ok so im starting to write a book....help...?

Question

ok so im writting a story its about a gurl and a boy that are goin to canada but there airplane crashes in alaska. n i need to know like a place where theres alot of trees like a forest and has a lake or a stream near it. and also a town..a map of alaska and all of its forests, rivers, n towns would b great or if u can explain it ..even better!
ALSO DO U HAVE ANY TIPS FOR ME???
THANX SOO MUCH =]

Answer 1

Whatever you do in your writing don't start it with the word OK. That is a juvenile and unlettered approach to any form of good writing.

Second, concentrate on correct spelling and punctuation. Your question and narrative reeks of incorrect examples.

Other than these suggestions, I offer the following tips:

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

The first tip I have is to make your writing as clean and polished as possible -- no matter where you are sending that material. If you are serious about being a writer, then the way you posted this question here on Yahoo! Answers doesn't speak well of your capabilities in this field.

The piece you're working at sounds like it will be a fictional effort. You can create your own woods, lakes, streams and all the other aspects as you need. If you want a true-to-life setting -- the amount of time you should be spending researching this is minimal.

You need to be focusing on plot, voice, character development, pace, etc. Specific setting is the least of your worries.

Sorry to be such a "jerk", but I often see writers here looking for input that seems to be the very reason they aren't writing... and being "here" is a perfect way to trying to avoid the very thing they need to be doing.

Answer 3

I recommend using Google Earth to give you a view of the area you might be interested in. It's a phenomenal, underutilized tool.

If you're not familiar with it, Google Earth allows you to look at the Earth from a satellite perspective as seen from space down to literally seeing individual houses, and you can move from place to place with a simple move of your mouse. Many place names are also given on what you're seeing so you can have an idea of where you are. It can also be downloaded for free and there are upgrades if you wish to subscribe.

As far as writing a book, I always recommend writing a short story (around one to five pages) which covers the general plot of your book. This gives you a roadmap to work from when you're writing the book, and you can add as many characters, subplots and details as you wish.

I also recommend writing the short story as a first person narrative, because it avoids the complexities of dialogue and allows you to develop the mood, theme and major points of the story versus getting caught up in exactly what every character is going to say, and when they are going to say it.

If you don't have a first line yet, bear in mind that the first line is usually the hardest to write. I recommend using something short and poetic which summarizes the mood of the book or the main character, such as Herman Melville's "Call me Ishmael."

If you don't know how every thing is going to turn out that's fine. It'll come to you when you least expect it, such as during a long walk.

Once you finish the book, I recommend looking at the classified section of Poets and Writers Magazine at www.pw.org. The magazine can be read for free and it's a great source of info for new and established writers.

Answer 4

Download the program Google Earth. Or just go to Google Maps and zoom in on an area in Alaska where there seem to be forests.

Answer 5

The number one rules in writing, "Write what you know about!"

Start there. A plane can crash anywhere. Place this story in an area you are familiar with or can visit so it rings true.

Short of that, make up a place. If you use a real place based on someone elses description, the locals there are surely going to know it.

Answer 6

This is what I do. Unless I'm baseing the story off a town I've been to, I make one up. This way you can make it look and be whatever you want. You don't have to worry about making the town like, wrong. There are really awsome authors who have made up towns and cities.

Hope that helped you out.
Sky C

Answer 7

Kind of a trite plot, don't you think?
Far too "cheesy role play" for my tastes.
How do you get Alaska on the way to Canada?
Unless you're going from Russia, I guess.

Answer 8

Try to write about a place you know to begin with.

Otherwise, just google map alaska.

maps.google.com

Answer 9

If the recommend best sites on writing askers dont choose it.
visit: Author assist. com; writer's digest .

Answer 10

Wikipedia is the researcher's dream.