Starting Novel #3

Posted by Jen on Friday, August 1st, 2008 @ 1:32 pm

Well, after taking almost two weeks off from writing, I’m ready to delve into writing novel number 3, tentatively called Clash.

Starting this novel makes me think back on how I started writing the other two. And every single beginning has been different.

Novel #1: Back in around August of last year, I got an idea for a YA novel. I really liked the idea, but I was busy with another book and school so I didn’t start it then. I thought about it for almost 6 months before I actually started writing it. In this time, I got to know the characters, the basic plot, the ending, the opening scene. A lot was figured out in my mind before beginning.

Novel #2: This idea came to me in the middle of the night when I was half-awake and half-asleep. The premise, the main character, the opening scene, plot points along the way and the ending all came to me at once. It was absolutely wild. An incredible experience. I’d love for it to happen again, but who knows if it ever will.

Novel #3: I went to go look at an author’s cover shot for her new novel and came across another picture. It was of a girl, and I instantly got an idea for a character. Her background, story and current situation immediately came to me. But not the plot. Since then, I’ve mulled over this idea. It’s been about two weeks. I have the opening scene, the barest outline and no ending, but I love the character and I think I can come up with a great story for her. So, I’m just going to delve into it and see where the story takes me. This is a lot different than how I wrote the last two books. Let’s see how it goes.

I’m actually really excited about this character. She’s strong and she’s independent. She’s thoughtful and soft-hearted. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to come up with an idea I loved after becoming enveloped by this last novel. But I think I can throw myself into this one. It’s also aimed toward YA, but it’s about a freshman in college so it’s for older teens. It’s an urban fantasy, a genre I’ve been particularly loving lately. The market is probably getting pretty saturated by these, but it’s what I love so it’s what I’m going to write.

So, off I go! I’m going to get to work on the first chapter today!