Need help with a Writing Problem, Please

[belial.1980]

So, I have an idea for a book, however I have been having trouble getting this idea down on paper.  I can visualized the various scenes in the book, and have written up and drawn a diagram of the plot, however when I get to actually writing down the story I come to standstill.  I begin to fret over which words would be the best to use, and worry that each senetence is not as good as it could be.

Every accomplished writer sees tons of changes and edits applied to their manuscript before it's published. And these are people who've been in the business for years. As somebody who's just starting out, don't fret it. Because that's a surefire way to slow your progress and fill your head full of doubt. My advice to you is to just get something on paper. It won't be perfect. It never is. Every author in the business writes multiple drafts of every novel.

Just keep those fingers moving across the keys, keep that pen moving across the paper, and finish the story that's in your head. You might find yourself wincing at some of the stuff you write, but that's okay. This is just the first draft. Once you finish your project, you can put it away for awhile and when you're ready you can come back to revise it with a fresh state of mind. So don't fret over those individual words and sentences, especially on the first draft. You can always come back and fix them. Just finish your draft, pat yourself on the back then get back to work.

I'd like to recommend a book to you that I read recently: Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain. It's an older work, and shows its age in some places, but the advice is really good. You can get a copy on amazon.com for a few bucks and I think it'll really help you out.

Best of luck!

[the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh]

Just keep those fingers moving across the keys, keep that pen moving across the paper, and finish the story that's in your head. You might find yourself wincing at some of the stuff you write, but that's okay. This is just the first draft. Once you finish your project, you can put it away for awhile and when you're ready you can come back to revise it with a fresh state of mind.

It is worth noting that there are writers who cannot do this; for whom setting the story down wrong kills the story. Some of them have established careers nonetheless.

[belial.1980]

It is worth noting that there are writers who cannot do this; for whom setting the story down wrong kills the story. Some of them have established careers nonetheless.

Of that I have no doubt. Every successful writer got there by doing what worked for her/him. I offered the best solution that I could think of to help the poster get past the stumbling block they wanted to address. 

[Murphy's Stunt Double]

Here is a sample of the prologue,
     The rain fell in a soft patter around a tall, shadowy figure as he pulled his coat tighter to keep the cold off his body.  Hurrying through the dimly lit street, the figure only paused to check over his shoulder.  The moon shown faintly through the cloud cover, revealing the shadowy man moved briskly through the cold night.  Suddenly coming to a sharp halt under one of the street lights, the man turned and looked behind him, searching the dark rain.  With a short nod to himself in satisfaction that he had not been followed, the man continued down the road a little further until he came to a narrow alley with a short, stubby door at the far end.  Turning off the street and walking down the alley, the man worked his way past half-full trash cans and broken beer bottles to the other end of the alley and the door.  Pulling a set of keys out of his pocket, the man squinted in the dark as he fumbled around with his keys. 

From a reader's POV - you've given me nothing to really give a damn about this person. What's with the short, stubby door? Doors are not short or stubby. And you're committing what a friend of mine who is a professional editor would call the worst possible sin in the writing world, you're telling me rather than showing me. F.I. "Turning into the alley, the man dodged half full trash cans, crushing the glass of half a dozen beer bottles under his feet as he made his way to the door at the far end of the alley. Keys chimed in his fumbling hands."

JMO

[meg_evonne]

Handing MSD some coffee...

Liger, The writing craft takes time--a ton of time, usually over years, and it takes commitment.  It takes a thick skin and a thicker skull while maintaining a brain that takes what it needs to learn from a variety of sources with a variety of opinions without prejudice.

Write, the rest will come--if you commit to extreme hard work and set easy but steady increases of complexity in learning goals you WILL LEARN the craft.  First and foremost write for yourself. If your goal is solely on getting published, getting fame and fortune...  Well, crank down the ego by six million and start over. 

Write because you must to satisfy something within you whether others read it or not.  If you're writing to find a cushy career, then there are tons of easier ways to do it. 

[Aakaakaak]

Just write. Write crap, write nothing comprehensible, but above all, just write. I can't remember who it was, but they got in a run and typed around six full pages of LALALALALALALALALALALALALALALA and then found his/her voice again. I can't for the life of me remember who it was though.

[meh]

Just write. Write crap, write nothing comprehensible, but above all, just write. I can't remember who it was, but they got in a run and typed around six full pages of LALALALALALALALALALALALALALALA and then found his/her voice again. I can't for the life of me remember who it was though.

I freaking wish this could work for SWMBO and her professional papers; I'd get lucky /far/ more often.

[Aakaakaak]

SWMBO?

[meh]

Do I need to get you a Rumpole collection?

She Who Must Be Obeyed.

[Murphy's Stunt Double]

Handing MSD some coffee...

*sips coffee* Sorry if I was too brusque, but Liger asked for help and advice. I don't think anyone gets any better by being told "go ahead and write crap" without being shown *how* to improve. It's hard to ask for help, so I try to at least honor the person's courage with whatever worthwhile suggestions I can offer.

Perhaps it's just my own pet peeve about asking for critiques and getting "it's good." with milque toast smiles. If I ask for your input, it's because I feel it could be better and can't figure out how to get there with my own POV, so I need your honesty. Patronizing or coddling someone who is trying to improve helps no one.

/Grumpy

[Aakaakaak]

Do I need to get you a Rumpole collection?

She Who Must Be Obeyed.

Um...what exactly is a Rumpole collection?

roger on the SWMBO definition.

[Reil]

Also; people whose "goal is to be widely read" don't sell novels.  People who can write a decent book sell novels.

Plenty of people write unnecessarily long sentences when an extra period here and there would make the phrase easier to read without changing the meaning at all, nor significantly altering the flow of the language.  They unnecessarily alienate a portion of their potential audience.  Keeping that in consideration is not a bad thing.  No one is saying that should be the foremost nor even a primary concern, but it ought to be considered.

[meh]

Rumpole:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumpole_of_the_Bailey

Plenty of people write unnecessarily long sentences when an extra period here and there would make the phrase easier to read without changing the meaning at all, nor significantly altering the flow of the language.  They unnecessarily alienate a portion of their potential audience.  Keeping that in consideration is not a bad thing.  No one is saying that should be the foremost nor even a primary concern, but it ought to be considered.

'without' applies to both clauses, no?

[Reil]

I'm short on sleep, it makes me a grammar retard, but the point is still valid =)

[meh]

  

It is a valid point.   

 I think the thread already has a valid counterpoint, also.     

Thus:  long sentences can set tone to values not available to short sentence users, those values of tone possibly being appreciated by the audiences that do not lose patience.