Thursday, August 19, 2010

I'm writing my first book, please give me any tips/advice you can think of?

I have the plot down, and I'm finally ready to write after two months of planning. Any tips/ advice for me when I'm writing?I'm writing my first book, please give me any tips/advice you can think of?
Don't feel the need to go straight from the beginning to the end. If you do this, you might get bored and rush the plot. Rather, since you have planned so well, you have given yourself the ability to write at any point in the book you wish. For instance, depending on your mood, your mood to write different scenes will vary. When you are excited to write something, it is so much better than when you are not. So, write what excites you first!


Also, don't always plan everything. Many authors will tell you their characters sometimes did things they never expected them to do. Just let it flow out of you, and edit later!


And stick with it; don't give up. You can always take a break when you get tired of writing and come back to it later. I have taken breaks for as long as two months on my book because I just got tired of writing it. But I always come back, because I love my characters and want to finish!


Best of wishes!





PS: Don't ';overwrite';. If you write constantly, your stream of creativity will eventually drain. Now, you can't always avoid writer's block, but it's never good to let your creative mind run dry. Because then writing isn't a joy; it's work. Instead, if you are feeling like you need a break, FEED your creativity! Listen to music. Read a classic novel! Watch a movie. Just let your mind rest, and it will repay you with new ideas!I'm writing my first book, please give me any tips/advice you can think of?
Don't let yourself get bogged down. If you find yourself slagging through a certain part, feel free to skip it and move on, then come back later. And don't get caught up in unnecessary details--it's a big problem for first time novelists, because one of the hardest things to do is to admit to yourself that some of the parts you love just don't advance the story in any way.





Also, set yourself a reasonable goal--either a number of words or pages--and stick to it each day. Estimate the number of words/pages you want the finished product to have, and these goals will point to a deadline that will help you feel like writing is a priority. And be sure to reward yourself when you reach them--maybe with dessert, or a favorite food. I've heard of at least one person who said they even refused to allow themselves to use the restroom until they reached their writing goal for the day.





But even if you feel like you could write a whole lot more than your daily goal, don't. By restraining yourself from reaching that point where you feel completely satiated, you prevent burnout and it will help you to keep going in the long haul. The hardest part is the middle stretch. I guarantee you will start to lose hope at the halfway point, feel like it's not good enough, there's too many plot holes, people will hate it--that's natural. All those little problems will get edited out later anyway. Pacing yourself in the beginning makes it easier to overcome these feelings of despair, when it seems like it just isn't worth it. But it is. So above all, keep writing.
-Write every single day. Write if you're feeling inspired. Write even if you aren't feeling inspired. It doesn't matter if it's good, if it's bad, if you think it's good, if you think it's bad. It just does not matter. Just write. Write even if it's not for your story. Writing a paper for class? Good! Any type of writing works on your skills (and, in fact, different types of writing to work on different skills are preferable!). And always remember that if authors wrote only when they wanted to, there wouldn't be any books. Or at least not half as many.





-Love what you do. You will hate your story sometimes. You will hate yourself sometimes. But ultimately, be sure that your writing is always for you and for your love of it. If it's not, you will most likely quit and have a bad feeling about the experience.





-Read every single day. Author Richard Peck said to ';learn five new words a day, because a book is written one word at a time.'; You need to read. Not just novels, though. Read short stories, poems, magazines, newspapers, menus, movie summaries. Read anything and everything. It will help you in the long run.





-Find your own technique. Some authors have required word counts for themselves every day. Some edit their work the next day. Some authors don't edit until it's completely done. Some authors write in bits and pieces. Whatever your preference is, find it. See where you like to write, know what gets you inspired. Do you want music? Do you want nature? Do you get easily distracted? Learn about yourself.





-Don't be too harsh on yourself. This could cause frustration and you may want to quit. Just write it down and let it be bad. Remember:





';Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it's the only way you can do anything good.';


-William Faulkner





';Convince yourself that you are working in clay, not marble, on paper, not eternal bronze: let that first sentence be as stupid as it wishes.';


-Jacques Barzon
Make a daily writing routine for yourself. Write some everyday and don't worry if the first draft sucks. And just write write write!

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