Writing a book

[Icewalker]

Me and a friend are going to write a sci-fi book, a sort of collection of short stories stretching over a lot of different things, in the same world and timeline. The book is called Apocalypse, and after about two hours of just talking we decided to write it and had already figured out about half of the overall timeline...

Any advice for new writers? Also, we are both very young: around 16.

[FoE]

Yeah. Understand that, ten years from now, you will likely think the stuff you wrote at 16 is complete crap. :smallbiggrin: But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try writing; in fact the earlier you start, the better.

Remember to write for the reader as well as yourself. Try to put yourself in the head of your characters. Feel free to use action scenes but don't make your story one big action scene; readers like dialogue that isn't breathlessly uttered while dodging grenades. Have a "cheese" alert at all times. Write every day, even when you don't feel like it.

[Icewalker]

There is actually going to be almost no action in the story. It is primarily based around different cultures forming, living, changing, and dying out within this unusual situation, most of which experience some form of apocalypse. No character continuing through the story, as it is set in a timeline that spans several billions of years.

[Sir *TIM!!!!!!*]

I am 14 and have started writing on my own time around last August or so.

That means I am in no way qualified to give any specific advice, but even so, this works for me:

1. Outline, outline, outline. What I do is start with a general timeline (like you have) then take the first (or first few) items and try to expand them into more steps, and move along like that.

2. Before you get too into anything, decide on a general mood for the story. I.E. is it going to be humorous but serious (a la Shatterpoint, a SW novel) or bitter and dark. (most anything by Franz Kafka)

3. Make it real. I don't mean realistic as in it would work in the real world, I mean make sure everything is consistent. For instance I don't mind if a story has antigravity, but when the same antigravity device works differently every time it gets used, I start to question things.

Some advice on 'realism' I got from an older friend of mine:

1. Scale. If you're writing a novel about superheroes, having an enemy that destroys a city for fun could be reasonable, depending on the heroes. Having that same enemy as the final boss for a gritty post-apocalyptic survival story seems out of place.

2. Flaws. Nothing is perfect, and the closer it gets to perferct, the less of it there is because of expenses. The F-22 Raptor is a plane that can take out F-16's without the Falcon pilots even seeing the Raptor. Yet the F-16 is still in service and is used more often, for the simple reason that the Raptor costs much, much, much more

3. Purpose. You don't need to know the reason behind every single action or item in every single location, but in general things should have a purpose whether real or fictional.

Lastly, when you start showing people your work, especially writers, they will criticize you. Probably a lot. It happens to everyone. Keep an open mind, take everything in good will, and kill characters named for your critics in your stories nothing else.

Beyond this, it would help to know some more details about the idea for the story.

EDIT: Well that's interesting. Scratch the scale thing to some degree then, what scales for one culture may not for another. For a collection of stories, make them different while tying them together in some way IMHO.

For instance, at the end of one story or the beginning of another: "Although the race of <race> had fallen to the <problem>, before their demise a single desperate hope escaped. Masterminded by <scientist> a small shuttle containing their most advanced technology drifted over aeons to the small planet of <planet>. Unknown to the inhabitants, this shuttle contained a curse as well as a blessing..."

[sethdarkwater]

Well i started writing back at 12 (19 now) and I'm just about to publish my first book, but I'm still such a novice.
Of all the things that have helped me to write the most important thing I've learned thus far is to use personal experiance. To create a world use things familiar to you. The characters could be twists on people you know, or based on aspects of your own personality. You can think of your own experiances and add a good deal of fantasy and flare to make them come alive. The more you write using personal experiance you'll begin to find that the book begins to change course and you'll come up with many great idea's. Your characters will take on personalities of their own and become real. It'll keep you from showing inexperiance due to age because you stick to what you know. Well hope that helps, later.

[Icewalker]

A lot of people are mentioning how it will be bad now, but I'll be able to write better stuff when I'm older.

It's funny, I've barely considered ever being a writer. Me and this friend were just discussing various extremely advanced massive-scale constructions, such as Niven Rings and Alderson Disks, and figured out how so many stories could tie together.

The stories are not going to be directly tied together, because none of the cultures (except the first, which is wiped out except for one small group that loses its history) know anything about where they are, what it is, or anything like that. The first stories will be told from the perspective of a culture that has no evidence of where they are, and the reader will not know. As the stories progress, possibly not in the order they happen, things will come together and the whole timeline can be figured out.

[rubakhin]

Honestly, the best advice - the only universally applicable advice - anybody can give to a writer is to read. Every day. As much as humanly possible. And don't only read science fiction. If you would like to write science fiction, read poetry. The classics. Obscure novels originally in Portuguese, experimental Finnish plays, Polish urban lesbian memoirs, I don't care, just read outside of your discipline.

... Are there Polish urban lesbian memoirs? I can't really think of many Polish LGBT writers. :smallconfused: Let's see, Gombrowicz, that guy who wrote Lubiewo, and I could have sworn that Witkiewicz was gay only Wikipedia says he had a female lover. Anyway.

Your job as a writer is to gather as many influences as you possibly can. Import, don't regurgitate. Also, edit. Edit! I cannot believe how many writers don't edit. The first draft of anything is crud.

So, edit and read, edit and read. Everything else you will figure out on your own. Writers are strange and varied beasts, and the profession is still wrapped in a kind of mysticism. There's no telling what'll work for one guy and won't won't. Don't let anybody tell you that you need to do this or that. For instance, I myself can't work with an outline, when I try to outline a story writing it becomes totally impossible.

In short: read! Read! Why aren't you reading! Get offline and read!

[Icewalker]

In short: read! Read! Why aren't you reading! Get offline and read!

But I live here!


Yeah, I do need to read more actually...

[averagejoe]

The best advice I can give is to just have fun with it. Don't try to create anything in particular except for something you enjoy. If it's something you would enjoy then you will always have at least one dedicated reader. And be open to criticism. Just because the idea comes from an outsider doesn't mean that it isn't good.

Also what Rubakhin said. It's the advice I offer whenever anyone says something like this.

[Zarrexaij]

I'm an aspiring young writer myself.

Do some research. Reads lots about your subjects, both in fiction and nonfiction. Have a general idea of what you want to do. The best advice, however, is to just write. You can always edit later.

[factotum]

I kind of get a feeling from your description that these stories are going to be mostly HAITEs (Here's An Idea, The End). That sort of story got published all the time 50 years ago, but these days you really need to include some characters who preferably develop and change over the course of the story, rather than just hoping your big clever idea is going to carry the whole plot.

[dehro]

I'm an aspiring young writer myself.

Do some research. Reads lots about your subjects, both in fiction and nonfiction.

that could actually backfire...one could absorb many different tales and notions and plotlines and then, without realising it, reproduce them.. or fall into clichés...
no, this advice can work quite well, but it can also be a disastrous move. read a lot, whatever the subject or genre, but not specifically the one you plan to write in...newspapers could do just fine. what you need is to build up a vocabulary, a skill in phrase structure, and pacing... you do not need to know all about warpdrive or similar, of one specific set, unless you plan to write fanfic.

writing from an early age on is good because it's exercise, builds up practice and skill.

[Guildorn Tanaleth]

Me and a friend

A friend and I! A friend and I!!! *cracks whip* SAY IT!

So far, you're off to a bad start.

[ufo]

So far, you're off to a bad start.

Granted how few actually do put themselves last when talking about themselves and others, it wouldn't make a big change in case he was writing character dialog.

[Sir *TIM!!!!!!*]

dialog

It's dialogue! Dialogue I say!

You're all off to bad starts! Including of the me!

[Guildorn Tanaleth]

Granted how few actually do put themselves last when talking about themselves and others, it wouldn't make a big change in case he was writing character dialog.

There's also the more significant matter of the use of the objective case where the nominative is required (i.e., "I" versus "me").

To summarize, if you need your grammar to be heavily checked & criticized, I'm your man.

[averagejoe]

I kind of get a feeling from your description that these stories are going to be mostly HAITEs (Here's An Idea, The End). That sort of story got published all the time 50 years ago, but these days you really need to include some characters who preferably develop and change over the course of the story, rather than just hoping your big clever idea is going to carry the whole plot.

While one idea shouldn't necessarily drive the plot, there's no reason it can't. Anyways, characterization isn't the only way to drive a plot. There's very few inherantly better writing techniques, and each person has to find their own voice.

[factotum]

I'm just saying that a story which is all idea and no character is not likely to ever be published in this day and age. Of course, if the OP doesn't care about getting published then that doesn't matter, but if that was the case I'm sure they wouldn't be asking for advice.

[goat835]

Awesome,
glad to hear you're writing a book. First off: ignore those who say it'll be bad now but good later. If the story is uniquely yours, who's to say your vision isn't enough to lift it to something great. Besides, that's what rough drafts are for - the first treatment of the book you write is NEVER the finished product, so don't worry if everything is okay on the first pass.
Second, there are steps you have to go through in writing a book. You prepare. Figure out what is the theme behind it - such as betrayal, revenge, whatever. Then, expand on that theme, coming up with as narrative material (conflict) as possible. Next, figure out the plot and characters, writing detailed outlines of each. This will help your story stay on track as your writing, and help you have direction when it comes to writing your characters, so each one has its own voice, and doesn't sound/act the same. That's my biggest advice - preparation - and you should be able to stay on track.
Also, writing is a hard habit to start. Like flossing or quitting smoking. Stick with it, and set deadline for yourselves. Good luck.

[Dragonrider]

Another aspiring young writer here - I've been 16 and I wrote my first story at six. :smalltongue: These are my two cents:

1) As other said, READ, read, read.
2) The only way you'll get better at writing is by DOING it.
3) They say "write what you know"...I say, "write what you love."
4) Ignore the naysayers. It's your story; find a writing style that works for you. I don't outline, but I am also capable of keeping things straight in my head if I just jot down a few notes.
5) Don't take anyone else's advice too seriously - it's just *their* experience, and again, things may be totally different for you.

Good luck. :smallsmile:

[Semidi]

1. Read
2. Write
3. Avoid adverbs
4. Show don't tell.

OK, I'm going to recommend that you read Politics in the English Language by George Orwell (http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm), On Writing by Stephen King (check it out at a library), and Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White (Library). All of these are made out of pure gold when it comes to writing.

Concisely, this is what Orwell says,
"Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Never use the passive where you can use the active.
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous."

Note, he says more in his essay.