By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy
A little thinking before you start writing can make a huge difference in how easy that story is to write.
For some writers, a blank page is a scary thing to face. For
others, they see all that white space as an opportunity, and can't wait to dive
in and tell their story. The vast majority of us probably fall somewhere in
between, with some ideas making us eager to write, and some fighting us for
every word.
I've discovered through (often painful) trial and error, that my novels go smoother when I spend some time planning them before I write them. I don't have to figure everything out, but knowing what my core conflict is, what my protagonist needs to do, and who my antagonist is makes it a lot easier to write the first draft. I struggle less, my plot comes together more quickly, and the manuscript turns out much cleaner.