So what goes into writting a book, can anyone do it, ive been wanting to do many things for a while but i think sense i was a kid i wanted to write a book or even a short story or something that i can publish. the thing is i have major dylexia, i tend to not plan things and instead write on the spot, also i have partiall ideas. i dont want to write fanfic but instead i want to do something more orginal. i was told i was a creative writter as a kid but im not sure about now.
im not even sure if writting a book is worth it or not i raley even read but yet i feel like something is missing in life. is there by chance a good youtube video that explains all of this?
Anyone can write a book! It may or may not be good, and even if it is good it nay not become popular. A good editor will help correct any mistakes caused by your dyslexia. Writing without a plan can be very hit or miss. I believe Stephen King writes by the seat of his pants for most of his stories. He’s an incredible author and has become wildly successful, but he is known for his poor endings because of his lack of planning.
Writing a book takes years when it isn’t already your job. My dad has been casually writing a book for 7 years. It will go faster the more serious you are, of course.
speling and capitalizion are important.
Yes, anyone can write a book! If you have an idea, write it!
If your only goal is to finish a book, check out https://nanowrimo.org/ for inspiration and support just for to force yourself to write and keep writing!
If you want to publish it, self-publishing is surprisingly cheap, if you’re happy if you only sell a few hundred copies, many just to friends and family.
If you want to publish a real novel that appears in bookstores and gets featured and advertised, you need to submit it to publishers…and be prepared for LOTS of rejection. Some of the BEST novelists I know write 10 books for every 1 they get published. Now imagine the worst writers!
@minorninth I’m seconding NaNoWriMo. It helped me write two novels, and I got my whole family into it as well. Plus there’s a very robust community around it that is full of help and support.
Also, the best book on writing I ever read was oddly enough by Stephen King (it’s called On Writing). It’s not long, it’s a very easy read and I swear I learned more from that book than I did in college.
There’s a lot of good answers already here, so I will post a few unique things.
I’m writing a novel (a damn good one too). The first thing you want to know is that you need years of experience if the novel’s going to be any good. That does not mean you need years of reading and writing experience specifically— you can replace it with other kinds of experience. For one, you’ll need some maturity— some understanding of people, some understanding of the world, stuff like that. And then you’re going to want to read at least a little about writing, even if it’s just TVTropes.
This may not work for you specifically, but it would also help a lot if you— like me— are a huge lover of any of the fictional arts. I don’t really read novels anymore, but I am obsessed with the multimedia fiction arts— things like movies, comics, and video games. I read a ton of articles about writing, I watch a ton of multimedia critics and essayists, and I read things like Mythcreants and TVTropes. Unlike most people I know, I hugely value the writing and storytelling in video games, and can get really angry at games that have a ton of writing/dialogue but it’s all crap (looking at you, Pokémon and Golden Sun).
I would also like to say that pure “pantsing” is a pretty bad idea, even for pantsers. “Pantsing” means that you just sit down and start writing. Don’t do that. At least start planning and writing down things you really want to see happen in your novel, locations, characters, whatever. At best, outline as much as possible before you even start. With that said, having a roadmap is good, but not critical; personally, I think preparing your novel to include scenes you are super excited about is much more important.
Which leads to a very important point: if you don’t like writing something, stop writing it. Focus on things you love. If that scene or genre is boring you or is soul-crushing, stop writing it and write a scene you’re excited about. If you’re excited about something, your readers will be too. They’ll feel your energy and love.
Next point. In this day and age, don’t write anything too standard or predictable. There are a million and a half generic D&D-feeling fantasy books that don’t get published, and they will bore any agent (and reader). Bring something new and exciting to the premise, and make sure people know about it from the first few paragraphs. Intrigue people.
Final point for now: Focus on writing well. Don’t focus on what’s selling, don’t focus on a market, don’t try to chase bandwagons. Do not care if you will get published or not. For one, trade publishers are usually awful, don’t offer anything of value except a professional editor, and are basically crappy venture-capitalist middlemen. Just focus on writing something you love and which is genuinely good, for now. By the time you’re done, the trade publishing landscape will probably have changed anyway.
Anyone can! I’ve written a book and self published, August will be 10 years. Couple of things
- Write it for yourself, it’s a big accomplishment.
- I recommend planning it all out. Stephen King is Stephen King for a reason, not everyone can do it. But you don’t have to plan EVERYTHING. You have A and you need to get to D, let B and C be your creativity, it might even change what D originally looked like.
- Write background stories for all your characters. Write EVERYTHING about them. Their favorite show growing up, the foods they hate, their phobias. This helps them be more real and helps with story planning. You’ll know whether or not your character will do something based on who they are.
I say, go for it!
