You could try writing you novel as a short story. Say 2500 words. See how you start writing that then expand the opening paragraph into a longer scene. Make it exciting and relevant. Then move on. You can then rewrite later if need be.
That's how the current plot I have burned into my skull. I think the middle half of where I want to go is perfect, but it's how they get there that's the hard part. Who is this person and why were they important to the main character? Etc.Etc.! At the end the character I have is stronger, she's matured and is confident in herself. When I write her out at the start, she's different. Younger, full of doubt, shy...etc.etc. Now I need to write the content >.<!!! Oh it's so much fun!
Hello everyone, I am new to this site and new to writing in general. I never have written or had any formal education in writing. I only have had an idea and a passion to one day put that idea on paper for others to read. I never thought it would ever materialize into anything but recently, I took an enormous step and started a blog that I self published about my character. I am looking for any and all advice on how to eventually turn this idea into the novel I've dreamed of and get it published.
I am also a new writer but not to the point I haven't written published anything beore. I am working on my first full length novel (its my third, maybe fourth try though.) I think you should start writing a story figuring out how will begin and how it will end. Once you have the basics down, details will fall into place. Maybe you don't know how your story will end yet. If thi is the case, ask yourself these questions: What are my protagonists what are my antagonits what will the theme be (what lesson will be learned) how to i use my characters to proove that lesson to be true or false at what point will my characters tension be the highest what relation do my characters have how do my characters show likeable/dislikeable traits (a reader has to like your characters, or dislike the enemies. without an emotional connection felt by you and your readers, the story will never be read the way you intended)
Start writing the actual novel. That's the only way to make your dream come true. Also be sure to read a lot to see how other writers deal with characters, setting, etc.
I've been blogging my character on an almost daily basis. Self published on blogger.com. It's raw and needs a ton of clean up. I have no clue where to begin my novel though. I feel like the task is too daunting and I am intimidated by this.
You eat an elephant one bite at a time. Yeah it's cliche but it works. I would start writing by picking out a few important plot points and writing those scenes. Or even just pick a scene that's hot in you mind and write that. Then move to another scene.
Have you formed a plot? If so, examine it and pick the best place to introduce the reader to the character. If not, go come up with one. Then write the novel. Don't allow yourself to be daunted by the task. You're a writer. You can write anything. ... or you have to believe you can.
100% agree, don't let the scale of the project put you off. I hadn't written a thing until about a year ago, and managed to finish a novel. (Not a great one, admittedly, but a novel nonetheless!) If I can do it, anyone can.
Most writers don't have any formal education in writing, no worries about that. What I did was set myself a challenge, to see if I could write something longer/ of novel-length. No pressure. It was just an experiment. Somewhere along the way, after some brainstorming and coming up with characters etc, I got into it and somehow wanted to keep on writing. Yeah, it took a long time and the first draft wasn't all that excellent... but I worked on it more (on and off for two years) and learned a lot during the process. So just start brainstorming, or take the plunge and write.
Thank you everyone. Your encouraging words are much appreciated. I have a basic storyline but being that my genre is that of fantasy, there is so much detail I need to create before I start. Example, the world in which this story takes place, the many different races of people, the many religions and deities, the relationships between the races and the overall culture. All I have now is the character. I think that is the most daunting part of all. I have managed to blog his adventures but in an already created world that is not my own.
Have you done much reading? That will give you real life examples of how to start, how to draw the reader in, weaving in subplots, developing characters...in other wods, the whole process. I would recommend reading across numerous genres, not just the one you wish to write.
In that case, what you have is essentially fanfiction - your own original character inserted into someone else's fantasy world (this could describe literally bajillions of 'ordinary teen falls into middle earth and goes along with the quest of the ring' fics). There's no reason why an original character can't be given his own custom built world to romp about it, but if it started out as fanfic, beware the pitfalls of writing a heavily derivative story with a few details changed here and there to try and pass it off as original ('oh, but my elves are dark creatures, and they don't live in the forest they live in the desert, and the Zuruk Aye aren't goblins crossed with men, they're goblins crossed with cave trolls...') ooops...
Novel writing is daunting at first, but in time, it becomes enjoyable. I ditto the advice, do alot of reading, then you will get some idea how to start your book.
That is exactly my dilememma. The charecter is 100% my own build. Creating a realm that is unigue and original is the hard part. Once I accomplish that, the story will flow. I have that pretty much mapped out. I guess I should just start plotting my new world for my charecter to live in. I had read a lot of books from a couple differnt genres. Thank you for the help. Now I will start with brainstorming the new world. I really appreciate the helpfulness of everyone so far. I wish I found this forum earlier.
Your question is answered, at least in part, by this entire site. But as some have said, reading is the first step. But read with a goal. Read a good novel, and pay attention to what makes it good. A bad novel can teach you too, when you analyze why it falls flat. At first, you may not have a clue how to answer those questions. But keep at it, and you will learn.
Read with a goal. Thanks. I'll do that. I think I am going to take some if the advice and take the plunge and just start writing too. Thank you all for the help. Your words gave given me the courage to jump feet first into this project.
Maybe I'm being basic, but "creating a realm" is, to me, best done by just grabbing a piece of paper and drawing a map. Don't worry about it making much sense on your first draft. The best advice I've seen on this board is that people think their first draft is going to be read by millions. In reality, maybe two or three people other than yourself will read that first draft. So just go for it. Don't worry about it being stupid. And my other advice, is while you're reading, make notes of ANY ideas that pop in your head. I don't know why, but last night I just had to write down "hacked holograms". We'll see where that one goes....
I agree, start simple, you can always add layers and more and more information in the later drafts, when you get ideas for it, sometimes even writing the story will make you realize you have to revise the world you've created.
I started writing my first novel two years ago. And it felt like it was going so well. But life got so busy, I spent less and less time with my story. I have recently moved into a new home, an ideal little farm cottage with a beautiful deck with an even more wonderful view. I was so excited to finally have the perfect peaceful environment to start writing again. But here I am, sitting here, re-reading my notes and finding myself detached from what I have already written. I feel like I need to start again, this time, without my structured planning and ideas that I stuck to last time. I can't help but feel that would be betraying all of my previous work. But if you feel the urge, that insatiable inspiration to write. You go with it. Right? ~Katrina
I do. And even if the early draft isn't really doing it for you anymore, I don't think that means the story is lost. For some of us, it takes years and years to complete a novel, for various reasons. For me, it's life getting busy such as when I had a baby. Or when a new, highly anticipated video game comes out, such as Skyrim. Or a move. You get the idea. I still write during these times of course, but it may be just silly things that won't go anywhere and just me writing for the sake of enjoying it. Maybe just start writing instead of trying to adhere to whatever notes you already have. If you have an idea for a scene, write it. The rest usually follows. Or you can just re-read what you've already wrote to get back into the story and revise as you go. I don't wait until whatever I'm writing is fully complete before I start the revision process.
I think you have to write what is meaningful to you now. You may eventually reconnect with your old work, or you may come up with a new inspiration to breathe new life into it. Even if you never go back, the time and effort wasn't wasted. You learned from it, and you will do things differently with your current writing in part based on your previous experience with the old story. Maybe you have learned that too much structure is stifling for you? Maybe the fact that you weren't able to go beyond structured planning means that even back then you were doubting or avoiding something, and allowed yourself to be distracted. Who knows, but if you feel the urge to write, write. Something good is sure to come from it whether your idea is brand spanking new or a well-worn old friend.
Hello, guys! In my entire lifetime, I've probably read less than 20-25 books - mostly children's books and class assignment stuff and I barely bothered getting into English Arts (was mostly a math geek) because I just did not want to learn English/Literature Arts/Etc... and it just seemed so nerdy (no offense... I know, right? Coming from a math geek) at the time. It all seemed pointless and I just wanted to go through my homeschooling ASAP. Now that I'm in college and learning about making games/making art for games as well as creating stories, I've realized how interesting it is to read something that is engaging and fun to read and all of that got me wanting to write my own story ideas. However, I feel unprepared for such, especially since I seldom read any books and just recently made an account on a few writing forum boards, but isn't that why I came here? For advice? ;] I know this isn't something you can just pick up and do, but I'm just so interested in it. Anyway, I've been wanting to write something within the Sci-Fi genre and, funny enough, a book that I have recently finished was Republic Commando: Hard Contact by Karen Traviss - Star Wars stuff; big fan of it. This genre has been of most interest to me as of late and I want to learn how to go about making and writing a story within those lines. I wish to know what books to read/what to do to help prepare myself before doing something like this. What kind of stories to start out with. Short Stories? Novels? What? Thank you, in advance. :]
