How I began writing Beyond

So I get a lot of people asking me about both my writing process and the beginnings of it. As my last published novel, I thought I’d go over how I started writing Beyond.

A lot of people get the idea that the beginning of a book is magnificent. An amazing experience when all you’ve planned for years comes together. And although it is true that it is an incredible feeling, the case in practice is much different.

If any of you have started or attempted to start a novel you know what I’m talking about when I say that you’re filled with fear, uncertainty and insecurity. In my case these feelings come every time I start a new story, almost as if I were afraid not to live up to how it’s played out in my head.

However, if you succumb to these worries and insecurities, you’re never going to get started, or are going to give up very early. So, how to go about it? My suggestion is to just let go. When I began writing Beyond, I still had many things to figure out, some characters and places were not clear in my mind, I had to change the outline… But I realized that if I kept lingering in those things, I’d never get started. So what I did was I decided to make a go for it and worry about those things later.

Because yes, you people, you are going to have to change those things later. Some of them more than once. Look at that picture: that’s me with my first draft. Notice any difference with the final product? The title, for instance?

What I’m trying to say is that rewrites and edits are there for a reason. Be aware of that and feel free to give it your all in the first draft. Remember, the only way to get that story out of your head is to actually write it!