Pretty much speaks for itself. I was considering writing a fictional war story based not far in the future. What are some of the steps i should take to write this novel and where can i actually type up the story? Please be very specfic so i don’t have to question any of the steps. Also, should i use Microsoft Word or another program that is designed for story writing? Thanks for all the help to everyone who contributes! 
It definitely depends on YOU. If this is your first go at writing a novel, say, you will want to start by doing a very basic sketch: Who is your hero(ine)? What are they like? Is there a message to be disclosed? Any specific writing style? You will want to think, throughout the writing process, about WHY you are writing, and you will need to think about how to accomplish that goal.
I don’t write Super-OCD Summaries of a story before I begin writing, but I do think for several days, and maybe even weeks. Usually, this thinking culminates in my writing one- or two-page summaries, in addition to plentiful notes. These summaries are definitely recommended for longer works, especially because it helps you find where plot twists, character-development watersheds, and important scenes will go. Otherwise, your writing will end up sounding very "deus ex machina"; that is, you will realise that you missed something and will quickly write it into your story, and it will sound silly and far-fetched. While writing something just off the top of your head is the way to go for short pieces sometimes, it makes for weak structure in the long run – you may realise that your writing is pointless or unoriginal after wasting several days or weeks. At the same time, however, you don’t need to make scale models of your characters or anything: William Faulkner, for instance, began typing a story that would find its way to the last line, which was the first thing he came up with. On the other hand, Tolkien made a freaking language with thousands of words, and wanted a history that would be perfectly suited to his language. But in both cases, they had incredibly specific goals.
In your case, you will want to conceive the world that you will write about. It is not a world that exists, so you will want to make it as real to you as possible. What major historical events have occurred between now and then? What major societal changes have occurred? You may also want to read some stuff that deals with similar topics. Like 1984. or something (I don’t really know sci-fi too well, I’m afraid). I found myself in a similar situation recently, because I was writing about late-seventeenth century England – I am not deeply familiar with it, and some notes I’ve taken deal with: currency, carriages, presentation at court, dress, education, Cities (Bath, London, Brighton). I began to read Austen like a madman, and even obscurer, duller pieces–all to get a sense of the world.
It is, after all, a very intense process; if you plan on writing seriously–and I don’t mean to discourage you, but the longer your piece is, the less likely you are to finish it–you will often have to force yourself to write. It will not always be fun, and you will probably spend about as much time revising as writing–if you want to produce a polished work.
Speaking of which, I prefer writing by hand to typing; I find that when I use the computer, I end up using thesauruses, or editing my sentences far too much before I even finish a paragraph, and losing focus. But you should really save that intense revision till the end, when you won’t abandon a piece because you got bored of it. Revising hand-written stuff is usually more thoughtful for me, because it involves arrows and erasing, and *looks* much more thoughtful. It’s comforting. Also, there’s something about actually creating each letter that trumps clicking a button and seeing the letter appear–but that’s just my opinion. You should write however you feel most comfortable.
Anyway, here’s a more concise summary (I like starting with situations and characters–Tolkien started with his world. See what works):
1) Basic Character sketches
2) Setting for the characters (interchangeable with 1 or 3)
3) Basic Story Outline (interchangeable with 1 or 2)
3.5) Skippable: Obsessively detailed outline that expands and expands
4) Start Writing
5) Force yourself to KEEP writing.
6) Even if you throw up.
7) Goooood Luck.
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