General Chat

just thought this morning, i now have to write that book i started, but do i start at the end or start at the begining , trouble is with my brain it tends to come out jumbled, then i have to go back to sumut ive left out ive always wanted to write one, and now have perfect material,

Apparently the best way to write a book is just to write the bit you're thinking about. Never start at the start. You can't be that structured. Once you've written one or two scenes you can start on working them together.

thanks darth i been thinking that , but when you read books they all seem so well written,

Julie - Most people take ages to write a book. If they write a lot they probably have bits and pieces they wrote ages ago because they felt like it and they re-use that and work from there. So don't worry. I've been trying to write a book too. I have an idea but I'm finding it difficult to start with anything.

mines a true story, when i talk in work you know the girls get in conversation and its like ,'aw that awful', or 'bless him' then when you end up saying the background facts they stand there gobsmacked, the next words they say is oh my god, i just think if it was in a book it would be a kind of therapy for the person its written about, and change names of course,

Mine is based on researching your family tree so I'll be using some of my ancestors (names changed of course) as my 'ancestor' characters.

that would be good

I've just got a complete mess of ideas and I wish I could write something. My other problem is dialogue. I'm awful at that!

Although my own fiction book doesn't exist, I know that every author is different. Some like to have each chapter planned so that even if you start at chapter 15, everything else will fall into place as if you wrote it in order. The planning of this would take sometime, but it is said to be one of the most sensible approaches to writing. Others, if they don't have an exact idea of how the book will flow, just write, and then leave it. Then after say a week will come back and see how it sounds, and then try and create a suitable following chapter. This is a less analytical approach, but can work just as well. It really does depend on the story you're telling and the way you prefer to tell it.

thanks daniel, it could take me some time im so slow at reading, and now im older my armies ache when i write, though i write fast

I write quite a lot. My technique is to get it all down, as I think of it, then sort it into order - something that caused me quite a headache in the days before p.cs and 'cut and paste'. I also find it easier to print out all the pages then annotate and correct in red ink before correcting on screen. Len

id have to do it on paper len cos it i did it on pc you can bet your bottom dollar someone here would wipe it, and as for back up disc they d use that or lose it, lol ill just have loads of paper

I would love to write a book, but lack confidence! Was thinking of doing a 'creative writing' evening class but worry that I might not have any ideas and will 'dry up' or that everyone else will be SO good, lol!

im not good at learning class room style, i get distracted, start wandering if theres a smudge on wall or cobweb on window, or even a shadow somewhere, im best teachin meself

Snap Sheila! lol

Jeanette - perhaps we should start our own class - 'Writing for the Terrified'!

sheila id join lol

That's 3 already then! Now if there's 3 here in a matter of minutes, there must be loads more out there!

I'd join!

I can never decide what I should write about! I don't think I have enough knowledge to write the type of books I would normally read. So I think I would write something along the lines of my own life..........but obviously spiced up so the readers don't fall asleep before the end of the first chapter! lol