Any Advice for an Young Author?

Question

Any adivce, do's & don'ts, or anything that could help improve my writing skills to help me actually publish a book once I'm old enough?

Answer 1

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 predicament.

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 2

First of all I've got to let you know that many writers have clashing opinions. You might even get one or two people telling you how to write despite the fact they they haven't written anything in their life. It is a public forum, here. I used to start many different things, then stopped for whatever reason. I just didn't know where to go, and then the story fell out of mind. Not anymore, because I figured out what works for me. Now is the time to start figuring out your personal method. Writing on a wing and a prayer doesn't work for every person out there. Some people make super detailed outlines (works for me), some jot down skeletons. You can dabble in developing your characters before writing so you don't abandon them later. It can also help to figure out the end a.s.a.p. so you can continuously build up to it. The most important tip is to write every day. I think most serious writers will agree with that one. Even if it's crap, that's what editing is for. I recommend not editing until you are completely done, or at least give that section a break and write something else. Many people get stuck when they edit something they just wrote, or if they edit as they go along.

Answer 3

Just write. Never think that you can't do it. You will probably hit times when you want to give up. Take a break but don't give up. Just keep writing and never stop. Think like you are writing. Pay attention to styles of writing, ways that other authors use techniques. I want to say it again for good measure: no madder what the only way to get better is to write all the time, even if you think it sucks, it can only get better. I wish you the best.


Keep your mind wide open.
Sky C

Answer 4

To the new author. Writing your book will be 10% of what needs to be done. You must than get an agent to sell your work to a publisher. Go to your local book store. Look at what publishers are selling. Look at the names of publishers in books like you want to write. Learn the industry if you want to get published. Join a writing group.
A very good one where other writers will help you is..My writers circle. Good to see new writers being born.

Answer 5

Write a bit right now, and try to pick up stuff along the way, like weird streets that can be a unique name. Keep on reading, and try to take a little mixture of everything you've read and make it into something original, or make something of your own altogether.
If it helps, you don't have to write little stories right now if it's too hard to come up with anything. You can take a story you've already read and change it into something else, adding characters, putting yourself in it, etc., as long as you don't take it as your own work, of course.

Answer 6

Well I don't think it's really about your way of writing (sophisticated and simplistic, vocabulary) I think it's more of how good your ideas are. You need to be original and come up with something that no body would have ever thought of. Small things can lead up to big ideas.
Good luck and follow your dreams.

Answer 7

Only use the word 'an' before a vowel.
That's a great place to start.
I agree with everyone above, just thought I would tell you about that one little thing =)

Answer 8

hmm dont use gerunds in poetry (gerunds are 'ing' words)
and try not to use 'ly' words in your writing.

for example, "She said vaguely." or "He said grumpily."

It's really amateurrr.

Other than that.. it's pretty much a personal process of growth no one can really lecture you on. Either you got skill or you don't.

Keep reading lots of books though. That always helps.

Answer 9

-expand your vocabulary
-be original about your stories
-do some short creative writing stories for practice
-remember a dictionary and thesaurus are your friends :)

good luck