Young Writers Society

Ok, I've had the idea of my story since 3rd grade.
Yeah, I started it then. I hate folders full of old writing, but I don't like any of it for the beginning of my novel.

I really want to start it with a dream, but that sounds cliched. Oh well...maybe I'll try that, maybe not.

I was also considering starting out with her discovering an entrance to the Kingdom of Rain. Does that sound cliche?

This is probably a stupid topic, but I desperately need help.

Ayra wrote:This is probably a stupid topic, but I desperately need help.

I can't hardly say it's a stupid topic without knowing more, now, can I? A little background info, so long as it doesn't spoil the whole story, would be helpful to us so we can be helpful to you.

Ayra wrote:I really want to start it with a dream, but that sounds cliched

Personally, I've started two stories now with dreams, and I've seen it done on a story here- I think it's just a matter of how it's written. Others may think differently, but...

Ayra wrote:I was also considering starting out with her discovering an entrance to the Kingdom of Rain. Does that sound cliche?

1) There's no background info for me to work off of to say it's cliche or not to discover an entrance to the Kingdom of Rain, and 2) though something may sound cliche, if you add enough spice and mix them differently than others, it can be something completely new and utterly unique. Experiment- there's no harm in experimenting, 'cause even if you make mistakes you can learn from them and get feedback from us. That's what we're here for, after all! *hug*

Thanks!
I just realized what a strange topic this is, because you don't know anything about my story. I'm actually starting it right now, but it's slow going.

You don't need to worry about your story being strange. There are many books that seem like they are jest the strangest things in the world, then you read it and find that that the story was actually pretty good. It is like going to a movie you are not quiet sure that you'll like, usually by the end, you are glad to have went.
Yes, starting you novel is hard, my first novel started by accident. I was board in Study Hall, so I started writing, it was only going to be maybe 5 pages long, and I'd be able to use it for a writing assignment in writing, well that 5 pages soon turned to 100, then 200, and when I stopped writing it, I ended up with 303. See so once you get going, it is hard to stop. So keep working on it, in the end you will feel proud of what you have done, well until you start to edit it. Laugh with me, it was a joke Oh, hahaha. Well, good luck, and best wishes.

[quote] "The strong take from the weak, but the smart take from the strong." -"The Rule of Four."

Ok, I was in a similar sitation to you. I'd had my idea for at least three years, I thought about it, I started it at the time, and I abandoned it. The idea stayed with me so I came back to it last summer and started again, making slight changes in accordance with how I myself have changed as a person.
I don't know how you go about writing, so I'm not sure what will work for you, but I can tell you what worked for me:

Early on in the summer I was talking to a friend on MSN while looking through my various projects on the computer. I realised that I had started multiple novels and a couple of plays and that none of them were even half way done. I was telling my friend this, and beginning to feel very depressed, when I hit on the idea of entering into a deal. She'd complete her goal if I completed mine. We were both to work on our projects and tell each other how they were going, and remember that a failure for one of us was a failure for both of us...

This didn't quite work out as planned, as my friend gave up on her project...but whatever, it was an incentive...now, it just so happened that this decision pretty much coinicded with an August Novel Writing Month on another sight. I signed myself up for that, and decided how many words I needed to do per day to get it done, allowing for the time in which I would be on holidays.

I told someone else, who believed it was madness to write a novel in a month, and completely impossible. This was great. I love a challenge.
And I wrote. It was so much less daunting when it was just 2000 words a day, not a book, just words. I found it helped to set myself small targets. It meant that I couldn't overthink it. There wasn't time for getting stuck, and it just made the whole thing much less daunting.

Personally I find it hard to write without specific goals, you know, this amount of words, this amount of pages, every day, for such and such a time. Maybe it would help if you broke your project into chunks like this.

I'd also recommened telling someone about your project so you have someone there supporting you along the way. Friends, family, people on forums like this. On the forum I was on for my August Nano I'd go on a couple of times a week, and there was a special place where you'd say how many words you had. Seeing other people getting ahead of you gave you a push. Watching others fail made you determined not to do so yourself. If you can't find this sort of place when you want to write your book, you could have a friend ask you every day or every week how many words you have, or how many chapters. That way you'll feel guilty if it's not getting done, and this should motivate you.

Finally, I think it's important not to be hard on yourself when you're writing the first draft. That's what editing is for. Just write, even if you think it's poorly written, or it sounds stupid, or it's crazy, or what's going on inside your head is kinda starting to creep you out adnd you're sure you'd be carted off to an insane asylum is anyone ever found out what you were writing.

"Chapter after chapter" is a great book for novel writing, and it really inspired me, so I'd definetly recommend it. It was very reassuring to have that to turn to along the way, and the exercises were great for getting unblocked.

Ultimately, you need to remember that you absolutely can do it, and, moreover, you should do it, because you'll feel so great when it's done!

Hope some of those ramblings were at least remotely helpful! Good luck.