Possibly Starting To Write

[HoopyFrood]

My current story started from a single idea...I didn't even have a plot when I started writing, but I just began and it progressed from there. Sometimes the story seems to come out on its own accord, or even if you plan, it decides to go off in its own direction halfway through. Stephen King is one of those authors that just writes and lets the story develop by itself.

[Laerten]

Do you have any friends/relatives who are into reading books in a big way? Write something and give it to them to read and comment on/correct - if they are literate they will probably come back to you with 'polite suggestions' on correcting your grammar.

[Laerten]

Also check out most of the Writing Resources threads for really good suggestions and information.

[Shingetsu]

Yes, I think my brother will be able to help me out. He reads SFF too and other genre books. Not grammar wise, though.

I posted a test piece of writing in Critiques if anyone wishes to look at it and help me.

[Lith]

Maybe I'll post something in Critiques later today even. I might just write a bit already to see how horrible I initially am. I shudder to think how bad it will be.

I spent about five years thinking how god-awful my writing was, but I kept writing anyway, in absolute stubborn denial of its awfulness. Now I've either gotten used to it, or I've gotten better. Naturally I pick the latter. And I know I've gotten much freer in how I write, which translates into more natural phrasing on the page. So just practice, practice... practice.

[Shingetsu]

Are you trying to get published Lith?

[Lith]

Yup. No estimate on when it will happen though. I'm on the second draft of the first completed manuscript, and in the middle of the first draft of the second. Not to mention all the other manuscripts that drown in the middle and are awaiting my eventual attention when I'm a little more practiced.

[Shingetsu]

It's going to be a very long time for me then if you've been working on the first one for 5 years.

[Leisha]

I've been working on my novel, and the background work for it, for about 6 years. As far as I'm concerned, it's been worthwhile (and I know it is, because I hired an editor to assess it). So I'd say don't rush your masterpiece.

And once I get this first book finished, I've got to start the next one. I have five in all (yeah, I think writers have to be a sucker for punishment ). So you definitely have to have the gumption to keep at it.


You know, some authors can write out a book in 6 months. Doesn't mean their books anything less than perfect. But every author is different. Keep going and you will find your pace - and your strengths.

May I also suggest buying a copy of Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style, too? It’s a very useful book on grammar/punctuation/syntax.

Good luck with your project!

[Shingetsu]

I think, though I obviously don't know, that I would be able to write a book in 6 months. I'm just saying write it of course, which anyone could do. Because mine would be awful. A thousand words a day doesn't sound difficult. A thousand words a day of a story that someone would want to read does.

Most well known authors must write theirs in that amount of time since for series it's usually a book a year.

I don't know if I have what it takes to be a writer. I mainly think I won't be able to remember all the grammar information needed to actually write the story. And then so many guidelines for it all. I'm going to try though, I certainly have allot of free time.

Thanks for the information Leisha, I'll add the book to my list to get. It's at the local library, which I'm hoping I can use more often now for these such books.

[Culhwch]

Originally Posted by Shingetsu

I don't know if I have what it takes to be a writer. I mainly think I won't be able to remember all the grammar information needed to actually write the story. And then so many guidelines for it all. I'm going to try though, I certainly have allot of free time.

It's not a matter of remembering, really. It's a matter of practice. Soon enough it'll become second nature.

[Shingetsu]

I suppose I need to start where I can. First would be developing the land, islands, kingdoms, religion(s), and characters. At least the story and ideas only requires my imagination. Though I'd most likely still need to read allot of books about plot, and characters, etc.

It certainly would be allot of work and time. Since books have long histories about every land, a person, unique races, or even the usual elves and dwarves. But I don't think they ever just use pure imagination, they do a great deal of research about everything they write about.

If I were to write about a castle, i'd probably be wise to read what I could about them. All real authors study the middle ages, atleast those dealing with it of course. Is that right?

I have a very long way to go. I hope my imagination can get me through some of it...

[Culhwch]

It's a balance, really. Research is always useful, it'll give you a solid grounding for making the work realistic, and can quite often inspire you in directions you never concieved of before. But imagination is important too. In fantasy you can get away with the improbable or impossible - a castle in the clouds, for instance - as long as you can sell it with your writing.

[Shingetsu]

I'm reading allot of stuff that just say to write a rough draft; a bad one even. That you will learn the most by just doing it. To also set some sort of daily writing goal and stick to it no matter what.

I went to the library and got The Elements of Style by Stunk and White. I also randomly grabbed No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty and am reading that at the moment. I don't know if it's actually a useful book or not, but guess I will see.

[Lith]

I haven't been working on that manuscript for five years. Different, half-finished ones. This latest was four months at 2,000 words/day, with very little preplanned.

1,000 words a day is a good goal. I upped it to 2,000 after the first month, as it was a more natural chapter length, and after a month at 1,000, you get to where you write faster. I read once where Terry Pratchett has a minimum 400/day, no matter what. That feels like nothing these days, not counting revision time, of course.

There's no way around writing but practice. Lots of it, even if it's messy and seemingly unproductive. You'll learn what works and what doesn't. Research is important, and worldbuilding is important, but you can do too much of it too.

When writers say they've been working on a single manuscript for years, they tend to just be working at a very slow pace. That is, the novel sits on the shelf a lot. Sometimes that's necessary, and sometimes it's just frustration or procrastination. It's a balancing act.