Have you ever considered writing a book?

[Jacqueline]

I have started writing several books that I aim to be about 200-300 pages long. I write young adult.

[Yzabel]

Yes, but I wish I wouldn't tire so quickly of my own stories! I'm starting to think that either I must write a whole novel in 3 months or less, or be doomed to never finish any...

(Although I have now completed a first draft for a story in 3 volumes. I'm just hesitant about whether I should have it proofread, and then self-publish it, or if I'd better wait until I'm done with all volumes—it's a story that follows several timelines, so it's complicated, and I'm not 100% sure of keeping my story plan exactly as it is...)

[Sasha]

Erm, i tried writing one about 2 years ago, wrote 5 chapters. Reread it recently and laughed at how ridiculous it was. I think I'm a reader , not a writer.

[Stan]

Yzabel wrote: "Yes, but I wish I wouldn't tire so quickly of my own stories! I'm starting to think that either I must write a whole novel in 3 months or less, or be doomed to never finish any...

(Although I have..."

I can report that it takes me about 7 to 10 months to write a book. I have to stop at times and do other things. I have a life outside of writing. I started writing the present book in May, and I've written about 120,000 words so far. I've probably got another 50,000 words to go. I stopped writing in July, so that I could edit a different book, and I did not get back to this book until September. It's a process. Don't get discouraged.

[S.B.]

I was 17 when I tackled the task of writing my first book. I was fresh out of a terrible relationship, lost my best friend, and had a school full of rumors flying around about me. I withdrew from this world and into another--the world of my first book MARKINGS. I queried the crap out of New York with no avail, then wrote my next book A TASTE OF SILVER, which I also queried the crap out of, then finally self-published it( I do NOT recommend the self-publishing route unless the self-publishing company has a great rep). A year after that I wrote FINDERS KEEPERS, which ultimately became PREDATOR GIRL after it sold to WiDo Publishing last year. It was my first real success, and I really like the company! They also contracted MARKINGS, which will be released next year.

Do not EVER give up on writing! If you want to write a book and publish it, you will so long as you keep telling yourself its gonna happen!

[Suzanne]

I would love to write a book, but I am not much of a writer :) The one thing that always stops me is the fact that, although a have an outline/skeleton idea, I have NO clue how to fill it in.

Reading books so often you see how authors don't just write a story, they write dialog and characters interacting with others and they "fill in the blanks" between scenes so to speak. I don't know if I have enough imagination to take my small ideas and create a novel.

I also think I am just lazy and don't want to take the time to try to write. haha I just really like to read!

[[deleted user]]

I have tried so many times to sit down and write a novel. The thing that stops me is that a) I can never find an idea to write about and b) I can never get past the first chapter. People have told me to start writing the end or the middle first but I can't. I always have to write the beginning first.

I hopw one day I can write a book.

[Stan]

Suzanne wrote: "I would love to write a book, but I am not much of a writer :) The one thing that always stops me is the fact that, although a have an outline/skeleton idea, I have NO clue how to fill it in.

Re..."

The real problem is segueing between scenes. Instead of starting at the beginning and continuing through, try writing a bunch of scenes without the segues. If you get them in order, you might find yourself able to visualize them better. If they are outside, you can begin to imagine what the temperature is, what the clouds look like, what kinds of flowers or weeds are around. What season is it? Once you start doing this, the segues come easier.

[[deleted user]]

I never thought I could write but now 3 books later i'm happy I did. I encourage everyone to follow their dreams of writing. Writing is a skill you can only learn by writing more!

[An]

I just started a book... I'm still outlining parts of it though.

[Alina]

I had started a book this year and want to get back at it, but life has gotten in the way with me going back to school, but I really want to get back on it when I graduate next year.

[Tasha]

I've thought about it for years but never got beyond basic blurbs. More recently a friend shared a story idea and we are supposed to be co-writing it. I quickly realized that my technical writing skills combined with reading a lot did not translate to great fiction writing. So I changed gears and started a short story and created a series idea of shorts to lead to writing the book. I'm improving in my writing but still have a ways to go before I'll be comfortable releasing my writing to the world although technically I'm a published author as version 1 of the story was included in an anthology raising money for charity... The WIP based on that short has little resemblance to the original as it was... Bad. LOL

[Stan]

Tasha wrote: "I've thought about it for years but never got beyond basic blurbs. More recently a friend shared a story idea and we are supposed to be co-writing it. I quickly realized that my technical writing s..."

I don't know if you've seen this website, but it's a great place to post your writing.
http://www.writerscafe.org/

[Zakle]

Yep. I have a basic idea and am working it out. I know who my characters are, but am having a bit of plot trouble. -_-;

[Tasha]

Thanks for the link. I'm not yet ready to post any fiction. I have an editor, a co-writer, and a number of published author friends helping me improve my writing. I have a small press that will be publishing my work.

[[deleted user]]

Having written three, I fully recommend writing as a hobby. Publishing is a different matter and that, I cannot recommend to everyone!

[Mehak]

constantly but i always get stuck half way through the story.. cuz i know the beginning and the end but i am still lost in the middle =S

[Wilmar]

This is a great thread.

For 10 years, I had 'considered' writing a book. For the longest time, since I was in middle school. I would just write random short stories. Some were comical, some involved my real life friends, and others were depressing as (bleep!)

I always had the capacity to fill up 500 pages, but never had a story that I actually wanted to publish. That all changed when I came up with a female super heroine called The Silver Ninja.

Let me fast forward to the part that people thinking about jumping into writing want to know.

1.) Writing as a hobby is great. It's fun, there's no pressure, you can do whatever you want. The only downside is that only friends and family might read it.

2.) Publishing your writing is hard work and is expensive if you self-publish. Unless you're planning on calling a lot of favors, self-publishing a book is no joke. Not only do you have to format it for online, you still have to market your book like crazy. If you query a publishing company, well don't expect too much money from royalties.

I have a blog at http://mysilverninja.blogspot.com there I talk about the key ingredients to writing a book and obviously, I talk about my published book as well.

For instance, Writing tip #1.

If you know how your book ends, all you really need to do is figure out how to write your way there. Fill it with obstacles, conflicts, dilemma's! Then go back again and fill it with character depth and motivation, which may affect your obstacles and conflicts.

Writing tip #2.

Turn off the internet, no seriously, if you get distracted by all your devices, well it will be almost impossible to finish the book.

Writing tip #3.

Ideas are a dime a dozen, but they're nothing until you put it to paper (or screen). Focus on one idea at a time and if you really feel the need to write out your other idea... make a short story, but always go back to your main project.

Again, I go over all these things in detail at my blog. So pop on by if you're looking for some writing tips: http://mysilverninja.blogspot.com

If there's something you want to know more about, just pop me a message anywhere! :D

[Stan]

Mehak wrote: "constantly but i always get stuck half way through the story.. cuz i know the beginning and the end but i am still lost in the middle =S"

I have this problem too. Try this. Write the beginning and write the end. Don't bother with the middle. Then flesh out the beginning and the end with descriptions. Often you will find yourself visualizing past the beginning and before the end as your character and the setting they live in come alive in your mind.

[Josephine]

Writing one now. :)

[Raven]

Wrote a few chapters when I was 14-15 with a friend couldn't never get to the middle because we couldn't figure out where the story was going. Then when I was 16 I wrote a few short stories for a class that were suppose to be collected in a book and distributed to the students. We never got this book and my stories are lost forever :(

[Erin]

Don't think about it! Just write! :D

I'm always writing books and I finally got an agent for one last year! YAY! :D Hopefully will see it on shelves one day. *crossing fingers*

[Kriscinda]

I've had a few short stories published, been through grad school for a writing MFA, and I just recently finished a first draft on a novel (big accomplishment for me, really). Editing is my 'day job,' and I've got a background in publishing, so self-pubbing really seems like the way to go. So, I'm in revisions right now (about to pass it off to my beta readers) and I've just started working with a designer for the cover. I talk about it on my blog, if anyone's interested. =)

It's pretty exciting. Even better, I'm pumped to move on to the next book (as opposed to the arm-twisting, painful process writing usually is).

Oh, the current one follows Robert Louis Stevenson as he travels through the French highlands, is stalked by a psycho, and is accosted by the local werewolves. I love that guy. =)

[Karin]

Yes, actually I've written several. :-)

[Andrew]

After thinking about writing for (far too) many years, I finally started putting a book together a few years ago, and I've just published it as an e-book.

I wish I had done it years ago; the feeling I had from typing "The End" and knowing that it was done - and I was proud of the result - was unbeatable. Now the inspirational floodgates seem to have opened: two short stories are being published this year in magazines and I'm 10,000 words into my next book.

If you have ever thought of writing a book, start now: you only live once, and no matter how much hard work you might find it, it's all worth it for the moment when you see somebody reading your words and enjoying them.

[Currer]

Andrew wrote: "After thinking about writing for (far too) many years, I finally started putting a book together a few years ago, and I've just published it as an e-book.

I wish I had done it years ago; the feel..."

This is very encouraging. Sometimes I get a bit daunted at how much I still have left to say in my book and it discourages me. This is a really good motivator.

[Currer]

I'm working on my first book right now. It is still in the tender stage where things could change at any moment or I decide to take something out, but so far it is fun. The most rewarding part of writing for me is getting to release all of those characters and plot forms. When I' working on a story these characters become so real that it would be a shame not to give them a voice.

[The Angry Lawn Gnome]

S.B. wrote: "Do not EVER give up on writing! If you want to write a book and publish it, you will so long as you keep telling yourself its gonna happen!
"

I might write a novel, but I honestly can't see myself ever producing anything remotely close to being publishable. Or that anyone would particularly wish to read. Or, in the final analysis, that I'd want to attach my name to. Also, given how much I've read in a few genres I'd also be worried about being accused -- possibly correctly -- of being derivative to such-and-such a book I'd read a decade ago but had all but forgotten about. (I read an interview with one of the authors of the Dragonlance series -- can't remember which one, sorry -- who said they actually read no Fantasy of any kind for this exact reason.)

Also, I guess being old enough to remember life in a pre-Internet world, I still mentally draw a bright-line between writing and publishing when the distinction between the two has blurred into something approaching non-existence. At least if you view matters in a certain light.

[Maggie]

I really want to write a novel like go to school and major in english and write a novel.

[[deleted user]]

You do not have to be an English major to write, Maggie. :) Sometimes it stifles creativity instead of feeding it. Try throwing the ideas on a page and just write--no outline--and see what happens.

Another tip for you aspiring writers: experiment with methods. I did not use an outline for ages. Now I do, to help keep my plot under control. I still rarely use an outline for short stories.

Figure out where and how you write. Do you need background distractions? Music? Silence?

Experiment and be willing to keep a folder of failed ideas. Expect to fail. Try things. AVOID WATCHING TV for a bit to make sure you avoid merely copying cliches.

Read things from outside your usual genre preferences. Read things you like. Try to figure out why you like them.

Practice describing things and writing flash fiction. Make sure you know what punctuation is for. Read things out loud. Know and love commas and conjunctions. Study another language if you can.

Do all of these things or a hundred others, and keep writing, stubbornly. Your work WILL suck at first, or will not be what you hoped for. Then, suddenly, it will. That moment will be magic.

Above all else...tell your stories, not someone else's, and don't give up.

[Stan]

Lumpenprole wrote: "S.B. wrote: "Do not EVER give up on writing! If you want to write a book and publish it, you will so long as you keep telling yourself its gonna happen!
"

I might write a novel, but I honestly can..."

So what if no one else wants to read your work? So what if what you write is derivative? You think no one has written about Utopias since Plato? Are dragons new? Are vampires? Every decent writer has borrowed from those who came before them.
Just write. Enjoy doing so, even if what you write is never published or seen by anyone else but you.

[Jennifer]

I wrote one for my son, and have one going for my daughter. But that's as far as they have gotten. Printed my sons myself and had it bound. Will do the same for my girls.

[The Angry Lawn Gnome]

Stan wrote: "Lumpenprole wrote: "S.B. wrote: "Do not EVER give up on writing! If you want to write a book and publish it, you will so long as you keep telling yourself its gonna happen!


Sorry, I guess I should have wasn't as explicit as I should have been. I meant plot elements, scenes, possibly even dialog. As in unintentional plagiarism.

And Plato's Republic has always struck me as more like a dystopia than a utopia. The dude certainly had a fascist streak. :)

[Yasmani]

Hey sorry to bother you guys but I would love for you guys to check out a story I am working on. I have 4 chapters out so far.
http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/3...

[chucklesthescot]

As a kid I used to write stories and dream of being a writer but college and jobs with anti-social hours sucked away all my energy! I have journals full of story ideas and odd chapters of potential books. I always had the ideas but never the time to follow them through.

[chucklesthescot]

Olivia wrote: "I'm writing one but I'm only 14 so it's not like it's gonna get published or anything"

Quite a few teenagers are getting published these days so keep working on your book. Good luck!

[Carla]

I would love to write a book and possibly be published one day. It's an exciting and scary thing. I've been writing for who knows how long, but it began as short stories. I have lots of unfinished stories and I'm working on one that I want to become a book. A friend of mine was talking about different aspects, how hard it is but how easy it seems because of the success stories we hear. I've read lots of tips and how-to's and I think you have to do what comes best for you. I admit I'm sensitive when it comes to criticism, but I know how to take it and better what's lacking, etc. I suppose one thing that concerns me is this: How can you write and be true to yourself without seemingly 'copying' or look like you're taking someone else's idea? My friend and I were talking about this and how no matter what genere you read, some books/authors are similar, but also their own. It's is hard, frustrating, challenging and everything in between, but I'm not giving up because it's something I LOVE DOING besides reading and I don't care if my family are the only audience. It's worth it.
Thanks for any comments/answers!

[Stan]

Carla wrote: "I would love to write a book and possibly be published one day. It's an exciting and scary thing. I've been writing for who knows how long, but it began as short stories. I have lots of unfinished ..."

Carla, everyone copies concepts. There is nothing wrong with that. As long as you don't copy long parts of exact wording you are good to go. Because my book is called "Surviving the Fog" some people think I lifted the idea from Stephen King. I've never read any Stephen King that I know of, and even if I did there is nothing wrong with writing about the same subject as long as the words I write are mine and not his.

[Carla]

Hi Stan,
Thank you. That's a good way of explaining it. You've really never read Stephen King? I read some of his work and like book Everything's Eventual (a collection of stories). I'm off to write :)