When is the right time to start writing?

In all honesty, their is no right time to start writing a novel. However, someone who is planning on writing a novel should be writing all the time. I've learnt this recently. The more you write, the better you will get at it and also, the better you will become at just getting up and getting into it.

I find that flash fiction helps me get into the mood of writing. It gives me a chance to crack on at something in a short space of time - I can create a story in about 10 minutes!

When starting a novel, the right time to start writing is:

1. After you have done your research. This is my first port of call when planning a novel. A lot of the stories I plan, take place in mythical worlds or modern worlds containing supernatural beings. For me, I have to do research, research and more research to make sure I know the ins and outs of my setting. I also check that my ideas haven't already been done before as you'd be surprised how many people have similar ideas to yourself. Another part of research is also reading. Read the kinds of books that you want to write. This may not seem like getting much done with your story, however, it makes you aware of the kind of things that work and sell. Some of the novels I love have very similar characters and storylines, however, I still get excited about reading them because they maintain suspense throughout - they make you stay up during the middle of the night reading them, even though you know you have to be up early in the morning.

2. After you have created a connected plot - once you have planned your story and know how it starts, follows and ends. The more you write, the more you discover about your story. More often than not, certain elements of your plot change as you write. Or even, your entire plot changes. You may find that one of your characters isn't actually the bad guy you thought they were and this leads your story in a direction you didn't think it would take. This does have its advantage in making characters three-dimensional since they contain both good and bad qualities.

3. After your characters are your best friends. It would be difficult to start your novel without a full understanding of your characters. I usually create character logs for my characters. I never used to, particularly in short stories, as I didn't feel that it was that necessary. But now I've learnt that if you want people to empathise with your characters, you have to know them inside out. It's a writers job to know their characters as if they were yours friends; how would they react to certain problems, do they prefer tea or coffee, what music do they listen to? As stated previously, as you write your story you will learn more and more about your characters, but understanding them well before you write is important.

4. After you have found your writing zone. I tend to write in the evening as this is when I'm most relaxed. My stories are often set in gloomy worlds as well, so the darkness of the night usually favours this (although sometimes this has made me feel quite frightened as I'm writing - like when you read a horror story in bed late at night and the door creaks or a car door is slammed outside). Before you start writing, you should know where, or when, it is you are going to write best. If you are writing somewhere where you will get easily distracted - for me this is usually caused by the internet - then your writing can become disjointed and you will give up too easily, never getting more than one hundred words written at a time. Once you have found your place, then you should write.

5. When there is nothing left to do, but do it. This is the point when you keep re-reading your plan and try to perfect it more than it already is. You know everything that is going to happen in your story, but you keep putting off writing it for fear that you won't be able to do your amazing story justice. Only, at the end of the day, no one's first draft looks anything like their final one. The first draft of your story should be the easy and most enjoyable part of the whole process. You can embrace a world that you created and watch as you bring your characters to life. Forget about all the editing you will have to do. Just think, that once you have wrote your first draft, you are almost there. All the time spent planning is going to have been worth it. You've done it.

Writing should be a main priority for anyone wanting to write a novel. Different people know when they feel that they are ready to put pen to paper, and it varies between people. But most importantly, you'll know when to start writing because you will put your life on pause to write your first chapter and meet the protagonist, you feel like you already know. You will write because you love it.