So You Want to be a Writer?

So you want to be a writer ? Better start writing and coming up with some ideas. Today's general ramblings will hopefully stimulate a rough draft , here goes best not just to dip your toe into the creative pool but to dive in head first and trust that your natural buoyancy will be enough to pull you through !

OK so my dream job, would be to write for a living - Bingo I have already achieved my dream , I am at work getting paid and I am writing. Let's narrow down this ambition to something a little more defined:

I want to write fiction which people want to read and will pay for the privilege. Imagine your book selling 5 million copies world wide , that would mean £500,000 even if each book only equated to 10p royalties to the author. The beauty of books is that for a small price people are transported to another world- infact reading is like living someone else's dreams and being removed intellectually to another place.

OK so a book is like a dream/ fantasy / a feel good factor , giving people access to the things they lack in their own lives , Adventure, Sexual Adventure, thrills and spills, journeys in exotic places with exotic people, War /death , violence . Back that up with a slick plot, well constructed interesting characters and dialogue. So writing a book is giving people what they want , a theme park experience without leaving their chair or sun bed , a safe passageway through life threatening landscapes and scenarios.

Good Vs Evil , this runs through so much infact if you analyse most story lines there are usually dark characters who are motivated by selfish goals and will get what they want through pure evil: dictators, serial killers / rapists, ruthless men or women who will stop at nothing to get what they want.

Most fiction revolves around the struggle between good and evil or the underdog fighting back and beating the stronger army or adversary against all the odds. What are the odds of that happening? People don't want to read about the ordinary they want to read a gripping story about extra ordinary events.

Writing books to a formula is a discipline and many writers just grind out their material and complete a staggering amount of work every year, just from my limited reading experience I can recall several authors who have successfully produced prolific numbers of stories:

Stephen King - Horror writer/ fantasy Adventure stories
Wilbur Smith - This guys done the lot,but they are all ripping yarns
James Patterson - psychological crime who dunnit - Serial killer type stuff
Michael Crichton - Scientifically based thrillers
JK Rowling ( who knows what she will come up with next !)
The Guy who writes all the horse racing books - Dick Francis
Bernard Cornwell - Historically based fiction ( genius)

Formula :

Fantasy / Dream / escapism delivering to people what they want : Sexual , violence , wealth , happiness, success , popularity , travel ( Removal from their everyday existence)

Structure required:Adventure, Sexual Adventure, thrills and spills, journeys in exotic places with exotic people, War /death , violence.

Technical skills:slick plot, well constructed interesting characters and dialogue
Good Vs Evil
OR
Overcome all the odds to prove the doubters wrong
OR
The underdog fighting back

Starting point: General story line , the skeleton that holds all the flesh and muscle to form the finished piece , including all the nasty details - spill the guts , close ups of the foulest orifices you ever want to have the misfortune of seeing , all the brains, plenty of heart , risking life and limb. A book is a living piece that hooks people in , consuming all their senses and stimulating their imagination. So you want to be a writer?

Latest Messages

Conversations

Subscriptions

Friends

GaryJBevan has no Friends

See all Friends

Followers

GaryJBevan has no Followers

See all Followers

Bookmarks

This user has no Bookmarks

See all Bookmarks