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Idea for a book need advice

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  • 08-02-2013 11:56pm
    #1
    Carra23
    Registered Users Posts: 476 ✭✭


    I've had an idea for a book for about 2/3 years but the urge has been gathering pace in recent times to the point where I want to start writing. However, I have no writing experience and as such am unsure if it is worthwhile.

    It would be a fictional story, comedy/humor aimed at real events/current issues/societal fears !

    I feel like I have a clear idea of the theme, plot, sub plot, characters and how it will all intertwine but as this is all in my head I am not sure if I would be wasting my time or not.

    So, my question is where do you go for advice or to bounce your ideas off someone ? obviously not gona do it here so wondering where else to go ?


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    #2
    Toasterspark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 273 ✭✭Toasterspark


    The best thing to do is start writing. Just launch into it, write a few chapters, and see where you're at after that.

    You can talk about an abstract idea until the cows come home, but you won't know if it's working out or going somewhere until you start putting pen to paper.


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    #3
    alfa beta
    Registered Users Posts: 763 ✭✭✭alfa beta


    Carra23 wrote: »
    obviously not gona do it here

    why not? There are a few people here who can give quite good advice I've found


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    #4
    bnear
    Registered Users Posts: 178 ✭✭bnear


    Saw a sign in my local library for writers.ie, might be worth a look..:)


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    #5
    Kenny Logins
    Registered Users Posts: 9,061 ✭✭✭Kenny Logins


    bnear wrote: »
    Saw a sign in my local library for writers.ie, might be worth a look..:)

    www.writing.ie?


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    #6
    bnear
    Registered Users Posts: 178 ✭✭bnear


    www.writers.ie:)


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    #7
    Kenny Logins
    Registered Users Posts: 9,061 ✭✭✭Kenny Logins


    bnear wrote: »
    www.writers.ie:)

    Did you click the link?


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    #8
    bnear
    Registered Users Posts: 178 ✭✭bnear


    Kenny Like I said in my original reply I saw a sign in my local library and passed it on on the chance that it might be helpful.... If not no harm done I'm just throwing it out there......


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    #9
    alfa beta
    Registered Users Posts: 763 ✭✭✭alfa beta


    it's the same website for both links bnear - i think that's all kenny was saying :)


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    #10
    Kenny Logins
    Registered Users Posts: 9,061 ✭✭✭Kenny Logins


    Yeah, I was only asking because the address you mentioned isn't actually a site, just a re-direct to writing.ie. I thought maybe you had the wrong address and it was a completely different site you saw on the sign. That is all.


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    #11
    Carra23
    Registered Users Posts: 476 ✭✭Carra23


    alfa beta wrote: »
    why not? There are a few people here who can give quite good advice I've found

    Someone might steal my idea ! thanks for the replies.


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  • Options
    #12
    Hedgemeister
    Closed Accounts Posts: 245 ✭✭Hedgemeister


    Carra23 wrote: »
    I've had an idea for a book for about 2/3 years but the urge has been gathering pace in recent times to the point where I want to start writing. However, I have no writing experience and as such am unsure if it is worthwhile.

    It would be a fictional story, comedy/humor aimed at real events/current issues/societal fears !

    I feel like I have a clear idea of the theme, plot, sub plot, characters and how it will all intertwine but as this is all in my head I am not sure if I would be wasting my time or not.

    So, my question is where do you go for advice or to bounce your ideas off someone ? obviously not gona do it here so wondering where else to go ?
    My advice, for what it's worth,... first write your book, then have it professionally edited.
    That costs less than you might think, and it's well worth getting it done.
    Just don't hand your writing over to friends, family, neighbours etc 'to cast their eye over it' because you'll get a false reading on your work, as they'll think you expect praise, and that's exactly what you'll get.
    There's no professional editor going to 'steal' you idea, or going to give you praise...false or otherwise. You pay for their time and advice, and advice is all you'll get.
    Heed it.
    There are some other things I've learned over my writing years which I think are worth passing on.
    A writer should develop a tough skin, because once you show your work on paper it's going to be commented on, and not everybody will like it.
    If you've not got a hard neck to begin with, well, maybe writing is not for you. 'Tis no profession for the sensitive soul.
    Stay well away from Vanity Publishers...but self publish if you must.
    You say in your OP that your book will be 'comedy, humor' etc.
    If you're living in Ireland and your book is satirical, I've found that we Irish folk don't like comical satire , especially if it's directed at ourselves (but it's okay to do it if you're American, Canadian, German, or even Vietnamese)
    I know this because I've written two such, and they went down like a lead baloon... but only in Ireland.
    When your book is published, and I hope it is, and I pray 'tis a great success...you will find that some amazing things happen, i.e., your local bookshop(s) will refuse to stock it.
    A few friends will ignore you...some family members too! (It's an Irish thing...really)
    Your book will sell more copies outside Ireland.
    Be prepared for the snide comments..."who does he/she think they are...author indeed"...
    In conclusion, the above comments come from my own experience, but I've heard similar from other (Irish) writers down through the years.
    Best of luck with the book...and remember... Tough Skin!


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    #13
    EileenG
    Registered Users Posts: 5,775 ✭✭✭EileenG


    Carra23 wrote: »
    Someone might steal my idea ! thanks for the replies.

    Nobody cares about your idea.

    Sorry to be blunt, but ideas are ten a penny. I give away plots for novels without a thought, because the idea is the easy bit. The hard work is sitting down and writing the story, then going back and rewriting, and going back and editing, and polishing, then sending it out to editors or beta readers and doing it all over again.


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    #14
    Toasterspark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 273 ✭✭Toasterspark


    "A young orphan farmhand discovers he's the long lost son of the ousted king, and sets about reclaiming the throne."

    It's just an idea. And it's been redone over and over in umpteen different ways by hundreds of writers. Ideas are the easy part. Writing is the hard part. As Eileen said in another thread - "Just write the damn thing.".


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