I found a very creative blog post today titled "How to Write a Novel While Watching TV". The article is posted on Jerry Kolber's writing blog.
I'm not sure it would actually work, but I'll admit that I've tried to write while watching TV many times and failed miserably. At least now I know what I'm doing wrong - I need to watch more TV and write for shorter periods (only during commercials).
Fifty-thousand words is a lot, no matter how you slice it.
I edited my high school newspaper and in college I spent the summers working for two local weekly newspapers. I can string some sentences together and people will read them, but writing a book length work is a whole different animal. I'm now on my third novel effort and you know what they say....I hope they are right!
I've completed 10,300 words at this point in fourteen first draft chapters. I have two more rough draft chapters in progress. I've made it farther this time and with more quality. Once I decided to stop worrying about being perfect and more about putting words on paper, I started progressing more quickly. I've learned that writing a book length work (in the beginning anyway) is more about quantity than quality. You can't start the second draft until you finish the first.
I hope I get to the point of publication someday, but I'm not going to worry about that too much now. I've got to get to the quantity before it's worth taking time to worry about the quality. With enough practice and dedication (and reading other writers' work), I think the quality will come around. I don't have a lot of leisure time for reading, so I've started getting books on tape from the library. For others in the same boat, I highly recommend it.
Anyone belong to a writer's critique group?
I'm looking for an individual or small group of people that would like to share mutual critiques of writing samples. It could be short stories, short novels, online writing, non-fiction, or serious works of fiction. I'm convinced that the fastest way to improve my own writing is to let others read it. If you know of such a group, or would like to form one, let me know.
I found an article today with tips about submitting to online critique groups. Here's another article I found with links to several online critique groups.
One of my "readers" offered me a nice tip today regarding character creation. After reading one of the recent chapters in the first draft of my novel effort, she suggested that I make the main character a little less cowardly, so that the audience would feel more sympathetic instead of getting angry about the characters' actions.
In the original version of the chapter, an Army Captain abandons a subordinate soldier in the face of enemy attack. In the revised version, the Captain goes for help and while gone the soldier is killed. After comparing the two versions, I agree with the suggestion.
This is one of many benefits of assembling a group of first readers that you trust -- they often see things that we creators don't.
Should I write long chapters or short chapters?
Should they be mixed with equal parts of dialogue and descriptive narrative, or is it o.k. for one to dominiate the other sometimes?
Should I emulate James Patterson, and keep the chapters short, or would longer chapters be better?
As a reader I think it depends upon the genre, style, and topics covered. A crime or mystery novel probably should move more quickly than a dramatic novel.
As a writer, I don't think it's smart to write only short chapters or only long chapters, but rather a balanced work.
As a reader, I like a little variety.
As a writer, I want to write with a style that readers enjoy.
This writing thing sure does require a lot of choices doesn't it?
I've been reading a few writing blogs this morning. One particular post mentioned an author's struggle with "how to start a novel".
As a reader, I like stories that jump right in with both feet. I remember reading a mystery novel last year that started with a long and drawn out description about the weather. The main character was sitting in his office and looking out the window. The scene described him perspiring and being uncomfortable "all couped up". The author then spent the next 300 pages detailing this lawyer's activities driving around Los Angeles conducting his lawyer business.
I enjoyed the book immensely and would love to write one half as successful someday, but I never really imagined that an author might be smart enough and talented enough to try out three or four different "methods" or "approaches" to starting the story before settling on one in particular.
I'm smart enough to know that what works for one best selling novelist won't always work for the beginning writer, but it's given me something to think about when I start my second draft.
This past weekend I spent some time updating my work in progress. If you haven't visited my new novel blog, now is as good time as any to visit. The basic outline for the first 11 chapters was 5,000 words and, after some work this weekend, it's has grown to 6,500 words.
My biggest challenge is to get the general ideas formed and written down. I'm finding that I can always go back and add depth later on. I don't like outlines, but using a blog has helped a lot with discipline. Somehow having it out there for everyone to see adds a sense of urgency and helps stoke the motivational fires.
According to this article on CNN, A Time to Kill received 15 rejections before it was finally accepted by a publisher. In the interview, Grisham reveals that in the beginning his writing day started at 5:30 a.m. and ended after he finished writing one page.
I've been struggling to prioritize time to write these past few weeks and have often thought about purchasing an egg timer and using it as a writing prompt. If I write 30 minutes per day to start, I'd finish a page every couple of days. It's not much, but as I've discovered...it's the consistency that is important.
I read a blog article tonight by Jerry Pournelle where he responds to a question from a wanna be novelist.
"If you already are comfortable writing English sentences with good grammar and sentence construction, and you understand what paragraphs are, so you are asking only how to get into fiction, the simple answer is that no one can teach you that. You either know how to think up stories or you don't."
I'm not sure whether I agree completely with that response, but I agree with the basic premise of the necessary skills. However, possessing the skills to write a fiction novel, and having the desire and dedication to put those skills into practice, are two different things.
For example, I know someone who once made 95 out of 100 free throws at a contest, but who never played in an actual basketball game. I once knew an avid runner who could run 10-miles in under an hour, but who had absolutely no desire to run in a competitive race. I also know a talented poker player who does very well playing in charity poker tournaments, but who has never stepped foot inside a real casino.
I think I understand the disconnection and lack of desire that these people must feel and I think I understand why so many people say they want to write a best-selling novel, but then never put pen to paper to make it happen.
Committing to write a novel, or attempting to write one, requires that the would be author step out of their normal comfort zone. It means telling family and friends about it, and sacrificing personal pursuits, time with loved ones, and prioritizing activities to find the time to write. And there is a very good chance, a likelihood even, that after all the effort and sacrifice, no one will want to read it anyway.
I've spent some time today reading various reviews of various how to write a novel books on Amazon.com and two books stand out above the rest.
James Frey's How to Write a Damn Good Novel and Jerry Cleaver's Immediate Fiction received good reviews on Amazon. I recently received a gift certificate to Border's and plan to pick up both books tomorrow. I am planning a series of posts that will detail my progress using techniques and tips outlined in these books to finally complete my first novel.
I've started two serious novel writing efforts in the past three years, only to stall out on them in the stretch run. To this point, I've subscribed to the Stephen King approach to writing a novel, preferring to write now and ask questions later. I've read King's On Writing several times and found the book refreshing and inspiring, but two years later, I crave some more direction and step-by-guidance in my efforts.
Anyone care to share their impressions of these books about writing?
