# How to start the writing part?



## Dreeparn (Jan 27, 2013)

I'm kind of new to the whole writing part. I've always wanted to write a book and in the last year and a halv I've put together a world, a story and charachters i really like. My problem is to start writing the story because every time I begin to try to put my ideas and my mental images down on paper i'm always dissatisfied because it's so hard to convey the images i have in my head. 

I know what i want to write but I have a really hard time getting it down on paper. I haven't really written that type of text before, only the type of texts you do at school. Is there anyone out there who could give me some solid advice on how to start.

PS. In everything I do i'm kind of a perfectionist, I am pretty bad at realising that something is good enough DS.


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## Butterfly (Jan 27, 2013)

Create a chapter outline so you know where you want it to go, how and where it starts, and how it finishes. Can be broken down further into scene outlines.

Use lists and bullet points of what you want to convey in a given scene. Descriptions, senses, dialogue, exposition, characters. Everything you can think of.

Then structure in a logical order that might work.

Build around the plan and lists.

Allow the first draft to come out of you. It doesn't have to be perfect in every way. You can perfect it later. But you need draft one before anything else.


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## Dreeparn (Jan 27, 2013)

Butterfly said:


> Create a chapter outline so you know where you want it to go, how and where it starts, and how it finishes. Can be broken down further into scene outlines.
> 
> Use lists and bullet points of what you want to convey in a given scene. Descriptions, senses, dialogue, exposition, characters. Everything you can think of.
> 
> ...



It's just the part of letting it come out of me that's the problem, * don't have much problem beginning to write but as soon as I've written an sentence or maybe two I always end up going back to correct them because they aren't exactly as I want them to be. Which means that i never get anything finished. I guess i will have to resist my urge and try to finish a chapter before editing. 

I like the part with chapter outlines, it feels like a good way to start so that you know where to break of.


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## Philip Overby (Jan 27, 2013)

Butterfly makes a good suggestion.  Making lists or structuring your writing before you do it will prevent the whole writing and deleting thing a bit more.  Some other suggestions that may help you:

1.  Write for a certain time frame.  During that time frame you have to only write forward, no writing backward.  A program like "Write or Die" (free) can help not only time you, but actually buzzes you if you don't write.  

2.  Pre-write.  As Butterfly said, writing an outline helps a lot.  Something that helps me is to pre-write what I'm actually going to write about each session.  Such as "a. Boy wakes up in village  b.  Dragon attacks village  c.  Boy saves his sister  d.  Dragon torches village  e.  Brother and sister flee into a dangerous wilderness etc  etc."  By doing this for each writing session, it gives you a direction.  If you just sit down and start writing, you may get the urge to edit yourself a lot because you don't know what you're actually writing about.

3.  Start small.  If you've never written a novel before, it might be a good idea to start writing short stories or even flash fiction first.  That way you get used to finishing something.  A novel is a lot of work to start out with.  We have a Challenges section here which is great for practicing writing if you'd like to try some.

4.  Realize that what you write at first is probably not going to be good.  There are some people that believe you have to make as perfect a first draft as you can, to avoid all the editing and revision later.  These people are either geniuses or have been writing a long time to train themselves to do this.  Everyone else has to edit and revise.  If you accept that whatever you write is not perfect and that you will come back to fix it later, the words will flow out of you easier because you don't have that pressure to make your first draft flawless.  

Hope any of these help!


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## Dreeparn (Jan 27, 2013)

Phil the Drill said:


> Butterfly makes a good suggestion.  Making lists or structuring your writing before you do it will prevent the whole writing and deleting thing a bit more.  Some other suggestions that may help you:
> 
> 1.  Write for a certain time frame.  During that time frame you have to only write forward, no writing backward.  A program like "Write or Die" (free) can help not only time you, but actually buzzes you if you don't write.
> 
> ...



Thanks, really helpful tips from the both of you! I know that i entire novel will be extremely much work, even more because the story i'm planning will be spaning three books. I have most of the story of those books outlined already so i really want to start writing them. But the world they take place in is also a good place for shortstories and i might begin with a few of those before i start at the first novel.

Will try the program so that i don't always go back and edit immidiately!


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## advait98 (Jan 27, 2013)

I was young and foolhardy. I wrote one half of my story not knowing where it would lead, but then a friend advised me to keep going, and I gotta telll you it worked. He said don't mind the mistakes you make in the first draft. Just jot them down on a separate paper and plough on with the story. Now although the part between the immediate middle and climax is still obscure, I have gained a lot of insight into the plot, though I really don't suggest this method. Compared with the comments above, I feel really smalll.


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## BWFoster78 (Jan 27, 2013)

Dreeparn,

I understand exactly where you are.  I think that I had very similar problems when I started.

I searched hard for advice telling me that magic combination of words and techniques that would convert my thoughts into something that others will want to read.

The first thing that I learned was that there is no special words or techniques; you just have to start writing your story in a clear, sequential order.  Start with: Protagonist did this (best to use active verbs if you can).  Next, show what the protagonist did next.  

Don't worry at all about whether it meets your vision, just get it down on paper.  This is a learning process, and you've got to do it badly before you can do it well.

Study craft and techniques.  I did a list on this forum of ways to make you writing more engaging.  That's as good a place to start as any.  Research each of the tips.

Go back to your original draft and edit based on what you learned.

Seek feedback.  Get people on this forum to tell you specifically what you're screwing up.

Keep learning.  Eventually, you'll get to the point where you won't gag when you read what you've written.  It's a nice feeling.


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## Dreeparn (Jan 27, 2013)

advait98 said:


> I was young and foolhardy. I wrote one half of my story not knowing where it would lead, but then a friend advised me to keep going, and I gotta telll you it worked. He said don't mind the mistakes you make in the first draft. Just jot them down on a separate paper and plough on with the story. Now although the part between the immediate middle and climax is still obscure, I have gained a lot of insight into the plot, though I really don't suggest this method. Compared with the comments above, I feel really smalll.



I already know where it will lead and most of the things the main characters will be doing, as well as some subplots etc. The problem isn't that i don't know what I want to write is the part about getting it down on paper that is frustrating. But i will try sometime to write a story without knowing the end to. 



BWFoster78 said:


> Dreeparn,
> 
> I understand exactly where you are.  I think that I had very similar problems when I started.
> 
> ...



Thanks, it's nice to know that somebody else has had the same problem and overcome it. I guess it's learning by doing that is the only way to learn how to write well. Will try to get a text together and post it in the forum to get some good advice!


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## BWFoster78 (Jan 27, 2013)

Dreeparn said:


> Thanks, it's nice to know that somebody else has had the same problem and overcome it. I guess it's learning by doing that is the only way to learn how to write well. Will try to get a text together and post it in the forum to get some good advice!



Sounds like a good idea.

I wasted a lot of time searching for that magic formula.  There are a lot of things that help, and getting the basics down (Showing instead of Telling, Being clear and active, etc., Infusing your story with tension and emotion) all help, you can only go so far with reading about writing.


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## wordwalker (Jan 27, 2013)

Dreeparn said:


> I have most of the story of those books outlined already so i really want to start writing them. But the world they take place in is also a good place for shortstories and i might begin with a few of those before i start at the first novel.



Good to hear.

Short stories are definitely the way to start, to build up your sense of what pieces fit together to make a story and how to write to fill them. Half of navigating in a novel is "dead reckoning": even if you've charted where you want to go, you're still traveling by faith that this path still is the way to get there. --At least, in comparison to shorts you could write in one busy day, then revamp or explore a whole other concept the next day.

Plus, it's way more fun to show your friends a finished tale now and then (and you'll need at least one or two of the right friends, people you like that also understand a bit about stories), for feedback and sheer accomplishment, before you take on the Big One.


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## Xaysai (Jan 27, 2013)

I'm the same way you are, but I'm getting better.

I used to sit down with an entire story in my head and bang out the first sentence. I would finish the sentence, then read it and think: "Wait, that's not exactly how I want it."

Then I would fidget with the words and NEXT THING YOU KNOW...25 minutes have passed and I have one so-so sentence and nothing else.

Things that have helped me:

1) Realizing that nobody is going to see my work until I are ready to show them. So what if the words aren't in the right order? Just get them down on the paper and don't give a crap about it. I've started to write everything I can think of regardless of how it makes sense. I just keyboard vomit all over the place. I've got plenty of time to refine it.

2) Post items in the Showcase and participate in giving feedback. Honestly, it's was very difficult to identify a lot of the flaws in my work (even when they were pointed out). I don't mean I disagreed with the feedback, I just couldn't see where I was switching tenses or using passive voice. The Showcase really helped me find my voice, which made it easier for the aforementioned keyboard vomit to come out more cleanly and smoothly, and also helped during revision.

Once I started noticing things that other people had to work on in their writing, it started to make it easier for me to notice the things I have to work on.

3) Writing things that aren't your "main project". I've been trying to write Short Stories in between working on my "book". I try to pick different genres (horror, fantasy, Sci-fi) and use different styles. I've learned things along the way that I can bring back to my novel I'm never to get written or published.


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## Cursive (Jan 27, 2013)

In my experience writing the start is hard because depending on the story my style needs to be adjusted. When I wrote my last iron pen entry I banged out 5,000 words in one sitting because I had a idea of what I wanted and the style was very straight forward and the diction wasn't hard, very colloquial.  But another story I'm writing has a professor as the MC and intakes some time to put intelligent thoughts into his character and build thought provoking plot around him. Another story takes place in mythological/prehistoric times and I want the narrator to sound date, so it takes time to adjust the syntax so that the sentences read with a certain voice. 

It sounds like the OP, you,  is/are at the stage where they/you are Developing that voice. My advice is not to edit or even worry about it. Just write and write put three "first sentences" into your paragraphs and describe the same thing as many times as you think you can and the. Go back and pick what you, change what you don't and rearrange it all so it flows like the one string of thoughts you have in your head. 

All the best!

P.s. Another thing that helped me was writing your self a prompt for a chapter.  Years of public schooling has trained me to respond to writing prompts exclusively. Put the bullets of your outline in prompt form and jump from there!


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## Butterfly (Jan 27, 2013)

Xaysai said:


> Once I started noticing things that other people had to work on in their writing, it started to make it easier for me to notice the things I have to work on.



This is one advantage of doing critiques for others. You learn to improve your own work by offering help to others improve theirs.


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## Roc (Jan 27, 2013)

Phil the Drill said:


> 3.  Start small.  If you've never written a novel before, it might be a good idea to start writing short stories or even flash fiction first.  That way you get used to finishing something.  A novel is a lot of work to start out with.  We have a Challenges section here which is great for practicing writing if you'd like to.



I've always detested this advice. It disappoints me how often it comes up.

If you want to be a novel writer, practice honing your craft by writing novels.

If you want to write short stories then practice with them.

The fundamentals of both are very different from each other. Unless he's saying that writing a novel is too intense to start out, then yes, write short stories to reduce risk of injury.


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## Alex Beecroft (Jan 27, 2013)

Dreeparn said:


> I'm kind of new to the whole writing part. I've always wanted to write a book and in the last year and a halv I've put together a world, a story and charachters i really like. My problem is to start writing the story because every time I begin to try to put my ideas and my mental images down on paper i'm always dissatisfied because it's so hard to convey the images i have in my head.
> 
> I know what i want to write but I have a really hard time getting it down on paper. I haven't really written that type of text before, only the type of texts you do at school. Is there anyone out there who could give me some solid advice on how to start.
> 
> PS. In everything I do i'm kind of a perfectionist, I am pretty bad at realising that something is good enough DS.



If you know what you want to write, then the next step is just to write it. Don't worry, on the first draft, about making the text pretty. The first draft is where you just sit down and tell the story. You can fill the plot holes, tweak the characters and smooth the style during the subsequent drafts, but draft one is just for telling what happens in whatever way you can.


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## Xaysai (Jan 27, 2013)

Roc said:


> I've always detested this advice. It disappoints me how often it comes up.
> 
> If you want to be a novel writer, practice honing your craft by writing novels.
> 
> ...



But you don't learn how to run by just going out and participating in a marathon, or how to be a carpenter by just going out and building a house.

I can't even write a short story which has all of the proper elements a story needs, but somehow I am going to sink thousands of hours into writing a novel that is somehow going to be successful because it requires a different set of skills?

I'm not saying that you can't just go out and write a novel and have it be good, but I also can't imagine "detesting" advice for people to start small to learn their craft.


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## Anders Ã„mting (Jan 27, 2013)

I usually start at the beginning. You don't have to, of course, but I find that the chronological approach feel the most natural.



Dreeparn said:


> My problem is to start writing the story because every time I begin to try to put my ideas and my mental images down on paper i'm always dissatisfied because it's so hard to convey the images i have in my head.
> 
> I know what i want to write but I have a really hard time getting it down on paper. I haven't really written that type of text before, only the type of texts you do at school. Is there anyone out there who could give me some solid advice on how to start.



Look, there is no magical way to write that makes your story come out the way you want it to. It's a craft and an artform. It takes practice.

It's like drawing, or sculpting, or brain surgery or swordfighting or any other aquired skill. You're most likely going to be pretty bad at it when you start out, and the only way you are going to get better is to keep doing it until you get the hang of it.



> PS. In everything I do i'm kind of a perfectionist, I am pretty bad at realising that something is good enough DS.



Let me be perfectly frank: You want to learn to _not _be that way, if at all possible. I have never seen it benefit any aspiring writer, period.


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## Roc (Jan 27, 2013)

Xaysai said:


> But you don't learn how to run by just going out and participating in a marathon, or how to be a carpenter by just going out and building a house.
> 
> I can't even write a short story which has all of the proper elements a story needs, but somehow I am going to sink thousands of hours into writing a novel that is somehow going to be successful because it requires a different set of skills?
> 
> I'm not saying that you can't just go out and write a novel and have it be good, but I also can't imagine "detesting" advice for people to start small to learn their craft.



Don't you just love personal opinions.


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## Xaysai (Jan 27, 2013)

Roc said:


> Don't you just love personal opinions.



I very much do love personal opinions, and I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for sharing yours!


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## Anders Ã„mting (Jan 27, 2013)

Xaysai said:


> But you don't learn how to run by just going out and participating in a marathon, *or how to be a carpenter by just going out and building a house.*



On the other hand, you can't earn a degree in architecture just by building a lot of chairs.

And if you want to learn how to fight with a longsword, you don't start out with knives.


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## Rho (Jan 27, 2013)

Hehe, this is the bit where Roc says 'Touche'


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## Roc (Jan 27, 2013)

Rho said:


> Hehe, this is the bit where Roc says 'Touche'



Actually Nancy Hansen sums it up pretty well for me.

Stop Writing That Epic! Why New Writers Should Start Small


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## Xaysai (Jan 27, 2013)

Deleting to not further the argument.

The point I would like to make is that there are many ways to learn, and many different ways people find success.

"Detesting" advice which some might find useful seems shortsighted.


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## Roc (Jan 27, 2013)

Xaysai said:


> Actually, Nancy Hansen is summing it up pretty well for me.
> 
> Remember that time I said:
> 
> ...



Was actually a mistake on my part, meant the ElspethCooper or whatever near the bottom. I read that a long time ago and that's why I remember it. Never knew about the argument before that.


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## Dreeparn (Jan 28, 2013)

Thanks everybody for all the wonderful advice. I will try to tone back my expectations on my work and let the words flow for a while before editing. I think I will try to switch between the main book and writing short stories in the world to practice both forms of storywriting. I will also try to get some sort of short story published here in not too long of a time. 

I wish I could comment on all your replys because I've really read them and I will listen to them but to comment on each and every reply would only serve to clutter up the forum, so i thank you here and hope that i might be of some assistans to you in the future!


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## advait98 (Jan 29, 2013)

Dreeparn said:


> I already know where it will lead and most of the things the main characters will be doing, as well as some subplots etc. The problem isn't that i don't know what I want to write is the part about getting it down on paper that is frustrating. But i will try sometime to write a story without knowing the end to.



No what I'm saying is that is I could do that, then you can surely do the reverse, although I suppose that this largely misleading comment might be rendered redundant by the others.


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