I'm kind of trying to write a novel?

[Anonymouse]

For the past year or so I've been kind of sort of trying to put together a novel. It's been a passive process, because there's a lot going on in my life with school and work and my engagement and trying to get a house, but I'll think about the plot and the characters while I'm in the car listening to music or while I lay in bed at night trying to fall asleep. I haven't actually written anything yet, at least not anything that I'm feeling truly committed to, but I have a Notepad file full of stream-of-consciousness notes that just keeps evolving.

I guess the purpose of this post is to see if anyone out there would let me blab to them about my idea and provide me with some feedback. Even a simple "Sounds like a decent idea for a book" or a "Wow, that's dumb, you should stop wasting your time right now" would do it for me. I haven't told anyone about this beyond telling my family and co-workers "Oh, I'm thinking about writing a zombie novel, but it'll probably never happen." It's not even really about zombies, but whatever. I feel like I don't know anyone who can objectively tell me if this idea is decent or crap, or provide constructive criticism, so I turn to my forum family for assistance.

Also, if you writers out there have any tips for how to get started, I would appreciate it. The one thing preventing me from getting started (aside from the fact that I'm not that great of a writer) is the sheer size of the project. I can hardly write a five page paper for school without hyperventilating. The idea of putting so much time and effort into such a large project and failing or flaking out halfway through makes me hesitant to try in the first place.

[Cocobalt]

I'd be willing to give feedback if I'm who you're looking for.

[Mercury]

I think that if you just start writing it for yourself rather than anything/one else then it might be easier to start, and because there's no deadline or grades riding on it, it should feel very different to the five page school papers. If you can find a headspace where writing is the way you relax and relieve yourself of all the thoughts and ideas that build up, then it'll be an enjoyable experience that won't 'fail'. And if it does, it'll be because you don't enjoy it anymore, and then that's fine.

Although you should feel free to ignore my cliché advice, as I've never managed to start an original fic, nor do any of my original story ideas fully form. I sit down and think 'okay, I'm going to do something original and interesti... Ooooh, pretty fandoms.', so you're already ahead of me

But I’d be happy to offer my help/feedback if you wanted it (even though I don't know much about zombies). Unless someone more qualified comes along, or there's someone you'd feel more comfortable explaining your ideas to, then that's fine and I wish you the best of luck

Edited April 12, 2014 by Mercury

[EmeraldThread]

I'd be glad to hear your ideas! I'm not sure how useful I'll be in terms of giving feedback (or how quickly I'd respond, since I'm not on the forum a whole lot), but if you want, I'm up for it. :3

In terms of how to start writing, Stephen King says the thing most writers need is butt glue. Most of the time, we sit down to start writing and then proceed to distract ourselves with the internet or making food or doing literally anything else. So I think if you determine that you're going to write and don't allow for any distractions, maybe set a time for yourself to just sit and write, it might help.

Maureen Johnson also has a video on youtube (with the vlogbrothers, it's called Dare to Suck) that I watch sometimes about writing where she just basically says it's okay if it's not good. You don't have to be a good writer to write, and if you do write, you'll become a good writer with practice. (I'm not saying you're a bad writer or anything, since I haven't read anything you've written before, but I think of this for myself sometimes.) It's okay if the first draft isn't what you want it to be. That's part of the process of writing a novel. And if you write it and decide that you just want to leave it, that's okay, too.

The most important thing is that you write. If you want to do it, do it, and try not to worry too much about how it comes out. Write freely. It is ALWAYS worth doing. And y'know, if you drop the project in the middle, that's okay, too. Maybe it turns out not to be the kind of novel for you, or if you lose interest in it, that's fine. Don't let it stop you from starting. It might end up that as you're writing, you get more and more inspired and you spend tons of time writing and you're finished before you know it. No matter what you do, the great thing about writing a novel or a story of any kind is that you can always go back and change it. Writing is something that carries very little risk while you're doing it, so I say if you want to write this novel, sit down and write it. Talk about it with people you feel comfortable telling, people who will encourage you to keep going as long as you still want to. Don't let writing skill or other people's level of interest stop you from writing it. If it's something you want to do, it is completely worth doing.

[Blah!?]

I'd love to help out if I can. I'm still at PAX East until tomorrow night, but if you'd like, you can PM me your thoughts and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Good luck!

[Merc_With_A_Mouth_69]

I'd love to help you out with getting your thoughts in order, and I could even Beta Read if you want!

[Heavy-Chevy]

I'm also writing a novel as well. I actually just finished writing the first draft (400 pages) back in November and now I'm in the editing phase. I'd be happy to help you with whatever advice I can offer. Feel free to contact me for any tips.

[Nola]

I also would be happy to offer any advise, read it, edit it whatever....I have started a novel of my own *blush*, so, I will do my best to tell you what helped me....

First of all, I'm a list-lover and I love to organize so I started there....I find it is a good idea to break down your story into several different areas, and compile lists and data and questions about each part, such as a list of characters with any and all personality, geographical, etc. information; the setting with all relevant data pertaining to that, and a general outline of the plot itself. I know this kind of sounds like, "duh, Nola, I know all that"....but, it really helped me put things into perspective since writing, for me at least, can feel so overwhelming at times...

Anyways, yeah, I hope that helped, and if you want anything else from this tangled mess of thoughts I call a mind, just ask! Best of luck to you!

[March Hare]

Blab on your blog? I'll read all of it. Writers talking about their writing is one of my favourite things.

[Bondi]

Well, I'm on the editing phase of one novel that I finished in 2010, though this is probably the final pass. I have two other rough drafts that I haven't done much with.

When writing, I'd say the best advice is for your first draft, go for something at least salvageable. If it ends up decent or even good, that's great, but the point of your rough draft is to at least have something to work with, and then the point of revisions and editing is to make it good.

The Writing Excuses podcast (which is a really good podcast, and the episodes are short too, 15 minutes long, though they often end up being 20 minutes or more) says there are two types of writers: Outline and discovery writer. What Nola says she does in a post above mine indicates she is an outline writer. A discovery writer is one who just sits down and writes with no plan and no idea how it will turn out. Stephen King is a big advocate of this method, though neither method is right or wrong, and you can find a happy medium like I do. I'm kind of more of what I would call a "chunk writer" when I'm doing novels, where I don't know know how this thing will end for sure, but I know at least vaguely what will happen up to a certain point, a vague chunk of the novel, if you will, and as I get further, the chunk hopefully gets better, until eventually I'll get closer to the end and have a good idea of how I want to end the thing. This method has worked fine for me for about 3 novels in any case. I'd say try different things and see what works for you.

And finally, the gluing your butt in chair method might be fine for some people; I've never been an advocate of it, and if I can't write at all, I just stop and do something else. Sometimes if I do a lot of reading then get back to writing later on, that helps a lot. But if the gluing your butt in a chair and forcing yourself to write a certain quota of words or pages a day is something that you need to do, then you should do what works best for you, as with anything else when it comes to writing.

[squealofapproval]

I'm actually a published author in several children's magazines. PM me if you want insight.