Writing Stack Exchange
Writing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [getting-started]

This tag should be used for questions about common problems starting a piece of work or a unit of work.

This tag should be used for questions about common problems starting a piece of work or a unit of work.

You should mention what type of work you want to write, such as a or a and what your specific starting problem is that you are trying to overcome.

47 questions
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Should I write a novel if I haven't read many?

I have heard people telling that they have read so many books and have a mini library at their houses. I did not read many books (I am 17 and do not have much time as I balance school, special classes and software development. I am extremely…
Siddharth Venu
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How to handle taxes for a self-published book

I'm thinking of publishing a book on kindle, but I don't currently have a business set up. Do you need a business to publish a book? I'm curious as to how to handle US taxes for the royalties. I wouldn't be publishing it from outside the US.
James
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Do I need to start off my book by describing the character's "normal world"?

I know a lot of books do it (Harry Potter, LOTR, Wheel of Time). It's even part of the "Hero's Journey". However, my book starts with the "inciting incidient" i.e. my main charatcer begins her first day at school. Part of the reason I did this was…
klippy
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9 answers

What should come first—characters or plot?

I'm starting a new fantasy story, and although I had a loose idea of plot, I began sculpting my characters before writing anything. Creating images of them in my head, developing their personalities, mapping out their interpersonal relationships,…
user34214
13
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9 answers

Restarting a Novel

In 2015 I wrote the first two thirds of a novel (as part of NaNoWriMo). I stopped at that point because I had written the 50,000 words required for the 'competition' but the story is not yet complete. I have an outline in my head of how it pans out…
robertcday
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9 answers

Where do I start?

Let’s say I’ve created an outline, have explored my characters properly, and have properly broken down each scene to an appropriate level of detail. I know the story, I know the pacing, and I know where I’m gonna got add conflict and emotion. I’m…
Liath
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How do I get involved in writing for video games?

Many video games have deep storylines. This has been the case since the early text adventures where creative writing was all that existed to keep a player engaged in the game. I believe that some stories are better served by this interactive medium…
Jeff Yates
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Am I starting my story too late in its timeline?

In my story the MC joins this pseudo-militia. The process for every new person is to sign up, go to training, and then be sorted into teams and wait to be assigned a mission. I have started writing when she is on the way to headquarters to be…
Zariya Stewart
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Is the first draft of a novel usually shorter than the finished work?

I finished the first draft of a novel I'm writing. Right now, it has 17000 words. I've heard that novels these days range from 60,000 to 150,000 words, so I'm a little bit worried (I'm hoping to have 200~300 pages). Is this normal? (I didn't stop…
wyc
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Should I write something I don't care about first?

When I was 14, I had an idea for a novel but never wrote anything. I'm now 24 and just finished participating in National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo.org) where I wrote a 25k word "long outline" of my novel. I'm now expanding and editing my…
sirdank
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The problem with beginning

I don't mean "sitting down to write", I mean the literal beginning. The story itself starts with my protagonist running. I need to get him to run, then I'll have the rest of it sorted. But won't starting with "He ran" sound cheap? Should I add…
Irysik
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What are the key skills for a new technical writer?

For those that are just starting out, what are key skills they should have or learn to be a good technical writer?
Ralph Gallagher
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How should I start to write a flash fiction story?

I recently saw a contest for writing flash fiction - the contest rules were that it had to be under 100 words long. I thought "Hey, that's cool! I'll give it a shot." So I sat down, and tried to start writing something. Emphasis on tried - nothing…
Mithical
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How much $ to calculate for an Editor

I plan to self publish a book (non fiction). Currently I have 150.000 characters, but when it's done I will end up with around 250.000. I am not a native english speaker but write the book in english, so I want to pay somebody to edit my book.…
Christian
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How important is your first sentence?

I am sure I read somewhere that you need a gripping opening sentence to a story. I've been conscious of that claim when reading since and I find most of my favourite authors (King, Asimov, Iain M. Banks) don't really open their books this way but…
Mr. Boy
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