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Before you can begin, you need somewhere to start

People often say to me they’d like to write a novel but don’t know where to start.

Or they’ve read Stephen King On Writing because everyone says you must (you must!), and still they don’t know how to begin, whether they’ve had an idea for a story or not.

I’m a course junkie, so naturally that’s where I turned first. But even after taking several, and finding myself still flailing, the thing I found most useful was to make a list.

So that’s what I’m suggesting here.

I know it sounds too simple. It is and it isn’t. That’s the beauty of it.

All you have to do is think back and write down every book and movie you’ve ever really loved.

I’m talking>> right back to childhood. Do not leave out trashy favourites and guilty pleasures. This is your private list and does not have to impress anybody.

Do not put a foodie book on there because this is the Foodie Novel Writealong and you feel you have to. You don’t have to.

Come up with a top ten or fifteen – no need to order them.

Anything that should be on the list but occurs to you a couple of days later still qualifies, so add it. And if there’s any TV series that would make the list feel more authentic to you, include that too.

The important thing is to write them all down in one place.

You can do that.

You can start now.

Just a list.