Let's write

Dear main character,
I apologise for not having thought of you much lately. I know I should give you a name, but honestly I feel sorry for you and what I'm about to put you through.

This is the start of a letter I wrote to the main character of my novel for young adults. I find that having to do exercises like this in class, even though I often don’t want to do them (especially not with a time limit) they are helpful when it comes to thinking about the novel I want to write as a whole. Perhaps one of the most difficult things to think about in your novel is the main story problem, what does your main character want and need most of all? You might think you know, but the problem you think of could be too small to last your character an entire novel. At the moment this is my problem, what can I set as my main characters problem?

But I need to think about the story idea as a whole; right now my story idea is a mess. Writers have this problem a lot. I’m not the sort of writer who plans out a story before they write it, I write scenes from different parts of my stories and stitch them together later. I’m not sure if I should try to write it because the more enjoyable you find writing your story the better. If you get bored when you’re writing, you should stop. Readers will notice if you get bored, especially young readers who don’t have the patience to read something boring; they’ll just stop and find a different book.

I guess the main dilemma is self motivation; getting to write what needs to be written.
‘The best way to start writing is to start writing (are you surprised?) Do not be self-conscious as you write down the first sentence that comes to mind. You may want to consider "free writing" initially. Once you have written a few paragraphs you can go back and then start judging your work.’

Read more at: How to Get Motivated to Write eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4669185_motivated-write.html#ixzz1KV8Z8LS5

By Elizabeth Azzopardi