Writing a book

[JadeOrchidSong]

I have been asked to write a book. Whenever I tell people about my life, they often say, "You should write a boo." My middle school classmate whom I hadn't seen fro 33 years took my family for two day-trips when we visited my home town. Since we spent hours in the car on the road, much talking happened. That was the last push for my book writing. My children used to beg me to write. Now dh is even more on top of it. When I mentioned I would find a job at ALDI to make some money, he said he'd rather I spent time writing a book. Just last week, ds13 started his second novel and is 38 pages in it already. He wrote an 80-page novel three years ago. Unfortunately it was unfinished so he can't publish it.

So now I really need to put words on paper, or on my iPad or PC. And I need to decide if I write in English, my second language; or in Chinese, my native language; or write in one and translate into the other,

I need motivation and accountability.

[Guest]

Well, my vote is write on paper and then type it in when you are finished writing it on paper. I don't have an opinion English vs. Chinese.

 

It's funny you say this, though, because I was just thinking of asking here if anyone knows a great forum for writers. I am on the Writer's Digest forum but those are slow and often have dopey people asking dopey things. I do wish there were a forum as great as this one for writers. (Maybe there is but I don't know about it.)

[JadeOrchidSong]

Quill, I just wrote a few lines. Here they are.

 

Really? Did I just write down the title of my book? I have been approached by many to write a book of my life. It is both encouraging and humbling. I believe there are many people whose life is much more interesting than mine. But then mine might be unique as everyone's is unique. I believe every person's life is a book if s/he is willing to write it down,

 

"Pop!" Xiao Wu threw the mud pie on the dry ground with all her might, and a perfect round hole popped open on the bottom, making jagged soft spikes all around it. It rained gently all night. The dirt ground had become mushy though some higher ground had dried up. Tiger came next door to Xiao Wu's house to invite her for a mud pie game. "Squish, squash", the two children trotted merrily with their bare feet to the court in front of the brick factory. Mud with good clay was readily available for their game.

Edited July 17, 2016 by JadeOrchidSong

[JadeOrchidSong]

Well, my vote is write on paper and then type it in when you are finished writing it on paper. I don't have an opinion English vs. Chinese.

 

It's funny you say this, though, because I was just thinking of asking here if anyone knows a great forum for writers. I am on the Writer's Digest forum but those are slow and often have dopey people asking dopey things. I do wish there were a forum as great as this one for writers. (Maybe there is but I don't know about it.)

Writing Chinese is very slow. Typing takes only a fraction of the muscle power and time. Also I don't always remember how to write some more complicated characters by hand. Writing on my iPad is probably the best way to go. The Chinese is set up so that I can type in the pinyin for whole sentences and then the characters automatically appear. Right now it seems easier to just write in English. Some of the words I don't remember how to say in Chinese, for example, mud pie.

[regentrude]

Writing in one language and translating in the other is not what I would recommend. The result usually does not do read well in the the target language because you can still see the underlying patterns; that is even the case between closely related languages like German and English. It takes an extremely skilled translator to pull it off and is immensely time consuming. 

 

Think about your audience and what language that would read. I am an immigrant, and over the past decade I have transitioned to writing in English, because I feel I am speaking to an audience here in the US; I do not know whether the things I say would be relevant to people back home.

 

If you choose English, I vote for typing. It will make editing and revising much less frustrating.

Edited July 17, 2016 by regentrude

[JadeOrchidSong]

My sons are the ones that bought me special notebooks for me to write my story. My audience would be Americans and Chinese who can read English. My sons are native English speakers. So English will be it. It is unfortunate that my brothers and nieces whom I am very close to won't be able to read it. I will have to write in Chinese for them with some variation instead of literary translation.

[UCF612]

It's funny you say this, though, because I was just thinking of asking here if anyone knows a great forum for writers. I am on the Writer's Digest forum but those are slow and often have dopey people asking dopey things. I do wish there were a forum as great as this one for writers. (Maybe there is but I don't know about it.)

Have you tried Absolute Write? I haven't been on there in ages but I remember it being helpful. Moved fast back then at least. Though I recall, like many forums, there was an our way is the only way kind of vibe. But like I said I haven't been on there in a few years.

Edited July 17, 2016 by UCF612

[ktgrok]

kboards is another forum, it's run by Amazon but has a section for writers. 

 

As for what to write on, I prefer Scrivener. 

[Peach]

Use the notebooks for noting ideas you may have while you aren't at your computer but I'd use the computer to write. It's faster and so much easier to move text around as needed, and to save bits and pieces you aren't using right now but may use later. It's also easier, if you outline, to do that and have it open as you write. Revision is a snap. Most people type faster than they write, so if you're really in the writing zone and ideas are flowing, it's easier to keep up with your brain when typing too.

 

I have several novel writing programs. Scrivener is good but has a somewhat steep learning curve (and I hear often that the Mac version is better than the Windows version). Storybox is similar to Scrivener but less complicated.  There is always any word processor but they have their limits when you get into many chapters since you either have to split them up or make one monstrously long document. I also have a notebook handy when I'm not at my computer for writing down things I think of because I know I'll forget them by the time I get home :) Good luck and have fun with it!

 

ETA: The NaNoWriMo forums are full of all kinds of writing-related stuff, even when it's not Nano month. IT's a great place to find reviews of writing software too. 

Edited July 17, 2016 by Peach