what are the basics for writing a book?

Question

i wanted to know what are the basics for writing a book i am on my rough draft and have't gotten around to the editing i have been trying to find downloads to edit it for me.What are the basics of writing a good fiction book ?mine is suppose to be a mafia fiction one and im horrible at using puctuation so don't tell me something i already know like is there a different rule with mafia fiction?

Answer 1

I would recommend reading as many books as possible in the genres that you like to write, as well as about the craft of writing. When you are reading other fiction books, pay attention to how the authors structure their work.

Here are some of my favorites about writing:
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
8) "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White

Start with "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves". You will not find a computer program to edit your book for you. You must learn the basics in order to be taken seriously in this industry. Publishing is a business, so unless you are only writing this for yourself you must become familiar with puctuation and grammar.

"The Elements of Style" is the second book that I would recommend for you.

Unfortunately, no one can really teach you how to use punctuation in a setting like this. Read and practice your writing, talk to your teachers, and work hard.

Answer 2

A good story
Good rounded characters with plenty of chacterization
A great outline
Lots of research - I mean REAL facts
Good grammar and punctuation
The ability to communicate

There is no different rules for mafia fiction - except I must ask what you actually KNOW about the mafia. Have you done any research? Do you know actual information? The easiest way to turn off your readers is to just make up stuff that is bogus. The "mafia" can mean many different things.

Example - James Patterson recently wrote a book called Cross. It involves the mafia. In it, he has the mafia move to Long Island into a complex on the water with a speedboat waiting at the pier in case they need to make a quick getaway. What's wrong with that? Nothing - except that the town he chose is 15 miles from the water and there are no places anywhere around it for a compound. He didnt do his homework!! It's little mistakes like that which make a book or break a book. Be true to your story.

I write 5 hours a day - every day. Most writers have set hours when they write. Many of my five hour sessions are devoted to research and I dont write a single word. I have a list of contacts in various fields that I use as consultants. If I have a cop question, I pick up the phone and talk to a cop. If it's a legal question, I have a lawyer, I also have a doctor, a nurse, and people in many other professions. I am about to become certified on a Sig Sauer .357 because I want to know what it's like to shoot one. This is all research. It is vital for writing. With agents and publishers recieving literally hundreds of stories per day, the ones without genuine research get weeded out quickly and rejected. Realism does count. Be willing to go the long mile and do the work. I have never regretted a single second of research. Pax - C.

Answer 3

The basics are conflict, characters, plot and theme. If you've got those down then the rest will be a piece of cake!

Make sure you have clear and well described characters who have both history and motivations. Don't just say they are tall with dark hair. That isn't a character description. Then you have to have characters in conflict. What is the issue? What are they struggling with or over? Have a conflict and also perhaps some sub-conflicts, perhaps a character is trying to climb Mt. Everest in winter, which has the mountain and the weather as clear antagonists, but also have the character afraid of heights and having a cold. Then they must also struggle against themselves and their own confidence.

What is your plot and setting going to be? Describe a setting that you know a good deal about. Stephen King writes about Maine beause he lives there and Anne Rice writes about New Orleans because she used to live there. Write about what you know. Don't get carried away with plot and action. The characters are what is most important. Who are they and what drives them on? Why are they fighting with each other and what are their strengths and weakenesses. Remember, even the main 'good' character should have some faults.

Finally, what is it you are REALLY writing about? Are you saying that revenge is sweet or that even the best plans can go bad? What is your theme. This is what will definite everything else in your book.

Again, don't get carried away with plot. It's not what happens to us that interesting, it's how we deal with what happens to us. People are the key, not events or action!

Answer 4

There are really only three things you need to write a book: A beginning, a middle and an end. If you want to write a good book, however, there are things you should consider like allusion, symbolism, word play, conflict, resolutions (or not ^_^) and the ever famous Antagonist. Anti-hero's are always fun to have and Protagonists are good too. Try mapping out how you want the book to go before you start it, and don't right the very first thing that comes to mind. Like if you want to make a happy ending, still think about making it bittersweet. Kill people and such, it gives better drama.

Good luck!
Kryhs

Answer 5

Create a character, supply her a burning want (what does she want greater advantageous than something) and stick stumbling blocks in her way so she will't have it. be beneficial there is often conflict and rigidity. placed butt in chair and write. start up on the commencing up, tell your tale, and give up on the top. Write one web site an afternoon and you have a special in a three hundred and sixty 5 days or much less. by no ability be afraid to jot down crap. maximum first drafts are. that is what you do with the crap that concerns.

Answer 6

Plot - character connect and audience -grammar and style can be more free flowing in fiction as long as the reader can understand where you are going - Skunk and White's Elements of Style and the Chicago manual will help with the technical as[aspects of writing.

Answer 7

first you need the storyline or the base of the story

then you need the main characters that will portreyed

next is the place inwhich your story is mostly taken

then you need to know what the goal of the ending will be

you need to know the genre of the book ie, comedy, tragedy as you can write one story in comic view or tragic view etc.

take your notes and add them together with the above.

Answer 8

get a friend who's good at spelling and grammar and get them to edit it for you (that's what one of my friends do for me) and sometimes, if their extremely busy and depending on their age, you could pay them. Or if you don't want to do that, you can hire a professional editor to edit of for you after you've gone through it a couple times. (also Microsoft word should have an editing thing on their, just be warned it doesn't pick up on everything).

Answer 9

the basics for writing a book would be have a catchy title and a good opening paragraph.
keep the story interesting and that is a great book.