I want to write a book, either sci-fi fantasy, and i dont know where to start?

Question:

I want to write a book, either sci-fi fantasy, and i dont know where to start?

Coming up with plot and characters isnt so much my problem, i just have such a hard time getting my work down on paper. Are there any other young writers out there who can give me advice to help me work on my writing skills and someday write a book that i can try to publish???

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Here's what I've learned from talking to numerous published writers [including some heavyweights] -- they must have some validity, since I've been published. :-)

1. Write every day, without fail. Even if it's your wedding day, get up an hour early and write. If you're flat on your back with the flu, croak a few words into a cassette or digital recorder. If you go on vacation, take a pad of paper. If you want to be a writer, writing needs to be like a heroin addiction.

2. No distractions of any kind. No television, radio, stereo, checking e-mail, or even surfing the 'Net for naughty pictures. [Stephen King has his desk facing into a corner, so he's not even distracted by a window view.]

3. When working on your first draft, do no editing or alterations. Forward motion only. Since you're probably writing on a computer [R.I.P. my beloved IBM Selectric II], you don't even need to go back a few words if you notice a typo -- correct it later. Oh, and set your computer's preferences to do an automatic back-up once per minute, in case the power goes out or your computer overheats. Alternatively, simply do a manual save every few minutes -- I write in good old MS Word, and hit Ctrl+S after every sentence.

4. And now, here's the writing style I've adopted from successful writers. [It hardly needs clarification, but...this is for fiction.] Basically, don't write a complete plot beforehand. To do so can easily doom you to clunky writing. It's like you're driving on a racetrack with targets to hit on both sides of the road -- you swerve back and forth to nail each one, and as a result are a bit out of control. In other words, after you hit one target, you're fixated on hitting the next one, and won't pay attention to pacing -- you'll simply be in a rush to get there.

Instead, come up with a basic starting premise and enough characters to get the story started. Then simply write the book in sequence and let it unfold. You just write, and write, and write, and write. It's absolutely amazing to experience something coming into existence -- it's just like people in the past sitting around a fire and creating stories on the spot. If you find the path veering into odd territory, let it do so -- your aim is to write an interesting story, and interesting stories sometimes take strange side trips [if it continues to get weird just try to steer back to something more middle-of-the-road -- you can always do some alterations during the second draft].

Now, since you're obviously not going to write the thing in one day, it's natural at the end of the day to start wondering what will come next. This is natural and you CAN indulge in it a bit, but do NOT start pre-plotting -- don't dwell on and refine an idea in your head, and don't notate it. Trust me, if it's worthwhile, you'll remember enough of it to NATURALLY alter course toward it at your next writing session.

That being said, you still have to remain cognizant of coming up with some sort of conflict(s), whether it's a classic villainous person to be conquered/vanquished or some other adversity that needs to be dealt with. Characters dealing with conflicts is what makes a story interesting.

Two final thoughts. Always strive to write a good story -- never try to maneuver it into what will become a best seller. The result will be mediocrity, for you'll be trying to tailor your work for every potential reader. You're not writing THEIR story, you're writing YOUR story. And if your story is interesting enough, it will be in a good position to sell. Lord, can't you just imagine how many Harry Potter wannabes that land on publishers' desks daily? Hmmm...Barry Slaughter? Mary Trotter? Very Hotter? :-)

Secondly, as part of creating your initial premise, you may find that a logical ending occurs to you, even though you're not filling in the vast majority of the story. I actually did this on the book I'm currently finishing [first draft]. I had come up with the premise [it was actually the middle "meat" of the story, not strictly a "page one" beginning scenario] and an idea for the ending. So I then started at the beginning and created the world of my story, having characters appear along the way. [By the way, don't waste time coming up with "perfect" names. Just assign each person a "dummy" name and stick with it, then refine names after the first draft is done -- my hero character is currently and QUITE temporarily named Percy!] As I was writing and writing and writing, the ending idea started looking increasingly better, so I naturally "aimed" for it. Well, guess what -- lo and behold, one of the characters did something that threw everything off-track. It was a major plot twist -- and an excellent one -- and it effectively invalidated my ending idea. So here I am currently approaching the end, I think -- and though the story definitely feels like it's wrapping up, I still have no idea what the actual ending will be. There's still room for a surprise. The only thing I know is that my original ending idea is withering on the vine, doomed to never be used. *sigh*