H O W  T O  S T A R T  A  S T O R Y
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  STARTING A STORY is always extremely difficult, no matter the genre or the type of story you want to convey. It is like life, the beginning is always the hardest as you want to make sure you don't go down the wrong road. And overtime, it gets harder—but that's for another chapter. Right now, we need to flick the page straight back to the beginning.

  For me, whenever I gain an idea for a story, I always grab a notebook or my computer (anything you can grab) and jot down everything that comes to my mind; this is called PLANNING.

  That is mistake number one, not planning your stories.

  Planning is extremely important, especially when you want to write an original story, and although to many this may seem like a waste of time, it has honestly helped me so much. It has allowed me to visually see everything and scrawl out which wouldn't work and which would.

  By doing this, we—as writers—can get a clear indication on if this story should be shown to the world or not. I always find it useful to metaphorically stand back and try to imagine where this idea could take me and if it would work (especially in fanfiction) to the continuity of an already existing universe. By standing back, I could actually rationalize my idea and look at the pros and cons of each piece.

  Sounds like a lot of work, doesn't it?

  Well trust me it works amazingly well with me.

  But to get back on that thought of random, spur of the moment ideas. If you don't know me already, I am known for having the wackiest ideas pop up in my head even when I am having a shower or doing my homework. I don't know why this happens, or when it actually started but it does and usually I would roll with it and see where it takes me. You could say I allow the wave to take me on a rollercoaster.

  But when it is just too out of proportion and too extravagant, I usually pull the plug on that idea and highlight some interesting concepts that could be reused for a new book or an already existing book. Yes, you heard me: I actually spend my time highlighting through the unusable idea just so I can find some mini-ideas that I can reuse.

  Rachael, isn't that contradictory considering the fact that you are trying to step away from that unusable idea?

  Well hear me out. 'Cause this bit will help you understand why I do what I do with every idea.

  I do it 'cause, as my mum would always say: no mistake is a mistake, only a happy one that can become something more.

  And to be honest, I kinda agree with that. It is like a painting, with each stroke, you are reusing old ideas in order to build your piece to a quote-on-quote masterpiece.

  So my advice to you guys is when starting a story, keep your mistakes that you have built up over time and piece them together like a puzzle along with your other spur of the moment ideas that randomly pop in your head. Because with every mistake, their is a happy ending; a light at the end of the road.

  Once you have connected all the pieces you have got, you can step back and see what is missing.

  I know, I know, but shouldn't all these ideas gel together perfectly. Well that is mistake number two. No idea is ever complete until the final product is finished.

  Usually it could be a character's motivations or some information about when the book is set that is missing from the puzzle. I am not saying that happens all the time but usually that would be what is missing.

  When I am at this stage, I would immediately go back to my notes and see what could fit in. And once that happens, oh boy, it is magical.

  So, in basic notation form, just remember that no mistake is a mistake, only a happy one that can become something more. And you will make a wonderful piece of art.

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A U T H O R ' S   N O T E

So there we go, our first tips chapter. I know what I have said may probably sound confusing but hopefully you all gained some tricks that will help you in your writing journey. If you need more help then always remember to inbox me and I will try to give you guys even more tips to help you even more.

Hopefully I will be quicker with the next tip but for now, keep on writing and sharing your stories to the world of Wattpad.