Thinking of writing your first novel in 2026 and don’t know exactly how to get started?

If you long to write and don’t want do a lot of planning, you might want to try stream-of-consciousness writing, where the narrators’s thoughts are presented in a continuous flow.

To many, this is considered “pantsing”—or writing by the seat of your pants. It’s an unstructured approach where the writer begins with their basic idea and then lets the story unfold.

Perhaps, instead, you want the structure offered by actually outlining (plotting your story out, from beginning to end) before you write a single word.

The internet offers information on dozens of writing “methods”, from Randy Ingermanson’s Snowflake method (old as the hills, but tried-and true) to the newest one I have just discovered, called Novelty. It’s 100 lessons are overseen by a team of seasoned authors.

Many authors find that a hybrid approach, combining elements of both plotting and pantsing, works best for them. (The approach I use, personally).

Don’t know which you’d like to use?

Try both!