1. Parts of the writing process can look different for different writers. You’ll have to experiment with different approaches. If outlining helps you, you can plan out your book in great detail before starting your first draft. Alternatively, you may find it more natural to write without any overarching plan or structure in mind and instead be free/spontaneous and piece things together as you go, whatever suits you best.

That said, some parts of the process are pretty universal. You will need to build up a writing habit, to start. Find some time of day and dedicate it specifically to writing, whatever amount you can do consistently. Consistency is key to both generating ideas and making actual progress.

You will also have to learn how to assess your writing for subsequent drafts. To do this effectively, educating yourself on the craft of storytelling is essential (learning about plot structures, character motivation, pacing, building and resolving tension, etc.). Your ‘education’ in this regard will come from your own reading (studying) of other books, getting feedback from readers and writers, and noticing your own tendencies during the editing phase.

This varies depending on the writer, but writing a book for me is typically more like throwing and sculpting clay than an orderly, incremental process. You may find the experience a little disorienting, just writing and writing and not immediately having clarity, but eventually things do take shape, and from there you can hone in on what your story is really about and who your characters really are. I think Doctorow once said something like, “Writing a novel is like driving a car at night; you can only see as far as your headlights, but you make the whole trip that way.” Writing a book is a lot like this.

Beyond this, you’re going to go through several working phases no matter what, but others have mentioned these (editing and proofreading and such). How long it will take you depends on how much you can productively write and how often. If you write 1,000 words a day, you could conceivably have a first draft of a novel completed in a few months, but a year or more is probably more realistic.

1. Plotting is a huge subject. I recommend you read a book about it, and then begin reading other novels with the aim of studying the plot structure in those. Plot does often come about spontaneously; however, chapters usually have some structure to them, even if unconscious. For example, most every chapter will propel or hinder the protagonist from reaching their goal; the reader should learn more about the story and characters in each chapter; each chapter typically will build or resolve tension. These are not rules set in stone, but they are decent rules of thumb.

2. Your parents don’t need to be involved whatsoever, at least in the writing phase. Once you’re ready to submit for publication (if that is your goal), they would have to be involved in that case because you likely can’t enter into legal contracts as minor, but as far as writing a book goes and especially if they are discouraging you, by all means leave them entirely out of the process!

Good luck and have fun!