Write about what excites you! Think about the kinds of books you love to read and make a list of what you love about them. Dystopian sci-fi set on far-off planets? Real-life stories starring characters with an attitude? If you enjoy reading about it, you’ll probably enjoy writing about it too.
And as for not knowing how to write a novel, that’s how every author starts! The best way to learn how to write is to write, and if you need more help, check out these two resource pages for workbooks, pep talks, videos, and more:
Once you've set up a project and created a novel, one final resource will appear: under Writing Tools, you will see something called our Dare Machine. The Dare Machine "dares" you to write something short using the prompt shown in the Dare Machine box. Keep clicking "Show Me Another" to see additional prompts. Just a few examples of Dare Machine prompts include:
- Your main character wakes up with a craving for cheesecake.
- Have one character betray another.
- Your character is interrupted by the smell of burning cookies.
- Send your characters to a karaoke party.
Even if you don't have a well-formed character or story in mind, writing something short about whatever sparks your imagination will help your ideas flow.