Hello,

I have been a lurker around here for too long. I have had an idea for a story for some time now but keep putting it off when I read the awesome stories here. I am not sure if it will be any good

So, I wanted to ask the experienced and the new authors out here,
When do you know you are ready to be an author?

I would really appreciate some advice (maybe some encouragement? )

electrika

I don't think you are ever truly *ready* for it. I've lurked for years in the fanfiction world and was always like "I really want to write something" and then I would read an amazing story and tell myself that I was stupid for wanting to write because I could never compare to what everyone else had done. My very first story ever was posted on another website and guess how many reviews it got? Not a single one. But you know what? I didn't care because I believed in what I had written. Sure it wasn't the greatest work of art, and it's still not but I learned from reading other stories and perfecting my technique.

I know it's hard and a little frightening to get that first one out there because believe me when I first posted here on Dokuga I was terrifed that people were going to laugh at me. But I have to say that Dokuga is a super supportive community. It is rare that you receive harsh critism but you will get positive feedback.

My advice is to think your plot line out well and finding a beta to go over any spelling and grammar mistakes that might pop up and go for it. All you can do is be confident in your abilities and go for it! Believe in yourself and it will show in your work!

Good Luck!

It depends.


I can write fan-fiction with no hesitation, no problem, and thankfully my writing(style) has improved immensely through the experience of writing fan-fiction stories.

On the other hand, I have been planning and sorting out my original characters for a story I want to write, but I always end up freezing and being unable to write when I try and begin to write the story. I haven't a clue as to why I cannot write this story, as all chapters and the whole story is planned out completely. I just can't write it-which is why I think that maybe I believe that I am not good enough to write the story yet-that I need a lot more practice.(If that makes any sense?)

I'm sure your story, fan-fiction or otherwise, will turn out great. My advice would be to just start writing the story, one can only improve through experience and through practice.

Don't compare your work to the work of others, like artists, each author will have their own writing style. It will never be the same as another, dabble with writing, and find your comfort zone(s). Then go from there.

I'm sure you will do wonderful, good luck~

Grrr! This is why I get disturbed by people who want there to be "quality standards" for fan fiction, denigrate writers for their stories being cliche', or who demand that an author have a fanfic completed before posting any of it. Attitudes like that scare people who want to express themselves. Writing is art, and as long as you follow the few basic rules of the site, such as the story being a Sess/Kag pairing, a minimum chapter length for chapter stories, and assigning proper ratings, you have as much right to post your work as anyone. The way I see it, if you have an idea, sit down and see if you can write a chapter of more than 700 words. Then just jump in and post it. If you are having a lot of problems with grammar or spelling, someone will probably post a review telling you that you need a beta. If that happens, don't let it hurt your feelings, creativity and a vibrant writing style mean a lot more to most readers than technical perfection. I say, go for it!

Now! Only way to get better is to practice! Can't wait to see what you come up with

You are ready to be an author when you feel it, at least that is how it went in my case.

I felt as if I could sit down and write, the plot bunnies came to me easily.

But honestly NOW would be a good time to start, don't be afraid of what others may think or feel. It is your work and your emotions going into the story so don't be afraid to put yourself out there as a writer.

-hugs-

Good luck and I wish you the best!!!

I don't think there's a time when you say 'now I'm ready to be an author'. If you feel you want to write, that is pretty much enough. As you keep writing and strengthening those skills, you start learning to develop sort of a personal 'writer's instinct' where you know how to phrase things and what sounds good to you. But you aren't going to develop these things if you don't start somewhere and while you don't know when you are ready to become an author, as you listen to your own skills and instincts you will come up with stories that you just know are yours to write.

My best advice, start the story you're thinking of and place an authors note on the first chapter, explaining that it is your first attempt at writing and asking for gentle constructive criticism- not that I think anyone will be needlessly harsh, but sometimes people are so eager to help new writers or to offer their opinion that they don't realize they're going overboard and perhaps being a little too forceful in trying to give their two cents.

Best of luck and happy writing! *hugs*

Truthfully? I say anytime. You have to write for yourself and not others. If I compare my works to other peoples I may have never started writing. I started becauses there was a story I wanted to be told and hadn't seen, and other times a amusing scene popped into my mind that I could not get out and had to run with. XD

The more you write, the more you improved. Besides, it's you idea, your take on things, and who says people won't like it.

So... Go for it fool!

~Lune

I agree with knifethrower.

And honestly if you're going to start at all, electrika, Dokuga would be the place to do it. Flames are heavily monitored and you'd hardly find a more supportive community than here! You can always tentatively start out and see how it goes.. maybe start out with drabbles. (100-300ish words)

Dokuga_Contest is also a good place to start with drabbles and oneshots and whatnot.

I'd also advise maybe sending your favorite authors on here a message- everyone is super nice and I'm sure some wouldn't mind giving you some small tips or advice to start off. Like "Is there something you know now that you wish you knew when you started writing/posting?"

I think what Ama is talking about is more or less.. fanfiction is a good place to start because the characters and (usually) universe are already developed for you. It takes a lot more effort and practice to be able to create characters and an entire world from scratch and to all keep it in character. As fans of a series you already know all the established facts and most of the hard work to start up a story is done for you.


I think I had more to type than this novel but my mind is wandering. Good luck to you!

I don't think you can 'know' when you're an author, it's just a matter of taking that leap of faith, and writing something, and posting it up. I mean you can always ask for a beta-reader, or even snag a friend and read your stuff to them before posting it up if you want another person's opinion. The main barrier is getting over your own nervousness, and the uncertainties about what other people will think about your writing. Then you need to think about where you want to post your writing online.

If it's here on Dokuga you'll need to read the site Rules, and get familiar with the fanfiction system, how to upload, update, add new chapters, set the genre, and posting in the specific fiction categories. Posting is the easy part. I think also that it's best to write for yourself, and not for others. I like to pop Sesshy and Kagome in unusual situations purely for comedic relief, some will find that entertaining, and others might not like it at all. The point of fanfiction is to push the canonical boundaries, and explore those 'What If' situations with the characters being our muses.

If you write about 'sensitive' stuff, yups and it happens, check out the site Rules, and their take on ratings for ficlets, and other things before posting. Different websites have different rules, some accept R-Ratings (or MA) and others don't like (FFNet), so you have to be familiar with what's acceptable, and what's not before you post stuff up online anywhere.

If you have concerns about punctuation, grammar and spelling, use a word-processing program like Word, or OpenOffice, and spell-check it using the in-built spell-check function. Snag a friend to beta-read, or bounce ideas off their brains, it makes for good fun, and brainstorming story-lines. Read widely too, newspapers, professional novels, journals etc so that you get more familiar with written English. Write from experience, use your own knowledge of situations to support your writing, like if you've had a puppy-dog, heck you can draw on that if you decide to give Kagome a puppy-dog named Sesshoumaru. Anything works in fanfiction, but it's easiest to write what you know, since you don't have to think so much about it.

Don't get down if you don't get many reviews, I got zilch when I first started writing years ago. I was gobsmacked, when I recently submitted new stuff for Sesshy and Kags here on Dokuga and other people actually 'liked' my ficlets. >.> Seriously. I got reviews for the first time in like years. I was like O_O, Huh? Where'd those things come from? It was nice to get feedback though each time that happens I'm still nervous about reading them XD.

~ Pyre

Personally I think that you are ready to be an author when you write something down and want to share it. There is no set time or signal that tells you that you are ready or that it will be well received but you do it anyways.

I wish you luck hun.

Thank you for your help everyone! Great ideas ! I agree nothing ventured, nothing gained. I am going to try my hand at putting my story into words. Please look forward to it!