I really wanna start writing books. I've been taking an English creative writing class but it's not teaching me much. Can anyone give me some good advice on how to start writing a book. Bonus question: when to use ; --- and ~ in a book or story?

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content matters lot more than grammar. If you can write a good story, a publisher will work with you. If you have an idea just write it the best you can. Then worry about revisions.

Magic! Then again, you're right teachers don't teach how to write books and that's a good thing, because they're, at least, 30 years behind the times on how to write for today. That doesn't mean you get no expert advice though - that means you have to get your expert advice elsewhere. Here's two books that can help you - http://www.amazon.com/Hooked-Write-Fiction-Grabs-Readers/dp/1582974578/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1286461143&sr=1-2 and http://www.amazon.com/First-Five-Pages-Writers-Rejection/dp/068485743X

First off- Practice. Practice, practice, practice. I cannot stress this enough. No one starts out as an instant best seller.No one. Just try your best, keep practicing, and don't loose hope. Second off- Research. Research your plot, your setting, even the culture if it's foreign to you. The more you research, the more realistic it's going to be. Third off- Critiques. Find friends, get input, thoughts, advice. I know it may hurt, but let's face it- we /all/ have room for improvement. Take each negative thing said and find a way to turn it good; to make use of it. I use this great site called inkpop. It's run by a publishing company itself. It's really helped me. There are no set ways or methods to becoming a top seller or even published. It's a tough world out there in the publishing bis. All that matters is that you try your best, follow your heart, and hey, have fun. Best of luck. -Fellow writer You don't use '~'. At least, not that I'm aware of. You use ';' to string two sentences / thoughts together instead of using a period. ie- Take each negative thing said and find a way to turn it good; to make use of it. And you use '-' to list or explain something, if that makes sense. Look up, I've used it a lot.

I really haven't tried that since I am a self-taught author/writer myself. (And never had the opportunity to take a writer's class.) Most of my experience came from reading books and a few self-help guides. (The ones that hadn't drove me nuts with contradictions!) The use of hyphens is generally a subjective one--since mine usually come from inner thoughts and other introspectives connecting to the original paragraph. But it depends heavily on what I'm currently writing.

* Start your story where the action starts. If your story is about someone who is run down by a bus, that is where you start. The reader does not need to know when your character got up or what they ate for breakfast that day. * Show, don’t tell. Don’t tell the reader that your character was e.g. angry, show it. Describe how his face became suffused with red and the vein on his forehead stood out. Let the reader engage in your story and work out things for himself. * Less is more. Don’t overly describe a scene. Pick out the most important things and describe them. A few brief sentences are all you need. E.g. the smell of cigarette smoke, several unwashed cups and the curtains half-drawn and you have a pretty good idea of the setting and the person who lives there. * Use adverbs sparingly. ‘He ran hurriedly...’ how else would he run? ‘He walked slowly..’ say ‘He ambled/strolled/wandered/trudged...’ * Cut down your use of adjectives. A good exercise is to cut out all adjectives, read your story over and only put back those adjectives which enhance your story in some way. * Make your characters rounded. Nobody is perfect. Give them some faults. On the other hand, don’t make them all bad. Give them some redeeming feature. The reader must like your main character and care about what happens to them. * Structure your story in a logical way. Don’t jump from one time frame to another or from place to place. * Keep to the one viewpoint. There often isn’t room in a short story to have multiple viewpoints where the writer tells the story from first, one character and then another. * After you have written your story, leave it for a day or two. Then read it aloud. Listen out for parts that are not right, which don’t make sense, which need rewriting. * Check your spelling and punctuation carefully. If you’re not sure of something, check it out. * Finally, read it aloud again. Imagine you are reading it on the radio and read slowly and distinctly. Give it a final polish.

Hi:) If you have a good story, then you will get help with any plot-holes and grammar. If you like to write, I highly suggest you check out wattpad.com:) It's an on line community for writers where you can give and receive feedback, enter competitions, discuss in the forum etc. It is by far the most active one I have come across so far. I'm a member there, message me if you want to connect on wattpad^^,