HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN TWELVE STEPS: Love your characters; love your places #Step NINE

HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN TWELVE STEPS: Love your characters; love your places #Step NINE

This is obvious.

And yet, it’s not.

You are going to be living with and working with, these characters. They are going to occupy your mind for a certain section of the day (& night).

I don’t care if your main characters are the meanest girls in school (In Pride & Princesses those characters are Teegan, Tory, Brooke and Freya) - you better find some love for them.

The novels I read in my formative years (i.e. teenage years) included characters, main characters even, that would now be regarded as “unsympathetic”. My favourite novel (The Outsiders) is narrated by Ponyboy Curtis – who is definitely “sympathetic” – but he also seemed real to me.

Let’s say this word again together:

“Unsympathetic.”

I really don’t like that word, but it is a categorization too often used in publishing and movies etc.

Here’s the thing. Most agents and publishers want you to have characters readers cannot only relate to – but like. 

The problem is, real life is filled with unsympathetic characters.

You have to decide what you want.

Maybe not straight away – not if this is the first draft of your first novel (everyone thinks they are autobiographical or at the very least semi-autobiographical anyway!)

Do you want to be a certain kind of writer?

Do you want to omit certain “unsympathetic” characters (and by that, I mean characters a reader or audience won’t like?) Do you want the work to serve you (i.e. make you some money) or do you want to serve your work?

Making some money up front might be a good idea. Assuming you need it, and most people do.

Money creates an opportunity for you to have freedom - theoretically. If you are lucky enough to get the opportunity to make some money from your art and someone wise wants you to make your characters “more sympathetic” in return, you could always consider it.

You should also consider the story you are telling and how to be true to it.

I once wrote a little story which was based on my college years. It contained a lot of unsympathetic characters. It contained bad language and compromising positions. It wasn’t cruel but it wasn’t nice. It was very real. The boys weren’t gentlemen and the girls didn’t behave the way society dictates smart girls should.

And boy, this hit a sore note with some people who read it. My main character was only eighteen. She was smart, she knew a lot, she had an opinion, she was blonde and she was pretty. Readers (and by readers, I mean commissioning editors and publishers) loved her… and they hated her.

They were afraid.

I was asked to make big changes.

Rather than make my characters “sympathetic” I shelved it. I was very young. At the time, it was the right thing to do.

You have to decide who your characters are going to be and what they are going to do.

A note on YA writing:

Writing for young adults is a (slightly) different animal. There should be a sense of colour and character development. But you might want to think about how you are going to develop certain characters and situations.

Writing with young teens in mind (particularly girls) makes me aware of certain values I’d like to install in my own daughter should I have one. I don’t think there is anything to be gained by my ultimately promoting a character that is behaving in a bullying way (for example) to a YA audience. I think readers know it’s wrong, but there is nothing wrong with proving that on the page. Even if, in life, it sometimes seems the bullies win.

Some more thoughts about the young adult genre:

It’s huge, we know it.

It seemed to start with JK Rowling, went on to Stephanie Meyer and carried on with Suzanne Collins (to name just a few of the notable writers out there). It really started a lot earlier, it just wasn't known as such.

That said, if Jane Austen were writing today she might be writing chic-lit or YA and she wouldn’t be surprised that because a woman was writing it, it had been categorized in a “less serious” or dismissive way… (Think Twilight). That series has sold millions of copies but for every lover there has been a backlash - even though a lot of people (mostly women) enjoyed it. Tons of guys – in particular – seem to love heavy duty sci-fi, but we don’t hear the same kind of backlash... this genre is discussed far more seriously, in the main. Of course there are parodies, but I hope you get my point. There are double standards in publishing as there are in life. At the end of the day some people want to make art, almost everyone wants to make money. It's great when the two are combined. 

One of my favourite current series (and a favourite series of many others) is The Hunger Games. This series, like Harry Potter, appeals to boys, girls and grown-ups.

It has been almost universally praised. (What did I mention about ‘you can’t please everyone?’)

But returning for a moment to the double standard in publishing. It started hundreds of years ago when the Brontes wrote to get published and had to use boy’s names…

And yet, the majority of readers (and maybe even writers now – especially unpaid ones!) are female.

Go figure… now that you know this, I’d kind of forget it. Go find some characters to love and some great stories to tell.

Note: I think Jane Austen (if she were writing today) would have allowed her female characters to be trailblazers and maybe not be ruled by what society dictates they should do… Err, is that unsympathetic?

Um… well, yes. Of course it is.

HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN TWELVE STEPS: The Ending (#STEP EIGHT)

HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL (STEP EIGHT: THE ENDING)

Put on those working boots and WORK, Lovelies. Remember you are no where near finished. You are only on the ROUGH DRAFT in your journey of novel-dom.

That said, sometimes it pays to think about the ending at the beginning.

Then again, I think the ending writes itself (metaphorically, of course).  

You still have to be the one to input those words.

If you’ve drafted the beginning and the middle, by now you have a strong feeling of where your novel is headed.

If you don’t, you should probably go back and elaborate until you do have a strong feeling of where it’s headed. It may be in an initial plan (ie. Phoebe and Mouche go to Paris…)

·         Your ending doesn’t have to be perfect.

·         Remember, we are just completing the draft.

I don’t know about you but my endings aren’t even close to finished – as in ‘polished’ by my first, second and third drafts, mostly. Pride & Princesses was different. The ending was very important to me because it allowed me to ‘get away’ with the light tone that covers most of the novel. I wanted to bring some resonance to the beginning, to change things. I like to be surprised when I read. That said, some of my retellings are true to the original stories (particularly Anne Eyre which is based on Jane Eyre). Retellings are meant to be just that. Anne Eyre, Wuthering Nights and Truly are ‘inspired’ by Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Persuasion. I’m not trying to re-invent the wheel with them, I’m just trying to re-enjoy stories I loved.  

So, here’s where we’re at:

·         The ending should complete the story

·         In some way, it should satisfy.

When I say, ‘in some way’ please note I’m not saying, ‘in all ways.’

You are NEVER going to please all the people all the time.

Well, probably never. You should aim to please yourself, in the first instance. This is very important.

I’m not saying all endings of ‘good novels’ (and this is subjective), satisfy.

Some leave many unanswered questions.

The ending of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (those who know me know this is one of my favourite novels on the planet!) leaves some questions. It is ‘interpretable’ by the reader – well, I thought it was.

In my opinion, an ending that asks more questions than it answers is no less of an ending than one that ties it all up in a ribbon.

If it’s the last page of the novel, people, it’s the ending!

·         Make it unique

·         Make it memorable

·         Make it speak to you (& your readers)

If you read the ending (or the final chapter) and you felt differently at the end of that last sentence than you did at the beginning of your draft - if it made you feel something, then you’ve completed your mission – the first part of it, anyway. 

That’d be great.

At this point you could show it to fresh eyes. But I wouldn’t. You may be exhausted drained and ‘over it’ already, but take a few days and re-charge. Some people are critics by nature and many people think they can write a novel – they may even start to tell you about theirs – but we’re interested in yours (and mine!)

I did something with the ending of Pride & Princesses that a few readers found ‘controversial’.

I thought twice about doing it, but in the end, the main character told that story her way - I just typed the words into my laptop. I know that sounds weird but there was almost a strange kind of alchemy in the ending of that story. I always thought of it as the completion of a tapestry. This YA, appearing so basic, has a (hidden!) complexity by the finale.

I have no way of explaining the ‘elixir’ of an ending – the novel draft has a beginning, middle and the beginning of the end. All I know is, if you’ve done that…

*CONGRATULATIONS*!

You have your first draft.

The writing of your draft, the basis of your novel, is going to be kind of a mystery wrapped around a riddle.

If you’ve done your homework (found your space, your seat, your desk, your food, your support network), educated yourself about what you want to write about, somehow found ‘inspiration’ from all the words in your mind or the sketches you draw. If you've formed some sort of comprehensible order to them, you should have a draft by now.

It’s probably taken you a few weeks (anything from one – if you literally haven’t stopped writing – to six). I would try to complete that first draft in a month – depending on the complexity. Obviously, if you are writing Anna Karenina you are not going to complete the draft that quickly!

I do my first drafts as quickly as possible. It’s just the way I work. My first drafts are usually not very good – but they are mine. You might want to take longer, but don’t take too long. This may sound weird, but you might actually lose interest in your own writing if you leave that first draft too long before the next part – refining it, again and again and again...

And that’d be terrible, really, it would. Forget about everything everyone else tells you. Who says your voice isn’t worth hearing?

Certainly not me.

*Of course, if even you think your first draft is really really terrible, if it captures your attention by just how bad it is, congratulations. You have enough taste to recognize this! You might want to call on some help, but that’s up to you. That belongs in a different series.   

For the purposes of this we are a ‘go-it-alone-or-go-home’ kind of ‘how-to-series’.

I’m not saying ‘going it alone’ is the only way to go, but if you’re broke and living in an attic… well, you might not have any choice in the matter.

HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN TWELVE STEPS: The Middle (#SEVEN)

HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL: STEP SEVEN (THE MIDDLE)

There is a reason this picture looks a little bit... unfinished. It needs a person to flesh out that prom dress!

I’ve been dreading writing this part. For starters – if you've reached the middle – we have to make certain assumptions.

First of all, that your rough draft is GOING somewhere. That it has a point. (Of course, you assume it includes spelling, punctuation, style, grammar and structure that is all going to be refined… but that’s okay).

Let’s say, for our purposes – the beginning, middle and end each take up a third of the total length of your novel.

Pride & Princesses was over three hundred pages, so that’s a hundred-ish pages for each section.

Yours might be much shorter or longer. There are no hard and fast rules (not really – but you should check out the average lengths of novels in your genre).

What I need to say about the middle is this:

·         It might be messy – you really have to clean it up – find some structure and give your words a purpose.

·         Warning: the ‘purpose’ isn’t ‘filler’, the purpose has a point. The chapters that elaborate on the beginning must be leading somewhere.

·         The middle leads on from the beginning and should be just as structured.

·         The middle should add detail to your descriptions

·         Develop the narrative

·         Lead on from the establishing chapters at the start and head the reader towards a great ending.

·         The middle needs to build momentum.

·         It absolutely must make the reader want to read on. 

The part I remember most about the middle of Pride & Princesses is the scene at the dance which is pivotal. Interestingly, it falls almost exactly in the middle of the manuscript. At the Sunrise High school dance the two main characters, best friends Phoebe and Mouche, overhear snooty Mark and his best friend Jet talking about them:

   Beneath the drone of the music, a quite audible conversation could be heard.

   Jet started it.

   ‘I think this is the best school dance I’ve ever been to,’ he observed.

   ‘As far as I can tell, it’s the only school dance you’ve ever been to...’ Mark replied.

   ‘Well, I’ll do anything to impress Mouche - she’s totally hot. But I don’t understand why you’re not dancing.’

   ‘Perhaps it has something to do with you monopolizing the only hot girl in the entire room.’

   ‘Are you serious? The women of Sunrise High are known for their...special qualities. Why don’t you get together with her friend?

   ‘What, you think she’s hot?

   ‘Sure, have you seen her in rehearsal? She’s smokin’...’

   ‘You hooked up with the only girl in the room I would describe as ‘smokin’. To be honest, I just don’t find her friend that attractive...’

    I spluttered into my punch as Mark said this. I was standing right behind him but he didn’t seem to realize and I have to admit, though his comments were hurtful, they were truly compelling...

In this chapter, the story takes a turn. True natures are revealed, characters are exposed. It also shows that the two teenage girls are going to take charge of the ‘romance’ (by leaving the dance with Joel) and it pays a nod to Jane Austen – establishing that Mark and Phoebe are a little bit like Darcy and Elizabeth – just as conflicted, just as ‘in love’ and just as much hindered by both pride and prejudice. 

Now, Go to it, people!

Draft your middle – give it as much time, effort and attention as you did the beginning. Make your characters live, give them problems to solve…. Plan how to solve them…

HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN TWELVE STEPS: The Beginning... (#Six continued)

HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN TWELVE STEPS (#Six B… continued)

STEP SIX: Part B (THE BEGINNING - continued…) *up to here*

More needs to be said about the beginning, but we’ll stick to a summary:

If you are working within a genre, the beginning of your novel should:

·         Capture the reader's immediate attention

·         Give the reader a sense of place

·         Give the reader a sense of time

·         Introduce the reader (probably) to the main character or characters

·         Establish the voice and tone of your novel ie. Give the reader a sense of how you are going to write and keep writing your story. 

Think about it this way. When you pick up your e-reader, when you go to the store or the library, if you are a ‘serious’ reader or just a ‘mmm… I’m not sure if I really want to read this…’ type of reader, you are going to make your mind up within the first page, the first paragraph, the first sentence (and that’s assuming you get beyond the cover or title). This is all before we focus on the quality of your writing (which is subjective, of course)…

Now, if you are a serious writer and still want to go the route of agent querying, you better make that first page un-put-down-able. I’m not kidding. Your entire novel is going to be judged on that first page. What I mean by this is, no one will read the second if the first doesn’t make them really, really want to… NO PRESSURE. Now, knowing all of that, you really have to relax into it and write like no one is looking. Pretend that maybe no one except you is ever going to read your work and remember, we’re still on the first page of your first draft.

Just make sure it makes some sense and keep the above dot points in mind.  Elaborate on them and you should have your first chapter. Keep working on it until you have a ‘working draft’ of the first chapters. A draft should have a beginning, middle and end.

I say this, but in my first novel (a grown up one) I remember going over and over those first three chapters before I’d written an entire draft. I wanted them to be perfect but this was not a ‘genre’ novel and it was almost a decade ago, before e-publishing became a serious industry and I knew I had to get through agents before my words would have a hope of seeing the light of day.

I still think you have to make the first part of your novel pretty stunning NMW (No Matter What). But, save some goodies for the ending. I mean, your ending just has to Kick A (you guys know what that means!)

Now:

In Pride & Princesses, I introduced the place – a made-up community (not too far from Bel Air). I chose that place because the area was familiar to me.

I also wanted a ‘fantasy world’ – a world where no one could say, “oh, that detail doesn’t exist in that place etc.” Also, I wanted the story to read (a little bit) like a teenage fairy tale and a (tiny) bit like a modern Austen-ization (but really only one scene – the scene of the school dance could even relate to Pride & Prejudice).

Time: This is tricky, or it might be easy. You could be as obvious as you like. In Wuthering NIghts (a teen vampire version of Wuthering Heights), I simply write the year the events took place on the first page.

Pride & Princesses is different. It’s kinda retro… Only readers who actually read the entire novel are going to pick that (for the most part) the novel is set at least a decade before the moment it was written. Readers who’ve read P&P are going to understand what I mean by this…. But for those who haven’t – the final chapter (or part of it) is narrated by a grown-up Phoebe (which carries over into the companion novel I’ve just finished, Popular.) 

Characters: I chose to focus on two main characters (best friends Phoebe and Mouche), their single mom families and the new boys who arrive in town… Sounds simple? It is – these are characters I felt I knew. You should find characters you know too.

Voice: This has to be entirely yours, lovelies, just like this is entirely mine. I could never tell you how to develop one – it’s… well, it’s yours. Lena Dunham for example (creator of Girls), has a strong ‘voice’ – it’s the thing I remember most from her television show. You might love her take on life and relationships, or you might not, but it is her voice.  As this is mine, as yours is yours. Find your writing ‘voice’, keep it and don’t let anyone take it away from you.

HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN TWELVE STEPS: A Good Beginning (#Six)

STEP SIX: A GOOD BEGINNING

For the sake of this process, I’m going to refer to my own first YA novel: Pride & Princesses in this section.

Genre: Teen romance novel/ Young Adult

Synopsis: When two best friends invent a dating game that includes a group of mean girls (known as The Princesses)  and the hot new guys in school, their lives change forever.

When I do refer to it, please know I am not holding it up as a standard. I am aware it is imperfect. It is, however, uniquely mine. I so enjoyed the process of writing it, I want to share some of that process with you.

I’m also going to mention writers whose work I have been privileged to read.

First up, Your beginning has to grab the reader’s attention.

• In Pride & Princesses I had an image in my mind of a game I used to play at school with some friends. It was funny. It was kind of an acting game.
• I also thought of the consequences of a life-changing moment.
• Unbeknownst to the reader, Phoebe’s life-changing moment is meeting her future husband. Not to sound too dramatic but what seems like a throw-away line:
• “The first time I saw Mark Knightly, my world changed forever…”
• Actually has resonance.

With your novel, find that image, find that moment and try to write a sentence that readers are going to remember.

• I remember the first sentences of all my favourite novels.
• Who remembers this one?
•  “When I stepped out into the bright sunlight form the darkness of the movie house…”

It’s from The Outsiders by SE Hinton… If you’re a teenager and you haven’t read it, well, I think you should. 

HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN TWELVE STEPS: Getting An Education (#Five)

STEP FIVE: GETTING AN EDUCATION

(This should probably be placed earlier, along with my notes about food!)

There are no hard and fast rules regarding education, yet there are many.

• For starters, if you want to write novels, you should be able to read and write – well. I know, you didn’t need me to tell you that, and yet…
• Of course, at some point in the process (like, at the end…) you might want to hire editors etc. but it pays to know what you are doing with words on the page before anyone else becomes involved.
• Most people need to learn about words and grammar etc. via formal education.
• This is so obvious as to not need repeating. And yet, it’s not true.
• And yet, it is.
• Some amazing people who do not communicate in the traditional way have dictated novels (okay, I’m not giving examples but there are some).
• Some amazing people who are illiterate or semi-illiterate have dictated novels (okay, I’m not going to name names but there are some).
• Some fab celebrity bios are written by ‘behind the scenes’ writers (not all, but some). Some of these peeps are being paid for their ‘story’ not their writing. Their stories are dictated by them. Their ‘life experience’ is, in the main, unusual; so unusual that it demands attention and publishing houses are eager to find these people.

If your ‘story’ hasn’t ‘happened’ yet and you are not famous you are going to be starting off by yourself.

You need to get a grip.

On a pen… and a piece of paper… or a computer… or an iPhone... you get the idea.

• You need to educate yourself.

That may mean excelling at school or it may not.

• It definitely means doing some research that wasn’t available just a decade ago.
• Now you can surf the net for just about everything you need. You should do some research if you want to get published (more on that later). Trust me, you won't regret it.
• You might be teaching yourself on the job or learning from home. You might be enrolled in school or college. You might have so much life experience that it all adds up to some serious ‘education’ but whatever you do, and whatever circumstances you find yourself in – you need to be educated about the world around you and the things you want to talk and write about.

So, an education of some description is a must.

I’m not going to be a snob about it. At the end of the day people are educated in different ways.

• In this day and age, formal education, is, in the main, looked upon favourably, often as a privilege. Many people think it is a must. It is the one thing that no one else can take away from you and for that it must be praised.
• But just remember Mark Zuckerberg. He invented FB and he dropped out of Harvard. That is an exceptional story, obviously. Many people would suggest he was a born internet genius.  
• It is a truth universally acknowledged that many high school and university drop outs have been hugely successful in life.
• But then, they are highly educated in their areas of expertise. Maybe that’s the moral of the story.
• My advice: get an education however you think suits you. 
• Pieces of paper are great. 
• So is life experience.  
• There is no substitute for the second one. 
• The first can never be taken away from you... (nor can the second!).  

HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN TWELVE STEPS: With Whom To Write (#four)

STEP FOUR: WITH WHOM TO WRITE

In a perfect world we all might have writing partners.

In this one, I like to write by myself.

For now.

• I once wrote a screenplay with a friend. That was a lot of fun. I wrote a play script alone, that was also fun. Theatre, television and film is (even initially) a collaborative art so it’s probably more fun writing screenplays and theatre scripts with like-minded people.
• Novel writing is so personal you can’t go wrong by working independently. I don’t have to mention it’s a good idea to make and keep some friends before, during and after the process. 
• Of course, if you have a great partner, writing pal etc. go to it! A few good novels and

• many great television series have been written with more than one person at the helm.

• But be choosy as to the company you keep.
• What’s that old saying about too many cooks? (*they might - and often do - spoil the broth…)

Also, a word of warning, if you want to be the star, if you want your voice out there in the world – sometimes you have to write your own script.

By now, you should have a piece of paper with ideas and or sketches scribbled upon it.

• Look it over.
• Do the words and or images on the page inspire you?
• If they do, then you are ready to begin a plan for the first draft of your first novel.

Congratulations!

If they don’t, get inspired and try again until you are satisfied.

• And keep trying until you are satisfied those words or those pictures mean something to you.
• When you have decided on a genre and an idea worth sticking with you can start to plan with more detail.  

HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN TWELVE STEPS: What to Eat and Other Food (#THREE)

HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN TWELVE STEPS (#THREE)

STEP THREE: WHAT TO EAT & DRINK: WARNING THIS MAY NOT SEEM IMPORTANT (but it is!)

This part is so exciting I’m nearly salivating just writing the words.

First up, it’s easy to start junk food binging when you are writing. I’d try to advise against that. Have healthy snacks and food you like on hand. Try to eat healthy stuff, it keeps you alert. Save the junk food for when you just have to have it -  as a reward (maybe, although we all know food shouldn't be a reward but you know what I mean...) It’s good to try to eat the foods that love you back. But sometimes only the yumminess is enough. Your call.

You could have a reward system. I used to like that. Moderation is key!

For example, after you’ve finished, say, ten pages of your rough draft (assuming you've already outlined your plan-of-action) you might like to reward yourself with…er… some chocolate… or a nice apple… or some M&M’s. (A nice apple would be the healthy option but we are all human and sometimes we naturally gravitate towards the M&Ms... just don’t go stir crazy over sugar. It’s easy to do this when you are writing assignments and novels but a word to the wise: try to eat healthy. Your body is going to love you for it!)

Always try to make healthy food yummy… your call.

So, have your food supplies covered. Note: Have healthy options as well as treats (but only when deeply necessary or you may start only eating treats instead of healthy options and well, you know where that is leading us).

Drinks are important.

Stay hydrated with water. Also find something warm you like to drink (go easy on the sugar – or try to – but it’s hard, I know!) It’s just that warmth is comfort and sometimes words don’t love you back!

This is what I like to drink:

·         Tea with milk but no sugar

·         Coffee (caramel or vanilla flavored) upon waking (but I’m trying to give it up)

·         Water (instead of juice, but I prefer juice)

·         I’ve recently discovered chai at home – but I prefer the version I buy when I’m out.

When I'm working on a novel I like to eat:
Boiled or poached eggs or porridge with blueberries for breakfast. Sometimes I have toast or cereal.

I love salads, chicken or sandwiches for lunch.

I’d love to have a piece of cake for afternoon tea, every afternoon but I save it for a treat. Hummingbird cake and chocolate cake are my favourite types of cake. I also love cupcakes but I haven’t made any for a while…

I adore banana smoothies (& I love vanilla and chocolate milkshakes but I’m convinced banana smoothies are the vitamin dense milkshake option).

You might like to try:

SUMMER’S EASY BANANA SMOOTHIE RECIPE:

(A* Healthy version)

Ingredients:

·         One banana

·         Handful of ice

·         Two large dessert spoons of plain unsweetened yoghurt

·         Pinch of nutmeg

·         Dash of vanilla essence

·         Two teaspoons (or more to taste) of honey.

Put it all in your blender

Whip it up!

Drink icy cold with cinnamon on top

SUMMER’S EASY BANANA SMOOTHIE RECIPE:

 (B* Other version)

·         One banana

·         Two scoops of vanilla ice cream (maybe just one if they are big scoops!)

·         Pinch of nutmeg

·         Dash of vanilla essence

·         Two teaspoons (or more to taste) of honey

·         Spoonful of sugar (to taste)

Put it all in your blender

Whip it up!

Drink icy cold with cinnamon sugar on top

I love this recipe so much! I hope you enjoy it as much as me:)

*A note on "other food". By this, I'm referring to the necessity to have a roof over your head and the basics covered during the period you want to write your novel. You may decide to do this over a long period (like, a year) and fit it into your normal routine. You may have a vacation between school or college semesters. You may decide to stay with friends or family and write your novel intensely over that period... if you are invited! You may still be living at home or in a place of your own... the point is, adapt to whatever your circumstances allow. Just make sure you have the roof, food and funds part covered (and the desk, chair and space.) It is a noble thing to work during the day and scribble by night. It is also great if you have your old room available to you to hide out for a month or two and get that novel draft done! But only if the peeps around you are supportive. If they are not, and you are old enough you don't need me to tell you it might be best to get a job, keep a job and write when you get the chance to do so. Better yet, if you have some funds set aside, give yourself a space to work on that novel, then you get to move back to normality when your writing is done. There is no metaphorical 'statute of limitations' on creativity. Some people take a year to get that draft done, some take a month. I believe, some, have done it in a week.... every person is going to be different. 

But getting back to reality...

Once you've got your smoothie (which counts as both your food and drink should you want to work through - though I'd advise getting up and stretching when you need to!), you should sit at your desk in your comfy chair and take a piece of paper and jot down your ideas. Your first ideas for your novel. Go to it, Lovelies! Tap into your creative energy. The sky is the limit - at first. If you like to draw, why not sketch some images also? You may draw a house or a character or the clothes they wear. It all adds up to an idea - who knows you might like to try a graphic novel one day (or straight up!) I hear they are hot, hot, hot.