Booktok 📚 discussion

So i really want to start writing a book but I have no idea where to begin. I’m just doing it for fun, but I need writing app recommendations, recommendations for how to plan things out, and any other advice you guys might have. Thanks! 🫶🫶

Check on ProWritingAid.com and I recommend Abbie Emmons on YouTube.

I'll start with reccommending apps that help me with writing my books (i'm currently writing one thriller and one sports romcom):
- Fabula (you can plan the plot and characters)
- Novelist (where I write on my phone)
- PhotoNote (you can create your characters Instagram accounts)
- Pinterest ofc for moodboards and writing tips
- Any sites with vocabulary if English isn't your native language (like it is for me), I use sites with volleyball vocabulary for example.
Here are overall tips (coming from a teenage and unexperienced writer herself so don't expect me to know ball):
- First chapter should be an introduction to main characters and how they act, what they like etc. i like my first chapter to be an prologue from another pov than rest of the book.
- Plan out your characters first and always write your ideas somewhere. I didn't and now I forgot most of the things I created in my head. for characters, I use my notebook where I draw them and write basic info about them and also create something like "headcanons" for each of them. For my second book, I printed out pictures of people from Pinterest how I think they would look like if they were real and hang it on my wall and wrote basic info about them.

- Write something you would like to read.
- I write a first draft and THEN edit when I finish, but sometimes I read previous chapters (mostly random) and edit some of them.
- Focus on plot twists, even if your book isn't a thriller. If it's a romance, don't make your characters fall too soon, build the tension first. Make them become friends or share their deepest secrets.
- Don't worry if you don't write regullary, have no motivation. don't push yourself, it's not a competition. i'm writing 140 pages for over a year, and that's ok if I don't write everyday. It's your book and your rules. I hope I helped you a little!! Good luck with your book bb!!

I think the most important thing in writing for me is to just start writing without expecting it to look or sound perfect from the get go. All that matters is that you write, whether you find it perfect or not. I like to remind myself whenever I feel like my writing is cringe or not good, "nobody is reading it except you. Nobody is reading your first draft like it's the main book. You can write anything because there's always time to change or edit it". So yeah, I would recommend you the same. Don't chase perfection. All that matters is that you're writing and it's making you feel good! 😊✨️
Also, if you need a proper book just for beginners, you can read "bird by bird" by Anne Lamott.
Good luck! 🤍