Is this for me?

[Aosto]

It's been an ambition of mine for some time to write a novel. I'm not out to do it for fame or fortune and i've accepted the fact that I'm not going to write the next big thing. What I do have a problem coming to terms with, is it in me to write a novel? I know what I want to write, but I don't know how to express it. I stare at a blank canvas, an elaborate scene played out in my minds eye of a grand landscape teeming with life. I play this out, I bring brush to canvas and only manage a cloud. It's inchoate, the details vague and it's something I can't shake.

[FireBird]

If you are sure you know what you want to write and really do not know how to begin you can outline to put everything into perspective. That's something I tend to do. I like to see the whole picture. You only have to start with 10 words, or even one, just as long as you start. You do not have to start at the very beginning of the story. Pick your favorite scene in your mind, or any scene really and just write. See where it takes you.

[Chilari]

If you've got a story in you but struggle with the writing of it, perhaps you could consider your medium. Maybe try writing it as a screenplay, a stageplay, a comic book or a radio play, and see if that makes it easier.

[BWFoster78]

Hmmm. The problem may be that you're trying to be too artistic. I had that problem when I first started, thinking that each word had to be perfectly chosen.

Try to just describe what happens in sequence. Be detailed about the interesting parts that involve some form of tension. Show us what the character is thinking and feeling.
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On the other hand, writing is not easy. I recently finished the rough draft of my first novel, and, as hard as that was, the rewrite is even tougher.

[Aosto]

Thank you all for the advise. I think BWFoster78 hit the nail on the head, I want each word to flow into the next. When the reader partakes on the adventure I have written, I want it to flow easily. I'll will try to just write, get the story out that I want to get out and revise it later.

[JonSnow]

Aosto, to become a writer you need to do two things: read and write. Its that simple. Think of an author who's style you like, and read read read. It isn't copying. It is learning about the genre and methods. Even if you just start out vomiting words onto paper, and it sounds like complete garbage, you have to do it. Let the "flow" work itself out as your style develops (because it will), and as you edit your work. VERY RARELY does a page flow perfectly on the first try, even for experienced writers.

[Butterfly]

When I get stuck, I use bullet points, lists of sentences, phrases I like, words I want to use describe things, diagrams of stick men (because diagrams of stick men is just about the only type of art I can manage to draw). I carry on with the story, and leave the list to cook for a few days, then I come back to it and as if by magic, everything builds around them.

Take it a scene at a time. An event at a time. They are all really just pieces of a puzzle and you need to find the right place to put those ideas in, but you won't unless you start writing them down. Think of the builders, they can't build a house in a day, but brick by brick over a number of weeks and it slowly takes shape.

Remember that whatever you do write isn't carved in stone, you can always change it right up until the day it goes to print. What is important is to just write.

But, from what you have said it seems that the only person who is holding you back, is you. So put aside your fears and your worries and get to work, get learning your craft. You won't if you just sit there not putting pen to paper.

[danr62]

First drafts always suck. Remember it. Live it. Breathe it. Let it seep into the core of your being. This is your mantra:

"I will write a first draft, and it will suck."

Repeat it to yourself. And write thand darned first draft, even if every fiber of your being is screaming: this is dreck, stop now.

Once you've done that, you can go back and agonize over character development, plot holes, word flow, and yes, grammar and spelling. Not until the first draft is complete.

[artisticrainey]

I want each word to flow into the next. When the reader partakes on the adventure I have written, I want it to flow easily.

Every word must have weight. Be vicious. Try not to force too much into each sentence, and make sure the words you use mean what you intend to say. --> this should be your attitude when you edit.

Write, write, write, write, write until the story is done. --> this must be your attitude when you write. Don't try to over-write in your first draft. Just let the story pour out of you and leave the florid imagery and metaphors until later. I think you'll find it easier that way. I know I did.

[Caged Maiden]

Outlining is a perfect way to get the ball rolling.

Sometimes, I work on an outline and it looks like this:

I. Introduction to city.
>>A. Character wakes in an alley, still hungover from the night before.
>>>> 1. She goes home to find her father angry.
>>>>>>a. "Why aren't you helping your mother with the chores?" "I stayed with a friend." "You know you're not supposed to stay out all night, with foreign mercenaries patrolling the streets. You could be killed, or worse!" She wonders what's worse than being killed, but gets on with helping her mother.

II. First contact with mercenary band.
>>A. Shyla is getting the washing from the laundress and accidentally kicks mud on a mercenary's shoe. He is just about to swing at her when a man from the village steps in, catching the mercenary's fist and beating the tar out of him.
>>>>1. "You need to be more careful young lady." "I can take care of myself." The stranger doesn't let up and Shyla soon ends up being dragged home to her parents where she is punished harshly for her defiance.


Okay so the scenarios are completely made up on the fly, here, but I hope it illustrates my point. That you can be as detailed as you need to be in an outline, and therefore don't have to fret about letting some great small detail slip by when doing a large-scale outline. If some awesome dialogue occurs to you, write it in, if the city's description is important, write it in the outline. If you know you want to make something happen, but don't know exactly how you want to pull it off, throw in a line like, "The old man who saved her tells her how the mercenaries came to occupy the town", or "They travel through a desert with too little water to make it comfortable."

Outlining is really important, and though I have written books with and without outlines, I have to admit, outlining streamlines the process without locking you down to a concept that you can't change.

Best wishes.