writting a book

[daniel mata]

i want to write a book, but im not sure where to start. can someone help me out? or have any writing tips for me?

[Mortis Anarchy]

Hmmmm...tough to say....this is what I did....I did more of a short story type thing, though...

First think up a story...or at least characters and kind of act it out in your head. As if they were real people that you know and it is more of a memory...just to get a feel for it.
Then just write down your ideas and let it flow...

Hopefully that will help you.:D

[Turk]

Buddy, if you don't know how to start writig a book, what makes you think you can continue writing once you started it?

First read a lot, and take notes while reading, reading is key of writing.

[Mortis Anarchy]

Buddy, if you don't know how to start writig a book, what makes you think you can continue writing once you started it?

First read a lot, and take notes while reading, reading is key of writing.

:) Well now!! I think starting is the hardest bit...once you start you can't stop!

[Shurtugal]

just write is what i did. i didn't care if they didn't go together. i would start at the first chapter for awhile, then skip to the last, then over here, and then... you get the point. then when you don't think you pull anything out of your brain anymore you start organizing it. and what happened for me was as soon as you tried to organize it you would end up having more ideas. this goes on for awhile till literally your brain is dead of ideas for this story. this might not work for you but it worked wonderfully for me. i wrote a 90 paged book! and thats is typed on the computar. so imagine what it will be in book format. good luck. and just remember let what ever you feel like writing, write it down.

P.s. usaully the best ideas come to you when you can't write them down. oh, and you might go through times where it seems like you write no more, nothing seems fit and you can't write what is right down. don't worry it happens sometimes and you will end brain storming soon. good luck again.-argetlam

[dzebra]

I'm going to school for video game development, and I write for fun on the side, so maybe this is just a habit I have, but before I start writing something, I created a list of facts about the characters and universe about which I was going to write. It was like a brainstorm board of ideas. Whenever I wondered what to write about, I thought back to the list of facts and started there.

[libernaut]

a lot of times its easy to start with something we know. breakdown the structure of ideas in some classic story or myth that appeals to you and rewrite it in your own words with your own characters and scenes and all that.

[the silent x]

i want to write a book, but im not sure where to start. can someone help me out? or have any writing tips for me?

i'd say, start in the beginning, bring the main character in, if you want, keep the antagonist out of the loop for a while, build your main character until people can believe he is a real solid being just like them, then introduce the conflicts, or you can use conflicts to help define him, " while trapped in an elevator with ---- i found out he had a troubled childhood and got superpowers when he was sold for drug and alcohol money to a genetic expirementation lab. but he was never able to use his superpowers because he was depressed" is just a loose example, be sure to use both naration ( the author describing in the book), and conversation between characters to help give the main character a background.

and you need a lot of research, make sure ou go in to this book armed with a general knowledge of what your writing about, you don't want to being have an explosives expert always "fiddling with the bomb" you want "he cut ..... wire adn immediately moved on to ....... "

in the end, you want some body to your work,

[genoveva]

Write about something you know, or something that you are passionate about. Fiction, or non-fiction? Give yourself a writing schedule. Don't give up.

[NickAdams]

i want to write a book, but im not sure where to start. can someone help me out? or have any writing tips for me?

My advice is the opposite of Silents. Start anywhere, but the beginning. To start at the middle or end, you have to know your characters. I'm not saying to start the writing there, but develop it in your mind at these post and refelct to a beginning and the characters will tell you how they got there.

[jon1jt]

write the first line, then the next, get frustrated, beat yourself up, take a couple months off, watch a good writer's movie...write a line, then the next...repeat until completion. :)

[NickAdams]

write the first line, then the next, get frustrated, beat yourself up, take a couple months off, watch a good writer's movie...write a line, then the next...repeat until completion. :)

:lol:

[jhuka]

I think you're asking a good question that often people who've written ten books still don't know the answer to! It will always change on you, art, and grow organically. You have to let that happen. I heard somewhere that a story begins when ritual is broken; that might be worth thinking about. You might also want to take out of the library a tape of an interview that Bill Moyers did with Joseph Campbell called THE POWER OF MYTH: THE HERO'S ADVENTURE. It will give you ideas of where to start. And read as much as you can--read everything, and ask yourself seriously what really moves you...don't worry too much about what others think, or critics think...figure out what moves YOU.

You'll have what you think is a beginning, a middle, an end: it is a good idea once you get going on it to write the whole thing through without going back to edit, initially--you'll screw up your momentum if you do--but then when you read it over your idea will deepen on you and you might realize that much of it needs to go or be rearranged. I once wrote three hundred pages, and then, looking at it objectively, understood that only six were good. I built my current book out of those six pages. Some writers think of this as a setback that you have to recover from: I think I had to write those three hundred pages to get the six. There was no other way to do it.

The process is different each time, I'm learning. You find ways to be efficient, but because your maturity is constantly changing you are a different writer for each project. You have to accept this, too: that each time, if your heart is in it, will be difficult. But then that day comes when the manuscript is done, as good as you can get it. That makes it all worth it. Good luck. I salute you for taking this on.

[Charles Darnay]

Where to start: right here. Think of an idea - something you care about, something you know about or maybe as some have suggested a myth or past story you want to base yours on. Block everything else from your mind but this idea and write down anything you can think of to do with this idea.

Example: if I was writing a book that took place during the French Revolution I would just let the ideas flow in a string of words....

Guillotine Robespieer Bastille Corday Marat Liberty.....etc. Free association I guess.

Next, think of a character, bring him/her to life by doing the same thing. Clear your mind of everything but the character, visualize him/her and write down what you see.


Short, black hari, deep gren eyes, pale skin, large ears, button nose, weak frame, timid, no siblings, young, twleve, very few frineds.....etc.

Take what you have from these lists and try to fit your character into your ideas. This is just a starting place. From here you can evolve your ideas or character however you wish.

*I'm not guarenteeing(sp) that this will work. Nothing anyone tells you will work for sure becasue everyone is different but the best thing you can do right now, and anyone on this forum who wishes to right, is to read the different ideas presented here, try them out, see what works for them, ho knows?

[AdoreroDio]

What I do usually is come up with a short story idea then write from that - expanding it and adding detail. I always find it easier when thinking of writing a short story than a book, because it sounds less daunting. Once you finish the short story add to the character, more plot steps, a little more conflict and pretty soon you can't stop writing.

But really it's different for each person, you really just have to experiment. I find the easiest thing is to write about what you know. Maybe even start to write about a person you know then as you write you can twist the truth and just use real life things as a base for your story. It's best to write about something you know because otherwise you sound like your not knowledgeable about your own book.

[Aiculík]

i want to write a book, but im not sure where to start. can someone help me out? or have any writing tips for me?

It's much easier to start when you have the clear idea in your mind. Think what you want to write about, what is your main character like, what you want him to do or go through. Answer some basic questions: who, what, why, how, when (in what chapter or part of the text, at least approximately).

[Mrs. Dalloway]

First, you must think about a topic. What do you want to write about? Then you must think about a character who can develop the topic. If you are not sure, don't worry. There isn't a book that you can learn about writing. It's up to you because your feelings are only yours. So, start thinking about a topic and then, about one or two characters and their lives (the other characters will appear in your head then). Then, you can think about how these characters can help to your topic. And finally, you just have to let your feelings, your imagination, your ideas, do the rest.

Write what you want or what you feel and then organize your writing correctly.

and always go ahead! :)

another thing: don't think about selling books, just write because you like and need it. It's the most wonderful thing you'll find. :)

[xtianfriborg13]

My advice is the opposite of Silents. Start anywhere, but the beginning. To start at the middle or end, you have to know your characters. I'm not saying to start the writing there, but develop it in your mind at these post and refelct to a beginning and the characters will tell you how they got there.

Agreed.