McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
Those of you who are published, how did you get started?
LizW65:
Quote from Wordmaker:
--- Quote ---It's okay for your first draft to suck. In fact, it's almost better if you think it does, because you'll be more open to making changes. The important thing is to first get the book written.
--- End quote ---
This, so very much. Personal computers make it a breeze, too. The first complete full-length fiction I wrote was typed up manually and got covered with so many scribblings, cross-outs, and revisions that I doubt anyone else could have understood it. Also, aping someone else's style is a natural part of the learning process, as Stephen King points out in On Writing (one of the best resources I've ever read on the subject, BTW) but if you keep at it, eventually your own style will start to emerge.
Like the Deposed King, I'm self-published. I've had no formal training apart from your basic English courses, but I've been reading and writing most of my life--pretty much as long as I've known how--and while I couldn't diagram a sentence to save my life, I know the rules of grammar and have a pretty good grasp of what works in a particular context and what doesn't.
Keep writing. Keep reading--good books, so you have something to aspire to, and bad ones, so you know what not to do. Listen to real people talk, in real life. Experience stuff. Do your research.
jamesp81:
--- Quote from: Wordmaker on August 31, 2012, 01:06:54 PM ---I don't have any formal training in creative writing. My first novel's due out on November 6th.
I think the most important thing to have access to is a source of feedback that will be both objective and constructive. Someone who will just point out your flaws is no better for you than someone who insists everything you write is pure gold. What you need is discourse, people you can engage with and work with to improve your writing.
Classes and writing groups are a good way to find potential critique partners. One thing to consider is National Novel-Writing Month, which is coming up in November. I know a lot of people who've made some good friends through and even completed novels which stand a chance at publication.
One bit of advice I'll give you is don't compare your work to someone else's too readily. You'll have to develop your own unique style and what one author is great at, you might be weak at. That's okay. Also remember that a published book has gone through as much as a year of editing and re-writes to get it ready for publication. Whether a book is self-published or through a publishing house, what you see when you buy the final version has likely gone through significant changes from the first draft.
It's okay for your first draft to suck. In fact, it's almost better if you think it does, because you'll be more open to making changes. The important thing is to first get the book written.
--- End quote ---
Good advice. I'm actually a member of Nanowrimo, but last year's project didn't go anywhere. I think I have more motivation this year. We will see.
It's good to know that the first draft isn't required to be pure gold.
Wordmaker:
You should see some of my first drafts! I've even had to start a near-complete re-write of my second novel to make it work better, and the first edit I had to do on my first book was to cut the first 50 pages and put any important information from it elsewhere in the book.
superpsycho:
--- Quote from: jamesp81 on August 30, 2012, 04:05:38 PM ---Did you just start writing, or did you take formal creative writing classes at a local college, did you have a mentor, or was it something else?
I'm really curious about this. I'm an aspiring writer, but I find that my work is....not that great. And I don't really know how to improve, to be honest. I can be writing something and it might seem decent, then I go and read something by a real pro (like Jim Butcher) and it's kind of depressing to realize how poor my work really is. I want to improve, I just don't know how to do it.
--- End quote ---
All the instruction in the world can't replace some could constructive feedback. There are a number of forums out there where you can submit work samples and get feed back. I've found if you can find one or two people you can go back and forth with, it saves a lot of time.
LizW65:
--- Quote from: The Deposed King on August 31, 2012, 01:07:23 AM ---(snip) I'm only going to make 500 bucks off my book this month. (snip)The Deposed King
--- End quote ---
That's still pretty impressive for a self-published book! Not to hijack this thread, but maybe you could start another one with some tips for marketing your work. Pretty please?
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