Definitely read what you like to write. You get a feel for what's out there and whether or not you'll be saleable.
Also, be aware that whatever you place on the web is subject to copyright. Unfortunately this plays both ways. Yes, no one is allowed to copy what you've written and call it their own but, also, anything you place on the web is considered 'published' and, unless it is a small part of a greater body of work, it may not be eligible to become part of a formal work at a later date. In other words, if you publish on the 'net a real hard copy publisher won't touch that story with a barge pole.
Don't ever worry that what you are writing is crap. Who cares? If it brings pleasure to you and others enjoy reading it, then that's your job done. However, if you want to make your living at it remember most authors suffer between one and six whole manuscript rejections. That's one to six whole books rejected. By everyone... i.e. they've touted the book around to every publisher and agent available in that genre and no one's taken the book up. If you're serious about it, the best thing you can do is keep going, never give up and hope that one day someone might recognise your genius. Don't forget that many, many artists have died paupers only to have their descendents live wild on the proceeds of their art.
Also, be aware that whatever you place on the web is subject to copyright. Unfortunately this plays both ways. Yes, no one is allowed to copy what you've written and call it their own but, also, anything you place on the web is considered 'published' and, unless it is a small part of a greater body of work, it may not be eligible to become part of a formal work at a later date. In other words, if you publish on the 'net a real hard copy publisher won't touch that story with a barge pole.
This is so true, and slightly snotty of them in my crappy lil' unpublished opinion.
What I've found to be helpful, is have a notebook nearby at all times. This way, you can write down random ideas when they come to you. I myself don't carry one on my person, just because I never seem to come up with anything good unless I have to actively go to the notebook.
Also, don't try to write out a complete novel in full. Write it in sections. This way, you can get the most important parts done and fill in the gaps later.
Finaly as a few have said before, how and when you edit depends on how you like to work. Remember Tolkeen completely discarded and restarted the Lord of the Rings like three or four times. I've found that just having someone else look at your work as you progress can be tremendously helpful. Just make sure they are somewhat like minded in what they enjoy reading, and that they have a basic idea of how a story should be formulated ( i.e. they have an I.Q. of over 5), most people who don't either won't have anything bad to say, or will completely miss the point of the story and ask too many questions.
Two solutions: First, don't use anything good on the web.
Second, if you have trouble getting a major publisher to look at your work there are several companies that will help writers self publish. The only downsides to this are you either get a lot less money from sales, or you have to foot part of the bill yourself.
there are several companies that will help writers self publish.
This is generally not a good idea. Rarely will self-publishing help you; it usually makes you smell foul to publishers. It's the rep. Self-published 99% of the time = crap.
There is a great book out there called Story. It gives a very detailed look at the three act structure and giving good style to writing stories. It is made for screenwriting, but the same rules apply to most all story writing.
It is. I own it. It's so helpful it's sitting under a pile of random junk in the back seat of my buick.
No, seriously, if you're into screenwriting, it gives insight into what a moviegoer expects and what keeps his/her attention. It also talks about the use of the medium itself.
Very insightful book. Haven't finished it. But I don't plan on screenwriting.
I do the exact same thing. If I don't have my laptop around, I have a notebook. My book is political in nature, so I make notes about things I see on the news, and read in the paper.
Not a professional writer by any means, but I'm trying. Picked up a bit of stuff here:
Try reading The Elements of Style, the Bible of aspiring writers. 95% of the basic reference you will ever need is in there, including grammar and word choice issues. It also has some great tips for writers at the end.
Synonyms are NOT identical. Each word has its own shade of meaning, so try to use the right word for the right situation. For example, "Carl brooded" and "Carl mused" have different connotations.
This is closely related to the above. DON'T use fancy words you never heard of before until five minutes ago. Intelligent readers can always tell when you do this, and will probably get the impression that you are trying too hard or being pompous. Having long and obscure prose is rarely positive.
Also, you should probably disregard much of what English teachers have taught you about good writing. A five page description of a tree will turn away most if not all of your readers, and many a written work has been ruined by little gems such as "'Grandpa might die soon,' Bob hypothesized gravely" and "Her cold grey eyes stared at him, and Jerry was afraid that those penetrating eyes were searching his soul."
1st, if you want to be a writer, write at least one page every day. It's not that hard, it keep you warmed up, and in a year, you have a three-hundred sixty-five page novel.
2nd, there are tons of things to do to get you in the right frame of mind, but you have to find them for yourself. Here are the things that work for me: Herbal Tea (generally chamomile, chrisanthimum, or mint) Music (try not to have it on repeat, and only going for about a half hour. It drowns out past this anyway, and it only interferes. Use either instrumental music or very soft, calm music. Techno, fast stuff, all that, it stimulates your mind too much, keeps you in the real world. When we write, we create worlds for those around us) Meditation (helps you calm the mind and not worry about your own world. This allows you to enter the world you are creating)
3rd, learn what sort of writer you are. People often try to be something they're not. If you find yourself flailing while writing fantasy, don't write it! If you can't do essays, don't worry! Everyone has their own niche, and as you do that, you improve in all areas. Don't push yourself to do something you're not capable of, or if you do, don't expect it to be any good.
4th, let the stories form themselves. It's incredible how different characters will turn out from what their authors predict. It's amazing how far you will stray from outlines. Stories keep going on their own, and as an author, you often work as no more than a scribe. Don't feel restrained by what you think "should happen." There are no absolutes.
5th, not everything you write will be golden. Don't expect it to be. For every good page, you'll write five that are trash. That's how the business works, and that's how you get good. If you think you write all good pages, then you haven't learned how to write well.
Those are just my basic tips. Feel free to message me or whatever if you want more.
Don't push yourself to write a chapter-a-day. If you don't feel like writing, you probably shouldn't try right then (it probably won't turn out too well).
If you want to listen to music, listen to something you've heard before. New music tends to be a distraction.
Lastly, write about what you know. Reference past events. You were there, you know what it was like, and consequently you'll be able to be more descriptive.
my tip is to write it, have a friend (who knows how to read and does it a lot!) read it and do any corrections as they see fit which includes spell check (though they should have to cause you should give them a typed verson that has been spell checked) grammer check and stuff, then go back through makeing all the corrections they made and read it again and fix anything you see that they missed or things they changed that you don't like, then give it to another friend and repeat till your satisfied with the results.
My problem is that I can never seem to get anything longer then seven pages typed before I have reached the end of my story. I can't seem to write a novel only short stories. If you would like to view and comment on what I think is my best work (the only one I ever really finished) Go here dentsmind.blogspot.com (comment appreciated)
Don't pay too much attention to the phrase "Write what you know." It's very over-used. The fact is, you WILL right what you know, whether you like it or not. What the point is, is that you shouldn't try to feign knowledge of something. It sounds stupid if you're trying to go really deep about something when you haven't had enough life experience. Don't fool yourself into thinking you know more than you do. Or something like that.
Go to writer's conferences. You can meet other writers, hear what publishers want, and make some good connections. Do some research about conferences in your area, because some are better than others. While at the conference, if you really want to talk to a speaker, I suggest you stalk them. Seriously. They recognize dedication.
For example, I have a story about a dictator about to die and it goes over his life. I'm like on chapter one, but I couldn't potray the character or describe him properly.
Read stories and books about dictators, both fiction and non. Watch the news. Watch movies involving dictators. Immerse yourself so much, you have to write.
When doing creative writing, I like to do it by hand before I type it out. Pen and paper just seem like more natural and organic tools for freely brainstorming and being imaginative. When I'm writing a paper or an essay, however, I stick to typing since I tend to think harder about the meaning of the words rather than the ideas. I'm a firm believer in the idea that words have a power of their own that must be tapped into.
Yeah, same here, I've got good plot lines but terrible writing skills.
