so im thinking up taking up writing

[cornell]

ive written for magazines before, and at the minute i make a good salary as a tradesman in construction.
thing is, i always wanted to write. i mean i'd love to write a book, and i know i have one in me, i just don't know where to start. I dont know what subject to choose. I have many interests: horror, fantasy, sci-fi....
but i want to stick with something i at least know something about. I'm not expecting anything just yet, but I can see me being a writer when i retire from the laborious work that i do now.
I travelled around europe for a while in my mid 20's (in my mid 30's now), and i think if i jazzed things up a bit and fictionalised it, i could make a book out of that.
I would like to hear some of your stories and how you got started and maybe some advice for me.

thanks in advance

[Coco82]

I have always loved writing so I naturally gravitated towards it. I liked creating characters and the like. I'd say go for it. Start writing about anything you want. I'm 22 and in college. I've never written a book, but am now. I'm really into it too, the characters, plot, etc. Go for it. This board will help you a lot.

[Trapped in amber]

:welcome:

The first novel I wrote was a story that I couldn't get out of my head, that I was passionate about, and that I wanted to share. Unfortunately, it's not very well written and is locked away in a drawer;). But it was that passion and compulsion that made me start it and kept me going. That's been true for everything I've written since then.
I'm not the right person to give out advice; I haven't even begun submitting yet. But one of the best resources I've ever come across is Uncle Jim's thread on the board here.
Good luck:Thumbs:.

[HConn]

Cornell, the important thing is that you should enjoy writing.

Think up something fun you want to write. Pick something cool.

Then sit down and do it. That's all.

Try to carve out a regular time every day when you'll do the work, and don't be discouraged if it's hard sometimes. It's supposed to be hard.

If you were going to learn to play the guitar, what would you do? You'd sit down and start plucking the strings.

Go ahead and fool around on the page. Have fun. Write something cool. Expect it to be hard.

Good luck.

[cornell]

cool guys keep em coming. your words are like gold dust

[Trapped in amber]

Go ahead and fool around on the page. Have fun. Write something cool. Expect it to be hard.



Absolutely.

And although I find them just as hard at times in completely different ways, I try new things out in short stories. The two forms of writing have always seemed very different to me, but I think it's a useful way of trying something completely new.

[Puddle Jumper]

Try spending time just thinking about your lead character or characters. Get to know them, their personalities, likes, dislikes, quirks. What's their age? Do they have a family and what are they like and what's their relationship with them like? School or work or unemployed? What are their dreams and goals? What do they look like?

Then once you have an idea of what your character(s) is like, think about what their story is. At least that's the way I tend to approach dreaming up a story. I want to know the people I'm telling a story about before figuring out what their story is going to be. :)

[NicoleJLeBoeuf]

"Why did I write? Because it isn't there." That's one of my guiding principles. Shel Silverstein expressed the sentiment in a poem that ended, "Put something in the world that wasn't there before." The stories I'll want to tell are often the stories I want to read but haven't found written already. The plot will probably have been around for ages, of course, but not the story.

The other sign I rely on is the image/scene/character that won't get out of my head. An idea will have occurred to me and it won't go away. I'll run the story through my head in daydreams on buses and while driving in tedious traffic. I'll tell it to myself at bedtime.

(Anyone else do that? Going back to early childhood, I've told myself stories to help myself fall asleep. Sometimes I'll even whisper them out loud until I'm too sleepy to make my lips move.)

I tend to look at writing almost from a religious point of view: if I feel compelled to tell a story, it's because the Universe wants that story written. There's a space on a shelf in the cosmic library that can only be filled by that story. That takes care of the "it isn't there" angle. And the second angle, the obsession and the passion, that's how the Universe makes its needs known.

Heck, I rationalize my choice of career that way: "My desire to be a writer is a symptom of the Universe's need for me to be a writer and put stories in it that only I can tell." Obviously it's a line of reasoning that can be used to rationalize all sorts of things and pad the ego, but I never said anyone else had to believe it. ;)

[Fresie]

I'm not expecting anything just yet, but I can see me being a writer when i retire from the laborious work that i do now. [...] (I'm in my mid 30's now)

Heh, Cornell, that's exactly what I used to say when I was your age (which was five years ago);) "One day when I retire..." Then one day I found myself stuck in a flat without a car and a job (God forbid, of course), bailiffs on my doorstep, and I was forced to write because writing was the only thing that could earn me some money. Before I knew it, I was a professional writer.

So I know how you feel, I too used to have a headful of projects... but I think (I don't want to wish my fate on you, of course ;)) you might need some concentration and discipline to make it happen. Some motivation from the outside world. I think it's not so much about the subjects to write about, but more about application. What my father (a professional playwright and genial procrastinator) always did when he started a new project, he would go around and blab about it to as many people as possible. To my and mom's angry questions he'd always answer, "You don't understand! Now that everybody knows I'm working on this play, I'm forced to write it! I've got no choice!" So I'd suggest, you choose whatever subject takes your fancy but then stick to it no matter what until it's finished.

Good luck to you!

[preyer]

personally, i don't find anything mystical about it all, lol. the actual labour of writing isn't terribly enjoyable for me, but i derive immense amounts of entertainment 'dreaming' up stories, just the way the previous poster does. that's the fun part to me: putting it on paper, refining, editing... it has its ups and downs, but were it possible to get it done without any effort, that's the way for me. of course, i'm lazy by nature (good gawd, i mean i abbreviate the word 'at' for cripes sake). there's a creative urge in me, so, for lack of better means, writing was my most logical option (not suggesting there's any merit in what i write, necessarily). honestly, if i felt i was unable to entertain people i'd give writing up and be a dog groomer or something (at least there's big bucks in that).

i think that's the key for most fiction writers, that they are basically entertaining themselves in the process, too. i'm a hack, so my ideas are primarily without too much pretention, that is i don't feel as if i have to preach the gospel according to the ryan while the world bows in awe of my boundless abilities, and are entertainment-based. it sounds as if you're operating along the same wavelength. not aiming to score with the next 'catcher in the rye', are ya?

write what you want to write about is pretty generic advice, but i can't think of any truer. most would probably disagree with me, but i aver that most writing consists of 75% craft and 25% talent on average. by 'craft,' i mean that you should understand that most likely you're not going to break the bank on ideas, and if you've thought of it once, a million others have already *done* it, but you need to know your writing options nonetheless. for example, there are lots of ways to insert backstory into your novel, and you need to know quite a few. i think that's the craft. relying on talent to make up new ways of exposition, which is new to you and you alone, will only carry you so far.

setting up a writing schedule is probably good advice, too. i ignore this 100%, but that doesn't mean i disagree with it, heh heh. at least in principle. this is basically crap advice that applies to the individual writing it and their personality and perogatives. you may not have that luxury of time. yeah, you'll make time, but in the real world even that's not a sure thing. and honestly, if at the end of your day job you wind up sacrificing significant amounts of time with your family, that's not worth your robot vampire story in space, trust me. and, hey, don't ever say, 'nah, i'd rather stay and write than go on a road trip with a busload of drunk cheerleaders.' i see a lot of writers who all they do it write, yet all their stories suck because they never leave the damn house. be an experience whore. i mean, what memory would you rather have on your deathbed, pitching ball with your son or sitting at the computer? but, obviously you still have to write something somewhere sometime. the bane of my life is that this junk doesn't write itself. oh, to be tom clancy and not have to think of stories that literally can't be gotten out of a plot generator programme.

there's no real average, though i'd estimate most books are written between six months and a year. that you've written for magazines you might be on the six month-side of it. at least you're not some guy who's never strung two sentences together before. and you're older, which almost always means to me the stories will be better. and hopefully easier to write. i give a generic time-frame just to remind you that if you see the novel to completion, it's an idea you're going to live with for quite awhile, so try to pick a subject that has lots of appeal to you. figure out a way to choose the best story idea you've got and start the process. i won't say start at the beginning or to write outlines or concoct detailed character profiles on 3x5 cards, that's up to you. ideally, i guess, writing should be like masturbation, an enjoyable habit.

of course, don't take my advice about it. pick a story and start writing it. damnit.

[Writing Again]

If it is fun, do it.

If it ain't fun, don't do it.

[stormie]

An idea will have occurred to me and it won't go away. I'll run the story through my head in daydreams on buses and while driving in tedious traffic. I'll tell it to myself at bedtime.

(Anyone else do that? Going back to early childhood, I've told myself stories to help myself fall asleep. Sometimes I'll even whisper them out loud until I'm too sleepy to make my lips move.)




Yes! Ever since I was very young, I did that. Still do.

[cornell]

my life hasnt been exciting enough to write a book on, but 1 year i spent travelling in greece, if spiced up (a lot) could maybe pass for a 'beach' style novel. i mean, i was almost wrongly convicted of a ticket scam but they found out the truth in time before i ended up in the slammer 'midnight express' style. i also nearly died one day on a swim-round-the-shore-to-get-to-the-secret-beach style episode.
most of my story however would involve a lot of the characters i met on my journey. i mean, a lot of these people were larger than life and wouldnt have to be fictionalised that much


what do you guys think?

[HConn]

Telling us the idea doesn't tell us anything. It's how you write it that counts.

Don't worry about what we think. Just do what you want to do.

[Mistook]

my life hasnt been exciting enough to write a book on That's where I think maybe you're missing the point of being a writer. Maybe your life hasn't been exciting, but that doesn't mean you can't take what you know and make it interesting.

Not that you shouldn't write this beach story. Go for it. But there's a treasure trove of good inspirations to be gleaned from any life.

[Mike Martyn]

I'm fifty three and I suddenly aquired the ability to write about 3 months ago so I'm new to it. In terms of finding stories to write, one thing I'm doing is cutting interesting bits out of the newspapers, pasting them in my writer's journal and writing about them. Newspapers are full of bad news but since I'm a horror writer, that's just fine by me. I hope the police neer find my journal or they'll thing I'm the evil perpetrator , pasting accounts of my victims in the journal and gloating over them! (cue mad laughter)

[maestrowork]

You think Stephen King had an exciting life when he wrote Carrie, Salem's Lot, The Stand, etc.? All you need is imagination -- the rest can be researched.

[Denis Castellan]

You think Stephen King had an exciting life when he wrote Carrie, Salem's Lot, The Stand, etc.? All you need is imagination

I thought (probably read it somewhere, though) that Carrie was a sort of catharsis, some revenge on what he couldn't do as a teenager himself.

If so, even if it wasn't exciting, his life was totally related to his writing.

But I might as well be totally wrong on that one :D