Want to write a Novel

[lavender1]

Anyone want to, have done for years but can't get started.

Hi fisil

I've sorted my name now

Yes, I think we would be more likely to get on with it if we had people asking whether we were on track.

So, what would you like to write, fisil?

education, I think. I'm involved in writing a book for heads of department, but I'd like to do something myself too.

oh, got to go now. see you later

Popsycal - well, actually some books are recommmended by super-agents such as Johnny Geller. If you really can do better then I strongly advise you to write one...it will make you money. And they have been used by people I know who have found them useful in developing structure etc. And these are people with extremely lucrative book deals. Sally Beauman is a very, very rich woman courtesy of her novels. Obviously if you intend to be the new Nabokov you won't find them as useful as they would if, for example, you hoped to be the new Jane Green (who has had two babies in quick succession and is still writing!)
Most novelists - at least the ones I know - don't wait for inspiration to strike or sit about thinking in quiet rooms - they just write like maniacs! It's worth knowing that, I think. It's that old '10% inspiration, 90% perspiration' thing again.
will fix nickname today!

i've always wanted to write too and used to write alot of poetry. I started a writing course but didn't stick to it! Maybe nows a good time to start again

aloha - i didnt mean to be cheeky
in my experience however, i havent found one that I have found partvcularly useful
that doesnt mean that there are not any good ones out there
if yu can recommend one then i would ppreciate it...
was a flippant comment but should not generalise...
point taken!

and i need to learn to type!!

aloha - which writing books would your friends recommend?

I tried writing a Mills and Boon years ago as a competition entry. I believed them to be formulaic, (Janice Radway, Reading the Romance) but I strayed away from the formula and brought in an alcoholic adulteress so never won the prize - well that's my excuse anyway.

A friend of my mum\s has written 15 of them but feels unsatisfied as a 'serious' author. They are massive money spinners though.

One of my favourite writing books is "Bird by Bird" by Annie Lamott. I've heard "On Writing" (? think that's the title) by Stephen King is excellent too but haven't got around to getting it yet. Both are pretty well known writers in their own right

Sorry to be snippy with you Popsycal. I'm sure a lot of 'how to write' stuff is absolute rubbish. I've never written a novel and don't plan to (though I do write for a living) but I know several novelists who do pretty well at it. If you are interested in writing genre fiction rather than literary fiction a good book which has helped one successful novelist with her first book is Bestseller: Secrets of Successful Writing by Celia Brayfield. I think Stephen King's book How To Write sounds interesting and insightful about the process, and Norman Mailer's The Spooky Art, sounds fascinating, though I have only read excerpts. One interesting thing from King's book is that he thinks plot is pretty unimportant. He says it is the situation that counts and starts his own novels from a 'what if?" perspective. Ie what if a band of vampires took over a New England village?
Norman Mailer advises that you write about what interests you - and not what you think will interest others. A good idea, I think. Most first time novelists tend to use an element of autobiography.
Whatever you want to write, you should read and read and read. In particularly, you should read the kind of thing you want to write, ie if you want to write poetry, read as much good poetry as you can get your hands on. If you want to write a novel like Jane Green, read all her books! But bear in mind, even most 'chicklit' authors have usually read and studied very widely - from Chaucer via Jane Austen to the present. But all give the same basic advice: If you want to write, you have to get down and physically write. Having said that, you don't always have to write a whole novel before being taken on by a publisher . The real key to success is being taken on by a literary agent. They look at first chapters and a synopsis to guage the potential of new writers, and if they think you are any good, they will approach publishers on your behalf. As publishers are deluged with manuscripts, most of which are barely glanced at, this can and usually does make all the difference.

i might hunt out some of the books that you suggest, aloha
thanks

Wow - I just can't ignore this thread. I'm SO pleased to know that there's other people out there who have the dream of writing - but don't!

I'm constantly saying I will sit down and write but the days seem to go so fast and before I know it a few months have passed and my all good intentions are still uselessly simmering away. I've got lots of unfinished ideas for articles, tons of silly poems I don't know what to do with, a writing course I've only finished a quarter of, zillions of writing websites bookmarked as favourites but rarely visited, a bookshelf bulging with books on 'How to Write', Writers' yearbooks with addresses of publishers etc, and regular thoughts about buying a writing desk so I can have my own corner and sit down and write (yeah, as if that will make any difference). I could spend hours reading books on how to write, yet can't seem to find the time to actually write. I think I'm quite good, but I just don't have the self-discipline of 'consistency' and perhaps that's all that makes the difference between dreaming of being a writer and actually BEING a writer.

I'd love to earn money from writing and stay at home to look after my ds, now 5 months. I know it's possible. Writing courses can help but I think most people are hard-pressed to complete them. I've written 3 articles since doing the course, one of which I'm told is of a publishing standard for Cosmo or something similar so I'm planning on emailing it to someone at Cosmo or Red this week, and I also won prize letter for Real magazine and was sent a luggase set worth £80!! This was only the 3rd item I'd ever sent to a magazine so it definitely paid off. But I've never sent anything since. Daft I know. Anyway, just to let you know that it's certainly quite feasible to earn money from fillers, letters, short articles etc - so you don't have to write a whole novel unless you're particularly keen!!

Well done, celandine, that is really encouraging to me and I hope to others too. I have just finished printing a poem I wrote today and it certainly feels very satisfying when I see the finished work, I always ask myself why I don't spend more time on it.

How is everyone else doing?