A writer's dilemma. Please help!?

I am 28 and I'm just getting ready to submit my novel that I've worked on for two years to a publisher. Let me tell you what I've learned after two years of writing.

1) The key to getting better at writing is writing and reading consistently. That doesn't mean you have to do it every day, but like exercise - the more often you write, the better you'll get. My writing was so much better after two years that I had to go back and edit the beginning of my book so that it would be consistent with the style of the end. Reading also help as you can study other styles and get a better feel of how popular prose is written. I also find that reading often sparks ideas and sometimes gets me out of a block by motivating me.

2) The hardest parts of writing is beginning and not quitting. It is hard to begin. You are filled with self doubt and think that you'll never have an original idea. It happens. But truthfully the beginning of a book is not as important as you think. You may find later that you want to change the beginning. Writers do it all the time. Some go through several beginnings before they find the right one. Even best selling novelists end up changing things. Not stopping is also hard because those little insecurities creep up and whisper in your ear. You are your own worst critic. Don't listen to them. Keep writing. You'll never know how beautiful what you make can be if you quit.

3) Don't be afraid of change. Write your novel and concentrate on finishing first. Change it only if you must! First concentrate on finishing. Then when you are done you can go back through and make all the changes you want in the editing process.

4) Don't worry about if you were born to be a writer. At first I wondered that too. I was full of doubt because I had never finished even so much as a story. Then I remembered that I had always had a passion, not just for writing, but for storytelling and before that - creation! As a child I used to do everything I could to make new creations. I would make mud pies and snowmen. I would make things out of Legos and beads. I would play with action figures and make up stories with them. I would also make up stories when playing make believe games. If you think back you will probably remember times all through your life that you've wanted to create something and also times you have created things. It is a passion for creation that ignites the fires of writing.

5) The fire of writing grows. The more you write, the more you want to write. Writing is addictive. It is so addictive that often you may inspire others to write just by declaring you are writing. It is like a fire that grows and strengthens inside of you and can transfer to others as well. So your writing flame may only be a small one right now, but the more you write the stronger it will get. Best selling writers often talk about how they get bothered if they don't write enough or how sometimes they can't think of anything but their current story. I didn't feel that before. After two years of writing I do now. Keep at it, you'll find out if it is your destiny.

6) Don't worry about becoming a best seller. Truthfully it is not in your hands. You can worry about it forever and you'll get stuck in your writing. Just work on your novel. Do your best work and let your readers decide. Lots of novelists didn't start out as best sellers. Failure molds you. It shapes you into a better person and a better writer. Do the work, take your licks, and you will get better for it. You could be an instant success or you may never get to be a best seller. But if you continue worrying about it and let it hold you back you'll never find out what you can be. You may find out in the end that you weren't meant to be a best seller, but it may end up also that you are happier with another destiny that comes along the way. Take the journey and find out!

7) The step of writing. All of my research tells me this. The first step to writing is starting your novel. The second step is finishing your novel. After that I suggest editting it to make it consistent. Don't take too long tearing apart your work, just smooth the rough spots and keep the original, you may want to look at it again. The next step is contacting a Literary Agent. Literary Agents take a percentage off of the profits your book make, but they are valuable tools in the writing universe. For one they know the contract laws for intellectual property, which is much more complicated than you might think. Another thing they are needed for is the fact that a lot of the big publishers won't take a manuscript unless it has been passed through a literary agent. And anything you can do to get out of the slush pile is a good thing! Do your homework on the Literary Agents. Make sure they don't ask for money up front and find out what they want you to submit and what they take. A lot of agents only take letters at first that tell them what your work is about. Others will take a few pages or the whole manuscript. A lot of agents only take a few genres so make sure you pick ones that match your genre or you'll waste time. An agent if they like your work will then put you in contact with a publisher who will assign you an editor and you'll be on your way to getting published. It can take over a year for a book to get published after being submitted. There's a lot they have to decide, like what graphics to use, what the cover should be and so on. So be patient and try to do something else in the meantime to take your mind off it.

I hope that covers everything and good luck and good journey!

I'm 16 too. Turning 17 next month.^_^

The first thing you need to do is to believe in yourself. Don't let anyone tell you that "writers are born, not made." That's pooh-pooh. No one is a natural- born writer. Wrting is a talent, yes. But talents are also developed.

>My trick: I always tell myself that since my middle name is "Balagtas," I must be related to this famous writer named Franscisco Balagtas. (Search him) My mom says we aren't related to him but I don't care. I still swim in that thought and it helps. Now, maybe you can convince yourself that you're related to Hemingway or Forrester. How? Draw your imaginary family tree.

Second, accept critiscisms with all your heart. Tell yourself to consider what others say. Then, decide on whether or not you will follow them. (And don't accept anything that isn't constructive. You know, the ones where people say, "This sucks!" then don't even explain why.) When you post your story here in Y!A, expect the worst.

REad. It's the very foundation of writing.

Third, try to study how to write effectively. "Writer's toolbox" and "Grammar." You may want to study those first. Writing.com is a neat place where you can join free writing lessons. Just join the A1 writing academy group there. (My username there is tepishane_13, btw. You can e-mail me if you need help.)

Fourth, just write. Don't think about publishing yet. Just write for the love of it. Just write to help people. Never write for money. Now, to get the ideas, you have to clear your head first. I have those kinds of things once in a while but I just leave them. After, maybe, two weeks, I'd be flooded with ideas. lol.

When you become ready for publishing, make a research about the writing industry-- "What are editors, agents and query letters?" "What are my chances of getting published?" "Where can I send my novels and short stories?

Best tip: "Write with your heart and rewrite with your mind" -- Forrester

Good luck!

-tepishane-

Have you tried working with a storyboard or a flowchart?

You sound as if you are indeed a writer.

Remember, Einstein was bad at simple arithmetic, Thomas Edison dropped out of school, they both were considered geniuses although they were high functioning autistics... They used alternative methods to do what they did in life.

If it is in you to write, and it sounds like it, look for alternate means to aid you in your writing. It could be something as changing your environment, like take your laptop or a notebook and go somewhere where it is quiet like at a park, or other places which are different than you're used to....

Sometimes people can overcome the 'bridge' of communications. You have stories that come easily to you but sounds like it is difficult to get them out of your mind and write/type them out on paper. Start small and work your way up.

Find something that works for you. You probably will need to construct a mental means of structure and discipline to better control 'shifting', a outline format, flowcharts, or other sorts of things may help you construct the 'skeleton' while you can fill in the story while maintaining direction.

You're still young so cut yourself some slack first of all and second of all be aware of the fact that writing is a lot harder than people think. I wouldn't worry about writing a book at this point, instead I would just get some practice writing period. I don't mean to sound harsh or cruel but what you have written here is very difficult to read. Largely because of the grammar. If you have ideas for stories write them down for later or sit down and plot the story out before trying to write it.

I don't personally believe anyone is born with a predetermined path in life. We all have freewill and our choices are what determine where we go in life. That said I do believe that people are all born with different talents, but in order to use those talents they have to work at it. But at the same time you don't have to be born with the gift to succeed at something you love doing.

If you aspiring to become a bestselling author than by all means shoot for that goal, but be aware that you may never achieve that goal and you shouldn't give up just because you don't. There are a lot of people that are trying to get their books published, a lot of good writers that have had previous books published, that have their manuscripts rejected. So that's the other thing you need to remember if you decide to follow your dream, be prepare for a lot of rejection letters. But instead of letting them get you down, let them inspire you to become a better author.

But for write now start a journal, work on short stories, plot out your ideas into a concrete story that you sit down and write out. Read books in the genre you want to get published in so you can familiarize yourself with it. See what other authors write and how they put words together. Work on finding your voice. Read books on how to write. But write. Just like anything else you want to get good at you have to practice, so write.

And if you can find a critque group in your area because you're going to need good readers for your story to help you find the flaws in your work so that you can improve your story. Get used to the idea that your first draft is always going to suck. That's why you edit.

Erma Bombeck " any idiot can write, you start out one paragraph at a time.

There are great writing blogs ,if you look for them.

The best advice I read is not to be a critic of your work until it's done.

I dont think about punctuation , or publishing. I write to get those stories out of my head and see how they turn out.

Everything after is gravy. The process is the reward.

I sympathise with you completely. I start something, love it, then read over it a couple of days later and i hate it.

I think what does help me write is being around things that inspire me. Having my favourite novels near me. I also have a pin board which i have filled with inspirational photos/quotes from novels and book covers. But that's just my way of getting into a creative mood and i feel better about my writing afterwards.

-Hope that Helps ?

x

you must write within the location your tale is placed of path like I needed to. I reside in America n needed to write within the uk which incidentally I've under no circumstances visited ( which I have performed tiresome study but it surely paid off immensely) so write wherein your tale takes location n look ahead to the position to return to you if you do not know but. First off in case you put up they may be able to translate. But dnt fear I notion approximately the identical factor and write within the language you consider such a lot secure n wherein the tale evolves extra evidently. If the characters speak in english to then you there you've got it. I could inform u well good fortune however writers simply want a pen