Young Writers Society

so ok im 16, just doing my GCSEs, and i realised ive got a hell of a long summer in head of me and i thought and thought and thought...
then i thought (Lol to all the thoughts) maybe i shud try my hand at writing.
So where do I start?
are there any decent places to write novels (on the web) where they get notice and u get constructive comments about ur writing and may potentially lead you on to being able to publish you books.
I dont really want anything thats overly competitive though
thanks for any help

Hi, I'm a newbie too lol. Everyone on this site is above and beyond nice and have helped me a lot. This is an awesome place to actually get some real feedback on how to improve your writing and start out on your writing. Remember to review writing and people will do the same for your writing. Have fun!!!

It's cool to hear you guys are new to this...I was fifteen when I wrote my first novella, so I can tell you from experience that the first time is going to be the hardest writing something.

Depending on what kind of writing you're interested in, poetry or fictional writing (novels, etc.) I always advise you have a clear idea in your head before you write. If you're focused on poetry, think about certain emotions driven by events that have happened in your life. If you're writing a novel, think about a story that will always leave a reader interested for more.

That's the best I can give you; I had nothing to go on when I was starting out besides that. Just write; for now, that'll suffice. Post your stuff on here as often as you can and I'll come by and read it for you and let you know what you can fix.

thank you very much

Hmm...so, basically, you need help developing a plot, as I see it. You need INSPIRATION.

In order to develop a good plot, inspiration must strike you. It usually strikes when you aren't thinking about it, so don't put tons of thought into it.

One idea that I haven't actually tried yet is developing your characters, which I plan to post a guide for in the knowledge base soon. Don't try that quite yet.

One other idea I have tried, but discarded the result, is read. Seriously, just read. May I reccomend "Call of the Wild" by Jack London? Anyway, look at each sentence on its own. One might just inspire a new plot when taken out of context.

ok thnks thunderdude
i needed that being trying to come up with a plot but it wont come to me...
shud eventually then, might try doing that reading tip or jst hope for one of those random moments of gr8 inspiration

I finished the guide, it's called "Advanced Character Development" in the knowledge base.

Have you ever had those random thoughts like, "I wonder what it would be like to fly inside a cloud?" or "It would be so cool to discover life on other planets" or "Wow, how would my life change if my big brother died today?"

If you have - that is where your novel begins. Sometimes those thoughts can become so tantalizing that they need a story to go along with them. So find a story. Find the meaning behind the thought, the emotion and the life behind the idea, and write it. That is how you start a novel. Or a short story. Or a poem. Or a script. The sky is the limit.

Or you could just be on a train one day and BAM! Your idea floats into your mind and you know what your going to write

OR sometimes your characters are the ones who come first

I remember I was sitting in class one day and I had so much work to do it was coming out of my ears, and I just sat thinking...'I'm so darn lazy' and then I thought, wouldn't it be neat to write about a story about an extremely lazy character? And then that character's voice, appearance, and general personality came to me just like that.

But like what thunder dude said, inspiration doesn't come from sitting around and 'thinking' about it. Get out! Go to the park! Observe things. Maybe you meet an interesting hobo and he becomes inspiration for a short story [s]not like that has happened to me or anything *cough*[/s].