How old were you when you wrote your first complete novel?

I'm not sure, I'm 16 and have written about 1 complete novel that I absolutely hated so it has to go into editing. Then, at 14 I finished a novel, didn't like it and rewrote it. I finished when I was 15, decided I didn't like it and rewrote it. Now, I'm 16 and I still don't like it so I'm rewriting it. At this pace, I'll be 40 before I finish it!

Anyway, I've been writing a lot of poems since I was 13 and lots of short stories since last year. Right now I'm concentrating on novels. I do feel that I have a talent for writing, since the words just flow and I don't even have to make an effort, unlike most of my friends.

And yes, I do believe there's a thing called writer's block, which happens when you write purely out of divine inspiration instead of just writing. Happened to me all the time until I learned to write. One thing is having talent to write and another is knowing how to do it.
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>had the passion for writing?

Since I was twelve

>How old were you when you wrote your first complete novel?

35, but I still had a lot of help from my husband, who, between the two of us, has the genetic or inborn talent or whatever you want to call it.

>Do you consider writing a natural talent for you, or one you have to labor to do?

Labor, labor, and more labor. Sometimes, a line or two comes very easily (as in, so out of the blue I can't even figure out where it came from!), but that's only once in a while. Oddly enough, in my professional work (I'm a therapist), I find the writing very easy. It's the creative stuff that I grapple with the most.

I was 28 when I wrote my first novel. I'd been writing shorter work and trying to get published for 6 or 7 years before that. Of course, I had been writing long before that, but I don't really start counting until the point where I thought someone would be interested in reading what I'd been writing and I tried to get my stuff published. Pretty egotistical, when you think about it.

Talent. Talking about that can be a hairy kettle of fish. I used to think talent was the be all and end all of writing. You either had it or you didn't, and if you had it that was enough. I've since changed my view on that. I still think talent is involved, but talent alone isn't enough. For example, as talented as Tiger Woods is, what if he never picked up a club? What if he never took any lessons? What if his Dad hadn't pushed him to learn the intracacies of the game? What if he hadn't practiced every day for years and years? See why talent isn't enough?

Something else I've learned over the years is that writing is more than just barfing as many words as possible into a nice neat row. Writing is about choices. And a lot of the time, it's really about what you choose NOT to do, more than what you choose to do. I'd also venture that if first drafts come easy and editing doesn't, then "writing" doesn't, as a whole, come easy to you. First drafts, yes. But for me, until you've put your final touches on it and plopped it into an envelope, then you haven't finished the writing.

I've also found that if my writing is going very smoothly, then I'm doing it wrong. But again, that's probably just me.

I was 32 when the writing bug entered my life. I spent the next 8 years cultivating and learning everything I could about writing. Prior to that, writing novels or anything else, never occurred to me.

16 but it really really sucked! To the point that if I had a choice between rereading that novel and a dictionary, I'd choose the dictionary. There's more unexpected twists.

Then I dabbled in poetry a couple years. Then I did nothing (college years)...if you excluded writing essays for school. Then after graduation I picked up my creative quill and tackled short stories. Doing that ever since honing my craft. Now I'm trying to finish a novel that's actually better than a dictionary! Wish me luck!

It was two years ago when I finished my first novel.

I'd say to succeed, you need 1 part talent, 2 parts hard work, and lots of passion.

Wonderful Questions!

DivaNicoletta said:

Hi there everyone, how long as everyone considered themselves a writer or had the passion for writing?

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I've enjoyed writing since I first learned how to write in the first or second grade. I decided to become a writer when I was eleven years old.

How old were you when you wrote your first complete novel?

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As I've only been published once, and that through a disreputable company that is not considered a publishing credit, I'll have to list when I finished my first ms.

I believe it was the First Draft of a work I have not seen since I was a young teenager. It was a Time-travel novel, and I had the most ridiculous title for it, as I didn't know what really to call it. The title was--mind you, I was thirteen or fourteen when this was finished, so laugh only if you must--The 1500-Year-Long Mission.

Do you consider writing a natural talent for you, or one you have to labor to do?

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It seems to be a natural talent for me, although I have to labor more today than I did when I was a child. It takes a lot of physical stamina that I just don't possess any more.

Snipped for length....
I always hear people saying " I can't think of a novel to write" or " I have a novel I want to write, I just don't know how to write a novel". There are books that tell you how to structure a story and how to make good characters. I even see books on "how to write a novel". Should this just come natrually if you a writer? I mean there is always room for improvement with classes/seminars/writing groups, but shouldn't a writer know these things? Just wondering how everyone else's writing experiance is. Also is there such a thing as writers block?

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I personally think that if someone wants to be a writer, has the love of the written word, and has good stories to tell, that the issues you mentioned in the above quote should not matter all that much....with the possible exception of Writer's Block. I think that happens to just about everyone.

One thing I will point out is, in what little experience I have (All 23 years of it) in aspiring to be a professional writer, I've found that simply asking questions of fellow writers can be more valuable than all the books one can read about writing. Not all books are equal. If I were to write a book on writing, I wouldn't know where to begin, whereas I could give you an idea of what works for me through what others have written.

My own personal favorite writing books are Strunk and White's 'Elements of Style;' and 'How to Write Almost Anything Better' by Arthur Herzog. But again, what really mattered most to me in my writing was the people who personally showed me how to write....who at the same time knew something about what they were saying.

I love questions threads like this! Thank you for asking.

One month and eight days after my 24th birthday.

I figure I'll be 51, maybe 52 when my first novel will be finished... I'm 50 now.

I've always been a "good writer." I wrote poetry when I was a child and teenager. I've kept a journal since the day I turned 18 years old. But I never aspired to be a published author, never expected to be writing a novel....

What happened was that this story came down from the ether and chose me to tell it. It was an accident. I wasn't looking for a story to write. I simply read something in my local newspaper which raised more questions than it answered, and I couldn't let it rest. Or maybe it couldn't let me rest!?

Next thing I know, I've got 200 pages written.

SusanR

DivaNicoletta said:

Hi there everyone, how long as everyone considered themselves a writer or had the passion for writing?

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Ever since I can remember I've been in love with books and the English language. I've always wanted to write, but haven't always been very good at it. I've always tried to improve, though.

DivaNicoletta said:

How old were you when you wrote your first complete novel?

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Eighteen. It was standard teenage vampire-angst fare. It's been through about three drafts, and with another seventeen, I think it might be barely readable. It was a hell of a lot of fun though and taught me that you can read all the how-to books you want, but nothing actually beats writing itself.

DivaNicoletta said:

Do you consider writing a natural talent for you, or one you have to labor to do?

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It's a natural passion. Whether I'm talented or not is not for me to say, although many other people seem to enjoy what I write. There is, however, always room for improvement, no matter who you are, which is why I still read how-to books, even the more basic ones that no longer apply to me really, out of love for the English language, right up to the more complicated grammatical manuals. There are always little gems to be found in each instruction book. Of course the best way to improve is to let someone else read what you've written and take their comments on board, in my opinion. There's a difference between listening to advice and being swayed by the whims of others, though.

It's never been laborious...perhaps a labour of love, though. It truly does my head in at times but you know what? I love it more than anything else in my life. Truly.

DivaNicoletta said:

There are books that tell you how to structure a story and how to make good characters. I even see books on "how to write a novel". Should this just come natrually if you a writer? I mean there is always room for improvement with classes/seminars/writing groups, but shouldn't a writer know these things?

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Not necessarily. A writer should want to know these things, though. I believe some people are born with a desire or a natural talent that life, and learning from others, could refine.

DivaNicoletta said:

Also is there such a thing as writers block?

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In my opinion, no. What others call writer's block, I call "Writing myself into a corner and thinking oh $hit, what do I do here?" I just back up to where the story stopped flowing and begin again. I'm not a fan of outlines on paper, but I find if you have a fair old idea of where you want the book to go in your head, you won't go far wrong. The only way to get through a 'block' is to write through it - lying on your bed stressing over it won't work, asking advice from friends won't work*, getting drunk won't work...The only thing that works is getting ink on paper (or words on the screen). Books won't write themselves and writers write, goddamnit!



*I just realised that could look inconsistent. When I mention getting advice from other people, I meant their opinion on what you've already written. When it comes to writing through a block, other people can't help - only you can get yourself through it. Other people come in handy when you have something you'd like them to read for you, though.

27 I think. It was penciled on notebook paper, but completed.

Tri

Since the age of 11 or 12 I've started but never finished dozens of awful books. I finished my first proper novel - 120k - about six months ago... and I'm 19 in January. I'm writing another one now (duh)

DivaNicoletta said:

how long as everyone considered themselves a writer or had the passion for writing?

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As long as I can remember. I had my first typewriter at 11.

How old were you when you wrote your first complete novel?

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Late 20's. I didn't like it once it was finished and I considered it to be more work than I wanted to commit to in a genre I'd grown tired of, so I shelved it.

Do you consider writing a natural talent for you, or one you have to labor to do?

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I have a natural talent for words, and I think I write well. At school various teachers told me I was talented. I trust their judgement!

As far as novels are concerned now, I have no plans to write one unless I feel I have something significant to say that'll take that many words to say. I write short fiction, I'm happy working in a tight space wordwise and I'm reasonably successful when I find time to write.

There are too many novels out there that are a waste of space in every respect, the result of writers who don't know how to write prose and instead rely on a glut of words, overdescriptive passages that don't move things along, wordy fillers just to make up a word count.

My advice to younger writers especially, when you've finished your first novel, read it to see where you made mistakes, then hit the delete button. The same with your second, and probably third. Don't fall in love with your words - be prepared to be brutal.

If you are really a writer, and you want to improve, be aware that what you are writing today is never going to be as good as what you will be capable of writing tomorrow. What you write in your teens, when you look back at it in a few years time, will probably seem excruciatingly embarrassing - and if it doesn't, it means you haven't grown as a writer.

To further what Mike said, I think there is a marked difference between being a passionate author and a passionate writer. Of course, I'm not really either. But from what I've gathered on this site, being an author means a lot more that being a wirter. And if you get too emotionally involved with your writing, it scuppers your chances of getting published.

26

DivaNicoletta said:

Hi there everyone, how long as everyone considered themselves a writer or had the passion for writing?

How old were you when you wrote your first complete novel?

Do you consider writing a natural talent for you, or one you have to labor to do?

Also is there such a thing as writers block?

Click to expand...

Late twenties. It sold.

I suppose writing is a natural talent. I sold the first three short stories and the first novel I wrote. But I find the older I get, the more I labor. For me, writing hasn't gotten easier with time, it's gotten harder. I experiment more, I don't write the same novel over and over, and it just keeps getting harder.

Writer's block does exist IF you believe it exists. There was a time in history when pretty much no one had writer's block. The entire concept of writer's block can be traced back to one man, and it never really because a problem until literary journals picked up on this and started treating it seriously.

Before 1800, the writer was considered to be in charge of the writing. The concept of writer's block allowed the writing to be in charge of the writer.

Even at that, it was the mid-twentieth century before writer's block became widespread, and only the dawn of the internet age made writer's block both legitimate and fashionable.

Real writer's block is a pyschological malady that actually prevents a person from writing anything. Not just fiction, but anything. Even a grocery list. Even your name. But what we think of as writer's block, no, it doesn't exist. . .unless you want it to exist.

Wrote my first complete book this year, at 27. It's nonfiction, though (and could stand some more polishing). Started a couple novels, but never finished them. Yet.

DivaNicoletta said:

Hi there everyone, how long as everyone considered themselves a writer or had the passion for writing?

How old were you when you wrote your first complete novel?

Click to expand...

Twelve. And by the standards of my age and inexperience, it wasn't bad. It had a coherent plot, a beginning, a middle and an end. And I left enough room for a sequel (which I never wrote).

Do you consider writing a natural talent for you, or one you have to labor to do?

Click to expand...

Yes to both. I do have a natural talent (writing is part of my job, in fact), but each book keeps getting harder and harder because as I learn more I'm more aware of the refinements I should be making.

... is there such a thing as writers block?

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I don't know. I frequently suffer from bitter discouragement (I still haven't been published), but never "writer's block."

Since i was a toddler one of my dreams has been to get a book published (which of course meant i had to write it first). I wrote my first novel at 13 and am now on my fourth(i'm 18). Then there are the dozen or so nonstarters that reached the 10-20,000 word mark before withering.

As for talent? Well who am i to say. You tell me. The first draft of my current WIP is up in the children's section of SYW. It's YA.

My main problem seems to be that i right something, edit and re-write, then let it simmer. Of course after the simmering i find i hate my work and can't bare to read it. Argh.

When I was 11, my teacher gave our class an assignment. Each student had to write a 2500 word story. I wrote about a young girl that went crazy, killed her parents and tortured her older brother. My teacher gave me a really crappy mark, apparently he couldn't "get past the violence". Was it good? Probably not, but it was then that I caught the writing-bug...for almost 6 full months. After that, I didn't write anything besides essays for school. At the age of 22 I got an idea for a short story and so I started to write. 59,000 words, and 2 years later(5 months ago) I finished my first ms.

Does writing come natural? It sure feels like it. Of course that doesn't mean that the writing is good, it just means that I can't stop, whether is sucks or not. I'm addicted.

As for Writers Block, I whole heartedly believe in it. For me, it is usually something I have caused myself, but that doesn't make the block feel any less like a brick wall.

DivaNicoletta said:

Hi there everyone, how long as everyone considered themselves a writer or had the passion for writing?

How old were you when you wrote your first complete novel?

Do you consider writing a natural talent for you, or one you have to labor to do?

Click to expand...

I've considered myself a writer since high school.

I was 46 when I completed my first novel.

The talent is natural, the application is a labor. I can write, I just need motivation to do the old butt in chair thing.

I wrote my first "novel" at nine; a story about Amigo the Giraffe, who was born without spots (inspired by Bambi, but don't ask me why-I just knew I wanted to write an animal story!) Now, as to why a giraffe born in Africa would have a Spanish name, I have no idea! (I was just a little kid, and thought it'd be neat for his name to mean "Friend".

All I remember now about that book was pages and pages of pink loose leaf notebook paper, scattered all over our living room couch.

At 23, I wrote my first "real" novel, a story of two friends who run away from home and eventually become rock stars. I eventually trashed the novel (I envisioned it as this great epic that would somehow encompass the entire history of rock'n'roll) but the characters in that book continued to haunt me, and I recently resurrected them for an altogether different book. I've actually been doing this a lot lately, bringing back characters from previously abandoned projects. It's as though the stories often die, but the characters don't-or refuse to.

However, I can pretty well say with certainty that Amigo the Giraffe is quite daed, and shall remain so.