Hello, I have been looking for a forum like this for a while, google finally helped me lol. But anyway, I am new to novel writing its something i truly want to do but i have a few questions. The 1st book I want to write deals with mental illness and finding one's way. I read the alchemist and my book would have a similar vibe but darker and personal for a lot of people because of the subject matter although it wont deal exclusively in that subject it will have other minor themes and the issue of mental illness will be a enemy of the main character. It will also deal heavily in my life and those people in my life as characters. My question is how much of writing is based on and from personal emotion and experience and how do you harness those feelings? how much of yourselves do you invest in the book? When do you know when to tell a story and not your story I guess I mean? Since it should be fiction at least in part. I have the worst case of start-stop syndrome ever. I write out the outline then stop and redo it and stop. same with the characters. its like flexible writers block but with no way to break it. Any one with any ideas? Lastly I used to be a windows users then i switched to linux so basically i am using a word processor program and spreadsheet program to build my story. Does anyone know of any linux based novel writing software? if none does anyone know what i should set my word program on? type of font, paragraph style? Do I write one continous story or break them up into several different scenes? So far looking around this board i have found a lot i like. Hopefully I can learn from you all since your far more advanced than I am. Thanks in advance.
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Welcome! I'll try to answer a few of your questions.
How much of myself is in my stories? I write all kinds of things I've never experienced. I think write what you know really means write the emotions you know. When I write, I get my head in the story and that affects how I'm feeling in real life. I guess I harness the emotions because I'm focused on the story.
I write the story as it comes to me. I'm not an outliner by any means. I'm sure some of it is my story or, at least, how I would react in that situation. That's inevitable.
I use MS Word and I'm not familiar with Linux. Maybe someone else here knows more on Linux. I tend to write in 12 point Arial while I'm writing. When I get to the second draft, I worry about adding chapter breaks. After it's finished, then I would worry about the font being 12 point Times New Roman.
When you are writing, just worry about the story.
How much of myself is in my stories? I write all kinds of things I've never experienced. I think write what you know really means write the emotions you know. When I write, I get my head in the story and that affects how I'm feeling in real life. I guess I harness the emotions because I'm focused on the story.
I write the story as it comes to me. I'm not an outliner by any means. I'm sure some of it is my story or, at least, how I would react in that situation. That's inevitable.
I use MS Word and I'm not familiar with Linux. Maybe someone else here knows more on Linux. I tend to write in 12 point Arial while I'm writing. When I get to the second draft, I worry about adding chapter breaks. After it's finished, then I would worry about the font being 12 point Times New Roman.
When you are writing, just worry about the story.
You would probably find Uncle Jim's writing thread invaluable in answering questions you have and some you haven't thought of yet. It takes a while to go through the whole thing, but it's worth it.
As Storyteller5 says, get the story down on paper first, then worry about things like font.
As Storyteller5 says, get the story down on paper first, then worry about things like font.
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Ditto on the Uncle Jim's thread. And keep in mind his admonition to actually do the work. Don't just read it and say "oh, yeah, that makes sense." You need to put it into practice.
Another good resource for starting out is Jack Bickham's Writing & Selling Your Novel (available through Writer's Digest, and it should be in major bookstores or onlilne). I liked King's book On Writing, too.
I haven't checked it out recently, but B&N had some online courses through it's BNU (there's a link at bn.com), some of them for free, and I know there have been classes in particular types of writing, e.g., for children, and there might be something on fiction generally. If you're not into virtual learning, the brick-and-mortar community colleges and adult education programs often have introductions to fiction-writing too.
The other alternative, of course, is to study your favorite books, see how they're constructed, and then jump into the process with both feet (or all ten fingers on the keyboard, which would probably be a lot more effective). There's nothing like actually writing, actually telling a story, to learn how to do it.
JD
Another good resource for starting out is Jack Bickham's Writing & Selling Your Novel (available through Writer's Digest, and it should be in major bookstores or onlilne). I liked King's book On Writing, too.
I haven't checked it out recently, but B&N had some online courses through it's BNU (there's a link at bn.com), some of them for free, and I know there have been classes in particular types of writing, e.g., for children, and there might be something on fiction generally. If you're not into virtual learning, the brick-and-mortar community colleges and adult education programs often have introductions to fiction-writing too.
The other alternative, of course, is to study your favorite books, see how they're constructed, and then jump into the process with both feet (or all ten fingers on the keyboard, which would probably be a lot more effective). There's nothing like actually writing, actually telling a story, to learn how to do it.
JD
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