starting to write a novel....how long...where to start?

Question

i want to write abook but i dont know where to begin......how long does it take to get a novel finished and how do i get it published???

Answer 1

It takes some people years to finish a novel, it takes others just months. It depends on who you are. Don't get scared or anything if you end up taking longer than a year to work on your novel; it happens to the best. Just take your time and worry about what you're doing and the quality.

How to get it published is something you should worry about later. You may decide you don't want to get it published, after all. However, there are books on ho to get your books published in your local library (most likely). The Writer's Market book is the best place to look for an agent, which is what you'll want first. Then you want to find a publishing company that will publish your genre and age group, whatever it is. (I mean age group as in, is the book for Young Adults, or a children's, etc.)

If you don't yet have an idea, I have a few suggestions to get you going.

1. Look at a picture, of anything. (You may want to make sure it has to do with the genre you want to write- you wouldn't have skyscrapers in a fantasy world, would you?) Ask yourself the "who, what, where, when, and why" questions. Basically, just wonder about it. If there's a person there, what are they doing? Who is this person? Where are they? Why are they doing what they're doing in that place? Form a scene around your answers, which can't be wrong. A plot idea may follow the scene, it may not. Who knows?

2. If you're not a visual person, then just start writing. Start with a sentence, like maybe "Her (quick/slow) footsteps echoed throughout the corridor as the storm raged on outside." If the footsteps are quick, why are they quick? Is she late for something? Angry? If they're slow, why? Is she sad? Bored? And who is she? Does this storm symbolize a dark time, figuratively? Ask questions about your own sentence, and form a scene around that.

These scenes may give you an idea for a story, they may not. The important thing is to not give up. Writer's block happens, but you'll pull through it, we all do. If you don't like the story you've been working on, go ahead and start a new one, but don't get rid of what you've started. You can draw ideas from your earlier works, and learn what mistakes not to make, etc. They're valuable in their own way.

Good luck with your novel, dude. Hope I've helped some.

Answer 2

Welcome to Yahoo Answers, lostgirl.

There are lots of books that offer plans for writing a novel. I'd say, buy any one and follow its advice to the letter. It doesn't matter so much which one you choose ... but writing your first novel is hard, and following the steps that someone else has laid out will make it easier. Using the program in a book will also give you a reason to keep going when you feel like giving up. (Of course, maybe you'll prove to be a natural writer, and just roll right along as soon as you sit down at the keyboard.)

Everybody has a different writing speed. Georges Simenon wrote well-regarded psychological suspense novels in ... um, about two weeks each. Another writer might spend years working on a single book. I'd say, for your first novel, plan on six months to a year.

The length of the book you choose to write is also important. You might write a young adult novel of 30,000 words, or a typical-length commercial novel of 100,000 words.

Publication is hard. I think that's a bridge you cross (or try to cross) when you've got a completed manuscript in hand.

Good luck. I hope you finish your novel and become brilliantly successful.

Answer 3

if you dont know where to begin maybe you shouldnt be writing a novel. You should already have the inspiration to write in your head. But since you dont think of a topic you want to write about, say...aristocrats of 19th century england or something. I depends on the person. Some people finsh faster than others. It takes longer if your trying to make it perfect. You can get i published by sending in your manuscripts to publishing companies such as PushlishAmerica (which i heard is horrible but its just an example).

Answer 4

That all depends on you. For getting started, I'd recommend browsing the "For Writers" section of Holly Lisle's website; she wrote a lot of detailed articles for beginning writers that have really helped me in the past. For finishing, it all depends on how much time you put into it, how you deal with writer's block, and how much you need to edit. I'd say no less than a year, and that's probably a very low estimate. Getting published can take several years.

Answer 5

Do you have a story idea? Characters? Plot? Beginning, Middle and/or End in mind.

That would be the first step.

I would work on a few short stories first, just to give you an exercise in writing. A lot of novels have stemmed from short stories.

Good luck!