Writing a book

[11t]

So this summer I want to try to write a book I have been throwing around in my head for a few months. I have never really attempted to write a full book though and while I don't think this is going to be some massive novel I was wondering if anybody here has ever tried to do something like this.

1. How long did writing a book take you?
2. Did you make an outline or anything or just write as it came to you and just revise it?
3. Did you try to get it published? Did you succeed?
4. If I wanted to try to get it published how exactly does one go about that?
5. Would anybody be interested in reading this book when I get done?

[cold_cash]

What kind of book?

[11t]

I was planning on writing it in a non linear Kurt Vonnegutish style. I guess you could also compare the style I want to use to somebody like Chuck Palanhiuk but I think he is way way overrated, but he is creative.

It will be told from the first person perspective of the protagonist.

The basic idea is this: A lot of primitive cultures after a battle will have warrior's eat the hearts of their enemies believing it gives them super human strength. Obviously [censored], but in this book it turns out to be true.

The two main character's are a couple. The protagonist is this weak willed douchebag accountant who is completely dominated by his gf. The antagonist is this guy's wiccan gf who is a cokehead bartender who has him completely dominated. She is the one who first learns about gaining this superhuman strength.

Basically the story is about the guy's transformation after he realizes what his GF is doing (killing people, eating their hearts, doing real heinous [censored]) and decides to try to stop her. The problem though is to try to stop her, he winds up being forced to also kill innocent people and eating their hearts.

I haven't really figured out all of what I want to put in it, but it will probably be divided into two parts. Part 1 would begin with the first time he kills somebody and eats their heart. Then it would go back to giving backstory (character development) to how he found out and how he got there. It would probably end with the antogonist beating the [censored] out of the protagonist when he finds out what shes doing but she doesn't kill him because he is such a weak willed piece of [censored] and she doesn't think he will do anything about it.

Part 2 would then start off where Part 1 began with the protagonist tryiing to hunt down the antagonist (probably into south america or some country not the US where somebody could potentially go on a killing spree and be less likely to get caught.)

I'm pretty sure the ending is going to be something like, the protagonist finally hunts down the antagonist, kills her, and then breaks down and realizes how far he has gone (become what she was) and kills himself.

That is the basic gist of the story.

[stigmata]

I haven’t written a book.

But I do have some opinions here. I guess my only credentials are that I have written a 100k thesis, numerous short stories over the years, and have at least three good friends who have written books, one of which is published.

1. I think this really differs between different authors. If your writing a complex, crafted piece of literature then it could take years. You might also rattle out a blockbuster in a matter of months. I think I remember a quote by James Joyce (or someone similar), that he considered 10 words "A good days work". On the other hand, people like Stephen King seem to be able to write a book quicker than I can write this post!

2. I really think structure is essential for most books, and hence you need some sort of chapter plan. Otherwise it might end up terribly unstructured / waffly / errors-riddled etc. This can be fine if the book is “experimental” or avant-garde, but most mainstream novels have a pretty tight structure IMHO. The easiest way to achieve this is to plan out every scene, similar to how you might do with a movie. Of course, the plan will be malleable, in that you may realise you need major storyline changes after developing the characters in your writing. Nonetheless, I think it allways helps to be working from a structure.

3. Getting a book published is tough. Really, really tough. There are A TON of budding writers out there and competition is tough. Your really going to have to stand out somehow. There are several ways to do this:
A) Be famous already
B) Be an accepted expert on the subject of your book (e.g. non-fiction)
C) Have some sort of interesting life story to tell. E.g. “I was a high-class hooker for the stars”, or “I was a football hooligan serial killer”, etc. Of course, you can probably just make this up, and by the time you are exposed, it will just be extra publicity.
D) Be a really awesome writer. Probably just writing a really good page-turning thriller is the easiest, and most profitable, way to achieve this. Read a ton of bestsellers and scrutinise their structure – story arcs, cliffhangers, emotional hooks etc. There should be some formulas to work from.

4) Unless you have a really marketable idea for a book (e.g. A or C), it’s going to take a lot of grunt work to get published.
It probably helps if you have been published already, so it might be best to start writing short stories and entering some “short story competitions” etc in the hope of getting your name out there. Then, write perhaps the first 3 chapters of the book and an outline of the rest of the book. Send this to 100 agents & publishers and hope that one of them looks at it for more than 3 seconds.

I’m sorry to say, but your first attempts at writing are going to suck. It’s not easy. In two years you will look back at your first (unpublished) book and see all the horrific errors – it will probably be self-indulgent, boring, badly written and unstructured. 99% of first novels fit this description exactly. I know my first attempts certainly did. But learn from your mistakes, keep working at it, and hopefully one day it will happen.

[george w]

have you done much writing before?

[RayPowers]

1. How long did writing a book take you?
I don't know if I'd still consider it finished, but since I haven't touched it in years, I guess I have to. Actual time spent on it, a touch over a year.

2. Did you make an outline or anything or just write as it came to you and just revise it?
I wrote a plot outline. From that I wrote a paragraph for each chapter I was planning. This method worked ok but not great. It did allow for a lot of freedom in swapping out the order of things though.

3. Did you try to get it published? Did you succeed?
I didn't try. I've had a couple short stories published, and articles, but I've never liked something large (i.e. over 50 pages) I have written enough to try to have it published.

4. If I wanted to try to get it published how exactly does one go about that?
See number 3. :P From what I understand, however, the fiction vs non-fiction market is much different. Non-fiction has a much smaller range of possible book sales, where as fiction can go from 0-infinity....


5. Would anybody be interested in reading this book when I get done?
I haven't paged down to read your teaser yet, but likely yes.

Ray

[11t]

Yah, I did a ton of writing in highschool but once i got to college poker and my degree have basically killed any time I had to write.

I am a senior mechanical engineering major so that is pretty time intensive.

I read constantly and have read a ton of books from classical to modern. However, I haven't read many of the new best sellers.

I am currently making my through the Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas.

[Phaedrus]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm pretty sure the ending is going to be something like, the protagonist finally hunts down the antagonist, kills her, and then breaks down and realizes how far he has gone (become what she was) and kills himself.

[/ QUOTE ]
He eats her heart at the end and gains her power, but in doing so he becomes what he despises.

No charge.

[11t]

Yah, I thought about this. I was planning on making the powers you gain lasting for only a duration of time (day or 2 possibly) hence why the two of them keep killing people but making it cumulative would be a good idea too.

Thanks for the input though.

[Gunny Highway]

[ QUOTE ]
5. Would anybody be interested in reading this book when I get done?
I haven't paged down to read your teaser yet, but likely yes.

Ray

[/ QUOTE ]

You really should page down and read it before committing yourself. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]