writing

How to Start Writing Your OC Story

A special edition of Unvale blogs, just for you!

Any writer knows that one of the most difficult parts of writing is, well, writing. The second hardest part is editing, but that’s something you shouldn’t worry about until you’ve got plenty of story and scenes to work with; so we won’t be talking about that in this article (but maybe in the future…?). So, writing. How do we even start?

How to Sit Down and Get to it

Getting this part of the process out of the way is the first thing we’ll focus on. There’s no sure fire way to get yourself to sit down and write, but here’s a few methods that professional writers use to get themselves motivated.

Method 1: Freewriting

This is the ‘writing by the seat of your pants’ method. It might be something you did in the past for fun, or something you do right now! To freewrite properly, you need to completely turn off the ‘critical editor’ part of your brain and let yourself be fully creative and do whatever you think sounds cool or is fun. If you have plans in place already, don’t stick to them too strongly and let the scene go where it may.

Some say that “90% of what we produce is just okay, and that remaining 10% is genius”, so some writers agonize over that 90% and never manage to produce the 10% because of it. Producing stuff you might not like is part of the process, because managing to produce anything at all is a victory. That’s the core of freewriting. Once you’ve written enough material to actually edit, that’s where you can put on the pressure and turn carbon into diamonds. Another phrase writers like to use is “writing is rewriting”; it means that the biggest part of writing our stories is rewriting and refining them over time. Freewriting is useful for getting to that point of being able to rewrite quickly.

Method 2: Daily Word Goals

If you check the word count of a document, you can see how many characters and words you’ve written up to a certain point. Agonizing over word counts and checking against the average amount of words are needed for a manuscript to count as a novel isn’t rare; but if you find yourself struggling to get words on a page, word counts can be used to your advantage.

It’s a simple trick: just set a daily word goal. Maybe you want to write 500 words a day, but you usually only manage 100. In that case, let’s set your goal at 100 words, and if you have the motivation to continue after that 100, keep writing! Sometimes you’ll find you’ve gone above and beyond your word goal, which is the point of the whole exercise. Keeping your expectations low so you can surpass them on good days and meet them on bad ones is a good way to stay motivated and stop you from being hard on yourself unnecessarily.

Solar doodle thinking… — Now, let’s see… how do I start my story?

Writing Your First Chapter

Now that we’ve figured out some ways to get writing, the question becomes what to write. If you’ve already decided to start on lore and backstory information, it’s easier to pick what to share and what order to share it in. It’s good to put the most important information at the top, use bold text to highlight important concepts and words, and use lists and bullet points to break up big chunks of text. You can see this formatting in action in Whim and my articles.

This doesn’t really help if you actually plan to get into it and write your original story though. It can be tough to decide where in your story you want to start, and you might be asking yourself how to begin writing that critical first chapter; after all, the first impression of a story is the biggest way to get a reader hooked and interested. I do have a foolproof solution for you this time, actually… simply skip the first chapter!

Start in the part of the story that you’re most certain about, and write that section first. While writing your chapters in order might seem like the right way to go about it, it’s basically never necessary. Even if you’re releasing serial chapters every week, I’d always recommend you complete the full narrative first so you don’t have any inconsistencies or mistakes you have to correct later. Let go of the notion that things need to be written in order and suddenly everything becomes much easier (and more fun).

We’re waiting to see what you create on Unvale!

The most motivating thing for me sometimes is having other people who are just as interested in my creative work as I am, and maybe that’s true for you too. With so many incredible stories in the world, it can be hard to stand out, but don’t be discouraged! Take the time to look for people with similar interests, and put yourself out there! Maybe you’ll get featured on the front page, find a great community, or meet some new friends along the way. The Writing-Advice community is one of Unvale’s largest communities, so if you need any help or advice, you’re always welcome there. The best way to get noticed on Unvale is to be kind, interact with others, and most importantly, be yourself! We wish you the best of luck on your Unvale journey.