by AK - Jeff 18 Replies latest jw experiences
I have felt a drive inside, for a while now, to write. To write something. Yet I have no idea where to start. I have read some of the 'experts' sites out there that explain how to get going, yet I lack confidence in knowing who or which of them would actually help a novice progress down the slope.
Any suggestions would be appreciated if you have already traveled this road.
Peace
Jeff
You and I are such kindred spirits. I feel the same way. I ain't doing what I should do, but some experts say to write everyday. Write, write, write. Something will stick that you think is worth finishing as a publishable product.
Write about your day, life, thoughts. Write a story about an ordinary experience- shopping, going to the dentist, whatever. Write, write, write.
Write in the same style as you enjoy reading. If you never read romance, then don't write romance (unless it is something you just gotta do).
If you ever learn how to get going, share it with me. I know one way to get motivated is to start calling yourself an "author."
"Jeff, what do you do for a living?"
"For money, I do..., but I am also an author."
"What have you written?"
"I am working on a few projects, but have not been published yet."
If you say it until you believe it, you will do it. I do some of that and I do write, but I need to write more (besides JWN, but that counts too).
What kind of writing are you interested in? Fiction, commentary, fantasy, books, short stories, newspaper, ? etc. Start there. I am a freelance business writer - business plans, manuals, grant proposals, press releases, etc. But if you are interested in fiction, that is a whole other ball game. I do agree with OTWO - write.
Hey, Jeff:
Ditto OTWO - write EVERY DAY what you know.
I am treading the same path and have become skeptical about some of the let's-help-you-get-started sites; they want $s up front. What I do is post my stories to several forums, send in local interest stories to our papers (one published so far), have several dozen e-mail recipients of my stories, and hand deliver and/or mail my stories to those not on my e-mail list. If you Google freelance writing, the webpage owner will list the steps you must take to have your work looked at by publishers.
I am a disorganized free spirit who's trying to learn the way of the publishing world.
Since I learned how to make an entire book by hand at the Big House, I just may do the whole shebang myself.
Let's stay in touch ... yes?!?!?
CoCo
I do lots of writing and here is how I do it.
First, I do what I call the brain dump. I just get all my ideas on paper as quickly as possible. At this point I am not trying to fill in the ideas with context, just get out the ideas.
Here is an illustration to help you understand what I mean. Imagine you are gonig to call your friend on the phone. Before you make the call you have in mind the ideas you want to discuss during the call. But, you do not write out a word for word script of everything you will say. You fill in the details and the context for the idea while you are talking.
So, the brain dump is just to get the ideas on paper. Format doesn't matter, you can use bullet points, numbered list, roman numeral outline, whatever.
Second, I do what I call the ten percenter. Now, I take the ideas and put them into some kind of order. I give the thing I am writing a title. I give it a table of contents to the degree that I can, the table of contents at this point will be incomplete but I don't care. Then I arrange the ideas into sections, what might be chapters in a book or section headings in a white paper. Now for each idea I write one paragraph. Then I add an executive summary and a conculsion and a bibliography and an index. I create a glossary of terms at this point.
When the ten percenter is done now you have your book / paper / article. You are just missing the context and the details.
So take each idea and fill in the details. Make sure that you have a paragraph that puts each idea into context of the whole and that ties each idea to the previous and next idea.
I find that this approach helps me take something that I view is overwhelming and break it into manageable pieces. It gives me a place to hang everything, then I just have to expand on the the details.
Wow. Thanx for all the great ideas. Yes, write, write, write is the idea. I agree.
Now let's say that I have written a nice 1500 word article, part of a proposed series of articles for a newpaper. Now what? Just saying... cause I haven't done that much yet. At least not in any finished format.
I think that newsprint is where I want to go, though perhaps trade or technical writing might be interesting to me - it would educate me along the way in subjects probably new to me.
Jeff
Accountant by day, novelist by night.
Anybody that asks for money to help you is a scam artist. There are any number of books/sites etc that will help with presentation, format etc when you are ready to submit something. I'm in the process of getting another submission ready as we speak.
My usual goal is 500 words a day, right now I'm trying to complete a novel for my Dad for Christmas, so I'm pumping out 1000-1500. Write what you know. The novel I'm trying to market is about an apocolyptic cult, most of my stuff is history related.
If you're writing is history related (or alternate history), or if that is what you want to write, PM me, I can telll you a website you should take a look at.
PS, take everything I just said with whatever amount of salt suits your taste, I have yet to make a nickel at it.
Jeff:
The papers go by column inches, if I recall the term correctly. My 800 word story had to be pared down to 400 words - pronto!
Within 30 minutes the back-and-forth e-mail correspondence between editor and writer covered his "it's too long," my excising of 400 words, my re-sending the abridged version, his publishing it.
One must get past (I speak for myself re: my own insecurities) the nobody's-gonna-wanna-read-my-tripe mentality and free-write from the heart. You will develop a readership, but you must love it, do it, talk it ...
On my daily walks I've met actors, artists, military men, published authors, poets, ad infinitum ... all this social interaction provides mutual encouragement, input of new "angles," and the declaration to all who listen "I am a writer ... you must read me!"
Start by believing in yourself.
CoCo, Reformed Former Quitter
I love your perspective CoCo. I always have.
Jeff
Ak - Jeff, you can self publish first. Set up an account on one of those "make your own blog" sites.
