My Novel.

[regulus]

I tinker around with the odd short story on occasion. Take note that I'm by no means an accomplished writer, even in the eyes of my most loyal family members, but if I can offer the odd tip ..

Take time to outline. Jeffery Deaver is a big advocate of this.

- Office scene (it's late. why is he there so late. tired, headache. reflective. who is he)
- Driving home (what does he see, how does he feel, what does he smell. What's on the radio. He changes station and when John Denver starts singing, he sings along.)
- Driveway (he reflects again. Would he have liked to come home to a family? What tradeoffs did he make. What does he see e.g house, darkness)
- Indoors ... etc, You get the idea

If you know what's going to happen, it's so much simpler to write a more descriptive scene. It's only supremely talented writers that can sit down and knock out a novel, making the story up as they go along and nicely tidy up the loose ends at the end. There's not many of them around, even in the charts.

Plan your chapters. Plan what happens within the chapters and plan how to get from on scene to another. In the end you get to know the story inside out before you even wrote a word of the actual novel.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr8dxViRgOY&feature=relmfu

 

[RedTop89]

Thanks I wish I was professional

I have been writing for years though, and I have finally settled on a project and I am around 1/4 through. Got half written (about 450 pages) first draft that I'm tidying up and redrafting that now so I can set it to one side and got the second half wrote all bare bones that I need to flesh out.

To be honest though I rarely, if ever, get enough time to write so I'm aiming for the 450 redraft by mid this year and in an ideal world first draft of the rest by mid next year. Whether that happens though

You look like you have a good idea mate so I would just say read around a lot more, keep writing the ideas down then keep on redrafting and you will get there. The key thing is having an idea, which you have, without that you can get nowhere.

When you publish your book with amazon or whatever i will buy it. your a good writer (from what you have done with mine in 10 minutes is a gift). i am looking forward.

 

[No1newts]

When you publish your book with amazon or whatever i will buy it. your a good writer (from what you have done with mine in 10 minutes is a gift). i am looking forward.

Thanks

Well to be honest this thread has inspired me a lot. I am currently out of work so I have just picked up a short story idea I scribbled down aaaaaages ago and I am hoping to try and smash it out over the course of the next month. It's all well plotted and everything so see how that goes!

Edorf how did you go about publishing your stuff on amazon?

 

[benwoodcock]

"Write what you know" is a fairly commonly given piece of advice.

 

[Curio]

I don't think reading classics is pertinent to writing books.

I think the thing the OP needs to bare in mind is that inspiration comes from everything, films, music and TV all count. Reading any book will help make you a better writer, but reading classics is not absolutely required. If anything that's likely to put you off from writing.

Trainspotting is a brilliant novel and Irvine Welsh has openly stated that he wanted to write a novel which was influenced by pop culture as opposed to the "classics". Similarly, the whole novel is a kickback against the novel as an art form anyway.

It's still a great book, and while you may or may not agree with him when he says that notions of "classic" novels or linear books are a middle class thing, it does show that there is no one hard and fast proof way about how one should go about writing a novel.

OP: you could do better. I'd definitely try and get some pieces workshopped in creative writing classes or workshops. Having done so myself, it's helped me no end.

Most importantly, you're DOING it. That's important. Keep at it.

Agree. I didn't really mean "classics" in that strictest sense of the word.

 

[THMRK]

Agree. I didn't really mean "classics" in that strictest sense of the word.

Ah, very good. My bad!

 

[Edrof]

Sorry, totally forgot about this thread!

Good reviews as well!

Congrats mate! I hope to get something published one day I can just never find the time with having a busy job, a partner and now a 6 month old. I am a lot more into than I used to be though and I am about 1/4 complete which I am relatively happy with.

Cheers! Because I can write from home I'm lumbered with being a stay-at-home-dad now, so I feel your pain! There's not enough hours in the day when you have a little one to look after. Have you thought about non-fiction writing? I find it is much easier than fiction as all the information is out there already, you just need to find it and put it together like a jigsaw puzzle. Plus, people are always looking for articles and they are a great way of learning the trade. If you are, let me know and I'll post some pointers on how to get started.

Daily Dischord is going ok. We've decided to change the format of it, focusing more on features and binning news, all of which is detailed here (cheap plug).

I'm thinking of publishing a ebook of poetry on Amazon over the coming months. How are you finding using it for publishing and the like?

I'll add you on my blogroll thingy.

Cool! DD seems pretty popular, d'you get a lot of hits out of it? Shame I'm not really into music anymore - perhaps I can contribute in future or something

Amazon KDP is great and being able to cut out the notoriously harsh find-a-publisher stage is great for people like me who'd rather have complete control over their own ebook. Of course, it does mean you have to do a lot of work yourself - proof-reading, permissions, more proof-reading, all the editing, front cover and so on. Not to mention marketing. That's the stage I'm on with Eerie Britain; finding ways to tell people about the book and it's harder than I thought. Luckily I've got a few paranormal magazines reviewing it in the coming months so hopefully that'll drive the hits up.

The actual KDP side is extremely easy to navigate through so I'd definitely recommend you having a go with your poetry.

 

[Edrof]

Go ahead i don't mind, i am looking forward to an example of how it should have been done.

I just had a go myself. I'm a bit of a hard-boiled hack when it comes to fiction, so don't take this as gospel, but this is how I personally would've written the opening few paragraphs (first draft anyway):

The warm Californian sun was at its highest as it shone down upon an exhausted James Darwin, wrapping him in a warm, fragrant blanket. Fourteen long, hectic office hours were behind him and he was glad of the fall breeze on his face and the shining car that waited patiently to whisk him home.

The trip took most of an hour, but it was agreeable enough—all soft leather and easy music—and soon James found himself pulling into his long driveway. The large house that rose above him was a beautiful amalgam of form and function—the clean white lines of its concrete walls interrupted only by brilliant sections of flawless glass. But it was also silent, empty—perhaps even cold. Only the garage’s security light welcomed him home, redundant in the bright October sun but dutifully blinking on anyway like an obedient puppy.

James unlocked the front door, stepping over the mail that was strewn across his welcome mat. More bills, he thought. He slipped his jacket off, deposited his keys upon the hall stand and made his way to the kitchen. It was then it hit him.

It was an almost indescribable feeling, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand to attention and a clammy shiver judder unpleasantly over his shoulders. It was as though he was he being watched, like a pair of cold eyes that bored into the back of his head. No, something more than that; not just cold—but evil.

James shook his shoulders and scolded himself for being crazy. “That’s what being a workaholic and living like a recluse does to you,” he said.

I haven't read the rest of the story.

 

[RoboSprog]

Writing a book myself, tempted to put the introductory chapter up but it's not family friendly at all, and I'm still writing the first act .

Tbh, your grammar isn't great, poor use of punctuation and the dialogue seems awkward. The description also seems a tad drawn out and tedious. Vast improvement's would be needed imo.

 

[No1newts]

Sorry, totally forgot about this thread!



Cheers! Because I can write from home I'm lumbered with being a stay-at-home-dad now, so I feel your pain! There's not enough hours in the day when you have a little one to look after. Have you thought about non-fiction writing? I find it is much easier than fiction as all the information is out there already, you just need to find it and put it together like a jigsaw puzzle. Plus, people are always looking for articles and they are a great way of learning the trade. If you are, let me know and I'll post some pointers on how to get started.

Go for it, whilst I am really into a short story I was writing a while back and now turning it more into a novella I would be interested in having a look

I just had a go myself. I'm a bit of a hard-boiled hack when it comes to fiction, so don't take this as gospel, but this is how I personally would've written the opening few paragraphs (first draft anyway):



I haven't read the rest of the story.

Good effort mate. Nice writing style feels comfortable and draws you in if that makes sense.

 

[Edrof]

Writing a book myself, tempted to put the introductory chapter up but it's not family friendly at all, and I'm still writing the first act .

Post it with the swearies starred out?

Maybe someone should start an OcUK writer's thread?!

Go for it, whilst I am really into a short story I was writing a while back and now turning it more into a novella I would be interested in having a look

Will do, when I get some spare time (probably next week).

 

[THMRK]

Post it with the swearies starred out?

Maybe someone should start an OcUK writer's thread?!

Although this place can be pretty negative, this might not be a bad idea.

 

[Edrof]

Go for it, whilst I am really into a short story I was writing a while back and now turning it more into a novella I would be interested in having a look

Ha ha, I finally get around to posting about how to get started writing articles online and No1newts is suspended! Doh!

 

[Lysander]

God, I've lost count of the amount of times I've had friends say they were "writing a book", only to get a few chapters in and not bother finishing.

My dad, on the other hand, has written a couple of books. He's finding it very hard to get anything published though.

 

[Edrof]

Has he looked into the Amazon KDP? It's a method of self-publishing and, to my mind, it's revolutionary. Bricks and mortar publishers have had it too easy for too long and KDP allows you to cut out that entire process.

 

[Van Hellseek]

i have no gcse's and dropped out of school at 15

By the age of 15 your English should have been to a much higher standard than your attempt at writing fiction in the OP.

I don't know why people are bothering to be positive and encouraging, I mean lets be honest here - it's beyond terrible. It's so bad I can only assume it's some kind of Mary-Jane fuelled troll attempt. Most 12 year olds could do better than that trite rubbish.

I'm sorry if it was a genuine attempt at writing, but it's time for a reality check. You can't write.

I'd strongly suggest turning towards another form of artistic expression (can you draw?), but if you're really determined to write, then for the love of god - go back into education.

 

[uknowist]

To be honest Van Hellseek does have some points I would take from his post..but maybe not all of it.

Yes you should definitely go back to learning basic spelling/grammar/punctuation. Theres a lot of courses you can even do just online that will help you in that area, try googling online grammar punctuation and spelling courses, maybe Open university has some courses some probably short courses. I know they specialise in even the most basic of courses to help people get back into education.

Now I just want to say I dont write at all but I do however read quite a lot these days, reading through your story I could break it down on what I dislike or what changes could be made, but lets just get the spelling/grammar/punctuation sorted first. You have to nail the basics before you can move on, especially in creative writing.

Secondly once thats sorted, look into your story. It does not sound very original, just another hitman style story which is fine but, theres probably hundreds if not more like it. What makes this one stand out? There has to be some character depth or story twists to make it original and worthwhile to read. Also cut down on the short basically pointless facts. It adds nothing but random sentences to a story, it does not seem flowing at all. However this again is a lot to do with some basical grammar/punctuation changes.

It will be a lot of hard work to get it sorted, but remember to just see writing as a hobbie not something you have to nail in order to get published or whatever. A lot of authors start by writing short stories, this has the added beneifit of getting structure to a story nailed and you can write various stories on various genres quicker than a whole novel.

Try writing outside of your own comfort zone, even in genre you dont neccessarily enjoy reading. Try writing scifi/thrillers/romance anything really, it will make you more creative in an actual novel that you may eventually write.

I always remember reading something Hubert Selby once said when he first started writing(he had various books published throughout his life if you have not heard of him) this is the quote from googling

I bought a typewriter, and decided I was going to be a writer. I didn't know anything about writing. But I knew I had to do something with my life, and that was the only thing I could think to do....

So I sat there for two weeks with that typewriter and I had no idea how to write a story, I just had to do something before I died. So I wrote a letter to somebody. And that's how it started. The long process of learning how to write.

So always keep in mind, that it will be a long process not something you will get good at in a day. It wil be a long slog if you actually want to get good at writing, just dont see it as a chore if you actually want to be good. You have to enjoy it.

Finally as someone else has suggested, read more books. This itself will aid you with your spelling/grammar/punctuation.

 

[No1newts]

Ha ha, I finally get around to posting about how to get started writing articles online and No1newts is suspended! Doh!

Unsuspended if you still got the time to post it mate

I was naughty in the footie forums on got a ban