I want to write a novel. What some some great writing guides for beginner novelists?

Question

I have been writing for a very long time but I'm still young and need to perfect my skills so I can actually become a published author one day. I need to help with grammar, structure, focusing ides and things of that nature.

Answer 1

If I had to recommend only one, "Story" by Robert McKee. This book is used as a text-book for storytelling courses at the top film schools. Don't go for any gimmicks that tell you that you don't need a plot to write a story, or that you can write a story in one month. Get to the heart of the matter and learn what makes a story and do it right. This book will do that for you.

Then maybe "Screenplay" by Syd Field.

Don't worry that Screenplay focuses on film. The real focus is on storytelling and that's what you want to focus on for your novel.

Answer 2

This is a great time to get started as November is National Novel Writing Month. People from all over the world sign on to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. For more information on this event go to the official website at: http://www.nanowrimo.org/ or the site for the NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program at: http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/

The founder of National Novel Writing Month, Chris Baty, published a novel-writing handbook entitled 'No Plot? No Problem!' Baty believes that the only way to learn to write is to practice writing. His book contains a great deal of advice on how to get started when you only have a vague idea for a story. His method is to write first, getting your story on paper as a rough draft, then worry about grammar, structure and focus as part of the later editing process.

You might also want to take a look at 'The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile' by Noah Lukeman. He has quite a bit of advice on story structure, characterization, etc.

Your local library should have both of these on the shelf. If not, they can borrow copies for you from another library.

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Answer 3

TEN BASIC WRITING TIPS

The following may be useful for the beginning writer and reminders for those who have written for years:

1. Avoid pretentious words, clichés, and trite expressions in the narrative. Do not put quotation marks around a slang word or a figure of speech that is not being pointed to or emphasized as a word or figure of speech. When in doubt, omit the quotation marks. A careful writer will spare the reader such annoyances.

2. Start a new paragraph for each character’s dialogue. Great Britain and Canada use modified rules, but the American writer should place the closing quotation marks after all punctuation marks except for the semi-colon and colon. The dash is another exception to this rule.

3. Dialogue should be identifiable to each character in the story, but use appropriate tags to let the reader know who is talking. Tags may be omitted if using an action line, such as: Mark glared at Joe; his menacing figure only inches away. “No, man! It’s your doing!”

4. Write the narrative using English in its perfect compositional form, avoiding foreign words unless they are of prime importance. Never use quotation marks for emphasis, but rather, use italics. The dialogue should fit the narrative if included in the same paragraph.

5. It is not necessary to write the character’s written thoughts in italics, but be consistent in whichever form you use. Using italics to denote the inner thoughts of a character is easier to discern.

6. End your chapters or parts with a cliffhanger or something to make the reader turn the page. Build suspense and tension throughout the story and don’t hesitate to write your character in a situational corner. To have everything work out coincidentally nice and conveniently smooth for the characters is laziness on the part of the writer and his imagination. Keep the readers wondering if the protagonist will work himself out of a precarious dilemma.

7. Keep your story within the style you began—either first, second, or third person narrative.

8. Write a good wrap at the ending by serving justice to the antagonists and rewards to the protagonists. There are exceptions to this guideline, however, and it depends on the plot.

9. Keep a grammar reference book and a dictionary nearby. Employ a computer spell check freely as you write. Watch for words such as, their, they’re, whose, who’s, it’s, its. Know their differences.

10. Have your work edited for grammar, punctuation, and flow before submission. Thicken your writing skin; as a writer, you can ill-afford hurt feelings when your manuscript needs improvement.

Answer 4

Lawrence Block's From Plot to Print is a realiable guide to writing the novel. And for general inspiration on the writing
craft, I recommend Stephen King's On Writing. To further perfect your skills, read good novelists such as Hemingway,
Michner, Steinbeck and others. You must also write everyday.

Answer 5

The Weekend Novelist by Robert Ray is the best source bar none
ive published 2 novels with his help. and steer clear of story writing software i have 3 and dont care for any of them.

Answer 6

depending on the field of writing your looking to enter you have some good advice on how to get started...but to become a great write you need to go to the library and get a book or two from some of the great writers of the 20 century. Hemingway's is a good start...he is one of the best descriptive writers you can read. he makes you feel and taste the story ...

Answer 7

I have an old one called Mastering Fiction Writing that I still use and it's very good.

Answer 8

Gotham Writers' Workshop: Writing Fiction is pretty good.

Answer 9

i want to be a writer too! my mom says that u need to write a lot and study in a lot of writing books. i agree with her. im still very young!

Answer 10

keep practicing! u'll get better eventually.