Advice about writing a book.?

I am doing an experimental book.


I've always wanted to write a novel and I would like to start any day now. I've started about 100 or more before and can never get past 5 pages. After that I lose my trail of thought.





My teachers, friends, and family find my writing excellent. That is if I can keep focused on the subject and not lose my readers (or mine) attention.





Does anybody have any nifty ideas to get me started? quick tips on how to start a book? keep going?





School always taught me to make rough drafts, outlines, such and such...BUT my question is...WHICH of those work????








Anyways,


all of your help is widely accepted. I would greatly appreciate it.





By the way,


this is experimental and I am not in any way, shape, or form trying to get the book published. I would like to write a book for my own pleasure and convenience.





Thank you :) !!Advice about writing a book.?
It's cliche, I know, but write what you know....





I'll add on to that! Work with what you know and what you think you would love to know about. Work with something that you know wouldn't bore you after spending months or maybe even years working on.





Take time to develope your characters and get to know them. What do they look like? What are their passions? What are their flaws adn weaknesses?





I have a theory that all good writer's are insane- all their characters are constantly chattering in the back of their mind, never shutting up for a moment.





Whe you get to know your characters well enough, let them tell the story to you. That may or may not make any sense to you, but the more you write, the more the story will come to life.





Invest yourself in the story. And don't worry if the first few stories you write start as a blaze and then die out before it really begins to take off. My first ten attempts at writing a story all petered out before they ever became something of note. It wasn't until I was 17 that I began writing my first genuine novel. It wasn't until I was 21 that I actually finished it for the first time. And now, I am on the 4th extensive edit and preparing what will at least become 600+ pages of a story for publishing. It can be done.





~My advice to you~


- work with something you either know or are curious about.


- be prepared to research information, unless you are an expert already,


- Learn the setting, plot, and characters well.


- Always keep a notebook nearby just incase you are struck with inspiration


- Never give up.Advice about writing a book.?
i am writing a book to it is going great im bursting with ideas


what i do is read to my sister she tells me whats good great bad and ideas to continua it really helps if you read it to somebody because its coming from someones one point of view GOOD LUCK
Well, what I do is write down what I want to happen. I don't plan out every single detail of the plot - I just think about the main significant events and the main characters.





After I have a rough story outline, I start writing. I just let the words flow. I don't focus on subplots, or making sure the characters have realistic flaws - as long as I know what I want to write, as long as I know what I want the personality of my characters to be, the subplots, themes, and little character quirks and flaws will come out by themselves.





When I have a hard time writing, I don't force myself to continue. I stop and relax a bit. Then I go through what I've written so far. I read it out loud so that I know that it sounds right, make edits, write down important details that I might need in later chapters. When I feel inspired enough, I start writing again. The cycle goes on and on until I've finished what I want to accomplish. After that, editing, editing, editing.





Note that this is what works for me. I know someone who plans EVERYTHING before she writes, and that strategy works for her. I don't have the patience for that sort of thing, though. :)
I have written more than a 100 paged book before. It was about the mafia, my family and friends were very proud of me especially cause I'm only 15. What i usually do is i find the key points in how i want my story to be. Find what your story is really about and write around it. It is hard to keep your train of thought when writing, because i sometimes have the same experience. But you just have to keep focused on what your story is about and your writing. Well keeps me motivated and I'm sure it will to you just as well is to think about how much your family and friends will be proud of you and love to read your bool, and who know, it could end up being published ;)
Its a good idea to outline your story so you know where you are going to end up.


Know your characters: create back stories for each one.


Don't use the same word twice in a paragraph if you can find another to use.


Keep your sentences to 10-15 words in length. Long sentences can confuse a reader.


Use a thesaurus - thefreedictionary.com is excellent.Keep a list of some words you want to use as you write - find synonyms to add to your list.


Get a style book to check your punctuation. They are quite inexpensive online and do not need to be brand new.


Watch how many adjectives and adverbs you use. Don't overwrite your sentences.


Use strong verbs to denote action and move your plot forward.


If a sentence does not advance the plot, remove it.


Read as much as you write. Study other authors' styles. Hemingway and Capote are excellent writers to study for concise writing.


I hope these suggestions are helpful to you. Good Luck!