hi i am thinking of trying to write a book!!im 16!!good idea/bad idea??

Question

http://caesarakamadcraig.blogspot.com/2006/10/page-1-it-was-sunny-sunday-afternoon.html well this is a draft of what the 1st page will be of a story im curently working on please let me know what you think?

Answer 1

I know that you have gotten a lot of positive comments from the young kids here, but I have to tell you the truth. I'm not a young kid - and I write professionally and have taught creative writing to kids your age.

You have a lot of work to do to make this readable. First, you need to learn punctuation - including - especially - how to use quotations. Secondly, you are very repetetive. You need to go back and read this aloud and see where you repeat words, phrases and thoughts and edit it. Thirdly, in one page, you have let out way too much plot. Where do you have to go from here? There is a big difference between telling and showing - you are telling and telling way too much. You need to let your story out slowly and evenly - drawing your reader in to it. Think of it like serving a fancy dinner with lots of courses - each course designed to touch the reader's palate with a different taste and make him hungry for more. You havent done that. You have given us what writers call an "information dump" - important term for young writers. In one single page you have overloaded us with information and killed off two characters who could have become important characters for you later on. Lastly, there is no characterization at all. We know virtually nothing about these characters. You have written a flat, boring person = not a well rounded character.

It needs a LOT of work to become a finely tuned introduction to your story. Work on it - if you want you can send it to me directly when you have. What you have right now is amateurish, badly written, but a reasonably good idea. Keep at it. Pax - C.

Answer 2

I hate to be the only negative comment here, but, someone has to say it: It's not good.
It reminds me of all those stories teachers request their students to do in class in middle school, except for the fact that yours deals with topics middle schoolers don't know much about. If it were a free-write for an English class, it would be fine. But if this is something you actually plan on turning into a book and attempting to have published, it's not going to happen. Well, no, it MIGHT happen, but it probably won't.
If becoming an author is something you really want, then you may want to try writing workshops. And be sure to read a LOT of books, that cover many different genres and topics- it will help with inspiration, and maybe give you a better idea about what makes it to publication.
Your writing style right now might be okay to write books for elementary schoolers, but it would have to deal with much more innocent topics.

Answer 3

Ok, I'm doing the same thing-- i'm writing a fantasy and it's very hard. It's a good idea and it CAN be done, but i suggest NEVER to release any information about your book, especially if you are serious about getting it published. For one: if it's good enough someone can take it. For two: a publisher isn't going to want to publish a book that people have already been reading... It's not a good idea and i suggest you take it off! I don't even reveal my plotline to my mother! Lets talk about this sometime though =) i think i could help you out and it'd be fun. E-mail or message me and good luck!

Also, go into detail about things, you characters their surroundings and etc... you are too blase when talking about "bobs friends" death-- and are talking about it rather casually. I honestly was bored, i felt like i was reading mathematics word problem. Bob has three apples and sally has two, if bob takes sallys apples, how much will he have?

Your characters need personalities, brains and need to seem more real to the people reading it!

Answer 4

The age of the author isn't all that important. Talent, dedication and a willingness listen and revise are. SE Hinton's Outsiders went to print the day she graduated from High Scool. Paolini wrote his Eragon while still a teen.

Character and plot development, quality writing, and an engaging story line are all necessities. Good luck!

Answer 5

You can absolutely write a book at any age.

Read, read, and read some more! Read books in the genre(s) you like to write in. Read books about writing, including grammar and style. Here are some of my favorites:
1) "Writing Down The Bones" by Natalie Goldberg
2) "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott
3) "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser
4) "How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy" by Orson Scott Card (if those are your genres, of course)
5) "On Writing" by Stephen King
6) "No Plot? No Problem!" by Chris Baty
7) "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" by Lynne Truss

If you love to write, then do it! Just remember that writing professionally is a business and so you will need to hone you skills further if you wish to pursue it (and you will face a lot of rejection, all writers do).

Answer 6

Good idea.
Cut your block up into paragraphs.
You'll need more chacterization -- ways to make your main character sympathetic.
I recommend you read some young adult books with a critical eye -- see what the authors do in the first couple of pages to
a) introduce and make the characters sympathetic
b) get the plot rolling

Answer 7

I would work on perfecting your style a little more.You have great potential,but don't be premature with it especially since getting a book published takes money and alot of work.Keep following that dream though and read Strunk & White's Elements of Style and Stephen King's On Writing.On Writing's a good book just to read for entertainment.

Answer 8

I have just read your draft i think that it is great i cant wait for you to finish the book. you have a great gift so keep up the good work and i hope that you have a best seller on your hands or maybe a movie.

Answer 9

Its a freaking awesome idea! I myself am 16 and co-authoring on a book at the moment! Ill admit my book is not the same topic as your story, But go for it! you will always have support!

Answer 10

Good idea, very good idea. I think that the more people that write the better. Best of luck with your book and keep on writing!