My adventure of becoming a writer

Introduction

In this blog, I’m going to attempt to summarize my experiences in what I’ve called “my adventure as a writer.”

One question intrigued me after publishing my first books. I wondered what I had become. Had I become anything at all? That is, if I was a writer, or any other definition.

According to the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), writer is a person who writes, and author is a person who has produced a scientific, literary, or artistic work. Therefore, although they are related terms, author seems to be a broader term, while a writer is more focused on the act of writing. On the other hand, a literate is someone dedicated to literature, being a “literate” a synonym for writer or literary author. This, which seems like a trivial matter, was something I was curious about. Firstly because I like to be precise in my use of words. And, secondly, because I’ve met writers who identified themselves as such. Others called themselves authors. There were also some who identified as literates. Hence, I had been plagued by doubt.

According to that, on my website, I’m listed as the author, as I’ve also produced artistic works of painting. So now I know what I am or what I aspire to be.

I entered this endeavour later than I would have liked. This was due to the constraints of my personal and professional life. Along my path to try to be a writer, II have encountered many more difficulties than I had imagined. I continue to find these challenges. Some of them are correctable with good preparation. Others are somehow manageable. Unfortunately, others depend on third parties. Therefore, they are beyond any solution I can devise.

In the following sections, you can find a list of topics where I will try to explain my experience. I will also comment on the solutions I have come up with. These solutions aim to smooth my journey through this rough sea of trying to be a writer.

Finally, I am writing this blog in the hope that my experience is useful to someone else. I am also open to any comments. These comments help me in my endeavour.

The first ideas and illusions

The first thing that comes to mind when embarking on this adventure is that all you need is a blank piece of paper and a pen, or a computer, to develop an idea over a good number of pages without further preparation. A serious mistake! It’s also thought that you’ll need “someone” to publish your work, although in these early stages, it’s not given much importance and isn’t perceived as a major problem. Nothing could be further from the truth!

All our dreams will be dashed the moment we write the “end” of our first novel with great satisfaction, believing it’s finished. It’s then, when we begin the publication process, we’ll realize the truth. No matter how good our novel is, without the necessary experience or guidance, it won’t meet the expected standards, nor will there be any way to publish it as a new writer without an agent.

So, with these elements, the adventure of being a writer is more of a vocation in which we must aspire to be our only audience and, with luck, we’ll end up selling a few copies which will not even come close to compensating for our investment, whatever it may be. Ah! Did you think being a writer is free? Well, no. In addition to effort, study, dedication, willpower to fight adversity, and many hours in front of the paper, it’s going to cost you a certain amount of money, which could range from a few to a few thousand euros.

And to make matters worse, in this communications world in which we live, we must add the complicated problem of marketing. Yes, the marketing issue is your problem too.

And, despite all this, someone will wonder why I persist. The answer is quite simple. No, it’s not that, I’m not a masochist. I simply love to write and I pursue my dreams, no matter how far-fetched they may seem. If “surrender” is in my dictionary, it must be on the last page, which I haven’t reached yet.

The blank page and the importance of reading

The blank page or the blank computer screen represents the state of the novel we want to write. It’s about creating, from scratch, an entire setting with its plots and subplots, characters and places, in an organized way and following certain conventions.

Creating something from scratch isn’t just not easy, but very difficult. It requires incredible creativity and knowledge. A philistine will hardly be able to produce anything decent, if they are even capable of writing anything at all. Then, the question arises: will I be able to write? The good news is that, unless you’re a Cervantes, everything can be learnt; however, undoubtedly, to learn, you must study, and for that, we must read.

Ideas can come from our life experiences, from events that have happened, from conversations, from films, or from readings we have done. However, a novel isn’t written just by having ideas; you must know how to express them. You must use appropriate language, follow style guidelines, understand the weight of plots and subplots, provide necessary descriptions, explain settings and characters… and to do all this, you need to learn and have experience.

Both learning and experience come first from books and then from life. So, the sooner we become avid readers, the sooner we will learn to write.

At this point, we arrive at our second question: if there are millions of books, what should I read? The answer is simple. If you want to learn to do something, you must practice that specific activity. Similarly, if you want to write, for example, thrillers, you must read thrillers and not plays or fantasy novels.

Then, we arrive at the next question: but if there are millions of thrillers, which one should I read? The answer is, again, simple. Read the best, even if they are from another century. Keep in mind that you can’t buy time, so you must be efficient. You will always learn more from the best.

In conclusion, the tool to overcome a blank page and a blank mind, to learn new vocabulary, structures and narrative style, is reading the best writers, whatever their nationalities.

Before you start writing

The moment we’re ready to start writing our novel, that instant when our ideas are bursting in our hands and we’re itching to open our computers and start typing away, that’s when we need to stop and consider a crucial detail if we don’t want to waste countless hours correcting the form instead of the content.

It’s about paying attention to the format in which we want to publish our work. It’s inconvenient, inconvenient, tedious, and seems pointless, but if you don’t plan it from the beginning, you’ll spend hours correcting your novel after you’ve finished it. And all those hours correcting the form will drive you crazy.

Therefore, before you start writing, you’ll not only need to be clear about the format your book should be, but you’ll also need to design that format from the outset. Imagine, for example, that when you finish your novel, you realize that the dashes you used for dialogue aren’t appropriate, or that the page or section breaks aren’t placed correctly, or the tabs, or the font… All these seemingly trivial things that you think you can fix with a simple click can influence the style of your paragraphs and force you to change everything line by line. Can you imagine correcting all 400 pages of your novel line by line just for stylistic reasons because you didn’t pay attention to them at the beginning? Don’t worry. I’ll tell you what you’re going to feel: despair. And what you’re going to call yourself: stupid.

It’s better to “lose” an hour designing your template page and noting down your writing rules and following them from the start than to correct everything at the end.

At this point, you need to consider the design of both strategies: the template page, and the formatting and writing rules.

THE TEMPLATE PAGE.

You need to think about how and where you want your book published. Although you don’t believe it, writing in A4 format is not exactly the same as writing in A5. Yes, size matters. And designing the page for centimetre or inch formats is also different (for example, if you publish on Amazon, you’ll have to adapt to the American page format).

But what if I want to publish worldwide? Of course, and that’s not a problem, but only in one format. If you change the format, the appearance changes. And appearance matters, too.

So what should you do? Well, don’t worry, it’s not a big deal. Decide which will be your primary publishing house and format your novel accordingly.

As a new author, without the means or desire to spend huge amounts of money on a book you’re not yet sure will sell, the best option is to write in Amazon’s format or another similar platform that allows you to sell and distribute your novel without upfront costs. Remember to define the paper size, print margins, header and footer, page numbering style and placement, and text alignment.

FORMAT. WRITING GUIDELINES

Although it may seem unlikely, the font you use depends on what you’re writing. It’s a matter of marketing and sales. Even the type of novel influences the font. And, of course, line spacing also plays a role, which will greatly affect pagination.

So, you need to define the font and line spacing according to the book you intend to write. A font for a travel guide is not the same as one for a novel; some even differentiate fonts based on novel genres.

So, how do you choose the one that best suits your publication? It’s easy. Read some recommendations from bookstores and visit libraries and bookstores to browse current novels.

In addition, you should think about how you want to start the chapters, which font size to use, and think about the spacing between the title or chapter number and the text.

Regarding writing rules, you should consult the relevant publication of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), in case you write in Spanish. For example: the use of different types of dashes, the use of italics, the sequence for using different quotation marks, the use of indentation, how to format direct quotations, etc. It’s a good idea to write down the necessary rules on a sheet of paper to avoid mistakes and correcting them one by one after you’ve finished your book.

In short, the first thing you have to do before you start writing is define your page layout and writing rules. Specifically, you should, at least:

• Design the page size, its margins, its header and footer, the type of page numbering and its placement on the page, and the text alignment on the page.
• Establish the font type, size, and line spacing for both the chapter title or number and the body text.
• Note the writing guidelines for the RAE that you need to remember.

Writing

To write, you need to have your ideas organized, especially the plots and characters.

Regarding the plots, you must clearly establish which is the main plot and which are the secondary ones, giving them appropriate weight and length. A secondary plot should not steal the spotlight from the main plot. If it does, you would have to rethink the focus of the novel and modify it accordingly.

As for the characters, it is not enough to have an initial list of names. You need character sheets for each person. These sheets should describe all the person’s characteristics: physical appearance, emotional state, age, type of work or activity, history… in short, their appearance, feelings, and life. This way, you will realize if your characters are similar or different, and this will help you modify them if necessary before you start writing. Otherwise, you would have to revise the entire novel once it is finished.

The characters, at least the main ones, should attract the reader so much that they can identify with them. Therefore, it is necessary to have good descriptions and diverse characters. Another useful sheet to keep handy is a chronological list of the main ideas you intend to develop throughout the text. This helps you organize your mind and anticipate the length of the novel beforehand, based on your capacity to develop the subplots.

Regarding the development of subplots, if they are complex or related to other, less prominent plot points, it’s advisable to explain them or remind the reader what they refer to so they don’t have to stop and search through previous pages to find out what that issue was about. At this point, you must be careful and handle it with great attention to avoid being repetitive, which would tire the reader. You should be able to recall its connection to a previous plot or explain something already introduced with just a few brief points that keep the reader focused without overwhelming them.

In addition to the above, you must decide what type of narrator you will be: equiscient or omniscient. The equiscient narrator speaks in the third person and limits their knowledge to the point of view, thoughts, and feelings of a single character; the omniscient narrator also narrates in the third person but is outside the plot and knows absolutely everything about the story.

You can also choose to tell the story in the first person. In this case, the narrator is usually the protagonist, and the main character is directly affected by the unfolding events. However, it could also be a secondary character who tells the story that revolves around the protagonist.

Whatever your choice, you must define it from the first line of the text.

Furthermore, you must maintain the reader’s attention by regulating the pace of the novel. Keep in mind that you must manage the rhythm through the alternating use of narration, description, and dialogue. Detailed narration and in-depth descriptions slow down the action and create atmosphere, while direct, short, and dynamic dialogue accelerates it. And, of course, the ending must have a degree of mystery, or at least be somewhat ambiguous, to add tension and keep the reader hooked until the very last word. Alternatively, it could end with an expected outcome but written in a way that captures the reader’s attention or touches their heart.

After writing: the revisions.

We inevitably must revise our manuscript before sending it to publishers or publishing it. This process is more complicated than it seems for several reasons.

On the one hand, self-correction is not easy at all, since our minds will read what they want, not what they should. Even reading our manuscript will be faster than necessary to detect our own errors, since we are the authors and, after a few readings, we will know the manuscript by heart.

One way to ease this process would be to have someone read it critically, someone we trust enough to hear opposing opinions about our book.

On the other hand, if we have established the appropriate format before starting to write and have taken care to follow the rules of writing, we will have saved a lot of time and avoided a great deal of trouble. However, we will still have the overall view that will provide the necessary perspective to detect the following areas for improvement: we must identify words that are repeated in close succession and replace them with synonyms; It’s essential to ensure the reading flows smoothly and there’s a clear narrative thread; identifying slow or difficult-to-read sections and modifying them accordingly is crucial; the first letter of each line should not align with the first letter of the preceding and following lines (this is a matter of style).

Don’t be surprised if these revisions and corrections take almost as long as writing the novel itself. Therefore, we must be mentally prepared for this process, as we’ll be eager to submit our manuscript.

The editorial process

Once we’ve finished our manuscript, reviewed it, and it’s proofread and ready to be shared, we’ll have to face an important decision: self-publish or publish with a traditional publisher.

Obviously, self-publishing involves no more work than preparing the document for the chosen platform (usually Amazon) and carries the risk of sales frustration if you lack the necessary marketing capabilities.

As for submitting your manuscript to publishers, while it certainly offers the advantages of the publicity provided by the publisher itself, it also leads to the frustration of waiting months for responses, and the rejections in most cases.

Furthermore, submitting a manuscript to publishers isn’t so simple, as it must be accompanied by a publishing proposal, a synopsis, an author biography, the first chapters or a sample of the novel, and any specific requirements the publisher may have (for example: similar novels, target audience, number of previous novels sold, if applicable, etc.). To give you an idea, in the best-case scenario, we could expect a response in three months.

Furthermore, it’s important to keep in mind that many publishers only accept manuscripts through a publishing agent (who, by the way, you must pay for and offers no guarantees).

Conclusions

What I’ve outlined here broadly reflects the effort and difficulties one must face to publish a novel and embark on the adventure of being a writer. The reality is even tougher, but I haven’t gone into detail in this blog post as it would be too complex. I’m developing the finer points in a book I’ll publish.

In conclusion, I would say to begin this adventure if you’re prepared to receive rejections and have enough patience to cope with the frustration of being rejected by publishers—not the frustration of writing itself.

My advice is to treat it as a hobby, but to be consistent. Experience is important, and one day it will bear fruit.

If you’ve made it this far, I wish you the best of luck, and I hope you never stop reading or writing, whatever the outcome of your manuscripts may be.