All About Writing Emmett's Story

I started writing Emmett's Story when I was thirteen. No joke, I really wrote the first few chapters a few weeks before the eighth grade started. Sometimes it blows my mind to think that I started this so long ago, but sometimes it blows my mind that I ever finished it at all.

I've heard people say things like, "I could write a book, if I just had a good idea," or "I could write my own book if I just had the time." To both of those statements, I feel confident saying that no, you could not. I believe that anyone can write a book, but if you feel that ideas and time are what's stopping you from trying, then you lack the true secret key to being able to be an author: determination. I cannot describe how many times I found a plot hole in Emmett's Story and just wanted to scream. I cannot describe how daunting it was at times to think that the story I was writing was supposed to eventually have a middle or even worse, an ending. But I was determined. I knew it wasn't easy. I knew it would take more time than I could even imagine. But I knew I had to do it.

All in all, it took me about four years to finish writing Emmett's Story. I finished it the summer just before my senior year. It might have been done sooner, but I started this book when my writing skills still needed a lot of practice, and while writing this book has given me a lot of it, I know I still have plenty to work on. Still, as frustrating as it was to constantly rewrite chapters as my writing improved, it was still satisfying to at least know that I had improved. Those original chapters made me cringe so hard because my writing had become so much better than that.

A lot of people have asked me stuff like, "how do you even come up with stuff like that??" The answer? Daydreaming. And time, but mostly daydreaming. I started a habit in middle school of drifting into my stories whenever my attention wouldn't hold in class. Or sometimes it was the fifteen minute bus ride home. Sometimes it was the nights I couldn't sleep, or the quiet mornings eating breakfast. Some days it was the place I went when I finished a test or assignment early in class. It was a safe place to retreat to, a world of my own creation, but more than anything, it meant that my story was always on my mind. I was always asking friends and family questions, such as, "do you think this character should be evil? Do you think he should have green eyes or brown eyes? What if no one was truly evil, what do you think?"

I gained a lot of perspective from others throughout my writing process and I cannot stress enough how invaluable it was. Sometimes, it's your story, and you know where it's going and you should stick to your original intentions. But other times, you aren't quite sure which way to take things, and that's okay, but people love being able to be a part of the process of helping you figure it out. Of course, at first you might just seem annoying, but when you get to the end of things, even though you're the one who wrote it, people around you will see their own influence within the story and be proud of their contribution to your process.

Speaking of processes, so many people are always always wondering, "what's your process for dealing with writer's block?" This isn't necessarily a question that I get bombarded with, but I see it everywhere, I see every author being asked it at least once. Not everyone will have the same solution, but here's mine: I write down questions. As many questions about my story as I possibly can, and it's important to write them down. Sometimes, I just ponder over them until I can come up with something, and sometimes those questions live in my head rent free for weeks until one random Sunday evening I'll suddenly come up with a huge plot point while doing the dishes (this is actually what I was doing when I thought of the series title The Stardust Kids' Chronicles).

It might seem like it doesn't do much, but coming up with questions to write down is the same thing as coming up with definitive goals for your story. If you answer a question, you complete a goal, or maybe depending on what questions you're asking, you define a goal. The point is that you can't get an answer if you don't know for sure what the question is, and writing it down helps make sure that you remember it. Looking at it on the paper makes your brain just itch to add the answer right below it and the more you think about it, the more you're actively thinking about your story. Sometimes, this can lead to answering questions you weren't looking for, or even figuring out how pieces related to your question all fit together. Thinking in general about your story also helps you to develop exactly who your characters are in your head and what plot points might change or challenge those characters. Not a lot of people talk about it, but sometimes just thinking counts as writing, even though it sounds counterintuitive.

I won't make this too much longer, but the last part of my Emmett's Story process that I want to touch on is my notes. I have a notes document (I call it Emmett's Notes) and an entire binder covered in Furby stickers that's full of years worth of notes. Nope, none of them are organized. Some of it is Emmett's Story first draft (yikes) and much more of it is random questions, character quotes, and plot summaries either typed in colored fonts or written with colored pens. You might be wondering what coloring system I used. I also wonder this. In hindsight, I seriously have no idea what any of the highlighting meant, but that's okay! Writer's don't have to be these organized creatures with organized notes and organized outlines. Nobody starts their book already knowing all of the details, we make things up as we go! Every single author does this, I promise. the only reason it never seems that way is because we use the editing process to make our books look like we knew what we were doing all along.

So, if you're a new author or just a fan of the series, I hope you got something out of this. I might eventually post my actual notes just to show off exactly how crazy and disheveled they are, but for now I'm starting with this blog post. My site has a chat function as well as a forum option and my email. If any authors (or aspiring authors) are reading this and have any questions or suggestions for new posts, contact me! Let's Chat! In the meantime, this was my Emmett's Story process. HMC out