[S.T.C]

Any book writers on here? i'm writing a 7/10.000 word story , going to put it on Amazon Kindle , then write something else.

[PaulAds]

Delboy is a published writer, I think...as well as being a fine singer, songwriter and guitar-slinger...

[jacksimmons]

I have written short stories & started novels, some recently. I don't have the attention span for it! started an epic fantasy/space opera and got 20k words in and realised it was waaaayyy too much work ahaha. What's your novel about?

[S.T.C]

I have written short stories & started novels, some recently. I don't have the attention span for it! started an epic fantasy/space opera and got 20k words in and realised it was waaaayyy too much work ahaha. What's your novel about?

Its about a boy who finds a tower ,hidden in a copse wood that only appears on certain nights and when the moon lights it up..the rest will be revealed when it is complete...i have written 2000 words in 4 hours,,but this rate will change has the story becomes more complex.

I find 'storyboarding' it helps , getting all the chapters headlined so you know where you're going with it.

[Wicked Deeds]

I wrote several stories for children about 10 years ago. One about a pirate who was laid low with a terrible cold:

"Captain Slate, lean and mean, wore velvet slippers, one red, one green".

i also wrote a story called "Archie's Bad Hair Day"

Archie's hair was rather plain or so his mother said.
"I'll take you to the barbers. Perhaps they'll die it red"

They were all written in rhyme. It was a fairly easy and satisfying task. I think lyric writing is a tougher discipline. I abandoned it as quickly as I had begun. Same old story. life and responsibility gets in the way of creativity.

Paul

[tone]

I wrote the first draft of a book about songwriting a few years ago. Didn't have the stamina/ patience to turn it into something good, but I have a feeling I'll write something resembling a book before I die. Hats off to all you novelists - it's bloody hard work!

[Sing4me88]

Good luck with the latest venture.

7,000-10,000 is certainly manageable and shouldn't consume too much time or effort. IMHO it's a bit restricted that word count - that's not a lot of words so you'll have to be uber choosy in terms of editing etc. The hardest part, I'd imagine at lest, will be cutting material down rather than coming up with it. It's not unlike songwriting in that sense I guess.

[S.T.C]

Good luck with the latest venture.

7,000-10,000 is certainly manageable and shouldn't consume too much time or effort. IMHO it's a bit restricted that word count - that's not a lot of words so you'll have to be uber choosy in terms of editing etc. The hardest part, I'd imagine at lest, will be cutting material down rather than coming up with it. It's not unlike songwriting in that sense I guess.

 

10K  ish and above loses short story status , which for my first go is what I'm aiming for ....although I could expand it or even make it a small series of stories.

[Sing4me88]

Ah I see. I asn't sure if there was a specific reason for the 10k limit or if it was one you chose because it seemed like a nice round common number. You've got a fixed number to operate within which is fine but will need a real self-discipline on the editing side.

I've come across a few tips and approaches to writing but a lot of it mirrors the advice and approaches to songwriting - different horses for different courses and all hat. One approach is to binge write - so literally get down as much as you can whenever the inspiration strikes. Another approach is more disciplined and measured and involves writing a set of amount of words each day in an allotted 'writing time'. Stick to the time and limit and don't go over it I guess is the premise. This way can lose a bit of momentum and some of the rawness of inspiration striking I' suppose but it also allows a more reflective and considered approach and certain ideas will be more thought out. I think the main strand of either is to write and not to get too hung up on the quality of what you are writing. The most important thing is to get words down on the page for now and then you can edit, tweak etc hen revising it - a bit like using holding lyrics when developing a melody.

7 - 10k is a good way to dip your toe into writing - it's a challenge but it's more than doable. Developing a series of short stories is a bit more of a task but once you get the first one over you, you'll have a idea if it's something you want to commit to further.

[CaliaMoko]

A great resource for writers is scribophile.com. It has a free version and a premium version.

[adamfarr]

For me 500 words a day at a set time of day was the way to go. Even if not in the mood. Without editing.

Best to set a target date and leave lots of time for editing/rewriting at the end. Good luck!

[delb0y]

Hi S.T.C

Yes, as Paul mentioned, I've rustled up a few short stories and novels over the years. My sixth western is currently going through the editing process and I'm busy working on number 7 (it so happens that #5, #6 and #7 are a loose trilogy).

The westerns are quite short at around 40k - which is one of the reasons (*) I write them. Work and commuting leaves little spare time, so anything longer will have to wait until I'm retired! Prior to doing these I wrote three full length (120k) thrillers, one of which I subbed out to a few agents but with no joy other than nice comments.

And prior to that I concentrated on short stories, quite a few of which were published. Had a couple of honourable mentions in "Best Horror & Fantasy Stories of the Year" which was nice. But novels are where my heart lies.

It also explains why most of my songs are story songs :-)

Your story idea sounds good - I'd love to read it when you're done.

Regards
Derek

(*) The other reasons is that I love them, I grew up reading them, and some of my favourite writers started their careers writing them!

[Sing4me88]

Book publishers take the piss with remuneration too - literally pennies for each copy sold unless of course you have the next Harry Potter on your ends. I guess that's another commonality with the songwriting industry end of things...

[Max32]

Any book writers on here? i'm writing a 7/10.000 word story , going to put it on Amazon Kindle , then write something else.

If i may ask...which eBook format are you going to be using?

[2tuoo]

Are you trying to do a NANOWRIMO - the light version?