How to start a book

Writing a book is a very big task. Start off with spider diagrams, split them up into catorgories.

1. Characters - who do you want to be involved. How many male or female. Ages. Personality. Is there going to be a hero or a villain?

2. Settings you will want to include - a book will span over many different characters and settings. Vary it from being in the country to the city - perhaps a little lost boy looking for someone/where in the city. Or it could be a time machine going to the jurassic times to the future

3. Plot - what do you want to happen? Is someone going to die? Is there someone the audience will be attracted to? Is it an adventure or is it a story of someone’s past

4. English grammar - think up all the things you could use - assonance, nouns, proverbs, onomatopaeis etc. These are what makes the audience feel part of a story. Make them feel included. Picture things out to them instead of saying “standing by the bush” say something like “idly standing by the rather large everygreen prickly bush that cast a shadow over me”

Once you have got the grasp of the story, the way it goes and the characters you need to think how many chapters you will have

For each chapter have a mini story for it. But connect it to the 2nd as to the 3rd and 4th etc. Plan when each character would come in. Would the most important character come in the last chapter? or the first? Will it be in the first person? (e.g. “I went…”)

Once you have an idea where everything will be, in whatever order and what the story will be. Start writing. The first chapter can take weeks. Because the first is always the trickiest. But once you get into it, you will be on fire!! When you reach your final chapter - ALWAYS have 2 different endings. Ask people which sound better or ask yourself. Choose. Choice must always be yours.

THEN you choose the title.

Good luck