I'm a novice. I'm want to write a book. Please help out a newbie.?

Question

I have an excellent idea for a book, and I got the general outline and characters decided. I have so many questions! So I'll ask one general question. What should I do?! What does the book writing process involve? Should I use pen or keyboard? Thanks for the help!

BTW, should I use correct grammar and perfect indenting for my first draft?

Answer 1

Most people use MSWord. for their books. Start witing & then get back to us. One hour a day minimum.

Answer 2

Well, here's my writing process:
I use pen and paper first and write at least a chapter (Or whole poem, or essay).
Then I type it on my type writer and as I type it, I also edit it.
Once I'm satisftied ( I type up around two copies, each time changing it), I write it on the computer and while writing it onto the computer, I also edit it.
Finally, I print out what I have typed, edit it some more and add the changes to the copy on the computer.
So that's at least 4 chances that I have for editing.
Look at it this way: Why type your rough draft on the computer when you can have your fourth draft?

But to each his own. I just like having a hard copy of my writings, I need to know it exists in a 3 dimensional world and not just on the computer.

But of course, typing can be fast for some people. So ultimately, it does not matter how you write the story (Physically) as long as you have it.

Answer 3

Keep a notebook handy. Trust me, you'll be coming up with ideas all the time for your book. Most of the time you won't be around a computer.

I usually write everything in Word. It's compatible with almost every computer, so you can work on the book from home, work, or school without having to worry about losing anything.

I can edit the book for you. I own a small editing business and I absolutely love reading people's work. Email me at [e-mail] if you're interested.

Good luck!

Answer 4

Unless your penmanship is superb and you truly enjoy handwriting everything, I strongly recommend using the computer keyboard, using Microsoft Word program as your file system for your stories.

Improving on your keyboard prowess will come along as you write and hone the craft of writing. Should you be extremely fortunate after completing a short story or a novel and a literary agent tells you to submit it for their purview, the manuscript written in Microsoft Word would be to your advantage. Literary agents and publishing houses much prefer receiving submissions written in the MS Word format and not in WordPerfect.

So start with Chapter 1, type about four or five single-spaced pages for your first chapter and keep going. Edit each chapter that you write for grammar, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and general tenses.

Have fun with writing. It can be addictive. Just as every qualified artist will draw and paint any object before him, so, too, will a talented writer create a story from any event in his life or taken from a news headline for that matter.

As you write your story, keep notes on each character that you build in the tale--their attributes, likes, dislikes, physical appearance, weaknesses and strong points. Don't make your characters too strong to get themselves out of situational corners and don't be predictable in your writing. When a character conveniently gets out of trouble with hardly mussing his hair that creates an aura of laziness on the author's part.

Be creative and get started now.

p.s. Most important: save your works frequently to a floppy, a CD, or to a flashdrive. Once your manuscript is in a hard-copy format--sheet paper--it is automatically copyrighted in your name.