h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi folks... I'm Pete, 52 years old and I'm very new and very green here. Quite simply, I am hoping to learn quite a bit here from people like you who have probably been at this stuff much longer than me... In a nutshell, I just have had this passion to write for a long, long time, but really just don't where or how to begin with subject matter, structure, layout, research, etc. etc. etc. Any help, advice or pointers would be very much appreciated indeed, just to help get me starting out... Many thnks indeed folks.

Hi Peteman - and wellcome to this place.

I'm a journalist and I might be able to help with research, structure and style - and proof reading.

A good place to start is: What do you want to write about? To whom? In what way? (and maybe why?).

Hello Tartaronne. Thank you so much for replying to me... Well that's the difficult part... I have always had a very open, enquiring mind and feel that I would really like to write something in the mystery/science fiction vein, but this I know, can have to result of having to carry out much reasearch in order to make anything authentic or half believable. Perhaps I am jumping the gun to begin with. Would you recommend that I start with something else perhaps?

I recommend () that you write what you feel for. And begin writing immediately.

A dialogue, a description of a setting, two people/entities interacting. Get a feel for the 'universe' of the story.

And then make an outline of what this story is about - who are the people in it - from where to where does the story go - why is it interesting, why does it need to be told?

Then you'll know what kind of research you need.

Get writing first, and see if you like it. And when you get stuck, read someone else's stuff - and let it inspire you. How come you like it, you could ask youself.

(By the way. I've dreamt of writing a crime novel since I was ten and have never started, so I'm no good role model).

Right now I'm trying to avoid to commit to an article which is long overdue.