How to find ideas for writing a book?

In today's article we are going to talk about a technique for getting ideas. Something like a creative writing game for when you do not find out that you want to develop your new book.

Source: atrapalibros.com

Writing exercise

Take a tour of the library or the book stores you have around to see what's new, although it seems silly, it makes more sense than you think. You can also search the internet for the latest books that have been published. Now that you have them, read the titles of the novels, do not read the synopsis, or anything that could give you more clues.

Most may not even look attractive to you, but there will be one that does. Now that you have that book that catches your attention and you would like to read, point the name of the book on paper or download the cover.

The time has come for the next step, without having any idea of the book, try to imagine its plot. Who is the main character, what happens to him, how the story ends... Try to imagine all possible details about what you would like to find on your pages, from beginning to end. Then you write that novel.

When you finish it, change the name. Do not worry, you're not copying, you're inspired by a title. If you want, you can read it and compare it with what you have written. Most likely they are totally different, however, it has helped you to create your own story.


What did you think of this trick? Have you used it or will you use it? Do you have another one to get ideas? Do not forget to comment and give your opinión.

¿Cómo encontrar ideas para escribir?

En el artículo de hoy vamos a hablar sobre cómo conseguir ideas. Algo así como un juego de escritura creativa para cuando no encuentres sobre que quieres desarrollar tu nuevo libro.

Fuente: arrebatolibros.com

Ejercicio de escritura

Date una vuelta por la biblioteca o las librerías que tengas alrededor para ver las novedades que tienen, aunque parezca una tontería, tiene más sentido del que crees. También puedes buscar por internet los últimos libros que han salido. Ahora que ya los tienes, lee los títulos de las novelas, no leas ni sinopsis, ni nada que pueda darte más pistas.

Es posible que la mayoría ni siquiera te parezcan atractivos, pero habrá alguno que sí. Ahora que ya tienes ese libro que te llama la atención y te gustaría leer, apunta su nombre en un papel o descarga la portada.

Ha llegado el momento del siguiente paso, sin tener más idea del libro, trata de imaginar su trama. Quién es el personaje protagonista, qué le ocurre, cómo acaba la historia… Intenta imaginarte todos los detalles posibles sobre lo que te gustaría encontrar en sus páginas, de principio a fin. Luego escribe tú esa novela.

Cuando la termines, cámbiale el nombre. No te preocupes, no estás copiando, te has inspirado en un título. Si quieres, puedes leerla y comparar con lo que tú has escrito. Lo más probable es que sean totalmente distintas, sin embargo, te ha ayudado a crear tu propia historia.


¿Qué te ha parecido este truco? ¿Lo has utilizado o lo utilizarás? ¿Tienes otro distinto para conseguir ideas? No olvides comentar y dar tu opinión.

How to start a book?

In today's article we will talk about one of the most complicated things. While we already talked about how to write an ending, today it is about the first chapter of your novel. It may be a path of thorns for someone, because for more characters and arguments you have ready, sometimes choosing the right words to start becomes a hell. Also, how can you not want it to be perfect if we all want to impress our readers?

How to write the first chapter

1- Stop the detours and start with something surprising. Therefore, a lively start will make our readers need to know what is happening. To start, never get carried away by the typical routines of each person, we all get bored. If on the contrary you do not like this idea, you can always choose an intriguing reflection or a prologue full of suspense.

2- Synthesize the information. I know we want to talk about our character and all the motivations that have led him there, but calm, you are in no hurry and the reader still does not feel like being over informed. Let him discover things calmly, need to read to remove that intrigue. It tries to avoid this saturation and especially when the narration is in first person because the effect will be very artificial.

3- It is not necessary to physically describe the character from the minute 1. It may look just like the previous one, although it is similar, it is worth having it separately. Sometimes, it just does not fit to describe it, do not be bitter about it. It is more beautiful to go undressing during the novel. It will be much more natural and real than writing a parrafada describing how it is.

Well OK. You can not resist the urge to describe it, no problema. You can list some key thing in it, like a scar.

4- Place the reader. We must always make clear from the beginning where the character is, to know when the events happen... In this way the reader can imagine what is happening.

5- Make some wink about the personality of the protagonist. As before, you do not have to discover everything, but you do make clear your superficial personality, your most important values or an idea / goal that obsesses you. This will give readers a rough idea of what it is like and how it acts.

6- Do not beat yourself up. That the reading is concise, does not need to be adorned. This way the reader can enjoy it better. Try to avoid large paragraphs and convoluted phrases, try not to become a gibberish. With this I do not say that you neglect the way you write, but do not complicate the text in excess.

7- The narrator. Keep in mind the profile of your protagonist when it comes to talking and thinking. For example, if you are a female character of twelve years living in the present, do not force her to say too pompous and / or old words because it will not be natural.

8- Take care of the genre of your novel. Make it clear what kind of novel your readers are going to read. If it's magic, start with an event that has to do with it. Also, do not forget the main ideas of the novel. This way you will avoid possible disappointments in the future or inconsistencies.

9- We finished the best advice possible, enjoy writing. Forget if the first paragraph is this or that, just feel free because we all need to read your novel, you have talent, we just have to let it out. Also if you do not like it in the end, you can always correct it. Do not be afraid of criticism, in the end there will always be someone you do not like, no matter what you call Carlos Ruiz Zafón or George R. R. Martin.


What do you think of the advice? Do you apply or will apply? Do you have different ones? Share it with us, sure that among all we do much better.

¿Cómo empezar una novela?

En el artículo de hoy hablaremos sobre una de las cosas más complicadas. Si bien ya hablamos sobre cómo escribir un final, hoy toca hablar del primer capítulo de tu novela. Puede que sea un camino de espinas para algunos, porque por más personajes y argumentos que tengas listos, a veces elegir las palabras correctas para empezar se vuelve un infierno. Además, ¿Cómo no vas a querer que sea perfecto si todos queremos impresionar a nuestros lectores?

Cómo escribir el primer capítulo

1- Déjate de rodeos y empieza con algo sorprendente, por lo tanto, un inicio lleno de vida hará que nuestros lectores necesiten saber qué está ocurriendo. Para empezar, nunca te dejes llevar por las rutinas típicas de cada persona, a todos nos aburren. Si por el contrario no te gusta esta idea, siempre puedes optar una una reflexión intrigante o un prólogo repleto de suspense.

2- Sintetiza la información. Ya sé que queremos hablar sobre nuestro personaje y todas las motivaciones que le han llevado hasta allí, pero tranquilo, no tienes prisa y el lector aún no tiene ganas de estar sobre informado. Deja que vaya descubriendo las cosas con calma, que necesite leer para quitarse esa intriga. Procura evitar esta saturación y sobre todo cuando la narración sea en primera persona porque el efecto será muy artificial.

3- No es necesario describir físicamente al personaje desde el minuto 1. Puede parecer igual que el anterior, aunque es parecido, merece la pena tenerlo por separado. A veces, simplemente no encaja describirlo, no te amargues por ello. Es más bonito ir desnudándolo durante la novela. Quedará mucho más natural y real que escribir una parrafada describiendo cómo es.

Bueno, está bien. No te puedes contener las ganas de describirlo, no hay problema. Puedes enumerar alguna cosa clave en él, como una cicatriz.

4- Sitúa al lector.  Siempre debemos dejar claro desde un inicio dónde se encuentra el personaje, saber en qué época suceden los acontecimientos... De esta forma el lector podrá imaginarse mejor lo que está sucediendo.

5- Haz algún guiño sobre la personalidad del protagonista. Como antes, no hace falta que lo descubras todo, pero sí que dejes clara su personalidad superficial, sus valores más importantes o una idea/meta que le obsesione. Esto hará que los lectores se hagan una idea aproximada de cómo es y cómo actúa.

6- No te andes con rodeos. Que la lectura sea concisa, no hace falta adornarse. Así el lector podrá disfrutarla mejor. Intenta evitar los grandes párrafos y las frases enrevesadas, busca que no se convierta en un galimatías. Con ello no digo que descuides tu forma de escribir, sino que no compliques el texto en exceso.

7- El narrador. Ten en cuenta el perfil de tu protagonista a la hora de hablar y pensar. Por ejemplo, si se trata de un personaje femenino de doce años que vive en el presente, no fuerces que diga palabras demasiado pomposas y/o antiguas porque no quedará natural.

8- Cuida el género de tu novela. Deja claro qué tipo de novela van a leer tus lectores. Si es de magia, empieza con un suceso que tenga que ver. Tampoco olvides las ideas principales de la novela. Así evitarás posibles desilusiones en el futuro o incoherencias.

9- Ya acabamos con el mejor consejo posible, disfruta escribiendo. Olvídate de si el primer párrafo es esto o aquello, símplemente siéntete libre porque todos necesitamos leer tu novela, tienes talento, sólo debemos dejarlo salir. Además si al final no te gusta, siempre puedes corregirlo. Además, no temas a las críticas, al final siempre habrá alguien a quien no le guste, por más que te llames Carlos Ruiz Zafón o George R. R. Martin.

¿Qué te han parecido los consejos? ¿Los aplicas o aplicarás? ¿Tienes otros distintos? Compártelo con nosotros, seguro que entre todos lo hacemos mucho mejor.

How to correct my book?

In today's article we will try the correction of the novel, because as was discussed in his day in 'How to write a book', it must be done several times to get the best result.

After so much effort dedicated to that manuscript, which you think is perfect, it is when it is the turn of corrections. You must be aware that we all make mistakes, but do not overkill yourself, I do not want you to sink because you can achieve your success if you propose it.

That's why we need to take that look before sending it to any editorial, literary contest ...

Source: primeroseducadores.blogspot.com

What corrections can we make?

To start, the spelling is what we most look, however well you know write, we all make a mistake and have to correct it. When writing, we usually do it in periods of inspiration and to take advantage of it we do not notice the mistakes that we may be making, so in general, we usually have some errors. Rereading the text with a critical eye and hunting for these little mistakes will help us perfect our novel.

The structure is also very important, we must look at each paragraph and chapter, since perhaps we can change them of place to give more sense to our history. Often each chapter looks great separately, but maybe the structure of the novel is not the most appropriate and we must establish a change or a new structure. Does the story work? Is there coherence in the plot?

Last but not least, we found the style. We must be honest with ourselves and realize if the novel has the same style from beginning to end. One must take into account that writing takes time, and it is possible to begin by adopting one tone and ending with another. It is precisely one of the aspects that are evaluated and corrected when taking into account the style.

How much time should I invest?

Writing is a long process, and correction as well. It is a way to evaluate your work, to polish those parts that need improvements, to cut or eliminate what is left over or boring. It is a necessary task if we want a decent manuscript.

Rewriting may be for some the tedious part of creating, it is always thought that it is better to respond to creative instincts, but these do not always guide us to make our manuscript an invaluable piece.

As key, at this point we can highlight the following:

1- Give a rest time to the novel, that we can rest from it and it costs us less to eliminate and change things. In this way we will get another different opinion about our manuscript.

2- We must read it without changing anything a first time, let us see how our story sounds from beginning to end. We must evaluate each plot and conflict to see if they fit together well. At this point we will point out everything we see that is not correct.

3- We begin to rewrite all those aspects that we have aimed to give more cohesion to our manuscript and improve it as much as possible.

4- Now comes the second reading, this is much harder, because here we must look at two things mainly. The parties that bore and the plot. It is difficult to value it because it is ours, but we must do it.

5- In the second writing, we must polish those aspects that we had left, give more strength to the limping parts and we will have almost ready.

6- Now that you think you have everything ready, the time comes for Beta testers, readers who can read your novel and give you a sincere and critical opinion without getting hurt. If they detect errors, point them out and try to correct them.

To finish, remember that you will never be 100% objective because in the end it is your creature, you have created it and you will feel sorry to remove some parts. Therefore, it is best to have a professional, someone who can correct it from another point of view and be a philologist to make sure that each word is correct.


How do you correct your works? Do you take them to someone or do it yourself? Do you have other techniques? Do not hesitate to comment with us, we will be happy to read you.