Hi everyone I haven't writtena book but I have completed a screenplay and it was sent to two production companies and it got a good report. Also Im starting the follow up script after christmas and new year.

WOW!...Congratulations to you...that must have taken a tremendous amount of time

i wanna write a book....where do u start?

at the beginning?

okay smart asp, i know u start at the beginning...and bend over and i will show u a beginning...

For me....it was with a tiny little seed of an idea.

The seed was planted over ten years ago. It kept growing and growing until I had an entire dialogue rattling around in my head.

A friend convinced me that I should write it out.

I don't think it really matters much exactly where you begin.

Just have the seed of an idea and get it written out. If the idea is a good one, you can write whatever it needs to surround the idea in fertile ground.

A lot of the time, when I sit down to write, I have an idea in mind of what I want the characters to do and where I want them to go. Unfortunately ( actually, fortunately lol ) the characters decide that they simply don't want to do whatever it is I want them to, and they just go their own way.

Some writers will tell you to start off with a general outline of the story.

I will just say that, for me, it's a lot more fun if the story is allowed free rein ( within reason ) to go where it wants to.

YAY...I agree

LOL I have been told I always write a book.

The only really bad thing about doing it that way is that it sometimes gets difficult to keep track of certain things. Like characters you have introduced, areas you have described, timelines....

It can be a pain at times. But, to me, it's always better/easier to go back to remove things that don't necessarily " work " or fine tune something that does work, but isn't quite right.

Of course, any writing advice coming from ME should be taken with a grain of salt because I have not been published. Nor am I some kind of expert.

All I can do is tell people what works for me and let them take it for what they will.

well im gonna take a class on how to write a book, and then will post the rules 4 free...

anyone can write a book. it is getting it published...the trick...

Duffy, in all seriousness, I would never take a " how to " class about writing.

What they will do is give you certain things that you " have " to do, teach you a bunch or " rules " and wind up possibly stifling the creativity it takes to actually write.

I know that, for me, knowing the " rules " would be extremely counterproductive to my writing. It would fill my head with " well...the rules say you can't do that in that way " and completely shut me down.

I much prefer just to go by what I feel. If that means I break a few of the rules along the way, that may not be a bad thing.

how to write children's books have certain rules....like no damn bad language that will frighten the poor kiddy....

I'm really good at watching movies based on books, that's about it.

im gonna how 2it. regardless of what u and the whole damn mingle site say. so there.
actually, i think that taking a basic class with structure will point the way to what u want to write about or not.

me, i need to brush up on a few things.....now do you agree or still want to argue like a dog and his bone..

But your writing, from what I've seen, is decidedly better than a lot of what I've read from writers who HAVE been published. And yes, there's a subjective element to that, but my point is that the sheer circumstance of having been published or not does not necessarily impact on whether the material itself is good or not.

As for being an "expert" -- OK, I've been published, several times now, and in no way do I consider myself an expert. How would you know when you reach that level? I have no clue.

It's true that people often ask me about writing; they want suggestions, advice, etc. I'm OK with that. I'm doing some advising right now for a friend who is writing what he hopes will be a book sometime in the near future -- but his writing style is very different from mine. I don't want to tinker with that. I suggest things he can do to strengthen the characters, to tie diverse elements together in a way that will aid the story later on -- but I always do it from the standpoint of "Here's how I would handle this."

I have more writing experience than he has. But I don't feel that makes me an expert. It just means I've built a body of work. His is yet to come.

I'd kill to write like you, Lex!

Dude. I don't care if that thought is subjective or not...that is a HUGE compliment.

Thank you.

* If there was a Hug icon here...I would TOTALLY put one here. * lmao

Well, thank you!

But really, it's just a skill like any other. It took me a long time to reach the point where I felt comfortable putting my work out there. And even now, I sometimes find myself dissatisfied with a particular word or phrase or paragraph.

I think a writer has to evolve, to expand -- there's always this danger of stagnation, of writing (essentially) the same book over and over.

And that means -- if you're doing it right -- that you're not the same writer you were three years ago.

Thanks for the valuable advice, man! It means a lot!

Right back atcha, pal!

Seriously -- I think the portion of the story you've written thus far is absolutely superb. That's not something I say often, or easily -- if I didn't like it, I wouldn't be saying anything at all -- but talent deserves to be recognized -- and encouraged.