I started writing a book this year, here is what I have learned.

Writing a book. Sounds scary, huh?

I was scared to commit to working on a project that I fear I may get bored with a drop -- much like every huge piece of work I try to crank out of the old writing machine in my head. However, this time, something stuck with me. This time, I fell in love with my book.

I started writing my book earlier this year with no knowledge, no outline, no nothing. When I say nothing, I mean nothing. I finished reading The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston and I knew then... it was my turn to write a book.

I opened a blank Google Doc and just started typing away until I reached the point of confusion, boredom, and lost. That is when I knew, I needed a redo. I learned a lot in the process of working back through my book again and I'm here to tell you some of the things that I have learned in this process as well!

Starting all over again does not mean you are a bad writer.

Starting over made me feel like a failure in my own writing. I felt as if I was supposed to write one draft on the first go but, who was I to think such a thing. Starting over is what made me come to my consensus that it was the best move for me to make.

I printed out everything that I currently had written up and re-read everything that I had written. I annotated on the pages and started to create more of an outline. This helped me more than ever. This helped me understand that starting over is a good thing sometimes.

Now, I am able to see the missing gaps that I need to fill in my writing and also create a basic plot line to help with my writing process. This has been the best step that I have decided to do for the purpose of writing my book.

Taking inspiration from all different places enhances your book more.

When I started writing, I would limit myself to only my own personal thoughts and ideas for the characters, story, scenes, and plot. I did not want to draw from other sources when I was writing because I wanted it to be all my idea. My idea started out strong but as I kept writing, it turned out to be dull and repetitive.

I started to turn to other sources to help with my writing process. Instagram (thank you to all of the people who post 'Here is how to write X, Y, Z.'), Pinterest, and basic Google searches have helped me tremendously when it came to coming up with new ideas.

At the start of the year, I would beat myself up for using other outside sources to help develop a character or a scene but now, it makes the creative process more cohesive and not as demanding. I started using the platform Notion to help me with outlining and ideas that I wanted to use in my work. As well, I have been writing/jotting down ideas in my writing notebook that I started within the two past months.

Writing about events and interactions in my personal life.

The best way to write about something is by writing about an experience you have been through.

Most of the scenes and short stories that I have been working on have been an experience that I have lived through (most of it is exaggerated of course because I have started writing a thriller/horror story on the side and I have not lived through that kind of life). It has helped with my creative process because I am able to not only visually describe the scene but also describe the actions, dialogue. and the feelings that are happening. It also makes the writing process personal. I am allowed to include specific places/ideas in my life that have inspired me and it makes the writing process more fascinating.

Writing small snippets of your book not in order helps flesh out ideas better.

Sometimes I will be pondering or brainstorming what I want to include in a story or a scene and I will just write it down. Though this idea is not related to what is currently happening in the story, it gives me something to work with so when the time comes to write that specific scene, I already have something for it. I used to get overwhelmed with the amount of ideas that I wanted to include in my book but, I would never write them down so I could reference back to them later. So, I would sit at my desk and spend more time about this idea that I had versus writing and working on my actual book.

Handwriting basic information and sections allows for more details when typing it up.

When I started short story writing, I would write down just the basic story in a notebook, in the sides of my notes in class, or in my notes app on my phone. Some of the scenes or parts of the story would be in great detail but parts would not. This is where a lot of the magic happens in my own personal writing because I can go back and re-word sections, change how I want to describe something, or save that bit of writing for another section.

Having a good community and support goes a long way.

Once I started writing my book, I created an Instagram (@littleleafreadsandwrites) to not only document my process of writing but to build a small community of people who are working on writing their books too. This helped me tremendously because I did not feel alone in this crazy writing process. I have learned a lot since starting my account and I have drew so much inspiration from it that it has helped me become a better writer.

Not only do I have online support but I also have the support of those in my life who are here pushing me to keep working on my book and checking in. One of my biggest supporters is my partner. If it wasn't for him, I would have never started my book. I probably wouldn't have even started a blog page either.

The writing process is hectic and not for the weak (though, I see some of you out here writing and you guys make it seem so easy and beautiful). I have learned a lot this year and I cannot wait to keep learning more about the editing and publishing process.

Thank you to all of those who have supported me and who have pushed me throughout my writing process.