Writers? Here is a dumb question.

first thing you do is write the story i hope you have an idea already, because you can't just pull one out of the air when you have finished writing, then you can start worring about other things like flow and spelling you can not write a story by taking a class or reading a book - tho they can help you with other parts of the project writing is grunt work, and you just have to get to it and do it my former roomie & i helped a lady with a story. she had vitually no conversation in it if you want help AFTER you have writen a first draft, you can PM me and i'll try to help first times can be hard, an outline can help so, clear your screen of mylot (or get a pen & paper - my preference) and get writing!

Of course before you write, you have to have an idea about what you want to write about. 1-Make an outline of your ideas, and characters, at least the one you have come up with. Do not be selective, write down everything that comes to you because it might later help you when you hit a rough spot. 2-Develop those ideas into vignettes, and give traits to the characters. 3-Weave together your vignettes and build up a story. At least for the beginning. Build upon that, and do not forget editing. It's one of the most useful things in writing. 4-Get inspiration from reading good short stories, for example Chekov, Oscar Wilde-they are very many good short story writers. 5-Build up the habit of writing something down everyday. Get yourself a journal and note down ideas as they come to you, or interesting people you come across, events etc. Try to make writing central to your life. 6-Seek the advise of others. Join a writing group, or website like Helium. Good luck.

I would suggest that even before starting writting the story you already know the plot and characters Meaning think of the outline, what will happen how it started how it ended. Pick out your main characters then write down a detailed portrait of their character, what they like, dislike, their qualities and flaws even if you don;t intend to mention it in your book ... it will help you make them anticipate their reactions to the events you will include in the book You need to know where they coem from and where they are going ... also it will help you make them more realistic and get the reader to identify with them better if you have a very clear idea of who they are as a person ... and help them be coherent then the writting part will be based on your own start A story doesn't have to be chronological ... you need to see where it should start to make your stoy captivating right from the start The reader must want to know more right from the first lines I have read that writers usually spend a VERY LONG TIME coming up with THE 1st SENTENCE ... it must me catching ... key place in a book As for ideas or outline, it depends on what your style and preferences would be .. what kind of book you want to write ? thriller, detective, romance, fition ... ? you need to have all that in mind already long before you even start writting the book or think abou your character Hope it helped ;-)

First place to start is with an idea for a plot. Then you need to come up with characters and develop personalities for them. (Are you talking fiction??) Once you have that down, start deciding where your plot points are and how to trasition between them. Decide what your goal is and what your climax will be. Then just work on developing the plot into a story. Character developement is important because the reader has to care about the character for them to want to know what happens to them. They need to have motivation and most stories are geard towards the goal of the character or a 'change' in them caused by whatever happens to them in the story. The story needs to be about a person, not about a situation. The person is the center of hte story and the situation is just what we get to see of his/her life. If you write a story centered around a situation, with characters being a minor addition to the story, it won't be a very strong pull. So what made you decide to do this?

Once apon a time, in a country far, far away, there was an olde Farmer who walked with a cane. One day some people knocked on his door and he invited them to come in, and sit down. As soon as they were seated the youngest one said," Grandpa will you tell us a story?" The olde man replied, "Let me start at the beginning!" And he sat down and began. Once apon a time, in a country far far away, there was an olde Farmer who walked with a cane.

I suggest that you go to www.helium.com because that site is a good place for amateur writers to start their quest in writing and get paid cash at the same time. Plus if you write for the Marketplace section there (a section where publishers give a list of topics for members to write), there is a chance that you can get chosen by a publisher for your article and get recognized. I've been on helium for quite some time, and my writing is getting better and better by just continuously writing for that site. Go give it a try and you'll find all the details you need on the site. Good luck and all the best! =)

It is not a dumb question. I am surprised that you have to ask us though. You write well in your posts and you have an interesting life. You can buy books on the subject of how to write, and there are lots of writing sites on the web. I usually go to a search engine and find some when I want to find a market for my writing. If you write for your own amusement you will gain a lot from your work, and if you sell it it will be a bonus indeed. I read every book I could find and completed a course when I first tried my hand at writing nearly 20 years ago and came to the conclusion that they did give good advice but the advice was more with regard to finding markets and making the writing saleable than actually teaching the art of writing. I still haven't had a best seller lol. Amazon have a good selection of books about writing at the moment, too. As to my own technique, I tend to have a notebook in which I write all sorts of scrawl which I then try to read and interpret into stories and anecdotes. It is worth remembering too, that whilst a shorter story does not have so many words, it can in fact be harder to write than a novel, since you can not have any "padding" and every word has to work hard. Characters can not be so clearly expressed and there can be fewer sub characters, which makes the actual story line crucial. I should think you have probably started the story already but why not share it with us when it is completed? I for one would enjoy reading it.

It will all really depend on your mood. Sometimes a story could start from a book you've read, inspired by a local folklore, or from a song. It can actually start from anywhere. Maybe you'd want to change the ending of a familiar story...things like that. Anyway, the process of writing for me, doesn't really have rules, as long as you don't plagiarize. I just write and write and read my work after some time to to see how my story has gone about. Just keep on writing, and don't be afraid to share it with others when you feel like it is ready to be shared. Having an online community who will critique your work is also a great way to build your confidence. You can check out a great site for writers. Your work can be critiqued and you can also join forums and contests and possibly earn from referrals. If you're interested, let me know and I can PM you the site. Anybody interested to in writing can also join.

Go anywhere at all, and overhear a conversation. Take a key sentence and build a character around it. Go back out ...anywhere, hear another situation, then take the character you made ,put them in the situation you just heard, and then react as them. thennnnn ...dundundun...write it down.Have fun.

lol Looks like ya want it all. Find what ya want to write about ,make outline, start wroting and they say its best to write about something you know about . good luck!

I did take a short story writing workshop... actually two different ones. One of the things discussed was how to come up with a story. Where do we get ideas? From our fears (what event would you be afraid of happening to you?), from our desires (what do you fantasize about happening to you?), from our past experiences, or something that just comes up in the day. Recently I posted a discussion about how there was a threat of a shooting at my daughter's school. I also posted a discussion about trying to come up with a short story about "change" for our group's anthology. Well, a light bulb went off and I decided to write a story about a school shooting that changed a teenager girl's attitude. Another short story came from a fear - the fear of my husband being in a car accident. As others have said, just write the story. Do not stop to make changes. Write first, edit later. You will have to edit several times before it is polished. Good luck!

The rule is, there are no rules. Some writers make outlines, some don't. Some start with plot, some don't.I think you can read books about writing, go to a writing class. But the best way to write is to write. Good luck.

I would make an introduction page first.Telling a little about yourself and what was your ideas about writing on this subject...Then you can dedicate it to some of the people who helped you are that was supportive during your writing this short story..Then i would drop dawn, and Title the short story, then began writing the story...at the end put whatever name you are using as your author name, either your real name or victionial.

Of course you should keep on reading more.But the most important thing in success is always "just do it!" Why not spend the time you're hesitating and wondering on getting down to it. The creation always come from the actual work but the thought only~ Good luck for you~ we're looking forward to your work~

I am so excited to see the responses to this discussion. I also have always wanted to write. I feel like there is something in me just begging to get out but like you I don't have a clue how to go about it. Thanks for starting this discussion and maybe we will all be able to start pumping out great stories.