Writing advice

Hai! And welcome to AW.

I don't know if my limited experience counts for much, but I've never written anything other than novels. It never occurred to me when I started out that I should try short stories or whatever.

Writing a short teaches you how to write a short - not how to write a novel.

Even now, years later, my lowest word count is 47k, and that was for my very first trunk novel, completely rewritten and overhauled.

Not much help, huh? But at least I'm qualified to say that yes, you can get your work published even without writing something other than a novel.

If you want to be a writer, you have to put your butt in a chair and write each and every story to the best of your ability. You can't worry about ruining the plot; no matter your skill level there is always a disconnect between the story you imagine and the story you put on paper. If you screw up, and you probably will, there are plenty more stories where that one came from.

scarletpeaches said:

Hai! And welcome to AW.

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Note: This is fake. Or she's on drugs or summat. I however welcome you from the bottom of my shallow heart. Hi!

Writing a short teaches you how to write a short - not how to write a novel.

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They are different animals, though they can help each other.

Put it like this - if you write the novel, you will learn a bucket of stuff by the end. Then you use that to revise the novel. It's not in the writing - it's in the rewriting. You can change anything in the rewrite! How liberating is that!

First write what you desperately want to write. First get it written, then get it right. If the novel is what burns your brain - write it.

Hey, I was trying to be nice!

ETA: While I was writing, these others jumped in ahead of me. Any duplication is because I type slow

Well, I don't know about high-quality, but flattery will get you most places

I would say go with the novel. Writing a book for me anyway (others will have different opinions, this is just how it is for me) takes more than one draft , so if your description isn't perfect the first time round, than I wouldn't fret to death about it. If you're excited about it, that's a good sign.

If we're not talking description, and we're talking about more plot and character mechanics, then I would say ask plenty of specific questions around here about your problems, and look at how your favourite authors execute their stories. Between the two, you should be able to find your way.

Also, while smaller projects (I presume we're talking short stories here) will teach you how to write, they won't teach you how to plot a novel, or hold more than one character arch in your head for the length of a novel, or the heaps of other things that are applicable to the novel form. I am a great believer of learning by doing, but that is just how I work.

So I would go with the novel, especially as it excites you.

Others will have different ideas and methods. You've come to the right place for help, and I hope you enjoy it here

Sian

scarletpeaches said:

Hey, I was trying to be nice!

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Drugs it is



tee-hee


Aww SP, I know you're nice. But don't tell everyone, you'll ruin your street cred

For a long time I kept holding on to my favorite ideas because I didn't want to "waste" them while I was still such a novice. Turns out that's bullshit.

Write what you're passionate about NOW. Maybe it will exceed your wildest expectations, maybe it will but in the wrong way... If it bombs, don't worry, a new passion will come along. Ideas aren't made to be kept in glass jars until you're good enough for them.

Some people think short stories are harder than novels, because everything has to be so tight in a short story. I certainly find the short story more intimidating. I don't read short stories much, though, so maybe that's why the rhythm of them doesn't come naturally to me.

Just write whatever you're itching to write - otherwise, what's the point?

Try the novels forum. It's what it's there for.

It depends on the writer. Some can just dive straight into novels and find their feet. Personally, writing shorts helped me to practise the arcs, but not everyone needs to do that.

The shorts can be useful for putting on your query letters, but it varies from agent to agent as to what they class as "counting" for a market or whether they like to see this at all.

Although the advice here is great, you can do things however you want. I started off my writing career by writing articles for magazines and newspapers. I then moved on to short stories and have now progressed to novels (Oh, I still write articles and short stories ).

I had the exact same problem you're describing. Eventually, I just HAD TO start the novel because I was so excited about it I couldn't for the life of me focus on any of my boring short story ideas.

So here's what I did:

I made a reading list of books with similar style/themes as the book I was going to write. I included two books on writing to learn the craft (I chose the popular 'On Writing' by Stephen King and 'The Elements of Style'). Then I read all these books (about 15) in a couple of weeks to prepare myself. I asked lots of questions here about writing and novels. I started outlining my novel.

All of this took about 2-3 months. The outlining was already a lot of fun, and the reading too, so it wasn't just 'hard work' waiting for the fun to actually start. I was already immersed in my novel before even starting to actually write.

Well eventually, I started the first scene. I had a lot of trouble to get the Point of View right, and to find the right narrating voice. I had like 4 failed attempts for the first scene, and I asked a lot of questions. But eventually I found the right way to do it. I'm now 20'000 words into my story and still love it. Even though it's my first novel, I made sure I kinda know what I'm doing. I really didn't want to 'waste' the idea.

So yeah, I think going ahead with the novel is fine. Just be aware that most 'first novels' are really bad. You learn a lot during the process, and the ending part will probably be much better written than the beginning. But if you inform yourself along the way, I'm sure you can end up with a good first draft, and after a lot of revision, you can give your ideas what they deserve

Good luck!

Here's a list of keywords you can search the forum for in order to get important information on how to write a good novel:

POV
dialogue tags
backstory/info-dump
character arcs
3D characters
show don't tell
conflict
description/details
unnecessary words
hooking the reader
theme

The better you understand these concepts, the better your novel will be. I probably forgot to mention some important ones, but it's a start.

After writing novels, I thought I'd try a short story, just for a bit of a relaxing break.

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong.!

IMHO, I found that shorts require many different skills and techniques. I found it hard work, and after a few weeks returned to the more calming environment of writing novels.

I decided that I don't have the discipline to write a good short story.

I write short stories and have had a bundle published. If nothing else, the experience told me I could write and be published.

If you've got a short story (or novella) in you, write that. If you've got a full-length novel, write that.

There is plenty of help on this board, but there are some of us who published without knowing about POV, worrying about tenses, plot and dialogue issues, etc. etc. We wrote a story, sent it in, and nine months later we're on the cover of a magazine.

Not that I'd ignore any of these things, but just be aware, the story's the thing. My motto has now become: Write more, worry less.

Kizaru said:

'On writing' seems pretty popular, is it really worth going out and buying?

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I suppose if you read through a lot of threads here in the forum, you'll get the important information anyway. There are published authors who never bothered to read a book on writing.

Having said that, the book does have a lot of valuable advice, and also the autobiographical part is very interesting and a good example of writing in itself. I enjoyed reading it even though I've never read a book by Stephen King. As I said, I'd recommend it. And I've seen lots of others doing it here too.

Kizaru said:

Hello everybody! I haven't posted before so I figure that was a nice gesture. Anywho, I have some questions regarding writing.
I am aware that writing isn't an easy venture and the such. I'm fine with that. I want to know if I should begin with an idea for a novel I've been developing in my head for a while, or start working on other smaller projects to build on my skills

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It doesn't matter. What matters is that you write, every day if possible. And read. Read a lot.

If you are really fervent about this novel idea of yours, you may find that you can't write short stories or anything else until you've got this project out of your head.

If you're going to write a novel, just keep in mind that it's very unusual to write it once and be done with it. Part or all of the novel will usually have to be rewritten. This is normal procedure. So in effect, you're going to get the practice you desire by working on your idea, knowing that weak parts will eventually be rewritten anyway.

I've used short stories to explore novel ideas, and I've heard of others doing the same thing. Once written in short story format, I'd fallen in love with the characters, or the premise, etc, so that expanding it into a full size novel just seemed right.

KingM said:

...there is always a disconnect between the story you imagine and the story you put on paper. ..

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Words to be written in letters of fire, for sure.

Kizaru said:

'On writing' seems pretty popular, is it really worth going out and buying?

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It's the only writing book I've ever found remotely helpful. No book can replace the sometimes painful experience of trying to get your ideas on paper, realizing you haven't gotten it right, and trying again, and again, and again.

Like other people said, shorts and novels are two different things. This is not to say you can't end up writing both, but if you're only starting to learn, focus on one: the one your heart lies at.

Start writing your novel without fear. You don't have to finish it in three months. Take your time to learn the craft, and allow yourself to make mistakes. Your first draft will consist of putting your story down to paper. Your second draft will include the application of everything you've learned. And then perhaps you'll produce a third, a fourth and so on. And if you're serious and passionate and dedicated, you'll get it published.

Treat this as an exciting procedure of learning, and you'll learn.

Kizaru said:

'On writing' seems pretty popular, is it really worth going out and buying?

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It is, and it's an excellent read to start with, because it's not the classic 'how-to' book. In my opinion, most 'how-to' books can't be of much help before the redrafting, because you learn by recognising and correcting your mistakes (at least that's how it worked for me).

And keep browsing AW. You'll get all the help and support you need here.

Writers learn by writing.

And i agree with Commandant Peaches that writing shorts teaches you to write shorts etc. They are very different things, and require different skills.

That said, the best way to improve your writing is to write.

Listen, take all the advice you can handle; read all the threads on here which seem germane to your project, but do not overthink every detail or you'll never get any writing done.

In other words, you're going to make mistakes but you'll learn from them. You're going to write something which you absolutely fall in love with one minute, and the next you're thinking, hmmm I can do better, or wtf was I thinking?

But the important think is to write, and when you feel confident you've got something good going, ask someone to look at it. It can be on this forum, or a personal friend or even trusted relative. (But someone who won't tell you everything you write is sheer brilliance; those people are good for the ego, bad for the writing.)

If it's a short story, submit the darn thing; if it's a full-length novel, start querying for an agent with a goal of publication.

Just do it. So many people say they're going to write a novel, then never do. Don't be one of them.