Hey Sup Forums
So I've had this idea for a book forever now. I've written out the entire plot in a way that makes sense to me, but I have no idea how to actually write. Looking online people are saying that hiring a ghost writer is super expensive if you want good work. What do?
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Never go that route. Just learn how to write. I'm telling you, it's going to work like you think. Trust me, with any creative process, stick to doing shit yourself. Society's not going to embrace ghosts just yet. Nobody would take you seriously.
That's what I figured. I'd rather not have someone else involved, I just dont know what I'm doing.
Learn how to write. I wrote a novel that got published, and I swear everybody and his brother will come up to me with, "I've got the great American novel in my head. I just need someone to write it for me." lol Don't be that guy.
It's like those faggots: "I'd be a great musician. I hear the greatest music in my head."
I can really imagine fucking a girl. I wonder if I should pay someone to fuck one for me.
You two obviously can't fucking read. I made it pretty clear that I would rather do this myself. I am here asking where to get started? Are there good places on the internet to learn to write well? Contribute something instead of being a fucking tool.
Just start writing. Read books on writing. Read a lot. Learn which authors you admire. Emulate them. I have an MFA in creative writing, so you could go that route.
You write clearly. You're there. The problem with Internet fora is you'll be dealing with a lot of people who don't know what they're talking about. What kind of books and authors do you like?
Honestly, I haven't read much in years. I spent the last 3 years in the military and was busy with other shit. This idea came to me through a badass dream and I've been working on making it a real thing ever since. I do like books like The Odyssey, The Aenied and The Iliad though. Things with lots of adventure I guess.
If you aren't writing you should be researching. Sometimes the book will write itself if you have enough matter to write about. I'm currently reading through some extremely dry analysis of pre-socratic philosophers (if you thought Sup Forums was autistic wait till you hear about the controversies in pre-soc, which essentially consists of X reportedly wrote Y, but was actually a forgery by Z, which still tells you nothing about what actually was going on) but the good news is I tend to daydream a lot when I'm working, so it's a way to trigger my creative aspect.
Chek'd
I think a have a good amount of material to work with. My main problem is being detailed, transitioning from scenes, ect. Mostly those small things that make a big difference if that makes any sense.
That looks promising user. Have you read this, or did you just find it on amazon?
Well tell /b a little about your 'story'. /b just may be able to help you with this.
Oh, and tits would be customary, and 4 tits would be the minimum.
I'd really like to, but I am kinda worried about this idea getting stolen. I've searched and searched and I think this will be the first time someone has done something like this.
Actually, the thing that put it together for me was studying different novel structures. I think there's a Jungian four-fold division of the hero narrative. I read one by E.M. Forster. Hemmingway wrote about writing. Maybe look up your favorite authors and find out what they said. Figure if there's a genre you would fit right into, and then look up the different formulas for that genre. Read some more adventure, maybe classics like Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jack London, Jules Verne... But studying novel structures is what kind of put it all together for me, like I saw what needed to be done, but then I already had the techniques, like alternating between scene and summary, dialog, and descriptive writing, pretty well developed.
You can literally just do time skips. It's way easier to write in retrospect a paragraph that explains what happened, than to actually write what happened. Just don't have the MC pass out every other chapter. That shit gets stale.
Yeah I read about that somewhere. I have it set up so far to where that only happens once I believe.
Also, look up "passive voice" and don't use it. First contact with an editor will feature avoiding that, plus avoiding adjectives.
Each time you use an adjective, you miss an opportunity for actual descriptive writing, and each passive voice strips the writing of vitality.
That seems like the best route for me to take. If it helps at all the story is set in a Zombie apocalypse in modern times. (No it does not have the same story as every other zombie book/movie. I made sure of that.)
I see, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you.
Ah, here's all you need to know: en.wikipedia.org
Getthelube.com
This is interesting to me. In my story the MC does go through a transformation but that shit happens at the beginning. He does go deeper into his madness as the book goes on though.
Some people outline. I just think about it, and the whole outline pops into my head, so there's no need to make a formal outline. It writes itself once you know where you're going.
Character-driven stories sell best!
Thanks everyone for the input. I'll look into all these resources you guys gave me.
best novel writing software for free spacejock.com
>spacejock.com
I like this one
A big part of learning to be a good writer is pushing through being a shit writer. So a lot of practice. Read a lot. Play around with your writing style until you find something youre comfortable with.
Yeah I feel that push is whats driving me away. Just need to accept the fact that it will suck until it gets better.
> I've searched and searched and I think this will be the first time someone has done something like this.
I seriously doubt it.
share at least part of your idea or /thread.
I'm currently writing a game universe.
I just started a wikia one day and kept expanding the wikia with my thoughts, it's getting pretty big now.
I'll write it, you get the publisher. I want 20% of all sales.
Also,
it would be a weekend project for me. I write fast, but I'll probably only be able to do 10 pages a week. No up front charges, it's a hobby for me.
Alright I hope this doesn't backfire. I will be very vague because I really don't need someone stealing this.
>2016
>Virus turns most of Earth's Humans into super fast and deadly, but incredibly dumb zombies.
>Those who still live band together in settlements (Usually reinforced towns with walls and shit)
>I won't say how but one zombie becomes self aware again
>He is still infected but he can think and speak like he did when he was alive.
>He goes back to his old settlement to find his wife
>Bitch remarried because she thought he was gone
>The rejection of his fellow humans drives him into madness
>Superatural shit happens
>He can now command the dead
>Goes to war with humans
it's again. I could write that whole story in about 450 pages (sounds similar to the 5th wave, I was a ghost writer for that book.)
Could possibly follow it up with a second novel if the story is interesting enough. Let me know if you'd be willing to accept my help.
I have had ideas for sequels as well. I wouldn't mind the help, I just don't know how everything works when it comes to the legal stuff. Like I said, I do not want to get robbed. I'm not even worried about the money so much, I just want this shit to exist. Maybe it could even be a movie some day.
If you wanna give me your email or something I'd be willing to talk with you though.
You still here man?
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There are two pieces of advice I offer all my students to build their foundations:
1) Write a lot. A LOT. Everyday. Just practice stringing words and sentences together and you'll pick up enough to create a coherent paragraph you can be proud of.
2) READ. Collect vigorous vocabulary from authors better than you. There is a word for everything, and if there isn't, that's where you display your literary skills and develop poetry,
Thanks for the input man, will do.
I'm a nonfiction ghostwriter, and while I'd argue that my rates are affordable for what you get, yeah, having me write your entire book for you is going to cost you at least a couple grand. Want my actual, real-world advice? Just record yourself explaining the story, point by point, and then have someone transcribe it for you. It will be a shitty first draft, but it's a good start at a fraction of the cost. You can probably get someone to do that on Fiverr for less than $50.
Now would that be 2g upfront?
It depends on the project. A longer book costs more, as does a book where all I have to work with is an outline. I ALWAYS insist on a 50% retainer on any book-length project, because even people at the corporate level can flake about seeing a book project through to the end.
>virus
>earth
>humans
>zombies
>"fallout-esque" ghouls
>supernatural
>commanding dead
>war with humans
What part of ANY of these things is unique or interesting.
Tell me, what is your IQ? it's certainly below average, probably low 60's.
Go post this on Sup Forums so they can fucking laugh at you.
Nobody would watch this as a 10 minute youtube video, let alone a movie, let alone read a book about it.
>I won't say how but
trust me, with a weak as fuck plot like this, I'm not sure anyone CARES.
>Being this autistic
I clearly stated that I was going to be super vague about the story. There is so much shit I didn't include and that's what makes the story different from your average "World War Z" type of shit. Please, name the movie/book where a zombie gains his self-awareness and uses it to gain supernatural abilities. You are assuming that this will be some cliche story based off a very diluted version of the plot. Who is the real dumbass here?
see
>fora
pretentious much?
you sound very plebeian, but oh well. good luck
I take it you've never read any of the actual, published books that make up the Star Wars EU. I'm not keen on the story, either, but plenty of books have been written with worse ideas behind them. There's plenty of room in the market for another reverse zombie story with a revenge twist. Would it be a hit? Probably not, but most books aren't. Don't be an asshole just because you don't like a vague pitch for a story that hasn't even been written yet. It's not only rude, but it also makes you look very small.
MA Creative Writing student here, can confirm this is the best advice - can't be bothered to look through the thread to see what others have posted, but this is good advice to go on.
Writing is a skill, and the only way to improve it is by practicing. Learn by reading, find what genres you like, what writers you like, and then look at why you like it - is it their writing style? Or their stories? Or their development of character? Find out what you like about them, and then try to emulate it. I think most writers start out by immitating the style/stories of their favourite writers, until they get good enough/confident enough to develop their own style/voice.
It's like learning an instrument. You only get better by practicing, and the best way to start is by playing songs by your favourite artists. It's the exact same concept.
>Please, name the movie/book where a zombie gains his self-awareness and uses it to gain supernatural abilities
Nobody cares about fucking zombies, zombies are generic and shitty, a zombie gaining his old life is stupid as fuck.
There are others, but you're dumb and obviously haven't read anything in your life so I don't want to invest that effort digging for where it's been done before, but it has.
>are assuming that this will be some cliche story based off a very diluted version of the plot.
with these core points it's very hard to see how you won't be forming a drivel narrative, I'd be incredibly surprised if you actually managed to write it.
go to Sup Forums, post this exact thread, and let them judge.
Sup Forums is not the place for these types of discussion.
I bet you made zombies the heroes and now you think that's the best idea ever.
read a lot, try to write it- and acknowledge that at first, it will be absolute shit. let people who have done it for longer and better look at it and let them circle out all the weird phrases and loopholes. lastly, don't get defensive when people point it out.
>There are others, but you're dumb and obviously haven't read anything in your life so I don't want to invest that effort digging for where it's been done before, but it has.
>Claims it has been done before
>Doesn't provide even the slightest shred of evidence
Please, go be retarded somewhere else,
An hero summerfag
Been here since '07 friend.
No. They are not the heroes.
I don't need to, it's obvious it's been done before, it's a movie about fucking ZOMBIES.
jesus christ are you 10?
I guess this is Sup Forums so you must be 10, but still dude, this is sad, the fact you think this is a "good unique idea" is actually pretty depressing.
Go read a book.
Ask yourself this user: what's the point of your story? What's the theme? What are you trying to say through your characters/the plot/the story? Books can be purely for entertainment, sure, but there should always be a POINT to them - something you're trying to subtly suggest/say to the reader by the events that occur in the story. So far, all I picture with this idea is it's basically an action novel with no real substance. For example:
What's the character arc of your protagonist? This zombie that becomes self-aware - what/how does he change at the end of the novel? What new insights into himself, or humanity, or something else, does he gain through what he experiences in the novel? Readers want characters who develop and evolve through the story, to see their conflicts (whether internal or external) either beaten or beat them.
It's got potential though, you just need to be aware that there are many elements that go into writing a novel, too many to summarise on here I'm afraid.
Thanks for the input. I do agree this seems to be the best way to get started.
A imposter I'm sure, bereft of any heart, and lacking spark. Go home n00b13
The best way to get started, for sure, is not to ask Sup Forums how to write your fucking zombie book, and instead start writing your dumb, bad ideas down before either:
1. Giving up completely.
2. Coming back days later to delete everything and iterate.
you haven't even tried, you've already failed.
One thing I know from being in the publishing world is you should not send an MS with a copyright notice on it. Publishers get an avalanche of submissions, and a fair amount of the amateur authors are genuinely disturbed and tend to sue because they imagine something was stolen from them. If the publisher sees someone who has never been published before is copyrighting their works already even though nobody gives a flying fuck, it throws up a major red flag like, woah, this guy may have problems.
This sounds incredibly stupid. It has no literary or artistic value whatsoever. Sounds like it might be ok as an anime or a film where it's just for light entertainment, but as a book the only people who would be interested in it are 13-year-olds.
>n00b13
is this 2004?
>trying to sound like a psuedo-intellectual.
It's not working dude, you're coming across as autistic.
read a book related to what you're writing about and maybe listen to an audio book and get a feel for it and you'll be good to go
Plus, when you write something, you already own copyright on it. You don't have to file a copyright for it. You already have copyright. It's important to register it if you get a deal, but people don't go around stealing books.
That wasn't even me shitlord.
>listen to an audio book.
He'll end up stealing th e ideas and selling them as his own, like every bad derivative author.
please don't teach him to mooch off others effort and creativity.
Nothing to steal if it's all rehash.
Why would he post it on Sup Forums? Surely /lit/ is a better place. Sup Forums just doesn't make sense, Sup Forums is international
Whatever you do, don't listen to the assholes on this thread who are shouting down the idea. Some woman turned her badly written Twilight fanfic into a best-selling book series that's spawned a couple of movies. The basic plot had been done before, and better, many times. She's a millionaire -- even though she is an objectively awful writer -- because she actually wrote a book. Odds are your book won't do that, but if it's important to you, do it anyways. Then make sure your next book is better.
Ok I'll just post everything give me a few to write it out.
Oh yeah your idea sounds like "In the Flesh", which was a BBC 3 series back in 2013.
Mostly it just makes you look like a dweeb, because the author already has the copyright on anything they've written.
oh sorry, i meant /lit/.
Forgive me I'm not putting too much effort into this thread; still more effort than OP put into this idea, though.
OP literally said he looked around at zombie movies to find a "niche" that hasn't been filled yet.
what a fucking retard, lul.
Don't listen to this guy trying to scam you. Record it and pay someone to transcribe it? Just type it yourself, dipshit.
can't wait to show it to /lit/.
This is your make or break moment, probably the breaking part.
It's the plural, faggot. Modern-human much?
Why is that not a legitimate reason for writing it? Some of the most in-demand media -- and the biggest paydays -- are for things aimed at 13-year-old kids. I got news for you: Most successful books aren't written with literary or artistic value in mind. At all. It's just a matter of finding a niche -- zombies are hot now, so let's write some zombie books -- and filling it until the trend changes.
1. He already has a story so if anything he'd just be mooching off of their writing stye.
2. Everything creative ever is built upon at least one other idea; Einstein didn't just sit there and one day randomly be like "oh yeah relativity even though I've never studied science in my life this makes sense I shall science now"
It really is about how it's done. If you draw great characters and so forth, there could still be a great book written from a really derivative idea.
Who is trying to scam anyone? I've written maybe 30 books for corporate execs, and this is the workflow I use to get those books finished. Plenty of people freeze up when they "write" but can ramble on for hours when just talking. OP has trouble with the writing part, so this is a fix I use with my actual, paying clients. It's also how a ton of novelists work with their ghostwriters. Grow up.
>He already has a story so if anything he'd just be mooching off of their writing stye.
>story
>idea in head
these aren't the same, you'd need to be
Going back to how this one zombie regains self awareness.
>There is a man who was a highly successful scientist before the infection who lives alone in his old lab
>He lost everything to the infection, everyone he loves is either dead or one of them.
>His only goal in life is to find a cure (Yes I know it still sounds typical just fucking wait)
> He has learned how to hunt them in the forests (Story takes place in Colorado)
>He can mask his scent, stalk them, all that jazz.
>He tranqs. the zombies and brings them back to his lab to run tests (Kinda like Will Smith in I am Legend)
>After many failures he comes up with a new formula that attacks the virus slowly and systematically in the brain instead of rushing it
>He goes and captures another one and gives it the new shit
>Zombie-man wakes up still a zombie but he can speak and is self-aware
>There is a lot of dialogue here obviously between the two but Zombie man (His name is John) begs to be released to go find his wife
>Dude wont let him leave until he fixes him but John escapes
>He sprints for miles (demonstrating his augmented abilities) until he reaches his old settlement
>When he arrives he is faced with gunfire until the guards realize the zombie is talking to them
Cont'
>einstein's theory on relativity
>creative
okay, if you say so.
Name some successful novelists who work with ghost writers.
>There is a man who was a highly successful scientist before the infection who lives alone in his old lab
wow what a unique idea
>He lost everything to the infection, everyone he loves is either dead or one of them.
so fucking unqieue
>His only goal in life is to find a cure
wow totally not walking dead season 1
>He can mask his scent, stalk them, all that jazz.
wow totally not walking dead, season 1.
>After many failures he comes up with a new formula that attacks the virus slowly and systematically in the brain instead of rushing it
love how detailed you're being, slowly AND systematically? wow what a read, deepest lore
>He goes and captures another one and gives it the new shit
>Zombie-man wakes up still a zombie but he can speak and is self-aware.
riveting, wonder what happens next
>There is a lot of dialogue here obviously between the two but Zombie man (His name is John)
wow this is some serious stuff
Please continue dude, don't think the world can wait for this narrative, sure it'll be a bestseller.
Where do you even start? Tom Clancy never wrote anything on his own, just for one example. Anyone whose name has become a brand, and who puts out a book every year or so, is generally working with a ghostwriter. There are exceptions -- I doubt Stephen King has one -- but high-volume writers almost always have a ghostwriter involved in the drafting phase.
