Hey guys! Me again, back from a hiatus. I finally finished the last book I had started when I was on last, but here’s to a new one! I have a few ideas jotted down in journal that I’ll start to flesh out and add to. But any tips on how to begin a new story? I feel inspiration strikes from all different angles. I’ve heard of the story chart (expo, rising, etc) but some times people will begin by writing a short summary of the story and then branch out with more details and then finally begin when they are happy. Character sheets are most fun…side note to start one for my babes!..how else do you guys dip your toes into a new story?
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Oh gosh it changes for every story I write!
With my current WIP, I wrote the first chapter, and then from there worked on world building and character motives. I found that I could not figure out how I wanted this story to go until I started writing it.
With my last book, I started with a brainstorm document. I wrote down a potential tagline for the story, summarized the conflicts I wanted, and then went through and developed characters. I did 0 world building on the story prior, and world built as I wrote instead.
The story before that, I had planned it like 4-5 different ways, but didn’t like any of them, so I scrapped it all and just leapt into the book and pantsed the whole thing lol.
However, one thing I always always do before I start writing a book is create a title, a blurb, and a book cover for it. It’s like part of my conceptualization process. Through those three things, I learn what kind of mood and genre and theme I want for the book and I also can develop an end goal to work toward.
The best part about this though, is that with all 3 of those things, now I have ways to rant about it to other people!! 
I do my best brainstorming when I can shoot all my friends a message like, “Okay I have this idea, this is the concept and how I want to name it and what my goal with the story is,” and get them invested in the story with me. And then from there we can talk and talk about potential ideas and pathways and characters and it helps me flesh the story out mentally before I start really working on it.
I never do character sheets though. I find I can never stay true to them and my character will just be whoever they want to be, so I just let them and take notes as I go lol. Like oh I guess this character suddenly likes architecture for some reason. I wonder why. takes notes
If you’re getting pulled too many ways, you take quick notes for the things that are nagging you: “down on paper” isn’t lost over time. Then you will be able to decide where the start should be.
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