Total newbie - some veery basic questions...

Welcome to AW. The answers to your questions are all here in the forums. I suggest Read, read, read. And then read some more. Look in the Novel Writing as well as the Basic Writing forums. They're a good place to start.

Richard

How long does it take to write a book? How long is a piece of string? How many words do you write in your hour? And of course this is just the first draft - you'll have editing later. A year is reasonable - authors such as Terry Pratchett who bring out a book a year are considered pretty prolific - but your pace may be quicker, or slower. It all depends on you really.

Should I take a writing course before I start? Or can I just start writing from my feeling and inspiration?
Entirely up to you. If you feel you can benefit go for it, but there's no rule to say you can't write while you're doing the course, or even that you need one. Reading and really studying what you read can be the best teacher. But a course won't hurt. If you like.

When can I start writing a book? I mean, how detailed and far ahaad should my storyline be, before I can actually start working with it and start writing?
Whenever you like, you don't need to ask permission! Now, tomorrow, when you feel you're ready. Personally I don't outline ( except in the vaguest way) I just plunge straight in and work it out as I go. Do what works for you - but be aware that outlining can be a very good way of procrastinating on actually starting

What aspects should I consider when deciding which language to write in? I could theoretically write in German, Dutch or English. German and English feel best. Should I consider the market? Or write in whatever language I feel most comfortable in?

Ohh - well I don't rightly know. Whichever you're most comfortable with?

Anything else I need to consider before starting to write? Any tips?

Writing is not easy - as the saying goes you just open up a vein and drip blood on the paper. Keep at it and perservere. That's the most important trait for any writer - perserverance.

Good luck and have fun!

I agree with the response by IdiotsRUs, except in terms of taking a writing course. I think you'd get more out of a writing course after you've tried doing some writing. You'll have a better idea of what your personal issues are so you can get the most out of the course.

Welcome to AW and enjoy!

I agree with everything mentioned so far and I'm going to say .

esperanza said:

1. How long does it take to write a book. I mean, if I write about an hour every day after work. And may be two hours a day on the weekend, when can I expect to have finished my book? Is a year realistic? Are there any rough guidelines to serve as an orientation

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How long is a piece of string? I write my first drafts in a month.

esperanza said:

2. Should I take a writing course before I start? Or can I just start writing from my feeling?

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I've never taken a writing course in my life and probably never will, but I have read shedloads of 'how-to-write' books. And joined AW of course.

esperanza said:

3. When can I start writing a book? I mean, how detailed and far ahaad should my storyline be, before I can actually start working with it and start writing?

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You start whenever you like. Some people outline, some people don't. I personally don't, so I start writing 'whenever the spirit moves me'. When I sit down to write page one, I have nothing prepared. Other folks like to have detailed outlines and storylines planned well ahead. Whatever you want to do, you do it.

esperanza said:

4. What aspects should I consider when deciding which language to write in? I could theoretically write in German, Dutch or English. German and English feel best. Should I consider the market? Or write in whatever language I feel most comfortable in?

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You answered your own question - whichever language you're more comfortable with although - and I only guess here - I think English would be more marketable. Not sure though.

esperanza said:

5. Anything else I need to consider before starting to write? Any tips?

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You never stop learning. Don't submit a first draft. Read a lot. Just dive in to writing; plough through it all because even if it's crap, you can edit it. You can't edit what you haven't written. Read a lot. Be open to advice. Learn the rules before you break them. And did I mention read a lot?

You've been offered some excellent advice here. I applaud your enthusiasm and your considerate nature as you begin your journey. I only wish to add here that it's now time for you to dive in and immerse yourself completely. JUST WRITE.

Good luck!

esperanza said:

1. How long does it take to write a book. I mean, if I write about an hour every day after work. And may be two hours a day on the weekend, when can I expect to have finished my book? Is a year realistic? Are there any rough guidelines to serve as an orientation

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It varies widely. Say you average 500 words on weekdays and 750 weekends. That's 4000 words per week. An 80,000 word first draft could be completed in twenty weeks. Is that a realistic pace for you? I have no idea.

But that's just the first draft; you're likely to spend even longer revising, although that varies, too.

So yes, a year is reasonable. On the other hand, some beginners need two years, three years, or even longer.

esperanza said:

2. Should I take a writing course before I start? Or can I just start writing from my feeling?

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If you decide to take a writing course, look for one that will include the type of writing you want to do. For example, some writing instructors who are focused on literary writing can be quite negative toward genre writers. (I'm not saying they all are. Just that it's something to be aware of.)

At AW you can get much the same education you would get from a writing course. Start writing, but at the same time read the forums here. Don't be afraid to go to Share Your Work and start critiquing. Critiquing someone else's work is an amazing learning tool.

esperanza said:

3. When can I start writing a book? I mean, how detailed and far ahaad should my storyline be, before I can actually start working with it and start writing?

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Since you mention storyline, I assume the book you want to write is a novel.

If so, how much to plan ahead is all about what works for you. Some people start writing with no plan at all and go where their imagination takes them. Some people create a detailed, chapter-by-chapter or even scene-by-scene outline. Some people like a loose, general outline: beginning, ending and a few key moments in between. Some people only need to know what ending to write towards.

esperanza said:

4. What aspects should I consider when deciding which language to write in? I could theoretically write in German, Dutch or English. German and English feel best. Should I consider the market? Or write in whatever language I feel most comfortable in?

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If you are most comfortable in one language, choose that. If your level of comfort is very close, factor in the market as well.

esperanza said:

5. Anything else I need to consider before starting to write? Any tips?

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- The "rules" of writing are best understood as advice, not laws. (They're mostly good advice, though.) There are only two true rules: don't bore the reader, and don't confuse the reader.

- There's a point, somewhere in the middle, when you will get very discouraged and feel like everything you've written is crap. That's completely normal. Some people get it 10,000 words in; some get it 60,000 words in; but almost everyone gets it. Grit your teeth and slog through it.

I realize you've already had your questions answered and have replied, but thought I'd add my two cents.

1. How long does it take to write a book. I mean, if I write about an hour every day after work. And may be two hours a day on the weekend, when can I expect to have finished my book? Is a year realistic? Are there any rough guidelines to serve as an orientation

It varies incredibly, so there's no real answer. The shortest amount of time it took me to write a novel was about 2-3 months, BUT, that was only because I had a full outline in place beforehand. Some novels of mine took years because I didn't plot them out and took breaks from them and such things. I write long serials now, and they took about 2-3 years each, because they had over a hundred chapters each. The only realistic thing is to try to be consistent with your work, not slack off too often, and try to get things done.

It takes me about an hour to do around 1700 words, myself.

2. Should I take a writing course before I start? Or can I just start writing from my feeling?

Writing courses can help, especially if you're new to the whole thing, though they aren't necessary. I learned most of what I need to know from basic English/grammar courses in school, and from reading and learning things on my own. I did take a creative writing course in college, but I learned practically nothing from it, because my instructor was a literary type who hated my genre writing. I'd say it's most important to learn grammar/spelling and how to construct sentences, then read a lot to see how others do it, and find what works best for you. You'll get better over time. (I've been writing since age 11--I'm 32 now--and it's only been in the past several years that I finally seem to be settling into a style that doesn't make me cringe when I read back over it a few years later!)

3. When can I start writing a book? I mean, how detailed and far ahaad should my storyline be, before I can actually start working with it and start writing?

Some people have to outline; some people don't. I prefer not to because it limits how surprising the story is to me personally; I like to get as caught up in unexpected events as the characters do. However, I don't usually just start from nothing; since I write very long stories, I tend to think them over for a LONG time (sometimes years) before ever putting down word one. That way, even though I don't have an outline, I at least have a mental idea of where I want things to go. I don't know everything that's going to happen, but it's a guideline.

I'd caution against just starting a story from nothing because it might end up meandering or stalling out when you can't figure out where to go. But on the other hand, don't spend too much time planning, either, because then you'll never get any writing done! You'll probably find how much preparation works best for you.

4. What aspects should I consider when deciding which language to write in? I could theoretically write in German, Dutch or English. German and English feel best. Should I consider the market? Or write in whatever language I feel most comfortable in?

I'd go with whatever you feel most comfortable writing in, if only because the words will come more easily and you'll probably do better in terms of grammar and sentence construction. I know only one language so I'm afraid I speak from limited experience here.

5. Anything else I need to consider before starting to write? Any tips?

Write, write, write, read some, write some more, write some more, read some more, and then if you're not too tired, do some more writing.

Good luck!

esperanza said:

So I've decided that I'll just START writing...

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And then just keep writing and writing and writing. THEN, write some more. Oh, and BTW, aboard!!!

Hopefully this will work...this thread, Writing with Uncle Jim, is CHOCK full of incredible advice, comments, suggestions, thoughts, explorations on the craft of writing. It is LONG...it'll take days to read through it...but it is really really good stuff.

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6710

Hopefully that works.