Getting advice on the beginning of a book...

probably in the Self Assignment section in [URL=http://www.chuckpalahniuk.net/community/forumdisplay.php?f=199]here[/URL]

Ya, I had the same problem, i wrote 20 pages and i said, do people really want to read this. And im still not sure, I will be long before i finish. Whats you book about tom?

Eh, that's the problem. There is no plot really. I originally wanted to write a fictional story, but decided instead on embellished non-fiction. The only thing is, though, that I don't think there is really anything in my life that makes for a compelling plot. So I just started writing, and so far it is a series of tangents, one kind of leading into the next. I'm kind of hoping that since writing a book takes a long time, some kind of plot will develop itself or come to mind, or that I will need minimal plot and a book consisting mostly of different tangents and trains of thought and musings will be sufficient to hold people's interest. But not having written a book before, I don't know if this is smart or practical or realistic. Thoughts?

This isnt much advice as it is some of my problems also I started to write mine and all these movies came out that were along the same lines as my book, so im going to think for a few weeks and think of a very odd, and unthinkable plot.

Definately, write a book, I will read it, and while you may not make it big, im sure its a great experience. But what do i know..

hi you two.
thought i'd pass along some advice given to me by francesca lia block at one of her writer's workshops: don't worry about plot. focus on characters... if you build them well, they will form their own plots. just follow them.
i (like just about everyone else here!) am writing a book. and at least for me, francesca was right.

if you need more inspiration about how un-important plot it read: No Plot, No Problem! by Chris Baty. it's fucking funny. and it'll make you want to write weather you have a plot or not.

Did you do the Nanowrimo thing too? I tried but kept getting tangled in editing - which will kill you if you try to get it done within their time frame.

My husband completed his novel & so did a few other people we know. I think I hit about halfway on the 50,000 words in a month. November is a hell of a time to do it too.

i have been trying to do NaNoWriMo for a few years now (ever since a friend of mine completed it). november is just never a good time for me. March. now that would be a good month. i've wanted to organize a local group to do it, but i don't know enough writers around me.
check out his new No Plot No Problem! kit next time you're in a bookstore. it's great and designed to egg you on for a writing month any time you choose.

This is kind of straying off topic, but i read a career article, and it was strongly discouraging young adults from getting a job in poetry, art, or writing, they said many poets or writers made less than 1k per year. It also said chances of making it big are slim, (which is true), but It said all these horror stories about how these writers made a career to write books, and it said how all of these people are on level 8 poverty, and have horrible lives. Do you think these are scare tactics? I am not sure why the newspaper is discouraging people from following what they want to do.

Thanks for the advice guys...the point about focusing on characters and letting them develop their own plots is a good one. I hadn't thought about that.

We got about half a dozen people we knew into the Nanowrimo thing - I ended up folding because you can't have both people in the house trying to keep up with 50,000 words in a month and have anything else done.

Tom, if you know a few more people that enjoy writing perhaps you could recruit them for a similar challenge. Set a time, set a goal and just write (don't edit like me) and then you could have a group with which to share your joys and sorrows on getting book started.

Not that I should be giving advice with the condition of my book, I suppose...

Pfft! Anyone can write a best selling novel, just include a load of bollocks and odd things and people will call you a genius. Give it a fancy name, with a hint of pretentiousness, and you'll be sorted. The secret to doing well is to have your head so far up your arse it comes out your neck so you look normal.

Hahahaha that was great Corellion. I don't disagree...and it was good for a laugh, thanks!

Hint: If it's not worth reading, it will probably still be read anyway.

It sounds to me like you need to do some PLANNING not like to stifle yourself, but more like a rough sketch of the overall story. Then once you've done that, start filling in details. Find out about "blocking out" and what that is all about. But then again, I have never finished a book myself, so maybe I am just talking out of my ass, it's just what I have heard from some people who did finish books. Doing it ad hoc starting at page one I would expect to produce something that is uneven, either starts too slow with overwhelming detail, or moves too fast with a bunch of cardboard characters, and the pace is not consistent throughout.