I'm gonna start writting a book. How and what shoud I prepare and do before I actualy start? It's gonna be hard..
I'de say just have an idea that you think can make a great read. Do some research on whatever needs to be researched (is it based on current time or back in the 1700s? Next, character development can be very useful (I just started doing it but I'm 134 pages in! I think it makes it easier to do at the beginning because you already know who your characters are). http://jodyrodriguez.com/howtowrite1.html http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=writing+a+novel&meta= about.com and google.com are probably the best search engines for info, so good luck and enjoy!
Just start writing. You don't even necessarily need to have a plot all laid out before you begin. The rough draft is going to be shit anyway so just have fun with it, play around with settings and characters and the like, and be quick about it. There's this program in November called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) here and the goal is to have people write a 50,000 word novel over the course of one month. I've done it twice and failed once, and I think it's a pretty good idea, worth checking out. Okay, I'm done now.
It's always good to free write the story first, you can always go back and fill in the holes and work on developement. But when it feels finished it is.
If you want your book to be read AND admired then do research into the subject you're going to write about, then do some more research, then use the internet to do some research, then go to the library to do some research. Then interview some people that have information about the subject you're researching. Then go home and do some research. There's a whole more advice and some of it has been given to you already on this thread, but you can research that later. P.S. Be confident and critical with what you write. If anyone tells you your book is this or that, YOU are the final judge. It's your work and if they don't like it, well, you know the rest!
lot of work and time ha ? yeah... thanks everybody! how often and how many hours a day, week,month do you guys write?
i have an idea what i want to write and the direction i want to take it in. proto-characters are already forming through freewrites. but the project seems so big and overwhelming i'm having trouble organizing my thoughts. aside from doing research, and creating outlines and character notes, how do i break it down into manageable chunks? i wish i had some map-making skills - it takes place in a created world, and a map would really help. i'm inventing two or three distinct cultures, at least, not to mention the geography and natural history of the region. i'm afraid i may have bitten off more than i can chew, but its a great idea, and i don't want to drop it. how do i organize it all? that would really help.
The best tip that I've ever been given was to carry around a small notebook, like the kind that can fit in your pocket, around ALL the time just to jote down ideas, poignant sentaces, etc. Also, depending on what you're writing it can really help to come up with an outline, and then slowly fill in certain parts as they come together, then with those parts made out you can come up with some really creative ways to tie it all together.
I'd recommend reading both Bird by Bird, by Ann Lamont, and On Writing, by Stephen King. Lamont gives great advice on the step by step process, King has wonderful things on developing a world.
May I recommend, however, that you do not take 'On Writing', by Stephen King too literally. He tells you so himself. He tells you what works for him as a writer and the book is also a mini-biography, which in itself is interesting. Earlier on, you asked how often do people spend writing. Many people will suggest that you should never stop. Don't. Let's put it this way, if you were an athlete would you run around the track all day non-stop? Or would you go to the gym to exercise your muscles completely, then a spa, then a massage? You get my point. All these things fall into line, so now you have to answer this: What does a writer do to train his abilities? That's right, start turning those pages. Don't worry about what you're reading, but how the writer is telling you his story. Spot the places you feel you could have written better and also those that impress you and you want to adopt in your style. Hope this helps.
hum...i really like that, i think im gonna start carrin around a lil notebook lol cus im always hearing lines and stuff that i say i need to remember, and forget lol as for writing i usually take time to sit down and think the whole story through. i cant write until i know the whole exact story. usually i take the time to write bullets of how the story is gonna go, important symbolism that or specifics that i KNOW i want in it, etc. i personally think u can get as decrative as u want, its ur style, u no? make sure the plot and characters are well, but add ur own flare to make it unique. i really think im gonna try that thing in november, it sounds like a good idea. i have a great story that i started. i wrote the first chapter and ppl got angry at me that i ended it and want me to make it a novel, so i am =)
