How difficult is it to write a book?

[nikkiChan]

I wrote my first novel at the age of nine or ten, and well, my classmate who was a bookworm LOVED it but I went on writing more stories after the original one I wrote. Years later and now I currently changed a bit the outline of the feel of the story, and yet the same concept, and internalized. I wrote the book in ten months and it was hard. Do not give up so easily; you can DO it! And I suggest writing a good outline for the story, and the characters and the setting and now you all have to do is writing the story, and try to make things fit.

[Geist X]

If you know how your book is going to end, then writing a book is not difficult. If you spontaneously have an idea, and start writing without any actual direction, you'll have a tough time getting through it.

[the-manneh]

If you spontaneously have an idea, and start writing without any actual direction, you'll have a tough time getting through it.

Seems like that's how most Manga are written now-days, eh?

[Mrcharlton]

Anybody can write, but very few individuals can actually write well. There is also a fine line between being a good writer and being a good storyteller. Some examples are bellow.

Ernest Hemingway: Amazing Writer, not the greatest storyteller

George R.R. Martin: Phenomenal storyteller, not the greatest writer (but still good)

Tolkien: Great Writer, Great Storyteller, not the greatest archetypes

J.D. Salinger: Amazing in all fields.

If you want to be a writer, I would also recommend you don't waste your time writing fan fiction. It is the lowest form of writing. If you want to be a writer, be imaginative, come up with the Lore and characters yourself. I wrote my first book years ago, I believe when I was ten. I thought I was a great writer back then and I got all offended when people wouldn't give me a chance because I was so young. Now I look back and see that my writing did suck, although I was better than most people my age. It is all about taking criticism and being able to understand different techniques. If you want to be a writer, I suggest you read the following books to get a feel of different writing styles.

A Game of Thrones

The Hobbit

The Grapes of Wrath

A Farewell to Arms

Paradise Lost

Inferno

Treasure Island

Ordinary People

Far From the Madding Crowd

Romeo and Juliet

The Catcher in the Rye

[Adam]

Anybody can write, but very few individuals can actually write well. There is also a fine line between being a good writer and being a good storyteller. Some examples are bellow.

Ernest Hemingway: Amazing Writer, not the greatest storyteller

George R.R. Martin: Phenomenal storyteller, not the greatest writer (but still good)

Tolkien: Great Writer, Great Storyteller, not the greatest archetypes

J.D. Salinger: Amazing in all fields.

If you want to be a writer, I would also recommend you don't waste your time writing fan fiction. It is the lowest form of writing. If you want to be a writer, be imaginative, come up with the Lore and characters yourself. I wrote my first book years ago, I believe when I was ten. I thought I was a great writer back then and I got all offended when people wouldn't give me a chance because I was so young. Now I look back and see that my writing did suck, although I was better than most people my age. It is all about taking criticism and being able to understand different techniques. If you want to be a writer, I suggest you read the following books to get a feel of different writing styles.

A Game of Thrones

The Hobbit

The Grapes of Wrath

A Farewell to Arms

Paradise Lost

Inferno

Treasure Island

Ordinary People

Far From the Madding Crowd

Romeo and Juliet

The Catcher in the Rye

I'd still say porn writing is the lowest form of writing, fanfiction can still give good writing, even if they didn't create all the content.

Though the absolute worst is when you combine the two to create "Fifty Shades", a Twilight fanfiction porn story reworked to be original.

[ProjectTrinity]

Though the absolute worst is when you combine the two to create "Fifty Shades", a Twilight fanfiction porn story reworked to be original.

It was meant to be taken serious?

==

It's not difficult at all to make a book! =D I've written and completed over a dozen. (All at least over 100 pages) But as someone said, making an actual good one is the tricky part as you're suddenly dealing with strong critiques who have *wildly* different takes on your books and you have no proper idea on how to bring the best of all worlds into the table without going "Eff it, we're doing it my way." <--And that's one straight trip to having a not-as-good-as-it-could-have-been novel. Trick is to find a really good cast of supporters that want to help polish your works without trying to change it into something it's not....while also finding people who you can rely on to do this because your bias/ego will prevent you from seeing genuine flaws and plotholes others will see. To be honest, that's probably more difficult than the actual writing itself. On that note, once you start getting extremely different opinions on how your book can improve - start picking apart everything and seeing where and why each person said what they did and if it really helps the book or themselves more. It happens. *

*Note: The last statement has nothing to do with VAA readers.

[Mrcharlton]

Finding a good fanfic is like finding good erotica...very hard. Most erotica is crap, as is fan fiction, but then you find that perfect one that is extremely underrated that just turns you the hell on. There are few good fanfics, but the ones that are, are beautifully written. Those writers should write more serious stuff though. I'll take that back though, the lowest of the low is fan fiction erotica.

[Digitilskull]

I'm writing a book inspired by numerous movies I like and it's been quite a challenge, the hardest part has been keeping it original and in a sense cleverly written.
I haven't gotten far but I've planned a lot before writing it, which really is a large part of what makes your writing successful. As the more planned you are the better prepared you
are when you actually write it down. I tend to improvise what I'm going to write as well though, this creates a bit of perspective as I'm able to imagine the fan reading the book and not knowing what's happening next, just like me. A great thing to try is writing the story in reverse, doing the end first and the beginning last. It's all about how you write though, I know if I'm in the right mood, writing is easy, there really is a time and a place for it.

My Advice for if you are writing, Stay Strong and Inspire, anybody can write anything if they put in the work and go hard at getting their ideas on paper.

[DanielTCGuitarist]

I'd still say porn writing is the lowest form of writing, fanfiction can still give good writing, even if they didn't create all the content.

Though the absolute worst is when you combine the two to create "Fifty Shades", a Twilight fanfiction porn story reworked to be original.

However, what one must remember is that, in the end, books are business, no matter how much we may want to deny it, so, I'd say Fifty Shades is the highest form of writing, in fact, as the author has probably made stupid amounts from it. If you wish to properly make a living from books, you need to identify what has the potential to make money. It's a bit of a shame, but, it's like going to see Justin Bieber, then going to see Beethoven's 9th Symphony. You can't argue that Beethoven absolutely destroys Justin Bieber's songwriters, however, you also can't argue that Bieber makes probably a hundred times more money from his concert.

[Adam]

However, what one must remember is that, in the end, books are business, no matter how much we may want to deny it, so, I'd say Fifty Shades is the highest form of writing, in fact, as the author has probably made stupid amounts from it. If you wish to properly make a living from books, you need to identify what has the potential to make money. It's a bit of a shame, but, it's like going to see Justin Bieber, then going to see Beethoven's 9th Symphony. You can't argue that Beethoven absolutely destroys Justin Bieber's songwriters, however, you also can't argue that Bieber makes probably a hundred times more money from his concert.

Publishing is a business. Writing, is not. There is a difference. Just because something sells to the mass does not make it "the highest form", no where near it. Ignoring the supernatural romance and erotica market, as a stand alone piece of fiction, it's garbage. It's poorly written, plain and simple. But they appealed to the current market, that's really it. What sells does not equal quality. There are different markets, what is mainstream is just that, mainstream. How good of a writer you are does not matter in the long run of wanting to be published, whether your story will sell and can be marketed does. But that's why being an indie works, there are markets for everything and you can sell the story you want to write. You need to be diligent on getting it out there and getting word of mouth on it. What the market wants changes over time, you need to be aware of the trends and see what is picking up and start working on that, if your only goal is to make a shit load of money.

But yeah, Fifty Shades, is still the lowest form of writing, regardless.