Ernest Said:

does anyone know the steps to writing a book?

We Answered:

Have you kept the spotlight on your basic theme and main characters? Sub-plots and minor characters should not overshadow these.
Have you developed your characters fully, portraying them through their actions, reactions and interactions, and keeping them 'in character' throughout? Don't let them act out of character without a good reason.
Has your protagonist changed (or been changed) by the end? A main character who neither changes nor grows in some meaningful way between the first and last pages will be static and unconvincing.
Is your story logical? Even a fantasy needs to make sense within its own terms.
Does the story maintain a satisfactory 'cause and effect' sequence, with each event following on logically from what has gone - before? A plot that relies on coincidence, for example, or the convenient arrival of a new character, will strain your reader's credulity. Coincidences do happen in real life, but they're seldom convincing in fiction.
Have you kept control of your chosen narrative voice (or voices) throughout? Check for unintentional switches or slips of viewpoint?
Does every scene take the action forward, enrich characterisation, increase tension, or provide a calming or reflective interlude? If it does none of these, ask yourself why it's there. Could it be cut without harming the story?
Check every piece of dialogue - is it 'in character'? Does it contribute to characterisation and/or move the story forward?
Have you been sparing with description and explanation, leaving room for your reader's imagination to come into play?
Is the writing strong, evoking all the senses? Have you used passive voice where active voice would work better? Have you used 'to be' verbs supported by adverbs where strong verbs alone would be more effective? Flabby writing can dull the impact of the most brilliant story.
Look again at the story as a whole. Is the structure balanced? Have you begun in the right place? Don't jeopardise your chances by starting the story too early, providing too much background and taking too long to get things moving. Many a story has been saved by cutting out the first chapter and plunging straight into the action.
Have you sustained momentum through the middle section, moving the story on through cause and effect, action and reaction, tightening tension as you build to the climax?
Have you left your reader feeling satisfied that the whole story has been told? Make sure you haven't left any unintentional loose ends.
Are you absolutely sure your novel is as good as you can make it?

Derrick Said:

What are the steps for writing a book?(Edit,publish,etc.and where can I publish my work?

We Answered:

Here's a site that provides information on the whole publishing process:
http://selfpublishingjourney.wordpress.c…

I hope you find it useful.

Chad Said:

I'm writing a movie script ? i need help please and The basic steps to writing a book how to get it published?

We Answered:

Let me direct you to www.zoetrope.com.

It is a web site where you can read other people's scripts to see how they approach writing. The will also give examples of script (industry) format

You could even post your script there and get reviews.

I also suggest keeping an eye out for projectgreenlight.com, where your script (if selected as winner) would be made.

If you feel that strong about your writing, get an agent; no studio will consider an unsolicited script

Grace Said:

steps to writing a book?

We Answered:

1. Brainstorm. Figure out what sorts of characters you want to include, what the main plot will be, and maybe some specific scenes that you want to include. They don't have to be in order yet.

2. Outline. This is where you start putting it in order, listing what happens and then what happens next. This is usually either bullet points or a really simplified and streamlined version of the plot.

3. First draft. With the power of outlines, you don't have to necessarily start at the beginning and go to the very end; you could write the action scenes or big emotionally impacting scenes first and fill in the logical "breather" moments later if you want.

4. Editing and revision. This is where you can start getting critical of your own work. Make sure you're including all necessary apostrophes, commas, and other punctuation and you're not throwing in more than necessary. Spell-check. Check to make sure you've got the right homonyms for the meaning. Make sure you're not inadvertently missing a word or two in a sentence because you may have been thinking faster than you could type. Once you've got the grammar basics out of the way, reread the story and make sure the internal logic makes sense throughout. If it says that ogres aren't able to become vampires in Chapter 2, the protagonist ogre shouldn't get bitten in Chapter 20 and have a sudden urge for a Bloody Mary, hold the vodka and tomato juice, at least without some really good foreshadowing that Chapter 2's speaker didn't know the whole story. Foreshadowing in general is a good idea, and if you didn't purposely write certain parts out of order so that you knew you needed a witch riding a giraffe in Chapter 14, you can go back now and mention that a certain witch has been visiting the Serengeti in Chapter 5.

5. Show to your friends, beta readers, and/or writing group. Get some feedback on what works, what parts are unbelievable, what needs to be explained more, and who holds the audience sympathies the best. By this point, you're so immersed that seeing it through fresh eyes is probably a good thing. Revise as necessary.

6. If you're looking to publish professionally, this is where you start looking for an agent or submitting to a publisher. Make sure you know their requirements: if they want the story in size ten times new roman font, double-spaced with a cover-letter, make sure it's in that format and you've typed up a cover-letter. Plain white paper is your best bet, generally speaking, just make sure you've read the submission guidelines. You may not be able to submit to multiple companies at once, so make those submissions (and any feedback you might get if you get a rejection letter) count.

Good luck!

Francisco Said:

how to start writing a book, which steps to follow?

We Answered:

imagine characters in your head. first: your main character. decide their gender first of course, then their looks and personality. any family members, best friends, or enemies next (decide why they are enemies). if you want to write a romance story, or have romance in it, think of what their true love should be like. looks, personality, etc. now that you've got an idea of who's in it, where will it be and when? will it be in england 1842 or new york in 2009? think of events that you want to take place. battles, deaths, romance, affairs, jealousy, joy, confusion, triumph, and loss. there always has to be something bad happen to the main character in the story, noone wants to read about sally anne sue who is perfect and always happy and always gets whatever she wants and everyone loves her. thats boring and pointless. take the harry potter series for example. harry is an orphan. his parents were murdered by lord voldemort when he was a baby. (undeserved misfortune: something to include in your story) then he has to live with his family the dursleys for 11 years and they treat him like a servant (something to suffer: something to include in your story) then when he finally learns he is a wizard and goes to the wizard world he is famous because when lord voldemort tried to kill him, he lost his powers (keep in mind he was a mass murderer and a powerful evil wizard and lost his powers to a baby!) he hates being famous and just wants to be normal, but the lightening shape scar on his forehead never fails to draw attention. ron weasley and hermoine granger are his best friends. ron is poor and gets jealous sometimes because harry always gets all the attention (although harry doesnt want it), hermoine is smart but is made fun of because she is only half wizard (mud-blood). harry is forced to suffer many things, although he does triumph over lord voldemort time and time again, he loses those he loves along the way. his godfather sirius, and dumbledore, the school headmaster. these are very sad and tragic, but they make a great story. he always triumphs, but he must still suffer.


what you absolutely HAVE to have is a story goal. if you cant think of one, ask yourself this question: do you want to happen to the main character at the end of the book?

some things you want to have:

something to want
something to dread
something to suffer
undeserved misfortune

characters you want to include:
a mentor (someone the main character confides in. preferably someone older they go to for advice)

an ally (someone who is always with the main character throughout the course of the story, they could be best friends or inconveniently forced to work together when they dont get along in the first place. either way works)

the love (self-explanatory, whoever the main character is in love with. it's not needed, but everyone likes a good love story[: )

the villain/bad guy (whoever is trying to keep the main character from reaching the story goal)
hope i helped :)

Julia Said:

what are the steps in writing a book?

We Answered:

Plan out the plot and build on every idea. It also helps if something is motivating you, like if someone is in the process of reading it, you feel pressured to keep writing for them. Meh, not much help, sorrry.

Sandra Said:

What are the 1st 10 steps to writing a book?

We Answered:

I COMPLETELY disagree with the answer above me. There aren't any "steps" to writing. All you need to do is write what you want to write. Write what you want to portray. Write what you feel will make your story amazing. NEVER edit your work in the middle of your story! You don't EVER want to "second-guess" yourself when you haven't even finished the story! Just write and write and write until you're finished. After you finish writing, set it aside for a month or two so you can get your mind off of it. THEN when you don't have that exciting "I just wrote a book!" state-of-mind, take it back out and edit it. This way, you'll be able to REALLY edit your work without being "bias". It'll be like wiping the chalkboard clean and then starting over, I guess. After you edit it yourself, hand it off to those you absolutely KNOW will be truthful in their editing. Not just correcting spelling and grammar errors, but also questioning characters and their actions, a scene's contribution to plot, etc. Don't give it to someone who you won't do a good job with it. After that, then you yourself read it one more time. Always remember that the final draft is the rough draft minus 10%. So during the editing stage you are definitely going to take out a whole lot.

I highly suggest you read the book "Stephen King: A Memoir of the Craft ON WRITING." It includes such great advice for those who wish to write and get published. An absolute fantastic read and is definitely worth your time.