Carole Said:

What are all the steps to writing a book?

We Answered:

http://www.stepstowriteabook.com/

read the numbered steps down the page

Carla Said:

What are the steps to writing a book/novel? What program should i use to write it?

We Answered:

It definitely depends on YOU. If this is your first go at writing a novel, say, you will want to start by doing a very basic sketch: Who is your hero(ine)? What are they like? Is there a message to be disclosed? Any specific writing style? You will want to think, throughout the writing process, about WHY you are writing, and you will need to think about how to accomplish that goal.

I don't write Super-OCD Summaries of a story before I begin writing, but I do think for several days, and maybe even weeks. Usually, this thinking culminates in my writing one- or two-page summaries, in addition to plentiful notes. These summaries are definitely recommended for longer works, especially because it helps you find where plot twists, character-development watersheds, and important scenes will go. Otherwise, your writing will end up sounding very "deus ex machina"; that is, you will realise that you missed something and will quickly write it into your story, and it will sound silly and far-fetched. While writing something just off the top of your head is the way to go for short pieces sometimes, it makes for weak structure in the long run - you may realise that your writing is pointless or unoriginal after wasting several days or weeks. At the same time, however, you don't need to make scale models of your characters or anything: William Faulkner, for instance, began typing a story that would find its way to the last line, which was the first thing he came up with. On the other hand, Tolkien made a freaking language with thousands of words, and wanted a history that would be perfectly suited to his language. But in both cases, they had incredibly specific goals.

In your case, you will want to conceive the world that you will write about. It is not a world that exists, so you will want to make it as real to you as possible. What major historical events have occurred between now and then? What major societal changes have occurred? You may also want to read some stuff that deals with similar topics. Like 1984. or something (I don't really know sci-fi too well, I'm afraid). I found myself in a similar situation recently, because I was writing about late-seventeenth century England - I am not deeply familiar with it, and some notes I've taken deal with: currency, carriages, presentation at court, dress, education, Cities (Bath, London, Brighton). I began to read Austen like a madman, and even obscurer, duller pieces--all to get a sense of the world.

It is, after all, a very intense process; if you plan on writing seriously--and I don't mean to discourage you, but the longer your piece is, the less likely you are to finish it--you will often have to force yourself to write. It will not always be fun, and you will probably spend about as much time revising as writing--if you want to produce a polished work.

Speaking of which, I prefer writing by hand to typing; I find that when I use the computer, I end up using thesauruses, or editing my sentences far too much before I even finish a paragraph, and losing focus. But you should really save that intense revision till the end, when you won't abandon a piece because you got bored of it. Revising hand-written stuff is usually more thoughtful for me, because it involves arrows and erasing, and *looks* much more thoughtful. It's comforting. Also, there's something about actually creating each letter that trumps clicking a button and seeing the letter appear--but that's just my opinion. You should write however you feel most comfortable.

Anyway, here's a more concise summary (I like starting with situations and characters--Tolkien started with his world. See what works):

1) Basic Character sketches
2) Setting for the characters (interchangeable with 1 or 3)
3) Basic Story Outline (interchangeable with 1 or 2)
3.5) Skippable: Obsessively detailed outline that expands and expands
4) Start Writing
5) Force yourself to KEEP writing.
6) Even if you throw up.
7) Goooood Luck.

Joe Said:

What are the basic steps to writing a book?

We Answered:

u need an Inspiration, theme of some sort on what yr bokks gonna be based on

Rene Said:

Steps to writing a book?

We Answered:

There are no real steps, but there's something to it

Step 1... Get inspired to write. Get your first idea, plot ready or not. Start pulling in characters to your book. Characters are easy, once you start making them, you won't want to stop. The characters should appeal to your interests. Make them original! :)

Not all your ideas will come immediately, they should come naturally.
Don't feel bad about writer's block, just about EVERYONE, even the greats, get it. It can last for a day, a week, and months. But we all do eventually get over it. I answered a question in the past about writer's block -- in it, I listed many different ways to get over it. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;… (it's the BA)

Setp 2... You're ready to begin writing even when you don't have a full beginning, middle and ending. Start with a way that reader's will like. I know if the first chapter isn't good, it's hard to get into the book, even if the rest of it is undoubtedly well written.

You may find that the first chapter starts of with a flashback, the future, or the narrator saying "Hello, I'm so and so and I'm in eigth grade. If I thought my life was a mess before, have I made a mistake..." Attention getting first paragraphs rock!
There are more ways - you may even use the first chapter for background info. EX "In a land where the spellcasters and magics reign..." like that!

Step 3... The actual writing may get you thinking sometime. You'll want to change the word play. Authors often change things to make them sound better.
EX: Alex dunked his head right as the glass chunks flew by.
Changed: Alex ducked his head right as the glass chips flew by.
(bad example, but then again, it's just an example)

Sometimes writing sounds blah. It's easier to write blah..ly(?) but I think I say in intrest of other authors, you should make it sound better.

EX: Karin didn't know how to play piano.
Changed: It wasn't exactly Karin's talent, playing the piano.

Also, use your metaphors, similies, onomatopoeia, foreshadowing and other literature devieices :) try to pick up writing style of your own, and build your vocab. don't need no million dollar words, just slight significant ones

Step 4... There's really not much to the middle of writing your story, except steps 1-3 will apply.
When you get to the last chapter (I'm assuming it's going to be a happy ending) just make it feel finished. Don't leave any unanswered questions
...unless it's going to be a series, in which case, adding foreshadawing to last page, sentence is great. it makes readers want to know what happens in the next book
Of course sometimes it's cool to leave one big question for the reader to figure out on their own. I can't really think of any examples right now though... ^^'

Step 5... Not there just yet. One last step! :D
You're going to look back at some writing and want to change it. You should probably edit some of it too, have other people look at it and get some critiques. They are really helpful.

Hope I helped ^^

{In plain English - write what you feel}

Bryan Said:

What are the steps to writing a book?

We Answered:

first decide what you wanna write about, get crazy look for news in the news paper and add a little spice to the story, add dialoge, and more characters, then start sketching, do whatever you think about, write some quick notes, draw, and do brainstorm, and once your brainstorm is done your story is done, you just have to order it and put it all together...
hope I was useful

Ronald Said:

Writing a Book- What are the first steps to writing a book?

We Answered:

You can write the book in whatever order comes to you. If you have a really good idea for an ending, start there and go back to the beginning later. As long as it all fits together in the end, you can start wherever you want.

As far as publishing, your first step (once you have a completed, revised manuscript) would be to query agents. Miss Snark's now-defunct blog will tell you pretty much everything you need to know about that, and it's hilarious to boot.

Alvin Said:

First steps to writing a book?

We Answered:

Write the book first. This is your most important step. Then worry about getting it published. There are self publishing sites around, google them right now i don't have any sites bookmarked.