Any writers here?

[User00056]

I have a vague idea for a novel (might as well start off ambitious ), based on an idea that just happened to pop into my head. I was wondering if we had any authors on here, and if so, would any be kind enough to give me some pointers on how to perhaps structure a plan for it? I have a basic idea, and a couple of potential plot twists, but I was wondering if it were best to lay out a basic plan first, and perhaps work on characters before trying to write the actual story? It may come to nothing, but I was pretty good at creative writing at school, and would at least like to have a bash at it

 

[VSS]

I have a vague idea for a novel (might as well start off ambitious ), based on an idea that just happened to pop into my head. I was wondering if we had any authors on here, and if so, would any be kind enough to give me some pointers on how to perhaps structure a plan for it? I have a basic idea, and a couple of potential plot twists, but I was wondering if it were best to lay out a basic plan first, and perhaps work on characters before trying to write the actual story? It may come to nothing, but I was pretty good at creative writing at school, and would at least like to have a bash at it

Well I've never written a novel, but I managed a couple of books and many hundreds of magazine articles, so I can maybe give a few pointers if you're stuck?

 

[Klenchblaize]

Beginning
Middle
End

K

 

[Bavarianbrit]

My book idea is "I am Walther the one that shot Adolf and my adventures ever since then".

 

[Taff]

They say there is one good book in everyone.

 

[Mungo]

“Everyone has a book inside them, which is exactly where it should, I think, in most cases, remain.”

(Christopher Hitchens)

 

[Mungo]

On a more supportive note… I run a seminar series on scientific writing. While the style and objectives are different, a lot of the underlying issues cross over.

The single most overlooked part of all writing is practice. It’s like every other skill: to do it really well requires an enormous amount of time and effort. You can’t expect be good, or even mediocre, as soon as you start. You have to be prepared to write thousands of pages of garbage, throw those away, and start again.

Writing a book needs to be thought about in the same way you’d think about running your first ultra marathon or climbing your first Himalayan peak, having been a couch potato for 30 years. Set a deadline 2-3 years in the future, and then develop a training plan that starts with very small local runs, building up from there.

That’s if you actually want anyone to read and enjoy it. If you just want to write for yourself, then have at it. There are hundreds of web fora for sharing self published stories. They can be very useful for getting free feedback. They can also be a salutary lesson in what can happen without careful editing…