Advice for a writer

[kristie]

i'm considering writing a novel(my first one) & have already started writing notes outlining my characters & such. i know that there are some writers here so what advice do you have for someone like me?

 

[jobberone]

i'm considering writing a novel(my first one) & have already started writing notes outlining my characters & such. i know that there are some writers here so what advice do you have for someone like me?

Finish it.

 

[masomenos]

To echo the previous sentiment: stop outling and write.

 

[Hostile]

i'm considering writing a novel(my first one) & have already started writing notes outlining my characters & such. i know that there are some writers here so what advice do you have for someone like me?

Set aside time to write every day and stick to it.

When you finish a chapter go back and read it out loud. It helps you spot editing.

If you self publish this doesn't matter, but if you submit it to a publisher you need to be ready to do massive edits and not take it personal. Any submissions need to be with a SASE (self addressed stamped envelope) in return for your answer. No SASE, they won't read it. if you want it back, you must request it and pay for the postage to return it.

 

[Jammer]

Set aside time to write every day and stick to it.

When you finish a chapter go back and read it out loud. It helps you spot editing.

If you self publish this doesn't matter, but if you submit it to a publisher you need to be ready to do massive edits and not take it personal. Any submissions need to be with a SASE (self addressed stamped envelope) in return for your answer. No SASE, they won't read it. if you want it back, you must request it and pay for the postage to return it.

Don't put in stuff your readers are going to skip.

It doesn't take 2 pages to descibe a living room.

 

[jobberone]

Don't put in stuff your readers are going to skip.

It doesn't take 2 pages to descibe a living room.

I agree. Think Hemingway but get into description that's concise and inventive.

 

[Dodger]

Is this going to be for fun, or are you going to try to publish?

I'm assuming this will be a work of fiction. Have you written fiction before or have you studied writing fiction?

A few things to keep in mind (if you're writing fiction):

1. Do not use passive voice, i.e. "Staubach had beaten the skins that day." Instead use "Staubach beat the skins that day."

2. Show the reader; don't tell the reader. For example: Romo pumped his fist after the touchdown throw, shouting "Yeah!" instead of: Romo was happy with the touchdown throw.

3. Write about what you know, i.e. if you've never been to Germany, it's probably not a good idea to use that as a setting.

4. The reader usually asks 3 questions right away when starting to read a work of fiction: Where am I? What's going on? Whose skin am I in? Let the reader know the answers to these right away.

5. Make the reader want to turn the first few pages.

5. Don't put a loaded rifle on the stage if you have no intention of firing it, i.e. don't promise something and not deliver (old Chekov quote).

6. Do NOT use any contrived writing techniques, i.e. we find out at the end that it was all a dream. We will find you and kill you if you do.

7. If at all possible, the main character needs to change or grow somehow by the end of the story, learn something new, feel differently about something, etc.

8. Use imagery. As someone already mentioned, don't use two pages to describe a room; however, DO form images in the reader's mind using decriptive words, sensory detail, i.e. appeal to the human senses (room smelled like dirty socks).

9. Use dialects in dialogue sparingly.

10. Short paragraphs are your friends.

11. If you have writer friends, let them read your work to get some reactions before you publish...if that's your goal.

12. Don't get caught up in trying to make your first few several pages perfect. That will just prevent you from writing. There will be time for editing later. Right now, just write.


Hope that helps...

 

[jobberone]

Is this going to be for fun, or are you going to try to publish?

I'm assuming this will be a work of fiction. Have you written fiction before or have you studied writing fiction?

A few things to keep in mind (if you're writing fiction):

1. Do not use passive voice, i.e. "Staubach had beaten the skins that day." Instead use "Staubach beat the skins that day."

2. Show the reader; don't tell the reader. For example: Romo pumped his fist after the touchdown throw, shouting "Yeah!" instead of: Romo was happy with the touchdown throw.

3. Write about what you know, i.e. if you've never been to Germany, it's probably not a good idea to use that as a setting.

4. The reader usually asks 3 questions right away when starting to read a work of fiction: Where am I? What's going on? Whose skin am I in? Let the reader know the answers to these right away.

5. Make the reader want to turn the first few pages.

5. Don't put a loaded rifle on the stage if you have no intention of firing it, i.e. don't promise something and not deliver (old Chekov quote).

6. Do NOT use any contrived writing techniques, i.e. we find out at the end that it was all a dream. We will find you and kill you if you do.

7. If at all possible, the main character needs to change or grow somehow by the end of the story, learn something new, feel differently about something, etc.

8. Use imagery. As someone already mentioned, don't use two pages to describe a room; however, DO form images in the reader's mind using decriptive words, sensory detail, i.e. appeal to the human senses (room smelled like dirty socks).

9. Use dialects in dialogue sparingly.

10. Short paragraphs are your friends.

11. If you have writer friends, let them read your work to get some reactions before you publish...if that's your goal.

12. Don't get caught up in trying to make your first few several pages perfect. That will just prevent you from writing. There will be time for editing later. Right now, just write.


Hope that helps...

Great advice. Also don't be afraid to lean on the reader's willing suspension of disbelief. Try to find a balance of that and being realistic and factual. You must meld the two seamlessly. If you're writing a Tom Clancy type novel then obviously realistic is most of the key. If you're writing science fiction then more of the other but still meld them together. Make something disbelieve-able factual and matter of fact. Don't explain it too much. Let the reader make the leap. Good luck.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Dodger has some good advice.

I'll say this. The hardest part isn't writing the novel. The hardest part is after you've written it. All the editing and rewriting you will end up doing. You will end up with 3-5 drafts before you are finished. So it will be like writing 5 novels just to finish one.

I recommend you start with flash fiction stories (100 to 1,000 words) then move to short stories. (3,000 to 5,000 words) Go up from there. (novella, then novel)

Jumping straight into a large novel (70,000 to 100,000 words) will be extremely tough to finish. Especially when you don't know what you're getting into.

Writing flash fiction and short stories will let you know if you actually enjoy the writing process.

Oh and learning to write is a processes. Don't feel bad if your first (or first few works) aren't that good. (you have to keep at it) Most people don't start out writing Best Sellers. Most of the time their writing skill grows with each story they write. As they say, to get better you must practice. To practice, you have to write! (no matter the quality of the outcome!)

 

[Cythim]

Dodger has some good advice.

I'll say this. The hardest part isn't writing the novel. The hardest part is after you've written it. All the editing and rewriting you will end up doing. You will end up with 3-5 drafts before you are finished. So it will be like writing 5 novels just to finish one.

I recommend you start with flash fiction stories (100 to 1,000 words) then move to short stories. (3,000 to 5,000 words) Go up from there. (novella, then novel)

Jumping straight into a large novel (70,000 to 100,000 words) will be extremely tough to finish. Especially when you don't know what you're getting into.

Writing flash fiction and short stories will let you know if you actually enjoy the writing process.

Oh and learning to write is a processes. Don't feel bad if your first (or first few works) aren't that good. Most people don't start out writing Best Sellers. Most of the time their writing skill grows with each story they write. As they say, to get better you must practice. To practice, you have to write! (no matter the quality of the outcome!)

This is exactly what I was going to suggest. Start small and learn how to write a good story. You don't want to write a novel that no one wants to read. There are places online where amateur writers can e-publish stories, I would go there to submit short stories for feedback. Once you become huge you can throw those together into a "Kristie's Unpublished Tales."

 

[kristie]

This is exactly what I was going to suggest. Start small and learn how to write a good story. You don't want to write a novel that no one wants to read. There are places online where amateur writers can e-publish stories, I would go there to submit short stories for feedback. Once you become huge you can throw those together into a "Kristie's Unpublished Tales."

:laugh1: :laugh1: :laugh1:

 

[Kristen82]

Become really egotistical, tempermental and/or manic-depressive, take up drinking and/or pot, and go on road trips through Central America on a motorbike or something. Can't become an authentic "writer" without having some eccentricities. Get that part down first, then focus on the writing .

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

Don't put in stuff your readers are going to skip.

It doesn't take 2 pages to descibe a living room.

It took Tolstoy that long and he is considered one of the greats of all time!

 

[kristie]

Become really egotistical, tempermental and/or manic-depressive, take up drinking and/or pot, and go on road trips through Central America on a motorbike or something. Can't become an authentic "writer" without having some eccentricities. Get that part down first, then focus on the writing .

:laugh1: :laugh1: :laugh1: