by Wayne Leon Learmond

Created on: March 24, 2010   Last Updated: March 25, 2010

They say that within all of  us there is a book just waiting to come out. How true those words are. Indeed, every single one of us has a story to tell, no matter how mundane we may think that story may be. The problem arises - if one wants to incorporate their life into a novel - is how exactly do we write it down in the first place? 

This is the stumbling block for many of us and, with that thought in mind, we give up at the first hurdle and never bother again. The problem when writing a novel is finding that first sentence that is going to catch the reader's interest, and keep their interest until the very end. A lot of us believe that our lives are nothing much to write about, that most of our days are ordinary, and people would not be interested in what we write.

But in all of our lives there have been events splattered here and there that would - and could -  fill a book.  It is true about the old saying: that 'truth is stranger than fiction', yet within our lives that saying really does hold true. There are things that have happened in our lives that other people would certainly be interested in reading about. Furthermore, many people may even connect those events with their own experiences.

Again the problem is how do we begin the novel that we have been wanting to write?  The majority of published writers always say that when you are writing begin at the beginning and end at the end and, also, 'write what you know'.  Hook your readers so that they carry on reading.  Create a narrative pull immiedately, and make the readers urgent to know what happens next in your story.

So, with that in mind, sit down, take a deep breath, and begin.  If you have some idea about writing you would know that your first few lines must capture the reader, that your characters must be strong, and that writing in the Third Person, rather than the First, is a lot easier {unless you are very experienced in writing in the 'First Person'}.  A story that is filled with  'I did this and I did that' is a story that is badly-written. Clear your mind when you sit before your keyboard, and have some idea about how you will begin.

In real life, people never do things that are out of character with themselves, so keep your characters natural.  Do not allow your readers to think that any given situation in your story would be impossible in real life.  Keep your characters believable, and as real as possible. When writing novels 

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