Getting Into Writing

[Deth Muncher]

I realize that before I even write this, this is a very broad topic and there aren't really any definitive answers, but:

I'm thinking that come mid May, when I'm out of school for the summer and have nothing to do other than job hunting, occasional Radio DJing and catching up on my backlog of videogames, I think I'd like to start writing. Not novels, mind you, at least not yet. But I'd like to start doing short stories about stuff I like, like zombies and generic fantasy stuff and steampunk-junk. My questions to you folks here who already write is this: what's your process? What do you do to collect your thoughts into story form? What are good methods for brainstorming a story? What's good for editing?

I don't really even mean for these to be published just yet, though advice on contacting publishers would be cool too.

[Dogmantra]

Sit down and write. That's the best advice I can give. People who tell you that they have everything planned out beforehand might have everything planned out, but I assure you things will change. All I tend to need is a snippet of an idea, or a title. What I do is think of a catchy title (my latest one is Sex and Drugs and Mathematics) and then think about it in bed, starting to formulate an idea. You can write an idea better than a story, I find.

[Haruki-kun]

Sit down and write. That's the best advice I can give. People who tell you that they have everything planned out beforehand might have everything planned out, but I assure you things will change. All I tend to need is a snippet of an idea, or a title. What I do is think of a catchy title (my latest one is Sex and Drugs and Mathematics) and then think about it in bed, starting to formulate an idea. You can write an idea better than a story, I find.

Half-agreed.

I think the correct approach is to have everything planned out, and then sit down, write, and throw what you planned out the window. :smallwink: Characters write themselves most of the time, you just need to lay the foundations.

Also, just as you have to sit down and write, you need to sit down and read. A lot. Reading is your greatest fuel. It's also good to watch TV series or movies or read comics, anything with a script, but mostly read actual books.

Also, sometimes you'll come across books on writing. Those are not necessary, but useful, just to have them around and reference them or flip through them. Reading them fully is even better, especially if you read several of them (otherwise you'll be stuck with a single author's views). Again, though, not necessary.

And well..... nothing else I can say, really.

[Rutskarn]

Know where you're going, who's going there, and nothing else.

Start writing, and have an audience. Get the forums to read it, or your friends, or relatives, or do what I did and just invite the whole internet. They'll give you feedback, they'll encourage you to write good stuff--most importantly, they'll make sure you keep doing it. You won't want to slack off, because then you won't just be disappointing yourself, you'll be disappointing everyone who wanted to know how it ended.

Post your story as a serial, and edit each entry twice before you post.

Before I tried these methods, the longest story I'd ever written was ten very low-quality pages. I'm currently over a hundred pages into a serial that I love. It works for ten thousand terrible fanfiction writers, it worked for me, it can work for you.

If you're looking for writing practice, this is the best way to get it.

[Force]

I write as an outlet as well. A couple tips...

1) Are you writing for yourself only or for public distribution? If you want to write at all for the public, you'll have to be willing to follow certain conventions. Namely, you're going to have to hold yourself to a high standard for both spelling and grammar.

As a newbie writer, you have absolutely no appeal; there is no reason for someone to read your story. I mean no offense, but as a newbie, you have absolutely no reputation, and reputation is what attracts readers. Most people will start reading your stuff when they get bored, happen to see your link, and wonder if you're any good. Bad mechanics will promptly lead them to believe that the rest of your writing isn't worth a darn and they'll close the tab.

2) Watch yourself carefully for any signs of an attempt to repackage a favorite book or short story. I've caught myself a few times borrowing waaayyy too heavily from another universe and calling it my own.

3) Resist the urge to place yourself or any other person you know into a story, unless you're writing TO place an author insert (which is something else entirely). Writing a self-insert isn't a bad thing, necessarily, but such characters tend to be either Mary Sues or wish-fulfillment characters.

4) Nobody can tell you the magical best way to write; you're going to have to do that yourself. Don't try to find a magical best way to write, either; experiment as best you can. There are a few methods; writing out a detailed synopsis is one, writing an outline is another, simply jumping in with both feet is a third.

I like to spend a while (week or two) thinking over an idea after it pops in my head. When I find it to be as fully formed as I can get it by just musing on it in my spare time, I sit down and hammer out a basic plot synopsis. If I have the first few scenes in my head I tend to go on from there. Once the first 'burn' of writing adrenaline goes through my system I tend to work on the story slowly, adding one scene after another as I get inspiration until the story's done. Once the story's finished, I'll read it over a few times and make sure I don't have any plot holes, as well as compare it to my synopsis to make sure everything works properly. Then it gets handed to my beta, which leads me to my next point...

5) Get someone else to help you out. A beta reader is a person who will read over your story several times, point out any major spelling or plot errors, and give you tips. Some people will offer to be your beta; if they seem to know their stuff, take them up on it.

I learned much of the craft of writing from a friend I shall simply call Autumn. Autumn was VERY rough on me; she liked what I wrote but she made a point of hunting down every possible spelling/grammar/plot mistake and calling me on it as sarcastically as possible. However, with her help I grew a lot faster than I did from other comments that read mostly "I like it write more plz!"

6) Start small. Short stories, or serials, are a good way to hone your talent. Deciding you're going to write an epic and getting bogged down mid-way SUCKS, I'll tell you (it especially sucks for your readers, and you don't want to alienate those magical people).

That's all for now. I'll add more later as I think of it.

[Helanna]

Well, a lot of other people have given and will give good advice, so I'll stick to support. Mainly, that we have a Writer's Workshop (the link in my sig), that I would check out. Even just reading the critiques of other people's work could help, and once you start writing, you can post your story up for critiques (which are one of the most important things you can get).

That, and you could check out National Novel Writing Month. (http://www.nanowrimo.org) The forums are really helpful, and the entire concept (writing 50,000 words in one month) can be really useful if you're struggling for inspiration or motivation. NaNoWriMo officially takes place in November, but you can do it any month of the year.

As for myself, a lot of my ideas come from dreams, oddly enough, even just daydreaming sometimes. A lot of the time, a dream will have just one scene, and so I write it out and try to develop it and figure out what could have caused the scene and what happens immediately afterward.

[DSCrankshaw]

Well, others have given advice on how to write, so I'll focus on the other part of the equation: how to get published.

If you've written a story, and want to get it published, you need to submit it to publishers. If these publishers like your story, they'll publish it. If they don't, they won't. It's really as simple as that for short fiction. You don't need, or want, an agent. You don't send in proposals or outlines. You write your story, you send it to the publisher with a short cover letter, and you wait for a response. That's it.

Well, okay, there's some details in those steps, so here's the long version:


Step one: write your story. I recommend doing this before you spend much time looking at the market.

Step two: revise your story. It will not be perfect the first time around. Set it aside for some time (at least a week, preferably a month), and re-read it. Does it still sound good? Show it to a writing group. What do they say the strengths and weaknesses are? (You can also show it to friends and family and get their opinions, but in my experience, very few friends and family give serious feedback.) Read it aloud. Does it sound right? Have a friend who's never seen it before read it aloud to you. Does he stumble over sentences or sound stilted? You probably won't do all of these for every story, but the more you do, the better your story will be.

Step three: go to ralan.com (http://www.ralan.com). This is your one-stop shop for publishers of fantasy, sci-fi, and horror.

Step four: decide which markets (magazines) will be interested in your story. [Footnote 1] I recommend starting here (http://www.ralan.com/m.pro.php/), with the pro markets. They pay the most, and selling your stories to them are useful writing credits (and if they have SFWA after their name, they count towards joining the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America). If you can, get a copy of the magazine and read a few stories. However, as it's impossible for anyone to afford to read everywhere they want to submit, be smart about it. Maybe subscribe to a few big names (F&SF, Black Gate), read some of the ones with free online content, see what's available in the library.

Step five: carefully read their submission guidelines. These are found on their websites, and contain useful things like what they're looking for (in more detail than what Ralan tells you) and what format they want your story in.

Step six: format your story exactly as the guidelines instruct. It will be subtly different for each market, and very annoying to do. Do it anyway. It's how you let the publisher know that you're serious and professional (or serious about being professional).

Step seven: write your cover letter. Follow any instructions in the guidelines. If they don't have instructions, it's standard to address it to the editor (he probably will never see your letter himself, but it's still standard), say who you are (keep it short and relevant--this isn't a bio, and if there's nothing relevant, your name is plenty, and maybe even that is unnecessary), what writing credits you have, the name of your story, and how long it is. Thank them for their time and sign off. You generally don't need to say what the story's about unless they say they want it. Most editors prefer for your story to speak for itself.

Step eight: submit your story. Again, follow instructions. Do they only accept snail mail, or do they have electronic submissions? If it's electronic, what format do they want? Can you attach a word file, or do you need to cut and paste it into the e-mail? If it's snail mail, be sure to include a self-addressed stamped envelope.

Step nine: wait. Some magazines will get back to you in a couple of days, others will take a year or more. You should know their response time before you submit. Now's a good time to get to work on that next story.

Step ten: get rejected. You will get rejected. A lot. Occasionally, very rarely, someone sells their story on the first try. But for most of us, it takes 10-20 attempts before the first sale. Even excellent, experienced writers can submit their stories 5-6 times before someone accepts it.

Step eleven: revise and resubmit. Sometimes your story won't need any revision before resubmission. If the editor gave useful feedback, or if you see some way to improve the story, or if you need to reduce the wordcount before submitting it to the next market, then you should revise as needed (you can decide that the editor's wrong, but consider it seriously first). Often, though, you can just re-format it for the next market, edit your cover letter, and then send it off.

Step twelve: get accepted. This may not happen at all for your first story. Writers get better as they work at it, and for most writers, their third story will be better than their first, and their tenth better than their third. There will be ups and downs along the way, but in the beginning, you'll find that you get better fast.

[Footnote 1] The general idea of where to submit is to start at the top. Always send your story to Fantasy and Science Fiction first. This is the most influential magazine on the market; and they will probably reject you. But every once in a while, someone gets lucky, and a sale to F&SF is an important credit. Afterwards, go down the pro markets. It's crass, but try every one that looks like a possibility and has a short response time. My typical strategy is to start with F&SF, then all the SFWA ones which match, starting with the shortest response times. As you get the opportunity to get to know the market and even meet and converse with some of the editors, the order will change. For example, I've corresponded with the editor at one magazine a good bit. I like him, and he likes my writing. Unfortunately, his magazine has a glacially slow response time, and thus it's not my first choice with most stories. However, when I have a story that doesn't fit anywhere else (due to being monumentally long, for example), I'm on good enough terms with him that I can ask him if he'd like to take a look, and usually he will. That doesn't necessarily mean he'll buy my story, of course. But it does mean he'll give it a fair reading. I also know some editors for smaller magazines. They don't pay as well (sometimes not at all), but I occasionally send them stories just to show my support for their magazine. Granted, it's pretty rare that this will be the first place I send my story (I usually give it at least a run at F&SF first), and while I'm sure they appreciate my support, that doesn't necessarily mean they'll buy my story. But knowing them does give me an edge, in that they're more willing to give it a fair reading.

The vast majority of stories are tossed out after the editor reads just the first couple of paragraphs--it's not fair, but that's how the market works. So anything that will get him to read further gives you an edge. An intriguing beginning. An attention-grabbing title. And, probably unfairly, knowing the editor and having some important credits to your name. None of these guarantee a sale, but they'll get you a better reading. By the same token, avoid things that will keep the editor from reading further: poor grammar, improper formatting, a cliched beginning, being preachy, anything that sounds like a D&D adventure or a Tolkien rip-off. Keep him reading. If you get him all the way to the end, you're half-way to a sale.


Okay, that was long and rambling. I do have a couple of writing credits, so it's possible that I have some idea what I'm talking about. Then again, if I really knew what I was talking about, I'd probably have more credits...

[Deth Muncher]

@ DD - Oooh, lookit, a thread what be with the helpings! I'll be frequenting that, methinks. Also, I knew about NaNoWriMo, but I just don't think I've got the discipline for that.

@ Force - I'll probably be writing for the public, ultimately. I've got a few friends who'd probably be down for helping me if I asked them, as well as my English teachers from highschool.

@Rusty - Publish it as a serial, you say? Why? I'm not questioning your methods, I'm just wondering.

@Dogmantra & Haruki - Mmmyep, that kinda sounds like what I'll be trying to do.

A question to all of you:

The first idea I'm aiming to turn into a story is a zombie story. My question is, how genre-savvy is too genre-savvy? I see three ways for this story to go:
1. There's one ultra-savvy character (likely an Author Insert) who gets brutally destroyed shortly after imparting some sort of knowledge to the characters.
2. The characters have no idea what the hell a zombie is.
3. The characters are all moderately genre-savvy, and one may even have a plan for just such an occasion.

EDIT: @ DS - Whoa! Thanks.

[Haruki-kun]

A question to all of you:

The first idea I'm aiming to turn into a story is a zombie story. My question is, how genre-savvy is too genre-savvy? I see three ways for this story to go:
1. There's one ultra-savvy character (likely an Author Insert) who gets brutally destroyed shortly after imparting some sort of knowledge to the characters.
2. The characters have no idea what the hell a zombie is.
3. The characters are all moderately genre-savvy, and one may even have a plan for just such an occasion.

Depends on what you're trying to write. If the story takes place in present-day Earth, then it is VERY unlikely that the characters don't know what a Zombie is. But if you have Ultra-savvy characters, then people will assume you took the easy way out. I think 3 is the best way to go in this case.

If your characters are resourceful enough, they should be able to come up with a plan for the occasion.

[DSCrankshaw]

Okay, I do feel the need to give some advice on writing. There are in general two types of writers:

1. Discovery writers. These guys start with just an idea, and they start writing. They do not plan ahead. They don't know who their characters are, or what will happen, or how the story will end until they actually get to those parts. They find out as they go. Stephen King is a discovery writer.

2. Outliners. These guys plan ahead. They know the characters, the plot, what happens in each chapter, scene, and dialogue, and exactly how the story ends.

You will hear some people say that discovery writing's the only way to go. You'll hear others say that you must, without exception, outline. They're both wrong. There are advantages and disadvantages to each technique.

Discovery writers are sometimes called redrafters, because the first draft is always terrible. They need to write two or three drafts before it's decent, and maybe a dozen before it's good.

Outliners rarely, if ever, follow their outlines exactly. Their characters will grow and change as the stories develop, they'll write scenes and just end up throwing them out, they'll get to the middle of the book, find their outline is useless, and redo it.

The bottom line is that discovery writers usually finish their first draft before the outliners get started, but the outliner's first draft is generally higher quality than the redrafter's third. (This is, of course, an example, and it's rarely that precise.) I'd say the end product is about the same.

Most of us, though, are somewhere in the middle. I'm more a discovery writer, but I usually brainstorm first, consider a number of different ideas, write them down, pick out the one I like, and flesh it out a bit. I then let it percolate until I have a decent vision of how the story will go. But aside from the brainstorming notes, it's all in my head, so pretty open to change. I'll occasionally forget ideas, but I find that the ones that stick with me are the best ones, so I'm not too concerned about that. When I write my first draft, it's pretty bare bones. I don't stop to look up facts unless they're plot-critical, or go back and make corrections. Those can all wait for the next revision. I occasionally write notes to myself when I know I'm skipping stuff I need, notes like [NOTE: Change previous scene to agree with this one.], or [NOTE: Look up ancient Roman building techniques.], or [NOTE: Place scene here.]. The first revision is, to a large degree, filling in the blanks and fixing the plot holes. Then I show it to my writing group, and the second revision is incorporating their feedback. The third revision is where I print it out, read it aloud with a red pen in hand and make corrections, and then incorporate my corrections into the Word document. My fourth revision is polish, fixing remaining mistakes, including those caused by the third revision. Then it's ready for submission.

So, experiment. Try both ways and a few in the middle to see what works for you.

[Soterion]

Here's some advice I've found helpful.

1) Write all dialogue twice: once to figure out what's going to be said, and once to figure out how they're going to say it.

2) Diagram out action sequences so you (and your readers) don't get lost.

3) Limit character names to one per letter. If you must have two characters whose names start with the same letter, make sure they sound very different. Carol and Caroline, for example, are bad ideas. Alexander and Adam, on the other hand, could work.

4) Don't edit until you're done. Writing is rewriting, but the temptation to polish Chapter 1 until it shines before moving on to Chapter 2 is something that must be resisted. After all, you may realize something in Chapter 45 needed to be mentioned in Chapter 3.

5) It doesn't need to be perfect. If Edward Bulwer-Lytton can get published, so can you.

6) A good story is all the exciting bits, minus the boring bits. Write out the whole story, then cut anything that's boring.

7) You're going to have some slack sections. Grit your teeth, lower your head, and bull forward until you're finished with them. You can always rewrite them later.

8) Make sure you know the rules before you break them. They're more like guidelines, really, but they're there for a reason: they aid in comprehension.

9) You are going to hate your story. By the time you are done, you are going to have spent more time despising this work of art which you are trying to bring into the world than you've ever spent despising anything else. But then you'll be done. It'll be a load off your back. And then you can relax and be happy and proud. But trust me, you won't be before.

10) Read GiantITP for support.

11) Wear sunscreen.

Hope this helps!

[DSCrankshaw]

A question to all of you:

The first idea I'm aiming to turn into a story is a zombie story. My question is, how genre-savvy is too genre-savvy? I see three ways for this story to go:
1. There's one ultra-savvy character (likely an Author Insert) who gets brutally destroyed shortly after imparting some sort of knowledge to the characters.
2. The characters have no idea what the hell a zombie is.
3. The characters are all moderately genre-savvy, and one may even have a plan for just such an occasion.


To the specific question: writing a zombie story that's unique is hard. After a while, they all tend to sound the same. And the characters are usually genre-savvy, because they too have seen all the similar zombie movies.

That said, it's not impossible to write something unique. One of my favorite zombie stories, "Flowers for Shelly (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0979228425?ie=UTF8&tag=backoftheenve-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0979228425)," doesn't even try to be unique in terms of the zombie, but it still tells a great story. (Full disclosure: I also have a story in that anthology.) I've also just sold a story that can fairly be described as a zombie story with a dungeon crawl (I like to think I disguised them both fairly well, though).

So a zombie story can be done. As for genre-savvy: well, any modern character who's seen a zombie movie or two should be genre-savvy about zombie movies. But I will note that being genre-savvy rarely helps in real life. And if I ever do encounter a zombie, I will be very surprised if it's anything like the zombies in fiction. Truth is stranger than fiction.

[Winter_Wolf]

Well crap, I had a post explaining in detail my methodology, but it was far, far too long. Simply put, I write according to two principles: primary purpose (informational vs. entertainment), and primary audience (others vs. self).

My general advice on writing is that even an informational piece of writing should have some entertainment value, or no one will want to read it (think history books sitting in a university library); even an entertainment piece should have some underlying message or point.

Writing for myself is generally easier short term, because I only have to please myself; long term it is more difficult because when I go back later to read something I wrote even as little as a month ago, I feel absurdly embarrassed that I ever put those thoughts down in written form. Writing for others is an exercise in frustration and sometimes harsh criticism, but over the long term I can go back and see how I've grown (or not) in my writing and thinking. Usually I'm still absurdly embarrassed that I ever put those thoughts down in written form, but only because I know I got a passing grade when I would have failed me. (My senior thesis sucked. Sucked! And there's a hard-bound copy of it sitting in my alma mater's library where others might stumble upon it!)

[Rutskarn]

@Rusty - Publish it as a serial, you say? Why? I'm not questioning your methods, I'm just wondering.

It's a motivation thing. If you start a long story with the intention of getting feedback when it's done, it's gratification too long deferred--it becomes too tempting to just scrap the project, especially if nobody else will know or notice.

If you post it serially, you get regular feedback, you get people reading your stuff as you write it, and there are consequences for just stopping halfway through--namely, people will want to know how the story ends, and will be disappointed if you don't deliver. If it sounds like you're basically handcuffing yourself to a story, well, you are, but it might well be the only way it'll get done.

[Agamid]

being a writer myself, i don't think that it's something you can just decide to do, i think it's something you need to enjoy and have a natural incline to do in the first place - not wanting to deter you or seem elitist here - but i think like any art form you can't just decide to take it up for laughs or something to do.

that said, good on you, far worse things to be doing with your time.

i find the best way to edit is to write as it comes, then leave it for a few days and read through, then leave for a few weeks and edit again, then print it off (if it's in digital format) and go through with a red pen and edit further. then show it to a friend (i luckily have a friend who is a trained editor).
And if you're not happy with a part, hide that entire section and rewrite it blind. it is soo easy to get caught in the 'but i really like this sentence/paragraph' trap and ruin a perfectly good chapter trying to include it.

[DSCrankshaw]

being a writer myself, i don't think that it's something you can just decide to do, i think it's something you need to enjoy and have a natural incline to do in the first place - not wanting to deter you or seem elitist here - but i think like any art form you can't just decide to take it up for laughs or something to do.

that said, good on you, far worse things to be doing with your time.

I'm not sure what you're saying here. At some point, every writer decides they want to start writing. It comes in different ways and at different times, so I'm not sure what counts as a natural inclination. As for enjoying writing, you don't know that until you start.

[Telonius]

Several books to recommend here:

1. "The Elements of Style," Strunk & White. Read it once a year, minimum.
2. "Poetics," Aristotle. This is for writing theory. There is a reason classical dramatic structure is still used; learn it and learn why. Then disagree with him about the particulars like just about everybody else who's ever read it.
3. "On Writing," Stephen King. More of a memoir of writing, but it's useful to a lot of young writers.
4. Your favorite book. Read it once a year and pay attention to how the author does things you like. Learn from it, but don't make a carbon copy of it.
5. The book you hate most. Read it once in a while and pay attention to the annoying things the author does. Make a commitment that you will never subject your readers to such an awful experience. (I keep a hardcover copy of "The Crossroads of Twilight" by Robert Jordan just for this purpose).

[DSCrankshaw]

Several books to recommend here:

1. "The Elements of Style," Strunk & White. Read it once a year, minimum.
2. "Poetics," Aristotle. This is for writing theory. There is a reason classical dramatic structure is still used; learn it and learn why. Then disagree with him about the particulars like just about everybody else who's ever read it.
3. "On Writing," Stephen King. More of a memoir of writing, but it's useful to a lot of young writers.
4. Your favorite book. Read it once a year and pay attention to how the author does things you like. Learn from it, but don't make a carbon copy of it.
5. The book you hate most. Read it once in a while and pay attention to the annoying things the author does. Make a commitment that you will never subject your readers to such an awful experience. (I keep a hardcover copy of "The Crossroads of Twilight" by Robert Jordan just for this purpose).

These are pretty good suggestions. Personally, I think "The Elements of Style" is overrated, though. There are a number of places I disagree with it (the that-which distinction is almost purely the invention of grammarians, and doesn't reflect common English usage). I recommend supplementing it with the Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage, which provides better context, at least when it comes to proper word usage. Although the usual answer is "It's not as clear as your English teacher made it seem."

I also suggest that you read a lot. Read a lot of short stories. Read classics and new releases. Read on the subway and the plane, while waiting for appointments. Listen to audiobooks when you jog. The more you read, the better context you have for writing.

[Dr.Epic]

I forget which writer this was, but there was an author that had a quota on what to write. Everyday they had to write at least 1,000 words. Now, that may be a lot to someone new to writing but you could set it at something more reasonable like 100 or 200 words per day.

[DSCrankshaw]

I forget which writer this was, but there was an author that had a quota on what to write. Everyday they had to write at least 1,000 words. Now, that may be a lot to someone new to writing but you could set it at something more reasonable like 100 or 200 words per day.

Quite a few of them say that. Stephen King, for instance, recommended that you start with 1000 a day.

[Dragonrider]

I've written eight and a half novels, and I'm here to tell you that it's different every single time. There's no "right way". There's just . . . writing.


Okay, I do feel the need to give some advice on writing. There are in general two types of writers:

1. Discovery writers. These guys start with just an idea, and they start writing. They do not plan ahead. They don't know who their characters are, or what will happen, or how the story will end until they actually get to those parts. They find out as they go. Stephen King is a discovery writer.

2. Outliners. These guys plan ahead. They know the characters, the plot, what happens in each chapter, scene, and dialogue, and exactly how the story ends.

I've done both. Both work.

I've taken a year to write a 60,000-word novel; I've taken a month; I've taken four days (yes.). There are advantages and disadvantages to both; I don't think it's a good idea, however, to give yourself a deadline. Sometimes it takes the time it takes. (I'm embroiled in the middle of something that's advancing at about a page a day currently. Disappointing, but also exhilarating. Sometimes it's nice to take your time.)

Still, 500-1000 words a day is a good goal. If you do more, great. If not, fine. Do whatever makes you happy. Writing should not be something that you dread every day, especially not when you're doing it for fun.

DON'T WORRY ABOUT MAKING IT PERFECT. Just write and keep writing. I typically edit my novel 3-5 times before I show it to anyone; the fifth draft bears very little resemblance to the first. That's okay. That's great, even.

DON'T WORRY ABOUT WORD COUNT. The last thing you want to do is pad, trying to reach your 50,000 or whatever. You can do that during NaNoWriMo, but it makes for sloppy storytelling. Don't use ten words when six would do; compact and clean is a good thing, unless you're going for the really elaborate style.



Don't listen to anything I say if it doesn't work for you. Everyone is different. Find something that works and stick with it. :smallsmile:

[potatocubed]

Things I have found useful:

1. Attempt Nanowrimo at least once. It aids not just your ability to get words onto a page, but also your understanding of how novels are constructed and an awareness that Proper Writers go through exactly the same stages as you.

2. Have an audience. An audience who cheer you on is good, an audience who will give you detailed feedback without crushing your spirit is better. Writers' groups can also be fun and social, too. (At least, mine is.)

3. Read huge quantities. If you like something, ask yourself why you like it. If you dislike something, again consider why. This will not only aid your understanding of the craft of writing but also give you ideas. Fun story! When Tolkien saw Macbeth, he disliked the resolution of the Dunsinane Wood prophecy so much that he said "When I write a book with a prophecy about a moving forest, the trees will get up and walk!" - and that's where the ents kicking over Saruman's castle comes from.

[Delta]

1. Attempt Nanowrimo at least once. It aids not just your ability to get words onto a page, but also your understanding of how novels are constructed and an awareness that Proper Writers go through exactly the same stages as you.

This. I've done NaNo twice now, won both times, and it taught me more about writing than anything I've ever done in my life. Mind you, that doesn't mean that it will make you a "good" writer (there's a whole lot more to that than what NaNo can cover), but it will teach you a lot in a relatively short time. And it's not as impossible to do than you might think at first, if you really want to do it, you can.

[DSCrankshaw]

I've never participated in Nanowrimo, to be honest. That hasn't stopped me from writing three novel length stories (one 50,000 words (sold!), one 76,000 words, and one 170,000 words). Not saying anything against Nanowrimo: it looks like fun, and if I ever had the time and weren't in the middle of other writing projects, I might participate. I'm just in favor of getting started now and writing at your own pace rather than waiting and then writing at a rush pace (for me, anyway--I write more along the lines of 1,000 words a day rather than the 1,700 words a day Nanowrimo requires).

[Player_Zero]

Be thought-provoking, intelligent and creative. Then writing is easy.

[Deth Muncher]

Be thought-provoking, intelligent and creative. Then writing is easy.

I see what you did there.

[Delta]

I've never participated in Nanowrimo, to be honest. That hasn't stopped me from writing three novel length stories (one 50,000 words (sold!), one 76,000 words, and one 170,000 words)

Of course, no one says you absolutely have to participate in the NaNoWriMo, that would be ridiculous. But for someone who hasn't already gotten where you are, I think there are some important lessons ot be learned from an event like this. That doesn't mean you couldn't learn this another way, far from it.

For me, NaNo helped me with a lot of things. First of all, I'm lazy. Everyone is. NaNoWriMo gives you a great reason to kick yourself in the butt, get up and write, the whole scale of the event, the sheer number of people who are in this with you, at least for me, that's a motivation like no other to actually finish what I do there.

Second, yes, the deadline will lead to rushed writing. If you have your own pace of writing, and you can manage actually keeping to that pace and finish your story that way, I really don't think NaNo is for you. Maybe you can learn different things from the experience that is NaNoWriMo, I can't tell because I can't judge it from this perspective. But for people like me and tons of others out there, who like to get into their stories, write on for a couple pages and then... just stop, for whatever reason, for those people, the deadline is a mighty weapon. It can make the difference between a rushed story and no story at all, and a rushed story can always be improved upon, and even with the best outline, writing at your own pace... well, your first draft will most likely still suck, because it always does. That's what revisions are for, after all.

So what does that mean? Do you have to participate in NaNoWriMo to write a novel? Of course not, you will have to find your own way like everyone else. But I absolutely believe that for many people, NaNo can help you take some steps on that way, maybe small ones, maybe large ones. I can only speak for myself, I'm a two-time winner now, and both times, it's been a huge blast and I've learned a lot, I'm sure to participate again this fall. But if you want to get into writing, it's not enough. NaNoWriMo will not help you improve your drama, your writing style, your language, your dialogue, not directly, anyway. If you want to get better with this, there are more than enough helpful tips within this thread. In short, NaNoWriMo will most likely not help you become a better author (it might, but not directly), but it will most likely help you become an author in the first place. It's a first step, not the last one.