Writing Advice please

[Pony_Boy]

Hi guys

I've had a rough idea for a short story and/or short novel for years now. Since I'm currently unemployed and I need something to occupy my free time, I've decided to try putting pen to paper and see what happens.

Here's the rub, I've never written anything before and I have no idea how to begin.

Right now all I have in mind are snippets and rough ideas/concepts

I know that there are a few writers on this site so i'm asking for advice on how to organize my thoughts and move on from there


thanks

[AnaKhouri]

Outlining is probably your best bet. Sit down and plot out your story. You may not know the ending yet, which is fine, but go as far as you can. A chapter-by-chapter outline is good if it is a long piece; write down what you want to happen in each chapter, what secrets will be revealed, etc. Write down the main characters and their appearance, motivations, characteristics. Things will start to take shape and hopefully you'll have a direction in which you can start off.

I have never been able to outline, which means I am a very slow writer; I never know what will happen next until just before I write it. It's a very organic way of working but I wish I could outline as I would be quicker and more organized!

Good luck!

[Broomjockey]

Okay, my advice may or may not work for you, but here it is anyway.

Have an idea of the major plot points you want to cover. Beginning, middle, end. You don't need to know how they're going to get from place to place yet.

Try and get a handle on your characters. Motivations, history, how they interact with others. The major failing of a lot of novels, I find, is that the author changes characters to fit the plot as it progresses, without regard for motivation.

Pick a time and place to write, and do it consistently, whether you feel like it or not. Thirty minutes, an hour, some amount of time, whatever, as long as there's a minimum amount of time, and it's always at the same time of day and same place. It helps get in to the writing frame of mind. Even if you're not feeling it, write something. Don't be afraid to trash what you've written on a day like that.

Try not to revise your work as you go along. Usually that leads to the beginning being fairly strong, but the ending is very weak. If there's something you want to go back and change, make a note.

Don't be afraid to change the plot if the characters don't seem like they'd really go in that direction. I've heard a lot of authors say that the characters often did things they didn't really expect, because the author had fleshed out the character so well that it was almost like recounting a real person's exploits. As a neophyte author, you don't need to get quite that detailed, but as long as your characters are solid, the plot work itself around them.

Lastly, get at least one person to read over it when you've got a complete first draft. More is better, but it can be overwhelming. Make sure the person you pick won't be afraid to give you honest feedback, and is able to give constructive feedback. They'll need to be able to describe what issues they had with plot, character, narrative, etc. Stay away from professionals, though, they're expensive.

Hope that helps.

[AriGriffin]

I tend to write fiction stories for children and short fantasy stories for teens and adults.
I keep a small notebook or voice recorder with me in case I am struck with inspiration for a plot, character, setting, or whatever else.
I find it is easier to write out the main plot and then put it into a list that is sort of like a table of contents with summaries of the chapters.
I use index cards to keep track of characters' backgrounds, appearance, and what they are doing in the story. I also have a large cork board I keep stuff on like maps, drawings, plots, characters, and photos that inspire me.
If I get writer's block, I get up and go for a walk or listen to some music. I put in a cd of instrumental songs and let my mind wander.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Broom's advice is good. I have been writing a thousand words a week, for over a year, and I use many of the suggestions he's outlined here.

Outline your plot.

Make notes (I tend to scribble on the bathroom mirror in eyeliner...I think well in the shower. ) and keep them in a "notes" folder.

I highly recommend using google docs, available through www.gmail.com. It's free. All the tools of Word, plus you get to store your story and notes on a third party server. So that if your notebooks are lost or your computer goes boom, you don't lose anything. Plus, you can work on your story from any computer.

Read good books with an eye for how the writer uses words. You can't write if you don't read.

Due to the subject matter of my own story, I have to keep a detailed calendar. The characters in my story actually have their own daytimer. I would be lost without it. I actually mark chapters and events in a calendar that I made for the year 1860 (my story is a period piece). I have weather, moon phases, and historical events marked on it, too.

Find a Point of View and stick with it. I write from the perspective of four characters, and each chapter is from one of their perspective's only. Mixing that up is a common error, and it makes for an amateurish and confusing read. If I can't make the chapter work with only that one person's perspective, I think hard (sometimes for days) on who's head to write from and how to make it work.

If I get writer's block, I write a future chapter. That seems to clear it. But I HAVE to write something because I have the added incentive of an actual reader base that comes to my site every week looking for something to read. So I feel obligated. If I am desperate enough, I will just write a personal post and throw that up there. Obviously, that is not going to be everyone's solution...some people are writing with the goal of publishing. I'm not. I'm writing because I am driven to do so and I like to write. But the fact that I have loyal readers really keeps a fire lit under my butt. I would have probably failed in this endeavor if not for that one fact.

Don't worry about making it perfect on the first draft (as Broom pointed out). Just write. Walk away. Come back later and revise. Walk away. Come back later and revise. Rinse, repeat until you are satisfied. Run the spell check. Added bonus of writing on a computer is that you can simply throw some color onto a block of text so you can remember to go back and tidy it up later.
The caveat here is to know when enough is enough. You have to know when to stop fussing.

If you ask for advice, and say "be honest", you have to mean it. Don't make the common error of showing your work to people for "advice and critique" when all you really want is a pat on the back. If someone critiques your work and gives you some suggestions, listen to them. You don't always have to take the advice, but you should always consider the advice objectively. I have a reader (Bill, actually, if you go to my blog and come across his post), who tells it the way it is. Sometimes he likes what I write, sometimes he doens't. His suggestions are gold to me. Because he is honest.

[Rapscallion]

Back up your work. Regularly.

Rapscallion

[flybye023]

I read something in a book once that has helped me with writer's block. If your character isn't working well in the direction you're taking, have him/her/it go in the opposite direction. If he's going upstairs, take him downstairs; if he's outside, take him inside, etc. It sounds stupid but it has actually worked for me.

[Green_Fairy]

Even if you're not feeling it, write something. Don't be afraid to trash what you've written on a day like that.

best advice ever. the only cure for writers block is to write. even if it's one of your characters doing something mundane, like cooking. or walking through a forest. something surprising might happen to further the plot or you might accidentally create a new character...or nothing at all could happen. it doesn't matter. just write.

[Sarlon]

could also do what I did that got me to write almost 300 pages of my book >.>

Sit and write....don't think about what your writing ( thats when revisions and proof reading comes into play) just write. don't think if it makes any sense, just let it flow.

[Kheldarson]

I tend to go overambitious. Got one story going? Great, get another two going with it! Unless you're in the midst of NaNo. But that's different. The reason for multiple stories is that that's my cure for writer's block. I can go months working on one story at a time only to have it dry up midthought. But I've got an idea for the other two now! So I work on that. Mostly just write. Write and write and write.

[Seshat]

Bum on seat.
Words on page.

Once you have that mastered, you can go on to more detailed things.


Here's another tip.

For fiction, read 'events'. For non-fiction, read 'concepts'.

Each book covers a major event/concept.
Each chapter covers the largest subsections of the events/concepts.
Each section of a chapter covers a smaller subsection of the chapter's event/concept.
Each paragraph contains one mini-event/concept.
Each sentence contains one idea within that event/concept.

It's all a hierarchy.


A third tip.

Revision is your friend.

To start with, get words on the page. Just spew them out. They can be crap, it doesn't matter. Get them out there.

Once you've worked through the whole piece once, you can browse through and grab the ideas, events, concepts, that are worth keeping. Structure them out. And rewrite.

Your second version doesn't have to look ANYTHING like your first.

Nor your third like your second.

And so forth.

But until there are words on the page, you've got nothing to work with but white. So put words out there.



Hm. I think that's enough for now.

[Jester]

I believe it was Piers Anthony that said his best advice to writers who want to write is simply to write, write, and write some more. So do that. Sit down at your computer or with your writing pad (whichever your preferred medium is), and just start writing. Definitely consider the other ideas presented here, but if nothing else, just sit down and write. If you don't have a coherent story in your head, write the snippets you have. Start with one, and write it, and write it, and write it again. Do that with each snippet. Then, once you have exhausted yourself writing what you have, see what you can do to connect them. Flesh them out. Transition from one to the next.

And remember to take breaks from time to time. Breaks are important in writing, just like in studying. They help keep your mind fresh.

[flybye023]

Another thing one of my writing teachers told us was to never delete something you've written, even if you don't think it fits. You may actually want to go back to it but you can never re-write the thought or sentence in quite the same way. I would usually make a separate Word document where I would just copy and paste those items so that they were out of my original but still there when/if I needed them.