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  1. Erol

    Erol New Member

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    I have no idea what I'm doing..

    Discussion in 'New Member Introductions' started by Erol, Jan 28, 2019.

    Hey everybody!

    I'm Erol, 30 from the UK!

    For years, I've had an idea for a book in my head, but I have no idea where to start.

    I'm not being such a great reader. I find it super frustrating as I often forget what I've read on the last page and find myself flicking back and forth just to make sense of things. I'm more of a visual person. I can see the entire idea in my head from start to finish, from the sights, sounds and it's overall atmosphere, but I just don't know where to start?

    I'm really happy to have stumbled on this forum and I'm hoping that this might be the place that will help me along. I'm a complete novice. The last time I wrote something was under pressure during my Literature exam at school back in 2004. I did really well to be fair, but I'm not a natural writer.

    I'm going to scour this website from top to bottom because I really want to do this. I really want to challenge myself and I think that if I'm able to get what I can see in my head onto paper, and with some proper guidance and taking onboard the advice here, I'll definitely have some winners on my hands.

    Thank you for taking the time to read my post and I look forward to learning and taking the small steps necessary to progress. I'm not expecting miracles from myself right away and I've got a lot to learn, but slowly slowly, I think a completed book by the end of the year is completely achievable! :)
     
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  2. Some Guy

    Some Guy Manguage Langler Supporter Contributor

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    Welcome! What is the idea of your story? Does it have a genre? :)
     
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  3. J.D. Ray

    J.D. Ray Member Supporter Contributor

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    Welcome aboard. Don't expect instant results here. For some reason, it seems to take a while for some posts to get traction.

    In my experience, the best way to figure out how to write is to just start doing it. As @Some Guy asked, what's the genre (fantasy, sci-fi, contemporary fiction, romance, something else entirely)? How about an outline of your story? Trust me when I say that any idea you have has been written in some manner, whether it's published or not. You may have a great story on your hands (or in your head), and it may be well worth writing, but it's going to have tropes. Accept that and move forward, and you'll be happier for it. So give us an outline and we'll give you some feedback. We're pretty genial around here (I'm relatively new, for that matter), so don't be afraid to expose yourself a bit (metaphorically speaking, of course).

    Cheers.

    JD
     
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  4. Erol

    Erol New Member

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    Ah thank you so much for your encouraging responses!

    It's a cowboy fantasy story that has a sort of Lord of The Rings / Harry Potter vibe. It incorporates adventure, mystic powers, power struggle between the "white men" and "the natives". There will be one lead character. I was thinking of writing it as passages from the characters living through this story. I think that could be interesting? Or just write it in a very straight-forward sort of flow without complication so I can aim it at the 10+ reading age.

    I'm super excited! If I were to write an opening, would that be a good start for everyone to see the direction of the book?

    Kindest,
    Erol
     
  5. Hammer

    Hammer Moderator Staff Supporter Contributor

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    Hi @Erol - and a warm welcome from me!

    Writers are made not born so it may well be that you turn out to be the best on the board, otoh if you don't feel confident with words it may be that your story is more visual and best communicated with story-boards or scripts which are less wordy (but, I would imagine, an even tougher sell). Either way I wish you luck, you will learn the most by jumping in and getting involved. Everyone's opinion is valid.
     
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  6. J.D. Ray

    J.D. Ray Member Supporter Contributor

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    Go for it. Yes, an opening is a good start.

    Broadly, you can divide writers into two categories (I'll get pushback on this, I'm sure): "Outliners" and "Linears". I'm the latter; I get an idea in my head, then plough forward to tell the story. It tends to wander, and when I'm done, I go back and trim, re-work, re-word, and fix problems that show themselves. Along the way I try to enlist the help of others.

    "Outliners" do just that; they create an outline of their story, with chapter or section headings, bits of description about what happens in each place, waymarkers, and the like, then go back, once they have the whole story skeleton down, and fill in the flesh. I only have a basic idea of how they work, because I'm not one of them (though not for lack of trying).

    Pick the thing that works for you, or pick something else. Or do both, it doesn't really matter. So far my best work has been "flash fiction", short pieces (500-1000 words) that get torn off in a burst of creativity founded in some flash of inspiration. After having stretched myself to write a few 10-12K word short stories, two of which seem to have quality, I decided to jump into writing a novel. It's a struggle. It's like someone who's good at the 100-yard dash and decent in the mile deciding to run a marathon. I'm ~42K words into it, with about that much to go, and I needed organization help. I'm trying out Scrivener, and it's helping. I recommend you give it a go from the outset, though I warn you that it's packed with features that you only need 10% of to be successful with it. Give the overview video a look and decide for yourself: https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview

    Anyway, however much I didn't realize that "Harry Potter" had a "vibe" (I've only seen the movies, not read the books), I like the idea of your story and am looking forward to what you provide (if you do) as an intro. I'll "follow" you so I'm sure to catch it.

    Cheers.

    JD
     
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  7. Erol

    Erol New Member

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    Top advice everyone, thank you!

    JD, that link is so useful as well, thank you!

    I was once a music producer by trade and I actually wrote and composed this short script:


    This is one of the characters talking after the "white men" got cursed.

    Hope you enjoy it!

    I also own the trademark to "The Wild Frontier".
    I actually believe in this whole thing so much as a visitor attraction / novel / film. Jumping the gun? Oh totally, but I'm so passionate about this idea and I hope you enjoy the excerpt.
     
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  8. Some Guy

    Some Guy Manguage Langler Supporter Contributor

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    I like yourpassion/enthusiasm :) I look forward to learning about your story when your blog is enabled. Post direct excerpts in Workshop when eligible if you want critique. I'm more interested in discussion, so I'll be Follow-ing :D
     
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  9. StanDagger

    StanDagger New Member

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    I really liked that SoundCloud track. I love that kind of hard-boiled, gravelly voice. It sounds to me that you might want to think along the lines of an audio adventure/radio play. Mixing words and mental images. I'm playing Red Dead Redemption 2 at the moment, and that's just the kind of vibe you've got there, only I guess you have more supernatural elements. Anyway, I thought that was an excellent bit of audio.
     
  10. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    Pushback. :) "Linear" suggests that you write the story in order. I'm not doing that. If I had to make up a term, I might say "crazy quilters"--I assemble a few pieces here, a few pieces there, and eventually it's all together in a shape.
     
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  11. J.D. Ray

    J.D. Ray Member Supporter Contributor

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    You, m’lady, are the exception to many rules. ;)
     

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