So, here I am then. I guess after 30 years I have finally decided to see if what people have been telling me is correct, I should have written a book they all said. Well, I thought I would ask the experts as it were and take it from there. I would be very grateful if I could speak with somebody who can answer this question for me, not as simple as that I realise but its a start.
Welcome to the forum. I'm no expert, but I don't think anyone can answer that question for you. Are you passionate enough about what you want to write, are you skilful enough to execute it well, do you have the imagination to create a story that will engage the readers (or, if you're writing an autobiography, is the story you want to tell interesting enough)? But should you write a book? We can't answer that. Only you can. You can post some of your work here (once you meet the requirements) for critique and we can give you feedback.
Thank you for the concise and very valid reply. I guess to answer those questions that will lead to the answer to the first, I would need to have a conversation with the right person. I am confident on all points except perhaps, am I skilful enough to execute it? The outcome of the said conversation would determine if I then test those skills or not really
There’s no standardized test. The only way to know is to try. And then you fail or succeed. And then you try again or give up. - MC
Here's the thing - almost no one is skilful enough when they first start. Something you will hear on this forum is that the first million words you write are practise. If you're expecting to launch into a novel and get it right the first time, you will almost certainly be disappointed. Almost everyone here who has published novels has also got a raft of failed novels. Many of us are honing our teeth on smaller works like short stories, so we can get our writing skills to where they need to be. Don't get me wrong. A lot of people are looking to write the novel they feel they have in them, especially during lockdown. But most of them will fail. Even if you're not skilful enough now (and I'm not saying you're not), you can become skilful enough, if you're willing to put the hard work in. It's like deciding to take up a sport. You may have the best hand-eye coordination in the world, but if you take up a sport you've never played before, you won't suddenly start off by being good at it. I don't want to put you off, but it's better to go into this with your eyes open. I recommend you don't look for validation from someone. That's one person's opinion. Instead, start writing, get feedback on your writing and use that to improve.
What kind of book(s) would you be interested in writing? Novels, short stories, poetry, essays, biography, autobiography—they all take different skillsets. I think the only ones that would work for a person with natural talent but not a lot of training/practice would be poetry and autobiography, and I'm probably wrong about those too. What I'm thinking is that with autobiography if you have a strong personality—a writer's voice as it's called, and it really comes through, that can make up for a lot. But there are still many things that need to be handled right, and that requires either a lot of learning along the way or hiring a ghost writer or a personal editor to help you develop the story in a satisfying way. Personally when I want to try to develop a new skill I start by researching what needs to be learned and I hit up the internet and Amazon for tutorials and books and get to the learnin'. The journey is the rewarding part, and that includes the study and practice.
I guess that's the problem, I have plenty to tell but no real idea how to tell it. Put simply I could sit and tell the story with ease but putting it in to a book format, that is another matter.
Then you need to learn to write. And the way you do that, is by reading. Read lots, and read often, see how other people have done what you are trying to do. Then take that and develop it into your own style.
You also need to learn a few things about story structure, such as the standard 3-act structure. Look around online, it's not hard to learn and there's all kinds of sites and blogs where you can learn it.
