn't suit them to do, even if I'd like them to. But I plot so heavily because I would not be able to write otherwise. I see the beginning, I see the end, and I see a whole bunch of nothing in the middle, and my reaction to that is the fill every little step in between so that I have something.

Believe me, there's plenty of room for writer's block while writing the scenes.

Once I begin writing, there's a lot that's set. My plot lines are nice and developed, so to change one point would be to change the entire line. My characters know who they are and even where they're going. Most importantly, the thing I'm trying to express is set. I don't really know what it is until I write, but it's there and I find it as I write.

That's not to say that things don't change, of course. I literally flipped the ending of my book midway through it. I added characters and tweaked characterizations during my editing process. But my final destination - the thing I was trying to say - didn't change. And so, for me, going to the moon isn't a bad metaphor for writing a book. I make my rocket - my characters, the world. I chart out my course, plotting each point. When I actually write, the planning ends, and I shoot out at 1000 words an hour, but if I encounter trouble, I'll simply change my course. My engines even detach, because once not finishing my book becomes a physical impossibility, I don't need as much motivation anymore.

Many writers are not at all like that, and some of them probably would very heavily disagree with my nice analogy (it still makes a decent hook). But no matter what end of the spectrum writers are on, there's something that (in my experience, at least) they all have in common: They're thinking about their story even when they aren't writing it.

And this is key, especially for people with busy lives, because let's face it: You're not going to be able to write every day, no matter how dedicated. You're definitely not always going to be sailing smoothly. You most adamantly don't have free time sitting there, just waiting to be used. If you're anything like me, you have school, and on top of that you have three clubs, at least one instrument, a sport, and some more. You might even have friends. Your day is jammed full, scheduled to the minute, and you have more stuff you could be doing (like actually practicing that instrument). Why are you even trying to write? Why not wait?

If you think like that, you won't finish. If you think you can do it in summer...there are probably a few people who would, but I've never met any of them.

So what can you do? First of all, take advantage of the fact that writing is portable. Get a notebook (whether paper or electronic) and write in class, on the bus, while waiting in that impossibly slow lunch line or for a teacher to come or for your lotion to sink in or whatever it is you do, whenever you can find scraps of time. Then, when you really just can't be writing, like before bed or when the teacher wants you to actually pay attention (but it really doesn't matter), think about what you're writing so that you're more productive when you actually are writing, or just so that you get into the habit.

Now, I've found that it's actually pretty hard to stop writing after you reach the point when you live, think, and breathe your book, but before you get to that point there's a gravitational field of self-doubt and homework and things you want to be doing and the fact that you aren't that obsessed pulling you down. So how do you get out of that? How do you get obsessed?

Well, you need some pretty big engines. Fortunately, you probably have some idea of what motivates you. But, if you'd like ideas, here are some things that seem are have been helpful:

• Starting out small, with the part of writing that holds your interest the best - develop a character, main or not, figure out how to make dragons scientifically feasible, explore your world's power dynamics, etc. I started out with two names and a scene, and everything else grew around that.
• Telling people you're writing a book, so they can hold you accountable
• Committing in some other public way
• Doing lots of world-building or character-building until you are one with the story
• Keeping track of your word count (if it's November, you can do National Novel Writing Month - NaNoWriMo, which is a challenge to write 50,000 words in a month that got me onto writing)
• Writing almost every day, so it becomes a habit
• Writing whenever you're bored and can't do anything else, for various reasons (yes, I'm encouraging you to write when you should be listening to the teacher. Just don't blame me if your grades drop.)
• Having a parent tell you you can't

Now stop reading this and go write.

Unless, that is, you have short story ideas for me, things you'd like me to post about, or general comments, because if so, please leave them in the comment box or email me at emmajin08@gmial.com.