Writing advice

[Marcus15]

I have only one year of college and I am trying to write a book and aside from general lazyness I can't seem to get in the groove. I have one basically complete chapter and I think, a good idea of where I want to go with the book but I can't seem to know where to really start. I am writing in fits and starts.

I need some good basic hints, ideas and a good nudge in the right direction.

 

[Commonmind]

Writing is such a personal journey it's difficult to give advice to another writer -- especially when it comes to motivating them.

It's often so intimate that some of us would find it hard to explain why we do it, or why we excel at it. A good friend of mine, for instance, is a high-school dropout, attending college for a total of 3 weeks to obtain his GED; he's one of the best writers I know, so good in fact, that I often read his work and wonder where it comes from, or how he's capable of producing literature on par with professionals, having almost no schooling.

The only thing I can tell you is that if you're a writer, you just are. That's not to insinuate you need to be any good at what you do -- I mean only that if you were meant to write, you will do so. I found that no matter what I did in life, I was always drawn to write, despite being a far more skilled artist, a better musician or more adept businessman -- writing was the only thing I couldn't live without doing.\

So, if you find yourself needing motivation, stop trying so hard and just let it come to you. If there's a writer inside you, or even a storyteller, it will come out eventually.

 

[Marky Lazer]

Write what you like to write, write what you would like to read.

 

[Marcus15]

Thanks. My book, maybe I should stop referring to it as such, has potential. I just need to find the thread and write along it I suppose.
I have always been terrible at following outlines and I tend to jump all over the place. Does anyone write like that?

 

[Commonmind]

Thanks. My book, maybe I should stop referring to it as such, has potential. I just need to find the thread and write along it I suppose.
I have always been terrible at following outlines and I tend to jump all over the place. Does anyone write like that?

Actually, yes. I don't always follow an outline, and I sometimes find myself writing ahead, or jumping from place to place at any given time. I think if you know your story, or rather, if your story knows you, it doesn't matter where you write within that story as it will eventually piece itself together.

I think more what you're looking for is confirmation that what you're doing is okay, rather than direct advice on what you should be doing. If that's a correct assumption, know that there is no right or wrong way, only the way which suits you best.

 

[Marcus15]

Ok, well I guess that's one of the answers I was looking for.

Another is though, should I write an overall version of say, a given chapter and then come back to it later to flesh it out or try to finalize as much as I can?

 

[Marky Lazer]

Thanks. My book, maybe I should stop referring to it as such, has potential. I just need to find the thread and write along it I suppose.
I have always been terrible at following outlines and I tend to jump all over the place. Does anyone write like that?

Okay lemme be the bad guy. Your book probably doesn't have potential. So, now we've established that... Just write if you like to write. Don't try to become a famous, best-selling author earning bags of money. Half the world is writing books these days, so the chance your book going to be publishes is small, the chance it going to be a best-seller is even smaller. So, as I said, enjoy all the hard work you're putting in it, that should be the pay off. That's all the advice I can give you. And don't let your main character stay in isolation too long.

 

[Marcus15]

Ok. Now that you've crushed my ego...Lol, just kidding.

Thanks for the down to Earth advice

 

[Marky Lazer]

Ain't go nothing to do with down to earth. Getting published is 20% talent + 100% luck. And even though I suck at math, I know that's pretty hard to accomplish.

 

[Marcus15]

Well, I can be pretty lucky but I write for fun mostly and if my friends like it then I'm happy.

 

[Commonmind]

Well, I can be pretty lucky but I write for fun mostly and if my friends like it then I'm happy.

Congratulations, you are a writer.

 

[Malloriel]

Few things in preface: I adore your icon, and hate that the Daleks have simply been replaced by a more 'elegant design' with no defensive shield while being for all intents and purposes the same damn enemy.

Secondly, I definitely agree with Commonmind about the level of education required to be a writer. Some people would say that they needed it, more I think would say they benefited from it (the extended education, that is), but I think for the most part you'll find that anyone is capable of creating a good story. Fewer are able to put that story down in the ways that will engage their readers, but that's a skill that can be attributed either as being innate and trainable, or learned and trainable. In either scenario, it can always become something better.

For my own personal style, I would have said five years ago that I sit down and write with only the vaguest ideas in mind for direction to keep the results a surprise. I also would have said I write one story beginning to end. Today, though (having not actually finished THOSE stories) I would say that I write whatever I'm inspired to write in the moment. Most of the stories tie into each other now anyway, and some of them I need to know the movements of certain characters at certain times even if it's at a completely different and mostly unrelated location simply because of the impact it can have on the characters I'm "focused" on at the time.

As for a basic overview, I would say instead to merely write the idea out. Let it flow as it will in whatever way gets it out. It doesn't matter at that time if it follows the rules of grammar, logic, or the storyline you thought you were following. If you at least get it out then perfecting and tweaking can follow. You can't, however, modify something that doesn't yet exist.

 

[Malloriel]

Oh, almost forgot.

I get a lot of inspiration by going to the Critiques section and helping the writers there. It gets me in that "mode", gets my creative fires blazing and seeking an outlet. I almost always end up either developing the world a little further (major overhaul in the works because of the major overhaul done on the "first" book), or working on a chapter.

Watching Lord of the Rings will do it too. I'm so inspired by and in awe of Tolkien. I wish in no way to reproduce what he did. I wish in no way to have in my hands another Middle-Earth. What I do wish is to follow his example in my own way, and seeing his vision come to life so beautifully in the movies, and then to go over the actual works themselves again, it just bowls me over and inspires me to work even more on the development of my land(s) and the cultures.

To be honest, what began eight years ago as one continent has been forced to grow. The Aliandran continent was just too small for everything I'd developed and ended up feeling more like . . . an expediant tool than a world that could possibly exist. I like that level of realism despite the inclusion of things like obvious magic and dragons. I can enjoy a tale where everything that ever happens takes place in a finite reality (one continent, one land, knowledge of others is either limited, implied, or non-existant), but what really pulls me in are the worlds where it's more than one populated land mass.

Obviously infodumping is ill-advised, but there are many ways to get the information across without any of that. I've felt for a long time now that as long as the author knows the information then it comes across organically, as long as the writer's goal isn't to express every detail of the world they put so much effort into (I know, I know "but I'm so proud!" You should be. That doesn't mean the story itself should necessarily take a back seat to exposition about the lands and peoples therein), then the story and world are allowed to flourish along side each other without competing.

That's my take anyway. I hope at least some of it proves useful and applicable.

 

[Relenzo2]

\ I am writing in fits and starts.

Aaaaand, there's your problem!
Writing like that gets nowhere. It took me several tries over the course of several years to realize that. Set a clock alarm for a set amount of time everyday a make yourself write. (Take breaks occasionally, but make sure you don't use tiredness as too much of an excuse. If you come back and the pencil still doesn't fly, you just need to stick with it as it gets tough.)

I can't really tell you what will work "surefire" for you, but this should help. G'luck.

BTW: You may just not be confident enough. A book is a huge undertaking (not to intimidate you). You have to commit yourself to writing it, come Hell or high-water. You need get the mindset that if the Apocolypse arrived tomorrow, all it would change is that you would write faster to finish it on time. KNOW that you'll finish it.

 

[mixa]

I started writing about 1.5 years ago seriously....failed about 10,000 words in on my first novel. I realised that that story was too big for my current skill set, and I struggled...those 10,000 words took me about 3 months....

I then gave up and stopped writing until September this year, where I started to write a new story. This one is smaller in scale and less complex in terms of characters to start with. And like some people said, it took on a life of it's own and started to write itself.

That makes it sound easy, but it still was not!

It's hard work....you have to make yourself sit down. I have rituals to ensure I'll do some writing...as in when I have a cup of coffee, I will write. But equally without one, I won't...

To start with I wrote in sequence, but about 3 or 4 chapters in, my mind had already raced ahead to the ending, and it was such a good one I decided to write the ending before carrying on from chapter 3 or 4....

I then worked backwards from the ending...

I then started to add in new events which made more sense....

I have probably edited the thing before it's finished by re-reading as I knew the storyline needed changing due to me hopping around...

So maybe you can write out of sequence, as long as you keep on writing, and not get stuck in one place and stay there.

My advice is to write, just write even if it's crap. It's hard enough work just to get crap down. Things happen during the day to stop you from writing. I've taken the last three days off writing due to food poisoning, starting a new job, sorting out finances.....

I wrote probably 60% crap of story, bad phrases, poorly constructed action scenes, words that barely made sense. But as long as I got on to the paper what it was that I knew I was trying to say, I could go back and change it for the better later on.

I've edited the story twice now, and it needs the ending polishing up and half a chapter writing, but I'm really happy I got to 30,000 words....

You will too!!

Set yourself a target, i.e. 1500/2000 words a day. Finish off the story by end of the year. Don't worry if it's a load of rubbish by the time you get there, by the merit of simply writing, you will improve. So by the time you get to the second, third or even fourth edit, you writing skills will have gotten better and hopefully the story will be what you hoped it will be.

 

[dreir]

..It's hard enough work just to get crap down..

Hell yeah. In my case I also have the bad habit of re-reading the crap I've put down over and over and messing with it instead of putting even more crap down, crap that would actually take the story forward. I need to get my crap priorities straight..

- Dreir -

 

[Writers Blocked]

new crap always takes more effort than going over old crap. Why write new crap today when you can write the same crap tomorrow? I also write crap down in lists

and just to get it out of my system... crap-crapity-crap-crap-crap.

 

[RcGrant]

Crap aside D), you have to find your own way. It sorta reminds me of when you're a child and your parents always say 'I know best, you'll see one day!' and for ages, you don't quite get where they're coming from, but one day, somehow, you do, and things become a lot clearer.

Not that I'm trying to liken you to a child, but I think that finding your peace with the writing process is a journey onto itself. You have to give yourself permission to write, but more than that, you have to give yourself permission to write, well...crap!

I also found, that despite whatever I told myself, the worst thing I can do is go over and edit what I have written, before I have finished the story. But this isn't the same for everyone. Experiment. The only thing that is essential is persistance; the rest will come with time.

 

[dreir]

Crap aside D), you have to find your own way. It sorta reminds me of when you're a child and your parents always say 'I know best, you'll see one day!' and for ages, you don't quite get where they're coming from, but one day, somehow, you do, and things become a lot clearer.

Whenever that happens I always think of how my own children would react to the same sort of thing one day. I'm always humbled by it.

I think you and I (and probably many others here) fall under that category of people called perfectionists. While it can be a good thing, we'll have to learn to gain more control of when to be and when not to be too fussy over our works. Once we learn that control, we'll be fine, I think.

- Dreir -

 

[chrispenycate]

Finding the correct balance between "close enough is good enough" and "it can't go out while there's a chance that something can be improved" is a major part of getting a job finished, not only in writing, or even only in artistic endeavour in general, but in everything in life.

Aim too low, you will never be satisfied with the result, even if everybody else is.

Aim too high, and not only will nobody ever see if they like your style, you can overdo the polish, and lose the strength that the endeavour (whatever it might have been) might have had in a slightly cruder form.