Advice to the reader from famous writers. How to write a book, or practical advice for aspiring writers. Stephen King. How to write books. Memoirs about the craft

Any person can write a book; authors are not born. The only question is how good a writer you are, or more precisely, how good a storyteller you are.

It may be that a person has created a unique story idea that can win Nobel Prize in literature, but if this story is made up of meager sentences and undeveloped dialogues of the main characters, such a writer is worthless. How to give birth to an author within yourself who beautifully expresses your thoughts, how to give birth to ideas for your stories, and in general, how do real writers work? Read all about it below.

Work time

Surely many aspiring authors have encountered such a great feeling as Inspiration; it covers a person completely, and he is full of emotions, capable of constructing a literary text of several dozen standard pages in one evening without taking smoke breaks or running to the toilet. Here, at the so-called Great Inspiration, lies the pitfall of any aspiring writer.

Remember once and for all - a professional writer uses a rush of creative inspiration only to create the idea itself, the concept of the future text, and not, like Stakhanovsky, write the text all night on emotions.

A professional writer literally squeezes the text out of himself every day, little by little. He writes for himself and only for himself. The goal is to create a story that he himself would like to read with pleasure. Writing from inspiration to inspiration is only realistic in three columns, but not like novels.

Ideas for creativity

The truth of any outstanding literary figure boils down to the following law: “To become a writer, you must first become a reader.” Indeed, reading refreshes the storyteller's thought process, making his train of thought more structured with a greater range of vocabulary. This is especially noticeable these days, when the average person reads one and a half books a year. And so, when this person (unexpectedly for his beloved) picks up a book and reads it for an hour a day for a week, he begins to notice how positive side his dreams have changed, in them he begins to see more colors, people and events. His speech has also changed significantly; the “new” reading person, through his own example, feels how his consciousness has begun to work much more efficiently, as if it were a newly oiled clockwork. That’s right, fresh thoughts gleaned from books act catalytically in a person’s brain, giving birth to his own unique thoughts and ideas.

Your book will be a success among readers not because of the writer’s “light pen”, but solely thanks to fresh, unique ideas, implemented in the form literary text. Write about things that no one has written about before, and you may become not just a “genius of the pen,” but also the creator of new ones. literary genres. “Absorb” at least 40 pages of text a day, and you will have real chance become a real writer.

Who is narrating?

You can write from the perspective of the main character, from the author, from the hero and a number of other characters, from the author and the hero, etc. Which option is better, you ask? Good story is capable, no, he must, he is obliged to evoke emotions in the reader, the easiest way to achieve this is by narrating on behalf of the hero of the story. However, it is quite possible to be a successful writer by distributing the roles of narrators between the author and the hero or the author and the heroes.

How to create an idea?

Writers are divided into two conditional categories in terms of drawing up ideas for a future work. Some (I want to note that this is done by a minority) at the very beginning of writing a text, they work out in detail the plan for the course of the story of the story, carefully select in advance all the characters, places of action... in general, they do everything to ensure that the story is created from beginning to end according to a strictly worked out plan. Others write without any plan, they have only a preliminary plan at their disposal, and the writer simply invents everything that follows as he writes. Which category to classify yourself in is a matter for each person personally.

In what volumes do they write?

Professional writers, for whom such work is the main source of income, work almost every day, some write from 5 to 15 pages a day, and the most hardworking ones quite realistically manage to compose up to 30 pages in one day. Books consist of 150-2000 pages (meaning 1 standard page is equal to 1800 characters without spaces). Amateur authors, at the very beginning of their careers, write short stories ranging from 5 to 20 pages, they usually complete their stories in one or two days. At the beginning of your activity, it is much more rational to master small volumes of text before moving on to literary volumes.

The profession of a writer seems amazing: a person creates a world, publishes books, and if they seem interesting, then he gets good money. Domestic practice shows that literary creativity is more a vocation than a profession. In this article we will figure out how to become a writer.

Who is a writer really?

Is it a hobby or profession

Hard-working - there are hours of work between the ideas in your head and the book in the cover. Competent - not a single proofreader can correct a huge number of mistakes. Assiduous - the ideas that arise need to be able to present beautifully. To do this, you will have to spend many hours at the computer. Educated - many authors keep diaries in which they write beautiful speeches, sensations, skits, etc. They will need this material for work. Be able to express their thoughts, feelings, mood.

A person who has talent can become a writer. Relevant skills can be developed, a sense of style can be instilled. However, teaching a person to beautifully transfer an idea from his head to paper is very difficult. But probably.

Is it possible to make money from this?

How to start a writing career

Determine which part of the name you want to leave, for example, instead of Alexander - San. Choose a name that matches the genre. For an author in the style of science fiction, initials are more suitable, and for the creator of literary works, “soft” names that will sound beautiful. Come up with a few beautiful nicknames and give yourself time to study each of them. Choose the one you like the most.

If you want to write a novel in three parts, but don't know where to start, just sit down and start writing. This is the main advice that can be given to a beginner. This includes not only creating works, but also keeping diaries, blogs, letters to loved ones, etc. It is not necessary to describe events in chronological order . A writer is a creator! First you can come up with the ending, and then the story itself. The Russian language is very rich. Try to use unexpected metaphors and comparisons when creating works. It is very difficult to keep more than three characters in your head. Therefore it is better to create short description

How to quickly want to write if your muse has left you

Are you worried about some burning question? Try to understand it yourself and help others do the same. Stephen King recommends writing for one ideal reader. It is no coincidence that the books that have come down to us since ancient times are a letter to one person (“To Himself” M. Aurelius). There are no bad sketches. The writer's task is to polish the text well. The source can be anything. Trust your intuition. Inspiration can strike at any moment. Try to grab onto it and use it to the maximum, and then work with the result. One more nuance: inspiration comes while working. Work at 110%. Write about what interests you personally. Then other people will find something familiar in what is written.

Always develop your literary talent

How to become a good children's writer

I want to become a famous writer, how to achieve this

Make sure you really want to become a writer and are willing to work towards it. Without self-confidence, it will be very difficult to move forward. Read as much as possible. Alternate short stories with serious masterpieces. This will significantly expand your vocabulary. Write a story of 10 pages in 10 days. Use your imagination completely. Start a diary for your future “bestseller” and fill out one page in it every day. It doesn't matter whether it's fiction or documentary. A diary is needed to hone your skills. You present your creations to the general public. You can start promoting your book yourself, via the Internet. Listen to constructive criticism. Write down short abstracts for yourself and leave them in a visible place. Try to create real characters and love your characters. Write about everything that interests you!

Writers are not born, they are made. Do you think that Leo Tolstoy or Jack London just sat down at their desk one day and created their first masterpiece? Not at all!

Being a writer is a great job, and if you decide to take on this difficult path, get ready for a serious fight. In this article we will talk about what every aspiring author faces.

Now many people make money by writing articles and texts. However, if you decide to become more than just an author of reviews, but want to publish your book, you need to understand what you may encounter in the process of working on your brainchild.

1. Daily painstaking work. Most beginners believe that you should only write when the muse visits you. This is completely wrong! You will have to write every day, and limit yourself not to a couple of pages, but to at least a dozen. Moreover, it is quite possible that out of these ten pages, in the end only half a sheet will remain - this does not matter at all! The main thing is to do a certain amount of work every day.
2. Forget about big money. For a while. Perhaps on for a long time. Until you become popular writer, you will be paid mere pennies. So, the average fee for the first book is 15-20 thousand rubles. Moreover, sometimes the author does not receive a penny - in such cases, publishers can come up with hundreds of excuses and feed you breakfast until the release of the second or even third book. Sooner or later the money will come, provided that you do not give up and continue to write.
3. Learning is light. Some aspiring authors consider themselves very talented and think that they do not need to learn to become a writer. As a rule, they do not publish a single book. Even if you have a good style and style, do not shy away from the advice and recommendations of experienced authors. It would also be a good idea to take some kind of training course like the “Money Webwriting” program. From A to Z” - you may not be able to publish a book, but you will acquire useful skills and, perhaps, a second profession.
4. Trolls and witches literary world. In the book business, as in any other field of activity, there are many unpleasant characters. Get ready to meet fraudulent publishers, malicious critics, lazy editors, slackers from the administration and other entities who will put spokes in your wheels, simultaneously trying to spoil your mood.
5. Prepare to lose. Unfortunately, our life is such that there are much fewer victories than defeats. Be prepared for anything: as a novice author, publishers a priori do not need you, editors can throw your novel in the trash without even reading the introduction, readers will not want to buy your book, although they will read it with interest via the Internet. Even your family will consider you a failure and tell you that you can’t make money from writing. However, so does fame. This period may become the most difficult for you - you just need to get through it, because then everything will go much easier!

Before you start writing a book, think carefully - do you really need this? Maybe it's better

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech that you often see on paper.
2. Never use a long one where you can get by with a short one.
3. If you can throw away a word, always get rid of it.
4. Never use passive voice, if you can use active.
5. Never use borrowed words, scientific or professional terms if they can be replaced with vocabulary from everyday language.
6. It's better to break any of these rules than to write something downright barbaric.

1. Make the most of your time stranger so that it does not seem to him wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one hero for whom you want to root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it's just a glass of water.
4. Each sentence should serve one of two purposes: to reveal the character or to move events forward.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your main characters are, treat them horribly; the reader needs to see what they are made of.
7. Write to please only one person. If you open the window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will catch pneumonia.

Modern British writer, very popular among fantasy fans. Key work Moorcock - a multi-volume series about Elric of Melnibone.

1. I borrowed my first rule from Terence Hanbury White, author of The Sword in the Stone and other works about King Arthur. It was like this: read. Read everything you can get your hands on. I always advise people who want to write fantasy, or science, or romance novels, stop reading these genres and pick up everything else: from John Bunyan to Antonia Byatt.
2. Find an author you admire (mine was Conrad) and copy his stories and characters for own history. Be an artist who imitates a master to learn how to draw.
3. If you're writing plot-driven prose, introduce the main characters and major themes in the first third. You can call it an introduction.
4. Develop themes and characters in the second third - the development of the work.
5. Complete themes, reveal secrets, etc. in the final third - the denouement.
6. Whenever possible, accompany meeting the characters and their philosophizing various actions. This helps maintain dramatic tension.
7. Carrot and Stick: Heroes must be haunted (by obsession or villain) and pursue (ideas, objects, personalities, secrets).

American writer of the 20th century. He became famous for such scandalous works for his time as “Tropic of Cancer”, “Tropic of Capricorn” and “Black Spring”.

1. Work on one thing at a time until you finish.
2. Do not be nervous. Work calmly and joyfully in whatever you do.
3. Act according to plan, not according to your mood. Stop at the appointed time.
4. When, work.
5. Cement a little each day instead of adding more fertilizer.
6. Stay human! Meet people, go places, have drinks if you want.
7. Don't become a draft horse! Work only with pleasure.
8. Depart from the plan if you need to, but come back to it the next day. Focus. Be specific. Eliminate.
9. Forget about the books you want to write. Think only about what you are writing.
10. Write quickly and always. Drawing, music, friends, cinema - all this after work.

One of famous science fiction writers our time. From his pen came such works as “American Gods” and “Stardust.” However, they filmed it.

1. Write.
2. Add word by word. Find the right word and write it down.
3. Finish what you are writing. Whatever it costs you, finish what you start.
4. Put your notes aside. Read them as if you were doing it for the first time. Show the work to friends who like something similar and whose opinion you respect.
5. Remember: when people say something is wrong or doesn't work, they are almost always right. When they explain what exactly is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.
6. Correct the mistakes. Remember: you have to let go of the job before it's perfect and start the next one. - this is a pursuit of the horizon. Move on.
7. Laugh at your own jokes.
8. The cardinal rule of writing is that if you create with enough self-confidence, you can do anything. This can also be a rule throughout life. But for writing it is best suited.

Master short prose and a classic of Russian literature that hardly needs any introduction.

1. It is assumed that the writer, in addition to ordinary mental abilities, must have experience behind him. The highest rewards go to people who have gone through fire, water and copper pipes, the lowest - natures untouched and unspoiled.
2. Becoming a writer is very easy. There is no freak who has not found a mate, and there is no nonsense that has not found a suitable reader. Therefore, do not be timid... Place the paper in front of you, pick up a pen and, irritating the captive thought, write.
3. Becoming a writer who is published and read is very difficult. For this: be and have a talent at least the size of a lentil grain. Due to the lack of great talents, small ones are expensive.
4. If you want to write, then do so. Choose a topic first. Here you are given complete freedom. You can use arbitrariness and even arbitrariness. But, so as not to discover America a second time and not to invent gunpowder a second time, avoid topics that have long been worn out.
5. Giving free rein to your imagination, hold your hand. Don't let her chase the number of lines. The shorter and less often you write, the more and more often you are published. Brevity does not spoil matters at all. A stretched eraser erases a pencil no better than an unstretched one.

1. If you are still a child, make sure that. Spend more time on this than on anything else.
2. If you are an adult, try to read your work as a stranger would. Or better yet, how your enemy would read them.
3. Don't exalt your "calling". You can either write good propositions, or not. There is no such thing as a “writer’s lifestyle.” The only thing that matters is what you leave on the page.
4. Take significant breaks between writing and editing.
5. Write on a computer that is not connected to the Internet.
6. Protect work time and space. Even from the people who matter most to you.
7. Don't confuse honors and achievements.

People read books, sometimes experiencing interest, and sometimes delight. Other literary works are quickly forgotten. Sometimes stories and novels remain unread. But in any case, the author, whose name is printed on the cover, seems to be a romantic person. To an ordinary person who goes to work at nine o'clock, it often seems that this is an enviable lot - to work whenever you want, not to listen to the boring comments of your boss, to receive large fees and to live in a special world where fantasies reign and conflict fictional characters and mysterious events occur. In order to get there, you need to know how writers become. But the writers themselves are in no hurry to share this secret of theirs, although in words they seem to be hiding nothing.

If you can, don't write

When sitting down at a desk, everyone who has chosen literature as a profession must remember this responsibility. But it is not enough to make this choice yourself; the love for art must be mutual.

The writer is also the reader

It is very difficult to pick up a fountain pen or sit down at a computer keyboard one day and try to express in letter format the totality of surging feelings. Everything interferes and distracts, words are difficult to fit next to each other, thoughts seem hackneyed and all the time there is a feeling that someone has already written it. There is nothing wrong with this, especially if the new author has read a lot himself. Beginning writers often immediately want to become Dostoevsky or Chekhov, but not everyone succeeds. In this sense, it is interesting to observe the metamorphosis of Anton Pavlovich’s consciousness, which can be traced in his writings from the first volume to the last. From “Letter to a Learned Neighbor” to “The Bishop” there is “a distance of enormous size” (in the words of another classic). A more encouraging effect comes from reading contemporary writers, but not everyone can stand them for long.

Hateful commercial issue

The great Russian poet spoke about inspiration and a manuscript that can be sold, and it’s hard to disagree with Alexander Sergeevich on this. But in our age of continuous marketing and management, supply significantly exceeds demand. Not all aspiring writers listen to the aforementioned advice about not taking up the pen unless absolutely necessary, which is why all editorial offices, without exception, are overwhelmed with manuscripts most of which are doomed to oblivion. A talented author will need the main thing personal quality For any person - patience. At the same time, you need to remember that the book should be interesting. Publishing houses are commercial enterprises, their goal is to make a profit, their products must be sold. Before sitting down to the table, you should soberly assess the reading potential of your future work and draw up a psychological portrait of a possible reader. Managed? Happened? Then let's get to work!

What to write about?

Which fiction are you reading today? It is believed that every publishing house has a specialist who knows the answer to this question. His job title is publisher. Theoretically, he can predict the speed of sale of the circulation, its volume, in other words, what determines the “commercial potential of the product.” Probably, publishers often make mistakes, but it is very difficult to verify this.

Children's writers are rare in our time; it is not for nothing that books by Suteev, Nosov, Prishvin and many other classics of the genre endure numerous editions, and the demand for them does not fall. The most popular genres are melodrama, detective, mysticism, fantasy and some others that fall under the definition youth culture. Today they are read by housewives (not all of them, of course), students and Soviet-era intellectuals who have not been killed by the perestroika-shootouts of the last two decades. Modern writers, if they want to become famous, simply must take this fact into account when choosing the stylistic direction of their works. They must create for their readers. There will be no others, and even these are becoming fewer and fewer...

How to write

All our fellow citizens went to school. This means that everyone can read. And write too. But this does not mean that the profession of a writer is publicly accessible. This needs to be learned, it is an art. And like any art, it consists of two main parts - talent and craft. There is also a third ingredient - labor, but more on that later. You can dream of being creative since childhood, especially if you have the ability. But where to study to be a writer? The answer to this question seems obvious: of course, at the philology department! The teachers there certainly know how to express thoughts! Yes, they do, but most often about how not to. Graduates of literary departments have an excellent command of theory, know how to correctly compose phrases, and are familiar with the rules of linguistics, punctuation and, of course, spelling. That is why, apparently, they themselves most often do not write anything.

Non-professionals

And the writers of the past, and modern writers, as a rule, come to art from completely different professions. Detectives are composing former employees law enforcement agencies, melodramas are created by teachers or engineers. Chekhov was a zemstvo doctor, and Tolstoy was an officer. Does this mean that they did not learn a trade? Not at all. They simply comprehended its subtleties, not sitting at a student desk, but in completely different places. Self-education - best view education. There is a special conversation about how writers become today. Literature has become a business, not everyone is allowed into it, and the artistic merits of the works are not always the criteria. But about old times Ivan Shmelev said. “How I Became a Writer” is a story filled with humor, but it also has very serious moments. It truthfully describes the first semi-children's “creepy” story, the fee received of 80 rubles (quite a decent amount for those times) and his own name on the treasured page of the Russian Review, which seems alien. It is clear to the reader that since the events described, much water has passed under the bridge, and many changes have occurred in the author’s worldview.

About words, living and dead

Typically, work on literary work starts with an idea. There are moments in every person's life that deserve to be talked about. Not everyone has a need for such a presentation, but if there is a need, it is worth thinking about the technical side of its implementation. How writers become can be judged by what they are required to be able to do. Firstly, there is such a thing as a good syllable. It involves compliance certain rules, among which we can mention various rather formal points and the most common mistakes made by novice authors (for example, in the case of a hat that fell off while “driving past station N”). Can be used as a textbook good book“The Living and the Dead Word,” written by Nora Gal.

There is also such a thing as originality. It manifests itself in the peculiarities of the characters’ speech and their recognition. A woman speaks differently in life than a man; the dialect of a villager differs from the speech of a city dweller. However, there must be a measure in this, otherwise it will be difficult for the reader to understand the text. Good taste and exciting storytelling will give the book undoubted merits, and in this case it will become loved by many.

Descriptions of some professional moments sometimes require deep knowledge. For example, the actions of a pilot at the controls cannot be described by the author if he himself has never flown an airplane. Lack of professionalism is immediately visible, so it is advisable to avoid such moments so as not to become a target for fair criticism. However, it is also not worth distracting the reader with highly specialized questions, unless, of course, you are writing a work of art and not a textbook.

Preliminary criticism

Every author thinks that with his work he has made humanity happy, and this is completely normal. After all, it would not have been worth taking up the pen otherwise. Another question is to what extent the opinion of a young (not necessarily in terms of age) writer corresponds to objective reality. Not everyone has the talent of a writer, but you can determine its presence by letting you read your own opus different people. It should be borne in mind that good acquaintances, friends and trusted buddies are rarely able to say cruel words, like “you, brother, are mediocre,” or “old man, you wrote a story that is boring to the point of yawning.” Therefore, it is best to choose those readers who are more free to express their opinions. An excellent option is a school literature teacher (and an excellent reason to visit the teacher, especially on Teacher’s Day or another holiday). The problem is that she doesn’t always have time, but if the author showed success in her subject at one time, she will certainly read it, and even with a red pencil in her hand, and this is invaluable help. There are also work colleagues (if they are not subordinates, of course). In general, the author holds the cards here; he knows better who can be a preliminary censor and who cannot. And you also need to be a psychologist to understand whether the reader liked the work or not. Our people are cultured, even too...

About volumes

Writing a couple of stories is not all. We can say that this is nothing at all. Before you become a famous writer, you have to work hard. This means that only the writer who can offer the publishing house a full-fledged book, or preferably several, has a chance of publication. And this is a dozen and a half printed sheets (each approximately 40 thousand characters with spaces), up to half a million characters in total (different publishers have different requirements). Two or three short stories can be published in an almanac, but publishing an independent book in this case is out of the question. Therefore, you need to be patient and work, and without a 100% guarantee of success. Another reason to think about whether it is necessary to make such sacrifices...

How to achieve mastery

Any skill is achieved through exercise. Variety performers They believe that singing in restaurants is an excellent vocal school. For an aspiring writer, journalism or copywriting can become such a crucible of skill and professionalism. The ability to coherently express one’s thoughts in the form of text becomes a habit bordering on automatism. An experienced article writer will never use the same words in adjacent sentences (except as a special technique), will pay attention to style, maintain the rhythm of the narrative, and at the same time develop his own style, characteristic of every original writer. These skills are very important, they will come in handy when creating works of art, regardless of genre.

How to publish a book?

And so the book was written. The last doubts have passed, I want to publish it. The author is already in general outline he knows how others become writers, and he wants to try it himself. It seems quite natural to want to send a manuscript to some publishing house, and the hope for a positive decision from the editors regarding publication is just as justified. Novikov-Priboy, Jack London and many other Russians and foreign writers did just that. They received fees, at first very modest, and then quite serious. O. Henry, for example, published his first stories while in prison.

But the experience of past centuries is not yet a reason for excessive optimism. The manuscript is considered for a long time, and very often the answer contains a standard text stating that it is “not of commercial interest.” Should I be upset about this? Of course, it’s a shame, but you shouldn’t fall into despair. In the end, the publishing house is understandable. Book printing is a business, that's all business people do not want to invest money in projects that have dubious financial prospects. And printing these days is not a cheap business.

The path to fame is tortuous and difficult, but chances to overcome it still exist. Firstly, there is more than one publishing house in our country. And secondly, you can achieve success in another way (if you are confident that the book will be a success among readers). The advantage of our time is that, having spent your money, you can print everything, choosing the cover, format, and illustrations yourself. If you need the services of an editor, you will also have to pay for them. By the way, many Russian writers in the past were published for the first time in own funds. There is nothing wrong with this approach. In addition, if you are lucky, you can find a sponsor who will pay for the printing services. In case of success, it would be useful to return the money spent to him, and even with interest, because by laying out “hard-earned money”, a person (or organization) is taking a risk. At the very least, it is worth stipulating the terms of sponsorship in advance.

It is best to choose a publishing house that has its own network bookstores, otherwise a situation may arise that leaves many aspiring authors in awe. The writer receives a large mountain of packages own works and doesn't know what to do with them. In this case, you have to independently engage in the sale of literature, negotiating with trading organizations on sales. There may be a lack of experience; in addition, many stores are accustomed to working with their own suppliers and sometimes refuse cooperation simply so as not to confuse the accounting department. In general, there are many difficulties, and most importantly, you have to overcome them on your own.

New opportunities

Modern writers have access to means of achieving fame that the great writers of the past did not have. Every day, in any weather and almost around the clock, hundreds of thousands, and possibly millions, of people sit in their houses and apartments and search the Internet for something interesting to read. On specialized sites, any person who considers his work talented can present it to the general public. A novice writer should not immediately think about a high (or any) fee, so there is an easy way to evaluate success own creativity, publishing your opuses on some popular page completely free of charge, counting on reviews. Once you are convinced that the reader is interested in the work, you can try to sell the manuscript on paid sites.