Finding Time to Write
R. B. Wood
Former technologist, world traveler, & storyteller.
If you are a high school student and reading this right now, you are on summer vacation. So what to do with the oodles of time in your day? Well write, of course!But I know it’s not quite that easy. There are summer camps, family vacations, and friends to hang out with. However, you do have some small gaps between these, and these gaps can be when your best ideas come to you. Jot ideas down in your phone or carry around a pen and paper.
Now we’ve got an idea for a story. Next comes the hard part – expanding upon it. An idea can sound great, but without a full plot, it won’t go anywhere. You need to think of secondary characters, backstory, and the range of emotions you want your readers to feel. Most of all, make this a book you would want to read. If you would read it, then others would want to read it.
So now you have a full plot arc. Now it’s time to write! Sit down at your computer and find some music fitting the mood of the scene you’re writing. When you have your music, let the words flow out of you.
The most important part of the writing process is not to let your outline rule you. If you want to end a chapter differently, then do it. Just don’t make any huge changes without first consulting your outline to make sure it fits. It is absolutely key to not lose sight of where your story is going.
Oh, did I mention have fun? Well have fun! You’re writing a story, and this is your story. Have a good time with it!
Zack Umstead is an honors high school student entering a busy sophomore year, but has still somehow found time to write and publish two stories. Shifter, the first in a young adult scifi novelette series, was published in June of 2011, and Entanglement, a quantum physics young adult novella, in April 2012. What little free time he has left, he’s spent earning his senior black belt in Kenpo Karate. Work is currently underway for the next in the Shifter series.
