Young Writers Society

Now, I have my first novel written out on paper, 303 pages exactly, but now I am stuck. I would like to try and publish it, but I want to see if it is any good, but It would take "FOREVER" for my to type it out, here or even on M.Word. And to go along, I get absolutely zero, zip, none, nada. help or support from my parents, they ignore every thing I say about writing. I started writing my novel in secret, and when they found it, they came vary close to throwing it away. So I am lost, and for any one who reads this and replies, I thank you. I am sad. hehe. but really, this is a dilemma, and if any one has any advice it is deeply appreciated.

"The strong take from the weak, but the smart take from the strong." -"The Rule of Four."

I have a friend (who is actually a member on this site) who is in a same situation -- she wrote out the whole thing longhand and is now in the agonising process of typing it up. What she does is set aside a period of time each day to type up as much as she can -- an hour, let's say -- and posts it chapter by chapter here to receive critiques.

I'm sure it seems like a huge undertaking, but the real question is, how committed are you to your craft? If you're drop-dead serious about it, you'd be typing away right now instead of reading this.

Don't give up on it! It needs to be typed, one way or another. Send in a handwritten manuscript to an agent and you're guaranteed a form rejection letter.

-Saint Razorblade
The Official YWS Pirate

Hmm well, I am assuming it is your first draft of your novel? The only advice I can have is to spend several years editing, haha. Honestly though, your first draft is probably crap. (This isn't a comment on your writing, but a comment on first drafts as a whole. My first draft is crap. The Greatest Writer Ever writes a bad first draft. It is in the nature of a first draft to be horrible.) Your parents are just horrified because, well, that is what parents do. I know you're excited, and I don't know your skill level, but at fourteen I wasn't a good writer. Publishing may sound good, but give it some time. Read up on how to get published, and continue to clean up and fix up your novel. Maybe post small bits (a chapter or two) onto the forum, and then we can give you better advice.

Er, I do hope this helped?

Coolest mod ever wrote:Hmm well, I am assuming it is your first draft of your novel? The only advice I can have is to spend several years editing, haha. Honestly though, your first draft is probably crap. (This isn't a comment on your writing, but a comment on first drafts as a whole. My first draft is crap. The Greatest Writer Ever writes a bad first draft. It is in the nature of a first draft to be horrible.)

Ditto. I would suggest typing up the first few bits of your rough draft (if it is indeed a rough draft) and then submitting it here on YWS. That way, you can get feedback from fellow writers. No first draft is perfect - and its doubtful that any first draft will be published. And even if it could, well, why publish only a draft when you could have published an edited masterpiece?

As for the parents...that...sucks. I have kind of the same situation, but my parents haven't gone so far as to throw it out. They just don't really care about it and they always change the subject when I bring it up. >.<

Cheers,
Camille

Like Suz said, edit-edit-edit. It can only get better over time. Even in the process of typing it up, I'm sure you'll notice things that you didn't notice while writing.

Ah, the thing I forgot: hide it in a drawer. For a week, a month, a year, a decade. Just hide it and forget it. Then, when you think you have forgotten it entirely, pull it out and read over it. You'll be compelled to edit, because you'll have stopped looking at it is your "baby" and forgotten it. You'll be able to see--clearly--just how bad some things are.

I will respond to both at once. Thanks, yes, it is my first draft, and yes I did look back at it, and yes it sucks. I found that inevitable. But I would like to keep working with it to see if I can turn it into, not crap. I know it is going to take a while, and I don't expect to have it typed perfect and ready to be sent for publishing in a few short months. (that nice as that would be if it were that easy. . But thanks, I will try to set up some system and "uncrapy" it. Thanks.

Darling, my advice would be, don't worry about it for the moment. Begin typing it up yes, and edit it BIG TIME, but take your time about it. Okay, so I've never even attempted to write a novel yet, but I do write a lot... my advice, from one teenage to another, is (as boring as it sounds) to concentrate on school, that's probably what your parents are worried about. Keep this in mind, but don't worry about getting published until you're sure you've done the best you can, and pass your exams so if you don't become a writer you've got something to fall back on. That's what I'm doing.

I may be a little late but I'd like to back everyone else. Read different chapters each day and see if there is something you should take out or add in, edit like crazy no matter how long it takes and type it up on the computer: my mind goes all over the place when I'm typing things up and new material always comes up that i would never have previously written.

My parents hate me writing, actually I don't think they even know about it because it's in English and they wouldn't bother reading through it: straight in the bin is what they'd say. If your family doesn't support you I'm sure people on this site will!

I have a piece of advice that everyone can share. If your aim IS to be published from day one, it is highly likely that you will fail miserably. The probability is slim, as I'm finding out myself. I have already been rejected, and I hadn't even sent in the manuscript. There will be many rejections for me personally and I'm fine with that.

D2 - As for your situation, never stop editing. Edit the crapola out of it. If need be too, a complete rewrite might be in order. Edit until you're confident there isn't any detail to be filled. Of course, tossing in a trunk for several weeks to years will be an asset too.

Patience my friend is key. If it's lacking, then suck it up, because without it, no artist will ever succeed to their highest level of achievement.

I would edit as I type. I prefer to write on paper so I have to rewrite it, making it loads better in the process. And congrats on actually writing it! I haven't been abe to do 303 pages yet.

I can't help you about your parents. Mine are oddly supportive, but everybody here is great.

I'm in the same situation, and it's like Razor says, just set aside a chunk of time to type each day. This can be tough at first-- I know it's tough for me-- but once you get into the habit of it, it goes like clockwork. Also, even if you're a very slow typist, you get faster the more you type on your story, so that just makes things move faster and faster. (it used to take me over an hour to type each page. Not anymore!).

I know it seems like a big chore right now, but once those typed pages start to pile up... It feels good. But you've got to try and stay disciplined! I've been slacking off a bit, myself (bad Zankoku!) Personally, I suffer a bit from confidence issues... I end up thinking "This is so bad. I don't want to type this. I don't even want to look at this." If this happens to you, it usually helps me to think of it as an opportunity to do some quick editing... fixing dialouge that seems wooden, smoothing out this and that bit of clunky wording, straightening out that weird thread of reasoning. And even someone with as little confidence in her work as me can run across things that make them say "Hey! That was kind of cool." or "XD *insert name of character here* is the best." Which makes me want to keep working.

I don't get much support from my family either... not that they're against me writing, they just don't really... get it, I guess. They think it's just a hobby, albeit a bizzare one. But if it's help and support you want, you came to the right place! People here are really nice and would be glad to give you advice, critique, and plenty of support. Hey, if you plan to post the story on YWS, I'll gladly read it.

By the way, thanks a million. Now I'm all psyched up to get typing. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN, THOU SHALT NOT DEFEAT ME!!! *punches the air and ends up hitting the wall instead* Owwie...

Oh, Suzy, you give good advice. Actually, what she said about hiding it is exactly what my Women Studies professor said about our papers. Leave them alone for 24 hrs and then go back and edit it. I can understand why you wrote everything longhand, sometimes I just feel like it's easier to get the emotions out of the characters. Though, I never exactly wrote a whole novel--Kudos on sticking to your idea by the way--I can't say what hasn't already been said before. Editing it good but don't try to change things, strictly look for grammatical errors and if the plot flows well...

Hope this helped XD Sorry if I just reiterated what others have been saying.

Good luck and hope it works out for you!

--starry

Give me your address.

I am going to come to your house, knock on the door, and give your parents a good, square kick in the groin(s).

Unless you write like an epileptic four-year-old who just wandered out of the Hall of Strobelights, they should encourage your writing.

Anyway...type it up bit by bit, like sand in an hourglass. Eventually the sand will run out or you'll scream 'Futter you!' and smash it on a child's head.

I'm very happy that you finished your novel. I'm very impessed that it's 303 pages. Very impressed. I'm also going to say,edit, like everyone else said. Depending on your genre you could try Mystic Moon Press, but that's about the only press place I know of.... that would be easy to send it into that is. Mystic Moon Press is new, or maybe 1-2 years old, unless it really was a long time ago. Believe me I know how you feel about typing, because my friend (who her parents-annoyingly- wouldn't let her get an account on this site) wrote something that is almost finished. And its about 256 pages. So yes, type your heart out.

About your parents. I've got one of them.My dad's fine, its my mom. My mom and my sister and I are all talking about what we should be. My sister doesn't know. I say "I know what I want to be when I grow up.... an author." My mom replies "You need a real job. Just in case they don't like your novels" You have no idea how my self confidence just went down the toilet in under two seconds. Just saying that because.... your not alone out there.