I'm at this stage right now and I'm trying to pay attention to how I do it. By "starting" here I mean specifically the period between having the idea for the novel and writing the first scene, so it covers things like initial research, sketching out characters and plot, that sort of thing.
This is my fourth novel. I've been thinking about it in a back-burner sort of way for some years, as I worked on other projects that I felt ought to come first. I can look at what I've done previously, but I have to rely on memory, which is cagey and tricksey and full of holes and facades. I know in the first one I just plunged in--or rather tumbled in sideways. The next two did stem from ideas that just sort of sprang up and met some larger goals to do with Altearth. Also, I knew that my novel about Fritz (The Falconer) would necessarily be more ambitious and I wanted to get some more experience.
I have time now to observe and think about the process. Over the years I've accumulated any number of how-to-write-a-novel books and articles and 'sfunny, ya know, but they don't really talk much about this phase. They talk about character arcs and 3-act structure as if I already know what the structure is when I have scarcely begun!
Anyways, as Mr Swearingen would say, I'm sort of floundering. All you plotters out there, please feel free to chime in. Pantsers: sorry. There'll be no diving in on this project.
I'm going to post a reply here to say more or less where I'm at right now, but I'd love to hear from others how they go about undertaking a new project.
This is my fourth novel. I've been thinking about it in a back-burner sort of way for some years, as I worked on other projects that I felt ought to come first. I can look at what I've done previously, but I have to rely on memory, which is cagey and tricksey and full of holes and facades. I know in the first one I just plunged in--or rather tumbled in sideways. The next two did stem from ideas that just sort of sprang up and met some larger goals to do with Altearth. Also, I knew that my novel about Fritz (The Falconer) would necessarily be more ambitious and I wanted to get some more experience.
I have time now to observe and think about the process. Over the years I've accumulated any number of how-to-write-a-novel books and articles and 'sfunny, ya know, but they don't really talk much about this phase. They talk about character arcs and 3-act structure as if I already know what the structure is when I have scarcely begun!
Anyways, as Mr Swearingen would say, I'm sort of floundering. All you plotters out there, please feel free to chime in. Pantsers: sorry. There'll be no diving in on this project.
I'm going to post a reply here to say more or less where I'm at right now, but I'd love to hear from others how they go about undertaking a new project.