A few days ago, I finished revisions on my medieval YA WIP and started working on a new manuscript. Usually, when I start a story, I already have an idea what it is going to be about. Sometimes, I just have a scene in my head that will eventually become a chapter in a book. This newest WIP is different, because instead of beginning with a plot or central conflict, I am focusing on capturing a setting.

I have been living in Germany since March, and I want to write a story that takes place here. That is the foundation of my new WIP. There is no plot yet. I do not know what the characters will be like. I only know that it will take place in North Rhine-Westphalia, in spring and early summer. 

When I first came here, I recorded the experiences that happened to me. I knew that these little snippets of my life would eventually be reworked into a fictional story.

The important thing is actually getting words onto paper. Don’t be afraid to begin a story when you have no idea what it is going to be about. Don’t be afraid to experiment. For example, when I wrote my upcoming YA thriller, PROJECT PANDORA, I didn’t have a plot. I had a single scene in my head: a teenage boy waking up in an unfamiliar home with a gun in his hand. The story evolved from there.

It is all right to have no idea what kind of story you’re writing. It’s okay to aimlessly sketch out scenes that you may eventually have to delete. It’s all part of the writing process.