Things I did before starting to write my first novel

A list that is probably missing some really crucial steps, but I wouldn't know because I'm a first-timer

In case I haven’t mentioned it already this is a joke, I definitely have I’ve started writing my first novel. It’s a fantasy book which at this stage is perhaps leaning further into the YA realm than I had originally planned, but I’m excited to see how and where it ends up.

I recently read Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’ and was amazed when he declared himself a pantser. He starts with a question, like “what if vampires took over a small town?”, and lets the story unravel from there. Unfortunately, I’m a bit more of a control freak than King and I simply don’t have it in me. So I put together a decent (and yet still very flexible) plan for my novel before starting to write.

This list is definitely not an exhaustive list of things you should do before starting to write, because I’m a first-timer and don’t know a darn thing about it! However, it is a list of things that made me feel more comfortable going in to start my first draft.

I planned out the entire storyline.

For me, this looks like a Google Doc that has a table with two columns - chapter number and plot points. In this document I jotted down the storyline I had and split it across the number of chapters I was thinking the book might have. As I’ve started writing this plan has chopped and changed and I’ve updated it on the go. I write split-screen with the table beside my draft most of the time. I enjoy seeing where the story wants to go, and I always follow along with where it takes me, but I enjoy having a bit of a guideline and a reference to remind me of the direction I want to keep moving in.

I gave my world a (very badly drawn) map.

My novel is split between the sea and the land, and as the characters navigate around I know I need a clear idea of where the locations in my story are in reference to one another. So I drew up a shoddily drawn map on my iPad (maybe I’ll share it here someday?). I actually drew a few different maps. One was a larger map showing where key locations sat together. The others were smaller maps, more focused on a singular city or area.

I even went as far as to draw up a rough sketch/floorplan of spaces like my main character’s bedroom; places that I knew I’d talk of frequently or were home to pivotal parts of the story.

I also added written descriptions of key locations to my planning document to have that nearby for handy reference too.

I made a Pinterest board for my story.

As I showed a sneak peek of in the note below, I created a Pinterest board with photos that match the vibe of my story. Some are photos I selected because they were visual representations of what I imagined certain locations or scenes looking like. For others it was the photo that came first and I’ve written in locations or small things in the story that I thought of after finding the image.

The board also contains photos of what I imagine key characters looking like. As before, I often find a few photos for my main characters and then describe them from there. I find it much easier to describe a person with a visual in front of me!

I enjoy scrolling through this board before and during writing sessions. When I’m struggling to find the words to describe something I often come back to the board for a visual reminder of what I’m aiming for.

I created character profiles for most characters.

Because I’ve already jotted down the plot of the book, I have a pretty good idea of who my main cast are and what they should be like. I enjoy bringing them to life more by creating quick little character profiles for them. I do this in the same document as the original plan so it’s easy to reference.

The character profiles involve jotting down things such as their name, age, gender, appearance details, personality traits and any key quirks I’ve given them. I also usually throw in a few visual references of what I have imagined them to look like. I find having these handy ensures that I’m writing them true to how I imagined them, and not accidentally writing every character in the same way.

I don’t give very minor characters a profile, but jot down quickly who they are so I don’t lose track of them in the story. I also add any characters I’ve come up with during my writing sessions if I’ve felt that the story called for something I was missing.

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After getting through the above, I had probably procrastinated about as much as I possibly could before writing, so I started writing. If you’re a pantser I am in awe of you - I wish I were you. If you’re more of a plotter like me, or have your own way of doing things, I’d love to know your method!