I don't know how to write

[ButteryShards he/him]

Ok so I need some help getting started.. I have this huge fantasy world in my head and I want to put it on paper but the holdback is that I suck. I've never written anything bigger than a birthday card. 

What are some things I should be doing for plotting out an actual story? Tips on writing characters?

What do you do when you start fresh? 

[Ixthos Luke/Luke]

I'm an amateur at this, but my best advice, and the best advice, is to just write. You can polish it later.

A friend told me when I first told them about the setting was not to overly focus on the setting, but to focus on the characters, as the characters make the story, while the setting is simply the stage - you focus more on the actors than the stage. As a certain prolific author put it, we like science fiction and fantasy because of the setting, but we stay for the characters. So naturally you should focus on both ;-)

So, to answer the question, and using something similar to the system I am using

• log yourself, make a document every month or two weeks or however often you need, and write in it - track how much you write, and what might help is to list what you wrote, be it the outline or the background or the story
• make a document where you put your setting ideas so as not to clutter up your story with exposition on details you don't need to show yet, and use it as reference, but don't overly focus on filling it up with all the details of the story UNLESS doing so is something you like - the time you spend on the setting is time that you aren't writing the story, but it can pay itself over and over again if those details help the story
• Write down the key events you already know you want in the story, and then think forwards and backwards - forwards to consequences of the events, backwards to what could be the cause, what made these events happen or is needed for the event to have the weight it needs - and together use those to weave the events together
• have either as part of your setting document or as a side document or as several documents a brief explanation on the background, personality in broad strokes, and appearance of your characters - just the basics, as it helps you keep track of what they are like, and is for you to read, no-one else

I will give a more indepth post later on - there is so much I want to say and I need to get it organised or else it won't be helpful, but if all else fails, look at Brandon's online lectures - look up Camera Panda on Youtube or Writeaboutdragons, and look at the website Writing Excuses, where Brandon gives advice. But the best advice is two parts - keep writing, you can polish it later, and find what works for you, as what works for someone else won't necesserily work for you, and what works for you might be something that others haven't considered.

[Kureshi Ironclaw]

What first started me down the path of trying to write seriously was reading A Feast for Crows by George RR Martin when I was fifteen. I can't say it is the best book in the series, but what it did for me was make me question how it was making me feel certain things. I began looking for the little tricks Martin used to manipulate his reader's emotions and the way he was structuring his book and sort of just decided "hey, I reckon I can do that".

I would encourage you to find a book you like, that makes you feel things, and have a try at figuring out how the author is conjuring those emotions within you. Doing that helped me see that good writing is more than just words on a page.

In tandem with doing that, @Ixthos's suggestion of watching Brandon's online lectures by Camera Panda and Writeaboutdragons is a really good one. They are some of the best resources for new writers out there, in my opinion. They will help you with identifying things that writers are doing to make you feel a certain way. They were good for me in helping to remove the mystery from the writing process and show that writing is but a skill that we all can learn with the right tools. It made me have faith that I could write well if I put the time and effort in.

The most important thing, though, is to persevere and accept that your early writing might not be amazing and it may take you a while before you become skilled. This is fine. You can always come back to your early writing and fix it up. The piece I wrote after reading a Feast for Crows was a mess that I was immensely proud of in tenth grade, and it had the seeds for a good story (in my opinion; I know I'm blowing my own horn a bit here ). After a couple of rewrites and revisions of that piece, and the continuation of that story I wrote in the years after, I now have a completed novel that I am truly proud of. The difference between the current draft and the first draft is so stark they barely seem like they are written by the same person. The story is all the same, but I've learned with practice how to present it in a way that readers can connect with (I hope haha).

Have a go and stick with it. Writing is super fun! And feel free to ask me specific things about writing as well. I'm always happy to help

[ButteryShards he/him]

Wow! I knew Brandon was a lecturer but I didn't realise he's actually a really good teacher. I've just watched up to #8 and I'm not even slightly bored. Just super excited to start writing (even if it sucks) 

My goal now is: 

Write stuff down!! Draw out a plotline/framework thing and go from there

 

 

My next big question for you though...

So I have 4 groups of characters (about 10 detailed characters in total) Any of which could be a viewpoint character. 

 

For one of those groups, they are pretty much doing a type of martial arts training for the majority of the story and I sort of have an idea where to start with this and where I'm going with this... I just have no idea how I'm going to make the middle bit (the actual training) interesting or flow. If you know what I mean? In a movie this would be a montage, right?

Does anyone have experience with this sort of thing?

[Kureshi Ironclaw]

I think to make that sort of long term training plot be interesting you need to show quantifiable progress so the reader knows the story is going somewhere. Making sure that each training scene is different will help things from getting stale as well. You could also introduce some sort of subplot so the character is doing something else interesting aside from training. And if your character has somebody teaching them, make the student/teacher relationship really fun and interesting to read.

Those are my suggestions. Keep up the good work!

[Ixthos Luke/Luke]

The videos cover a lot of what you need, so I'll hold off on finishing the long post summary I was working on ;-)

 

There are a few options in the writing of training

• A time skip, so have the training be in the space between two chapters or parts, or don't visit the character for a while in the narrative while they are training, and then jump back to them in four or five chapters showing them further along in the training or having finished training, while the other characters in the chapters between them thinking about how much time is passing, or time implied to have passed
• As above, but use flashbacks or the character remembering parts of the training at key moments in the story which reflect the training or which foreshadow further in the story from there
• A chapter or part of a chapters containing a summary of the training, a single paragraph or two by themselves talking about the training
• As @Kureshi Ironclaw said, a full scene of training, or several, with several secondary things happening at the same time, so the characters relationship with their master or another student or someone or something nearby, a friend or love interest or rival or animal
• As above, but with vague and subtle foreshadowing and exploring the possible uses the training can be put to

 

If you are having a hard time working in secondary elements into the scene to make it interesting, just write it and fix it later :-) it is always easier to fix something when there is something infront of you to fix

[ButteryShards he/him]

Thanks so much! 

[Showman he/him]

My first book was during 5th or 6th grade. It sucked... I have completely thrown it away, as it was completely hopeless, but it was experience and gave me more ideas. It helped me get better at making a story and it also just gave me the thought process required.

So if your first story is trash, rewrite it or leave it for something better. That's okay. Just remember to learn from your mistakes and read lots of books. As I've gotten more serious in my book (the one in my signature), I've read others' books and tried to learn from them. I take ideas that I really enjoyed from them and make improvements in my head on their work. By improvements, I don't mean typos; I make note of sentences that don't flow right and reword them in my head. I think of ideas for characters and always try (and fail) to see the plot twists before they come. (For sentences that don't flow, Sanderson has by far the least that I've found. Yay for Brandon!)

Also, have a plot in your head and constantly improve it. Writing on the spot is okay for practice, but that's what made my first book terrible. In my current one, I have a well-developed plot and I'm constantly making new connections between people and events.

Never discount ideas. I still have my first idea in my head, but not on paper. I've come up with some other weird ideas (one by a dream) and started writing a different book that I've left alone for a while. My current book was started around the same time as my first. It was just a tiny part of the story that comes at the end of the first book and beginning of the second.

Finally, just write. It's the fastest way to get better and it's easier to keep track of ideas when you have stuff written down. Unfortunately for me, it's also the hardest part. I find it soooo hard to sit down for a half hour and crank out a few pages. Hopefully, you'll find it easier.

Good luck!

[Kaj he/him]

I am a beginner just like pretty much everyone else, but I have the same advice. Write. Write in your book, free write, write a story for someone, or just write something with no beginning or end. Just a midpiece with feeling. Anything works, but remember to not use it as an excuse to not write in your book. That said, have this Coin of Weight. Tap it when someone is pushing you to do something and you need to stand your ground.

[Silva]

Don’t think past the actual writing. Once you start worrying about people actually reading it, you become self-conscious and write more poorly.

Just write for yourself. 

[Unlicensed Hemalurgist he/him]

If it makes you feel any better, nobody really knows how to write. We just write, and learn through trial and error whether something works or not.

A lot of beginning writers (myself included) tend to fall into what my friend calls the "inspiration trap," i.e., not writing until we feel "inspired" to do so. Thing is, the only way to be a productive writer is not to wait for inspiration or to "feel like” writing. You are what you do, and the only way to become a writer is to shove all your worries aside and just write.

The biggest mistake that most people make is not acting until we “feel like” it. It's just a sign of weak character to say "I have agreed to do X, therefore, I have a duty to be honest to myself and follow through” and then require some additional motive—some kind of “inspiration” or “feeling”— to actually do it. I have this problem, and it was killing me until I decided to get more organized and disciplined. 

At this stage in your writing career, the most important thing you can do is build up self-discipline by actually getting words on a page. And whatever you write, make sure it's honest. Not in the sense that everything in it is literally factual, but in the sense that you're not pretending to be someone you're not. Readers can spot insincerity a mile away. Not all honest writing is good, but all good writing is honest.

Hope this helps, I dunno. 

Edited July 21, 2018 by Unlicensed Hemalurgist

[Elandera she/her]

One of the things I've seen most often with people starting out is they want the first draft of the first book to be perfect. It won't be. Let it be terrible. You can edit it later.

Don't get caught up in editing the first chapter to death, or you'll miss out on writing the rest of the story. 

If you get stuck, it's okay to step away from it for a while. Don't let yourself put it away forever, but sometimes, you'll need a week or two to reset your mind and find a direction again. 

And one of the best things that can help is finding a trusted group of friends that read a lot or write themselves to help along the way. My friend and I started a writing club where we'd write short stories around a certain theme, then read and critique them for each other. It helped my writing improve by leaps and bounds.

Edited July 24, 2018 by Elandera

[Robinski he/him]

On 29/06/2018 at 7:21 PM, ButteryShards said:

Ok so I need some help getting started.. I have this huge fantasy world in my head and I want to put it on paper but the holdback is that I suck. I've never written anything bigger than a birthday card. 

What are some things I should be doing for plotting out an actual story? Tips on writing characters?

What do you do when you start fresh? 

Hey there,

How exciting to be at the start of this journey. I see from above that you have had this advice already but the only thing to do is just start writing. I would add to that to have no expectations.

ONE: The first thing you write will not be good, neither will the second or the third. I would recommend practising before tackling your main project. Try writing a short story in your world. But even before you do that, just write something, anything.

TWO: Get help!!  By this I mean that learning to write is not something you can or should do alone. Perhaps join a beginners' writing group, but also get some direction. You could do a lot worse than starting to listen to the Writing Excuses podcast from the beginning. You will gain a wealth of knowledge and good advice, and you will learn the language of writing and also a huge amount about the process.

THREE: Take instruction. You can find Brandon's lectures on Y Toob. I suggest watching those through, again to gain insight on what you are trying to do and how you might try to do it.

FOUR: Commit and stay committed. You are going to hit slow points and low points, but if you want to be a writer you have to write, and you have to keep writing until it's right.

FIVE: FINISH, FINISH, FINISH, FINISH. Loads of people start writing, but very few, statistically, finish what they started. If you want to be a writer, you have to write, and you have to finish writing something and start writing something else. (And go back and edit the first thing, too!!)

SIX: Consider joining Reading Excuses on this very forum. We are a caring, sharing writing group for writers of all abilities. We have published authors on there, self-publishers and people still working on their first project. It is a very positive and reinforcing environment, I think (may be slightly biased...) where you will find a lot of encouragement and support.

Best of luck  

Edited July 24, 2018 by Robinski