Writing a book
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You are currently reading a thread in /adv/ - Advice
You are currently reading a thread in /adv/ - Advice
I always wanted to write a book but I never quite managed to go through with it.
I´m a pretty good storyteller and eloquent in my mother tongue.
The problem I have is that I just can´t write a decent amount, after some time I always lost track of what i wanted to tell, became unsatisfied with my own work and called it quids.
So obviously just writing in the blue doesn´t work for me.
My questions are now:
1. How should I structure my work? (Mindmaps etc.)
2. How do I avoid that all characters are just variations of myself?
3. General good writing advice's?
Thanks in advance, if someone wants more detail in what i want to write, I can provide that.
There's a ton of infos about plotting on the interwebs. Character developement and plotting are essential. Aswell as avoiding common stylistic mistakes.
What genres would you want to write?
>>16630809
>1. How should I structure my work? (Mindmaps etc.)
All of this is pretentious shit for people with shit working memory. Just write down some notes if you come up with a cool idea.
>2. How do I avoid that all characters are just variations of myself?
Base them on other people.
>3. General good writing advice's?
Good authors like Jack London basically said "Just force yourself to shit something on paper for a couple hours every day.
>>16630809
heres some recomendations. for actual writing advice the internet is full of it and a google search will help but here is some advice for getting to it and sticking to it.
>outline
i always find that its easier for me to write EVERYTHING if i already know how it ends. im all about the ending and everythign else builds into that. so from ther you write out what you know is necessary, and divide that into arcs, and from there into chapters.
>release it by the chapter
considering hwere you are i doubt you have any plans to publish this your first (hopefully) completed story. so why not release it one chapter at a time online? putting it out there encourages you to finish it so that people can actually find out where it all goes. this does make it harder to go back and redraft if you get a good idea, but as a first time book you are doing seemingly just for fun, this is a great idea.
>buddy system
find someone else who wants to write a book. anyone. online or in real life. then promise to write together. work with each other on the outlines and trade notes. then agree to have a finalized outline by an agreed date. then from there agree to have chapter one by a date, and then agree to give back notes on chapter 1 about a week later. then revise based on those notes, and have an agreed time to finish chapter 2.
you will rarely ever meet these dates but having one person or the other saying 'almost done with my chapter!' encourages you to at least get it done AROUND the time you had planned.
>>16630818
>There's a ton of infos about plotting on the interwebs. Character developement and plotting are essential. Aswell as avoiding common stylistic mistakes.
I know but most of the advice I found hasn´t helped me, just made the writing process unnatural as fuck. So I´m hoping for some strange but somehow useful 4chan insight.
>What genres would you want to write?
Fantasy but not the elf and dragon stuff, something that is just a bit different from our world. Also I would try to let it seem autobiographical in a way, if you know what I mean. Usually I write in a first person style were the protagonist is basically describing everything through inner monolog. I can write pretty funny stuff that way.
>>16630824
>Base them on other people.
B-but I don´t understand other people.
>Good authors like Jack London basically said "Just force yourself to shit something on paper for a couple hours every day.
That`s actually a pretty good advice.
>>16630845
>characters just variations of self.
several ways.
>pick a stereotype for each character
this is the basics of all character writing. you make them the streotype. is he the funny guy? the grimdark stoic kind? the hot headed protagonist? pick one for each character
>give them a back story
even if it never comes up, try to fill out details about their lives. you can change them later to suit your story, but give these stereotypes a life that lead up to now. doesnt have to be big or important. but try to go back and think of one little moment in each characters life. write one page describing that moment for each character. it can be as simple as a boring breakfast they had, or their first kiss, or just one day walking home from school. something that teaches you they are a real person, not just a character or a plot.
>give them an origin story
if someone is a horny girl chaser, why are they that way? their backstory should be evident in the story, but even if you dont want to tell us that back story for why they are that way, try to outline it anyway so you at least know. maybe the horny girl chaser was REALLY ugly as a teenager, but then got a makeover. maybe the hot headed protagonist was a really shy introvert guy who bottled things up,a nd one day it all just exploded it and he loved it, and chose never to be that shy guy again.
give them SOME sort of reason for their personality, even if simple.
>give them a twist
not like a crazy plot twist, but now that you know who your character is in terms of stereotype, break that in a really tiny way. do smoething to make them different. it doesnt have to be the opposite of their stereotype. but somethign that takes it in a slightly different direction.
maybe the hot headed protagonist LOVES cats. maybe the horny girl-chaser is obsessed with paleontology. maybe the really smart girl is also really drunk all the time. maybe the sad looking loner also draws a comic in his spare time.
>>16630845
>>16630860
Thanks that is all helping quite a lot.
>>16630860
Not to pick on you, but even based on the first line, you remind me of the reason most aspiring authors fail. Most great authors (though definitely not all) have an abundance of life experience. Things they write are related to stuff they have experienced. Imo, people shouldn't write until they have seen a lot of life. Just writing skills aren't enough.
>>16630860
and finally when it comes to characters
>dialogue
one thing you can do is break down your story into 'scenes'. maybe by location and time. so lets say the first scene takes place with the characters walking to school. instead of writing the chapter all in one shot, stop after the school scene and look at what the characters are saying and doing. it might seem bland, like anyone would say that.
>hey hows your morning going?
for instance. think about who said that, and how might they say that differently. is it the loner?
>sup
is it the horny girl chaser
>taking the walk of shame, just left that girls apartment!
the smart librarian girl
>-looks up from her book- did you do the homework?
just think of how someone might say something based on their personality. we all say 'good morning' a bit differently
>>16630852
Writing autobiographical Is a cringey noob thing. Don't do it. Start with Understanding humans. Then do what >>16630860
Said
>>16630872
not to pick on you, but thats an awful lot to take from one line of advice.
its not wise to say 'hur durr no life experience, so im not gonna bother writing til im 30'.
life is experience. you either start writing it down or dont bother being a writer. otherwise when you have all that abundant experience you wont know the first thing about how to write.
Show, don't tell.
Meaning that phrases like "then he went blablabla and saw blablabla" will send readers to coma
>>16630872
I get what you mean.
>>16630876
Not like my own autobiography, I meant as a stylistic device, like in the book "The name of the wind"
>>16630880
I both agree and disagree. I guess this is yet another time when most of the people I am referring to are "naturals." I look at people like the aforementioned London and Erich Remarque - both of them had a full life before turning 30 and both started writing AFTER their experiences, but while still fairly young.
On the other hand, you can take someone like Neal Stephenson who had very little life experience, but a good technical understanding of his subject matter (sci fi, engineering degree, interest in software/hardware).
Anyway, as I said, I am not picking of you, just an observation.
Most books are utter trash anyway - for example shit like "The Dresden Files" and "Lives of Tao" somehow get recommended. Fucking trash.
>>16630900
it seems like a lot of assumption to make about people based on basic technical advice about writing. maybe you'd consider my novels trash too, I dont know. I'm certainly not a bestseller. i think your view of writing is very narrow minded myself.
especially for OPs circumstance, where just wants to write. there really is no solid rule. many greats started at rather young ages as well.
guess it depends on what you consider good writing as well.
>>16630914
>guess it depends on what you consider good writing as well.
I really just want to have fun writing and when I can make one person smile ( about how fucking retarded that book is) it would be a nice bonus.
>>16630922
i was gonna say, its a little silly to say someone shouldnt even write as a hobby just because someone else assumes they dont have abundant life experience. i mean fuck, what even defines abundant life experience?
either way, you are doing this for fun, at least for now, and i think thats good. people should focus on more projects like writing in their spare time imo. its more rewarding then TV or drinking or video games.
>>16630914
I consider writing that conveys some sort of idea or furthers along understanding of life to be good writing.
>>16630970
Isn´t good mindless entertainment also a good thing?
>>16630982
>good thing
sure. good writing? not by V's standards. but hes a namefag, so take it with a grain of salt.
>>16630982
That's a long conversation to have. Generally "mindless entertainment" isn't entertaining - for example more cliché fantasy isn't even amusing, it's just a pain to get through.
>>16630991
>not by V's standards. but hes a namefag, so take it with a grain of salt.
Also this.
>>16630872
Anne Frank would love to talk with you.
You can have life experiences without being 50 years old. Some 70 year olds haven't seen as much of humanity or the world as some 7 year olds.
>>16631010
There's an interesting post here: >>16630900
>both of them had a full life before turning 30
You can take someone like pic related or Tupac and argue that they lived a far fuller life before their 20s than most in their entire life. I am not implying a rule where experience directly correlates with age. I am saying experience helps write meaningful work.
>>16631026
you also implied that giving very basic writing advice meant that he had no life experience.
