Hi everyone, I came here seeking for advice. I have finally written down my "novel" in the form of plain story, in Word. There's no dialogue, just "this happens, he says that, then that happens, she says that, etc." -- that type of thing. I believe I'm now ready to start building a novel out of this. Would anyone be so kind an drop any links, or name of the books that would teach me how do I take that pile of "nothing" and construct a solid piece of writing out of it? I'm a bit lost on where to start now, how do I properly start, etc. It's not even the formatting of the manuscript, it's the whole manuscript itself. As might have guessed already, I've never written one. I hope you understand what I mean guys. And another thing: I've never had a proper education in English, which isn't even my native language and I'm self-taught, so I'm slightly worried about grammar/style mistakes. Is it common for writers to use editors' services for their work to be looked at and edited before taking it to the publisher? Thank you!
Take time to envision your scenes Hi Powka! Just from reading your post here, I'd say you don't have a lot to worry about regarding your standard of English. Unless somebody else wrote this for you, I'd say you're doing very well indeed. As to expanding what sounds to me like an outline of a story, I would suggest that you sit down in a very quiet place, free of any distractions, and imagine each scene. Put yourself into it. See what is there, listen to what your characters say to each other, watch what they do, envision what is happening around them when they do it. Take a LOT of time doing this. Hours, days, weeks, however long it takes to get a firm picture in your mind. Don't worry so much about the form this takes, but then write everything you see in that scene, including dialogue. Once you've done that, repeat the process for the other scenes in your story. I think you'll find this gets easier with practice. It sometimes helps me to pretend I'm telling the scene verbally to somebody I know well. (Pick a specific person.) That's a neat trick which can help your story 'voice' develop. It's less restricting than trying to write for your teacher, and it keeps the storytelling lively. After you've envisioned and written your scenes, you'll begin to see how they all fit together. You might be surprised that they deviate from your original outline, because the characters have taken on new lives, or your scene has changed, or whatever. You'll be having a LOT of fun by this stage, I can guarantee. Only after you've shaped your story, developed your characters and set your scenes should you start worrying about word choice, grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. This is the point (and NOT before) when you should begin showing your work to other people, and taking their opinions on board. Don't let other people interfere with your creativity, but by all means do let them in to help you polish the finished work. Good luck! Writing is such a pleasure.
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why don't you follow a couple of simple forum rules and then post a piece - the feedback you get will be your best teaching.
