How to start a novel - just write it!

I like to think of this blog topic as my sidekick, my go-to girl when my mind is as blank as my computer screen.  I have to admit I am in a writing lull these days and I need this post as much as anyone else.  I have finished editing my latest YA and find myself deliriously indecisive. Do I go back and work on my first book, a MG fantasy; re-visit my second book, another YA, (which is bound to leave me abandoning writing all together) or start something new?

So what have I decided?  Nothing.  Absolutely nada!  So, in a lame attempt to divert my attention from my own writing debacle, I went in search of inspiration and found my last blog (that sounds a lot more vain than I intend) How to Start a Novel and How to Start a Novel; the then what?  and decided that this blog was exactly what I need.

I just need to write.  Period.  Not only is it the answer to "how to start a novel", it's the answer to my latest problem - I just need to write.  No excuses.  

Writing isn't about whipping out the perfect novel in a matter of weeks; immediately followed by a week long stint in the hospital after succumbing to a caffeine induced coma. A novel is a collection of words and sentences that stir emotions and deliver you to worlds you can't escape - don't want to escape.  That's why we write; we want to take people to our worlds, to have them fall in love with our characters.  Plain and simple, we want to inspire, even a single person to read - then, then we have accomplished something.

And to do that - we must write.

Do you feel like I just took you on a ride on a Ferris wheel? But Toni, we've been over this - we just need to write, we go it!! But how?  How do you sit down and write a book???

Really, I see two options: 1) force you in front of your computer and tie you to a chair, while yelling demeaning words that lack encouragement and class, or 2) list some advice I have tricked myself into believing and/or found on the internet (either way they MUST be true - my imagination is bound to be as trustworthy as the internet!)

So here we go with option #2:

* Find your place - is a cafe, a library, your room - it doesn't matter just find a place that inspires you to be creative.
*Clear your mind - if you have a million things on your "to-do" list your mind is more likely to wonder a millions different directions.
* Set a date with your novel - come up with a specific time to write and use it wisely - don't cheat on your novel by checking your emails or updating your facebook status - just write.
* Surround yourself with things that will seduce your creativity - for me it's scented candles, my ipod, jeans, a hooded sweatshirt, and fuzzy slippers - I am a creature of habit and comfort - and all about good smells, what can I say!)
* Write anything.  Ray Bradbury gave some advice in a keynote speech, one of which he said
"Just type any old thing that comes into your head. He recommends “word association” to break down any creative blockages, since “you don’t know what’s in you until you test it.”

*And finally:


Be surprised.  Write one page a day and see what happens....surprise yourself and surprise the world.

:)