Now this post isn't directed just to Lynsay, but to everyone!

I've finally got something written up that might one day actually resemble a book! (after years of my parents getting on my to write, and me finally giving in to my desire to do so) and I was wondering about some tips everyone would have for writing a book.

Anything! From what you don't like to have in a book, to certain things to avoid!

I'm open to any and all suggestions!!!

Amy, I am no expert on writing books but I think if you write for you then you cannot go wrong! xx

Amy, no one can tell you how to write your book. It's yours. As for asking people what they like or dislike in books, FORGET ABOUT IT!! LOL.

Seriously, for every one who loves something, there's someone else who hates the same thing. Bill Cosby once said something like, "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."

I really believe he's right about this. . .and so is Vicky, you just have to write for yourself. If you write what you love, others will more than likely love it too.

The best tip I can give is to write. Just write a story you enjoy. Then go get a copy of The Writer's Market. It has tips on how and who to queryabout your story. But first, you have to write the book.

Lynsay

Thanks, that is so very true. I probably should have clairafied a little bit about some things though. I've heard rumors about when writing you aren't supposed to go back and edit it every time you add something new to it. Just write it and then edit it. Stuff like that. But thank you, and you are so very right.

I'm not a writer but I am an avid reader. The one bit of advice I would give is to keep your characters consistent. There is nothing worse than to be cruising along in a book, deeply involved in the plot when suddenly you are "Hey, why would she/he do that? They have been against this the entire time and then suddenly here they are doing the same thing? What the heck?" If the heroine is totally against animal cruelty, then don't have her sit silently by while the hero whips the horse to make greater speed on the way to rescue someone. She wouldn't just sit there, I don't care how overwrought she might be.

I hope you understand what I'm trying to say (one reason why I'm not a writer, I tend to ramble on, taking forever to make a point). I just know that I hate it when I become caught up in a book and then find myself stopping to reread former chapters to see if I missed something when a character, well, acts out of character.

The only other thing I could say that might be helpful is not to go overboard when setting the scene. I know that I tend to skip over descriptive paragraphs because I am so eager to get back to the dialogue. I like it best when the descriptions are mixed together with the inner thoughts or feelings of the characters. I kind of zone out when an author starts trying to list every piece of furniture in the room or every person in it. Is it really necessary to the plot? Does it help advance the story to know how many candlesticks were on the mantlepiece? You know what I mean, right?

Oh, and if you write a historical novel, please, please don't go back and forth between calling a main character by his name and his title. For example: Lord James Billingsforth, Duke of Worth can be refered to as James by close friends, and Worth by casual friends or other people. But sometimes is called one name in private and another in public. If it is just the hero, that's not too bad but when he has several friends who pop up in the book several times and they are referred to by both name and title, it gets very confusing and distracts quite a bit from the plotline because I have to keep backtracking to figure out who they are talking about!

Well, I thought I only had one thing to say and ended up with a few. My last bit of advice would be to have someone review it that doesn't have a problem being blunt and doesn't have a problem hurting your feelings if necessary. Or at least be willing to argue with you about whether something stays or goes. A good editor is a must. There are quite a few books out there that could have been much better with some selective pruning. The plot was good, the characters were interesting, but there were too many subplots or red herrings and by the time you circled your way around to the end...you just didn't care how it ended anymore as long as it ended.

In what genre are you writing? Romance, Sci-fi, mystery? Good luck with it. I wish you well.

Kimberly

I'm writing something that probably would be reffered to as a paranormal mystery.

That is great advice, and all of it very true. (expecially about the decriptive part. I can't stand it when it takes several paragraphs to describe the color of the table lol!

Paranormal mystery? Kind of like Kay Hooper? I love her books! What is the paranormal aspect? PSI? vampires/immortals? ghosts? If you like, you could post a short summary here and see if it sounds appealing to us. Don't forget the "hook". I think that's what they call it, it's been a long time since my creative writing class. But I do remember you are supposed to let people know what makes your writing different than all of the other stories about the same subject. I believe Lynsay's humor would be her "hook". It's certainly my favorite part of her books, both the historical romances and the Argeneau series.

Well, I have to go. Children to put to bed (ah, a quiet house to look forward to), and dishes to do.

Kimberly

Vampires run in my family. Or at least thats what I found out. When we turn twenty one we get to drink blood, not alcohol. Which was a complete disapointment because I was so looking forward to that pitcher of cosmos. On the plus side, somebody seems overeager about killing off my family members. Something about us being unholy demons. I don't remember, reading that chapter in the 'you are a vampire' handbook. So now, my remaining family members and I must locate these people and do with them what we will before they get to us.

I don't know thats just something I threw together for the synopsis.

If you want something more let me know. :)

Okay there are like a few paragraphs missing from that, after on the plus side. I can't find the right ones at the moment but i'll get back to you...sorry!

Hi Amy,

Your idea sounds very interesting...

I agree with the others who have stated that you must write Your book. It matters not what others think as long as the story fulfills your desires as the author.

J.K. Rowling says that she writes for herself. Granted, not everyone is going to hit the popularity of "Harry Potter," but even with seven books and 17 years of work, she wrote his story to please herself.
After all, there was no way she could please all of her fans worldwide, so she simply wrote the books in the way that felt right to her.

I think that the most important thing to do to write a book is to get started! Until an author puts pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, there is no book. You must write it down, or the story only lives in the world of the author's imagination. Writing takes creativity and talent, but more than that, it takes discipline. I'm a homeschool mom, and I know what I like to read and write, but if I never sit down and do it then nothing comes of it. In my humble opinion, discipline hones creativity and talent. It's Your book, so write what you like, but write it down. After that, editing, revisions, and "polishing" can take place. There are writer's groups and others who can encourage and critique, but ultimately, you have to be satisfied with your book or nobody else will be. If there is no book, it can't be published and there will be no readers. There are also books about writing books, and they do have good tips about getting started and walking you through writing your book. But write for yourself first, then seek out those who can help you make it available for others to enjoy.

Your idea was intriguing. I could imagine a whole series about this "vampire family" who live a regular life until coming of age at 21. Just the kind of thing that I would pick up in my local bookstore for an enjoyable read. Get started and good luck!

Wren

P.S. Lynsay, Mr. Spice, or forum friends, if I'm off base here, please correct or comment. My comments are simply based on my own family's ideas and experiences, and we just enjoy writing and drawing for ourselves, so far. I wrote the first chapter of a regency romance last December when my sister was visiting just to prove I could do it. Now both my sisters, and even my husband want me to go on with it. My sister and niece who were visiting during the holidays write the most wonderful fantasy/romance short stories. So just writing for the fun of it is really worthwhile, and it's an easy way to write your own story because there is no pressure! I would write chapter two of my book, but Angelica has a secret and she hasn't told me what it is yet.

AMY Here's my 2 cents.
You have recieved excellent advice from the others listen to them. Now I'd suggest that you get some books on writing. One I've found very helpful is "Building Believable Characters" by Marc McCutchen. This is a Writer's Digest Sourcebook. It can help with developing your characters. I always have it near when I write.
To keep track of who's who, I make a character sheet for each of my main characters. Now don't laugh, but I use a GURPS RPG character sheet. It has spaces for everything you ever want to know about your character. How strong is he or does she have some odd behavier. I broke down and spent $25 a few years back and bought a computer program called GURPS Character Builder so I can have unlimited character sheets, (I have the basic manual) I can build my character from the ground up and print a readable sheet. I also keep these sheets close at hand when I write. I've also found that other gurps books helpful. They have source books on different countries, and time peroids. as well as Vampires, space, westerns, and so on. They can ever give you info on all kinds of weapons, How much does a Glocl 9mm pistol weigh and how many times can you fire it in a minute (rate of fire) I'd suggest checking out their website www.sjgames.com. In case you haven't noticed, I'm a big GURPS fan although I no longer play RPG, I had a fantasy game I created and ran using Gurps for over 3 years. That means I had to create a story word and keep presenting the players with new problems to solve each week and keep the story line on track. Gee, that sounds almost like writing a book.
Now back to the subject at hand.how to book are great, but you also need to join a couple of online writer groups. I've gotten a lot of help from them. Be careful and check out the groups, check out how they do critiques, do they rip most appart like a chainsaw or do they offer advice in a positive way. Writer Budy(no longer open) really helped me. It was like losing several friends at one time when they shut down. Some members have started other sites and still offer great advice and help.
One last piece of advice. One of my favorite authors, J. A. Jance, answered a question about being a writer with this. "A writer is someone who's written something TODAY." Among other things I do, I am a writer and I do write something on my WIPs each day. Somedays it may only be ten minutes, other days an hour or two. THe main thing is write something every day.
Amy, I hope this helps.
G W Pickle

I heavily agree with Lynsay and I know a ton of authors who all say the same thing: "I wrote this for me, the fact everyone else got so much joy out of it as well was just a perk ^_^".

If you get any done please post an excerpt! I'm sure we'd all love to read it.