I believe this is something you can just pick up and do. Technically it might not be great but just putting words on paper (or pixels on screen) is the only way to start. Write a short story. no plan just an idea and let the characters take you in a direction. It may be rubbish but please dont stop. you will get better and change it a lot. You do need to read more as well. Choose similar genres to yours but dont always go for the big sellers. Self help books are all well and good but they cannot fire your imagination. they can help you technically but cannot invent characters and worlds. I find the best creative writing is in the initial moment, you need to go back and edit to make it technically correct. If you are wanting to write for fame and fortune then forget it. that rarely happens. Write a story for you not for a pay cheque.
Sure you can "pick it up and just do it" - who told you otherwise? That's how we all start - you're starting a little later than the rest of us, but that needn't necessarily disadvantage you at all. I started by rewriting stories that I liked - I wouldn't even change the story elements, I was literally just writing it out in my own words. That was when I was 8 or 9 and I'd just emigrated to England, so my English was terrible at the time. It was good practice in that sense. I refrained from really writing because I was embarrassed by my grammar - my mum just told me, "Who cares? You're doing it for fun." And so I started. Started banging on the keyboard - one of my first typed stories was on the discovery of an ancient ape man in a cave It was also one of the first times I used a computer to type, rather than to play games, so I was spending forever looking for each letter on the keyboard too, on top of writing in my second language - what I call my native language now (since my Chinese deteriorated rapidly - I stopped reading Chinese books and somehow I never thought to write prose in Chinese at the time. Everything was English.) As I got older, I started going to my school library and reading and reading and reading, and writing and writing and writing. Anyway, my advice for you would be - read everything that interests you, remember the little sentences and words that you think are well-used and try and use them in your own stories next time you write. And then sit down and start writing Remember, it's for your own pleasure, so who cares if it's not perfect? Just go for it! practice makes perfect, after all!
I would echo Mckk's advice to read whatever interests you, but if you want to write you will be best served by making sure you cast a wide net. Works that have been widely regarded over the generations have been for a reason. You will be doing your writing ambitions a favor by checking some of them out. Good luck.
Read read read. Write write write. Everyone starts somewhere. Read everything with a critical eye. It helps to read things within your genre of interest, but anything in print can help develope your skills. Even the rubbish. Once you start reading with a writer's eye, you start noticing what works for you and what doesn't. Also, at the same time, write. Sit down and put your ideas on paper. Like Rooster said, it may be rubbish to you but that's part of being a writer. Your critical side critiques and you develop your skill. Keep everything your write and re-read it. You'll see yourself improving. Read. Write. Oh, and welcome to the forum!
check out lists of the 100 best novels / 100 best short stories of all time... start working your way through them...
I've been building up my plot, writing it down and letting it take me where i didn't originally plan for it to, and it's so far working well. But it's not a novel yet, not even close. In all honesty it's nothing more than a rough plan. I do this for most of my stories, come up with ideas and write them down, create a whole working plot for a novel, but when i get to actually writing it, it's very hard. How do i start to put my plans and storylines into action? And where is the best place to start them? Help needed ! Thanks in advance xx
Don't overwhelm yourself with the big picture. Write chapters at a time and go back and rework things as you need to.
Just write! I always keep in mind that my first draft is for my eyes only, so I am not embarrassed by what I put down. I can clean it up and edit it later. It sounds like your plan up to this point is working for you, keep going!
I just start writing, and try to keep track of the different unsolved plot threads and characters in a spread sheet. It's possibly not the best way of doing it, but it works well for me. For example, I will make a spreadsheet, and have the layout like this: Summary: A zookeeper, his robotic monkey, and a painter with daddy issues goes looking for a golden watch, while preventing the end of the world. Chapter____Plot Thread______________________________________________Solved?Y/N 1_________Mike accidentally lose his fathers golden watch________________No 1_________Mike e-mail his girlfriend about the green men in the attic________Yes, Chapter 5 2_________Andrew is fired from his job at the zoo, and lets all the bulls out __________,starting a chain even that will bring about the next apocalypse___No, planned for ending Dont know if it makes much sense, but I just keep writing as best as I can, and if I make a new plot thread, I will add it to the list, and mark it as unsolved. Then occasionally I will browse through the list again to see if I have solved any plot points, of if I have missed any. As I said, this might not work for everyone, but it works pretty well for me. Edit: The most important idea is that you sit down and do the writing. I have the feeling a lot of writers spend obscene amounts of time on finding a good way of organizing their work, while neglecting to actually write, which is the only way of getting stuff done.
That is the exact same thing I am going through! Making the actual content and filling up the empty space in between plot points is something that I find super difficult. So far I have only managed to make up the plot and then i occasionally just like you, write down ideas as i make them up and then I also write a great deal of dialogue.
I've pretty much just started writing my first serious story a few weeks ago myself. I stopped worrying about getting everything down before starting, and just went for it with a rough idea in my head. As I come to each chapter I just write whatever comes into my head in short segments, then come back to it over and over again revising it. Basically, have a plan but don't worry too much about it.
I used to write a lot in high school and college and was even admitted to a writing program at UCLA but I was too young to attend. I am at point in my life where I feel this huge urge to write, sometimes its all I want to do is write. I have huge goals about writing a book and really have this gut feeling about this but I sit down and get so stunted by my critical voice that I usually just end up writing about that very thing. My writing has now turned into me venting and wondering about how to push through this. I would love any suggestions or methods that people have found useful in battling this annoying presence. HELP! Thanks! Shannon
You could start by warming up. Some people call this "morning pages" - pages written just to recover your feeling for language and find your voice for the day's work. Nobody has to see them, so you can use them to write about anything. Do your venting there. John Steinbeck began each day of work on East of Eden by writing a letter to his friend and editor. That got rid of the bile and relaxed him enough to do good work.
Thank you, that is very helpful. I'm worried I can do to much of that, its become this space Im constantly stuck in. The thoughts are always there that nothing I write will be good enough, interesting enough, poignant enough, so I am instantly shut down. Im trying to learn to kill that voice, or at least quiet it enough for me to do some good work.
I couldn't write for years, apart from my Journal and even that didn't happen very frequently. A while ago, I was playing an online game and started writing a story based on the game and the friends I was playing with. I didn't show it to anyone, it was just a way of getting my creativity flowing again. It worked for me. You say you have "huge goals about writing a book", I think this may be why your critical voice is hounding you. Don't start with the book, try something smaller and then you can build on your successes. Minstrel's suggestion of morning pages is an excellent one. It's a great way of dumping 'stuff' before you start writing. Good luck and have fun.
Not sure if any of you write like me (in chunks from all over the timeline but starting a new page for each chunk ...) Anyway, I just finished some really heavy work on a section with a word count of 47085 and have gone straight on to a new section. Current word count, 53. I always feel excited when I start a new page but I also hate it, it scares me to death! Does anyone else get these mixed feelings when you start a new bit?
Well I'm about to start chapter 2, if that counts. And as for mixed feelings - not so much. I just end up stopping... like I've hit a block. Once the scene gets going it's just fine though lol.
I'm like that. Every time I start a new chapter I'm like "... break time!" cause I don't wanna start it
Exactly. I have 63 words for chapter 2 so far... Hey, you got any thoughts on the name Tyler for a dragon shapeshifter guy? It was just the first name that came to me when I first started. I have nothing particularly against the name, but I keep wondering if I should change it.
To the OP: It depends on the page, I must say. Most of the time I find it quite daunting, but sometimes it's the complete opposite: a relief to finally be able to put the words on paper.
Congrats @A.M.P. !! Yes, @Komposten It's kind of a daunting feel but like you said, can't wait to get the new words down. I had to stop at 64 words as I'm not not sure which way to go with the two MC's. Going to have to sleep on it!
Lol, thx everyone! Ill admit sometimes its the opposite, the current chapter being sluggish or even uncertin, but a fresh blank page lets me move to more famioiar territory.
