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Deleted member 8714
I originally wrote a fictional account of what happened to me. Then someone suggested I write it as a memoir. That was a mistake for me as I love reading and writing thrillers. I've written quite a few thriller novels, a total of nearly 1 million words since 2011 when I first remembered about my serial killer father, though I've never wanted to publish any of them. Plus I've written thousands upon thousands of journals. I started keeping journals in 1976. My bookshelves are loaded with my hardback ones and then I've got my journal writing software. It's taken me a long time—dealing with my abuse and life in between writing and revising—I'm finally at the editing stage of my novel. It's been through several transformations along the way to become a thriller with completely different characters than me and my father and the story premise is different too.
You don't need a degree in writing. You don't need to take classes in writing or grammar. Get a book on grammar. Read, read, and read some more in the genre you plan to write.
And then write! I have a piece of paper taped to my wall next to my computer. It says:
By the way, if you're writing an autobiography, it's a detailed account of your life from birth onward. If you're writing a memoir, it's more of a snap shot of a particular time in your life and how that affected you and your life.
I used to belong to a few memoir writing groups while I wrote my book as a memoir. These books were cathartic releases and purging experiences for each of the writers. I like reading memoirs. I just don't like writing them. It's not my thing.
When I began writing my current novel in 2003, that's not a typo, I had zero writing skills. That never stopped me from going for it. I just finished a non-publishable novel (not something I'd send to an editor/publisher or self-publish) this year and posted it on a site online. It ended up being close to 175,000 words. Yikes! If I ever decided to publish that story I'd trim about 75,000 words from it.
What helped me learn to write back in 2003 was an online challenge called NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month. Someone on another website told me about it. The goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days. I actually found it relatively easy and completed the goal in less than three weeks. The challenge runs every November. They finish a spring version of it April 30.
You don't need a degree in writing. You don't need to take classes in writing or grammar. Get a book on grammar. Read, read, and read some more in the genre you plan to write.
And then write! I have a piece of paper taped to my wall next to my computer. It says:
How To Write A Novel
WRITE
IT
IT
Edit it later, add or delete or research after the first draft is completed.
That's all it takes to write a novel or memoir. Sit down in front of your blank screen on your computer and starting writing whatever comes or write long hand as I do sometimes.
By the way, if you're writing an autobiography, it's a detailed account of your life from birth onward. If you're writing a memoir, it's more of a snap shot of a particular time in your life and how that affected you and your life.
I used to belong to a few memoir writing groups while I wrote my book as a memoir. These books were cathartic releases and purging experiences for each of the writers. I like reading memoirs. I just don't like writing them. It's not my thing.
When I began writing my current novel in 2003, that's not a typo, I had zero writing skills. That never stopped me from going for it. I just finished a non-publishable novel (not something I'd send to an editor/publisher or self-publish) this year and posted it on a site online. It ended up being close to 175,000 words. Yikes! If I ever decided to publish that story I'd trim about 75,000 words from it.
What helped me learn to write back in 2003 was an online challenge called NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month. Someone on another website told me about it. The goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days. I actually found it relatively easy and completed the goal in less than three weeks. The challenge runs every November. They finish a spring version of it April 30.
