How to write a novel....

[Chatterbox]

Found this (http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/50062,news,nine-mistakes-to-avoid-how-to-write-your-first-novel-book?DCMP=NLC-daily) on First Post daily.

It's a list of basic mistakes to avoid that seem very commonsensical, but also very easy to make in the first place...

[Libby]

I'm not sure I can agree with all of those points. I believe a novel does need a strong plot where something happens and needs to be pre-planned. But that's just what works for me.

[EC2]

Interesting Chatterbox. I'd go along with most of it.
Libby, thinking about his comments on plot, that is exactly how I write these days i.e.
' Better to find events you are convinced you need and can render plausibly, and then later weld them together with adequate structure.'
Before that in the early days of being published - up until I began writing biographical fiction, I just used to begin writing and see what turned up - and usually ended up with a novel at the end of it. My name for this method of writing is 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it!' :eek: :eek: These days I decide which major historical scenes are the most pertinent to the WIP and investigate them from the emotional/impact perspective of my characters and then write them, hopefully finding a beginning, middle and end along the way! Ummm.... if it ain't broke don't fix it (again!).

[unclearthur]

I'm not sure I can agree with all of those points. I believe a novel does need a strong plot where something happens and needs to be pre-planned. But that's just what works for me.
I agree. Not that I've very much experience of writing, but I believe the plot is the journey your characters make and the story what happens to them on that journey. You have to know roughly where they're going and what will happen to them at the end or they'll wander around aimlessly, going nowhere. Well, that's what mine do if I don't at least try to stick to the outline.

Jonathan
http://www.cavalrytales.co.uk

[juleswatson]

I agree with Libby. I've done both - first novel I just wrote what came (ah...the luxury of endless time to write, not having to deal with commerce :p ). All my novels since have been on the "book a year" deadline (which I constantly break) and I discovered if I did not work out the plot then my characters did sometimes wander about and I lost time ditching all that writing later. If you have loads of time, then you can generate a large amount of writing and then just prune. Lit. fiction writers who are writing smaller books and have more time between them can do that; big established genre writers whose pubs allow them to take their time can do that - I discovered I can't! But I like EC's approach - I think if you are dealing with a time in HF where a lot of fact is known, EC's approach will deliver the best HF book. In my Celtic times, so few facts and events are known that I could only use the large background - Romans invade Scotland - to drive my plot that way. The rest of plot / story was driven by emotional themes and personal drama.

[LoveHistory]

I think the first rule of all truly great authors is "do what works best for you." And by this I don't mean write crap because it's easier. I just mean use the process that helps you the most. There are many different ways to write. Keep striving to improve and lighten up about "how to write." Note: I'm feeling rather free-spirited today.

[Chatterbox]

I should have posted this in the debate forum! :D:cool:

I wasn't suggesting that these are my opinions; I was curious to see what kind of thoughts people had, and that perhaps they might be of interest to some who are still in the starting stages of their projects.

I just wish that there was a sure cure for a wandering and unfocused brain.

[Lauryn]

I just wish that there was a sure cure for a wandering and unfocused brain.

Ummmm... No. Not really. That is, my wandering and unfocussed brain has two modes: calm, and "Holy-bat-s:eek:t-panic!!" either of which can prove remarkably unproductive. But I have read a few authors' comments here and there that suggest that every now and then, a character or event just takes your pen (or keyboard) and goes nuts. I'm looking forward to that :D

[Chatterbox]

I'm looking forward to holy batsh*t panic mode to shift into a renewed and compelling fascination with boutique investment banks on Wall Street. Then I can finish chapter 8. My current rate of progress averages to 300 words a day... horrifyingly bad.

[SarahWoodbury]

At least you're writing! I flit from project to project as I wait for publishers to read my book. I think even my agent is depressed . . .

[Anna Elliott]

I just wish that there was a sure cure for a wandering and unfocused brain.

Well, I can at any rate tell you that the cure is NOT to be 8 mos. pregnant! I sit down to work and feel like my thoughts are trying to wriggle their way to the surface through a bowl of Jell-O! :)

[Chatterbox]

My agent just called with nibbles about a ghost writing gig for another business book. I've just done one of those, but this guy could afford to pay me outright, so I'm thinking of doing it... I don't know what the freelance market is going to be like when I finish the Wall Street opus, and it will take me a few months to get my next narrative NF proposal together. Ho hum. Who said the writing life would be fun and glamorous??

[LoveHistory]

Well, I can at any rate tell you that the cure is NOT to be 8 mos. pregnant! I sit down to work and feel like my thoughts are trying to wriggle their way to the surface through a bowl of Jell-O! :)


I so remember that! I can't do math when I'm pregnant. Don't remember about whether I can write or not. Having children has been terrible on my previously razor-sharp memory.

[Margaret]

"Holy-bat-s:eek:t-panic!!"

I think this deserves a prize for Best Use of an Emoticon in a Post.

Interesting article. It's very different from other writing tips lists that I've seen, and makes some good points.

[robinbird79]

I am very glad I stumbled my way into this thread. As I have something I've been trying to work at for a few months now but I've come to the realization that I don't know where I want my main character to go!!

When I am writing, I tend to write out the "major" events, etc. and then go back later and connect them together. May not be the best way to write but when I get an A-HA moment, I have to get that written out or loose it completely (which happens all the time while running around after a 22 mth old boy).

[Anna Elliott]

Robinbird, have you tried the word processing program Scrivener? It's a fantastic application designed specifically for novel writers. And it definitely helps me keep my thoughts organized while running around after my two and a half year old! :) You can write up your main events in pieces and then lay them out as though on a bulletin board to get a sense of the plot--what's there and what's still missing.

[stu1883]

Robinbird, have you tried the word processing program Scrivener? It's a fantastic application designed specifically for novel writers. And it definitely helps me keep my thoughts organized while running around after my two and a half year old! :) You can write up your main events in pieces and then lay them out as though on a bulletin board to get a sense of the plot--what's there and what's still missing.
Scrivener looks great - I only wish it was Windows compatible!

[Margaret]

You can do the same thing with index cards and a pen or pencil!

[Chatterbox]

Margaret, yes, theoretically. But it takes longer to make handwritten notes on index cards; you invariably run out of the damn things when you need them and, if you're like me, you misplace critical ones while working on them.

Had I known about this program (Scrivener), I probably would have bought a Mac laptop last summer instead of another Windows-based system. It would have made managing the mountain of information and data for the book I'm working on vastly easier. Trying to work with lots of pieces of paper makes me weep with frustration -- literally. I have a stack of papers that is four feet high; three dozen spreadsheets and approx a foot-long stack of index cards in a box.

So this may actually tip the balance in favor of a Mac for the replacement to the current laptop, which is literally falling to pieces. (keys coming off the keyboard...)

Anna, zero danger of trying to do any of this while 8 months pregnant! I do have friends that have produced books and babies in the same year. The one thing on which they all agree is that labor was less painful than the book process.

[SarahWoodbury]

Yes, but that would require handwriting something, of which I am no longer capable :) My husband designed a database for me that allowed me to organize my dissertation, with all its resources, quotes, etc., but it doesn't really work for a novel. I've tried some other software (free downloads) but not really been impressed.

Back to MS word, I guess!

[Julianne Douglas]

I LOVE Scrivener, and I haven't even learned how to use all the nifty features yet!

[Chatterbox]

Julianne -- is it worth making the leap to Mac, even though I don't have a toddler to distract me? :)

[Anna Elliott]

Anna, zero danger of trying to do any of this while 8 months pregnant! I do have friends that have produced books and babies in the same year. The one thing on which they all agree is that labor was less painful than the book process.

Ha! I would agree with that! Writing a book is kind of like 9 mos. to a year of labor. Though I've written 2/3 of my trilogy (first and third books) while pregnant. Thank goodness your brain (kind of) just adjusts!

And Margaret, it's absolutely true you can do a lot with index cards and a bulletin board. I'm probably the least techno-savvy person on the planet (don't even have a cell phone!), so I'm the last one to be touting computer applications all the way. But I do love Scrivener because it allows me to instantly click back and forth between chapters and scenes and move them around to my heart's content with no cut and paste. It also organizes all my digital material--maps, photos of local scenery and topography, primary sources--and lets me display them at the same time as the section of the book I'm working on. So I can be typing a description of a particular iron age hill fortress or whatever and at the same time have all my photos of the place arranged at the top of my computer screen.

I'm pretty sure there are similar programs for windows machines, too, though I haven't heard anything about how well they work.

[Anna Elliott]

And Chatterbox, I would definitely say Scrivener is worth leaping to a Mac for, regardless of whether you have a toddler! I didn't have it for writing the first book of my trilogy, then got it for my second, and it literally made my writing of that second book go twice as fast and twice as easily. Both my agent and my editor noticed the difference, too, in the control I had of the story even in the first draft--there were barely any changes to be made. Seriously--I'm not even getting paid to say this!--and of course everyone's writing process is different. But I personally can't say enough about how awesome Scrivener has been.

[Chatterbox]

Scrivener's site does have a link to a PC-based program, which I took a look at, but it isn't as visually appealing and doesn't seem to have as many features. It kind of reminds me of database management, without specialized kinds of files. (It's hard to tell whether the features would be easy to manage without lots of effort.) It's reasonably affordable at $35, but I'm not tempted to download and try just yet.

Whether my next book is NF or HF, I know that I need to be much better organized when it comes to data management...

[TinneyH]

Does anybody know if there's a Scrivener equivalent for Linux?

[Ken]

Scrivener's site does have a link to a PC-based program, which I took a look at, but it isn't as visually appealing and doesn't seem to have as many features. It kind of reminds me of database management, without specialized kinds of files. (It's hard to tell whether the features would be easy to manage without lots of effort.) It's reasonably affordable at $35, but I'm not tempted to download and try just yet.

Whether my next book is NF or HF, I know that I need to be much better organized when it comes to data management...

Yup! I followed it up and it led me to 'Page Four.' Looks quite good on the outside, does anyone have any experience of using it?

[Anna Elliott]

Does anybody know if there's a Scrivener equivalent for Linux?

Unfortunately there isn't a Scrivener equivalent for Linux. I wish there were. My husband says he's going to write one himself one of these days!

[TinneyH]

Unfortunately there isn't a Scrivener equivalent for Linux. I wish there were. My husband says he's going to write one himself one of these days!

Thanks, Anna. If he ever does, or if you find out someone else has written one, please share! My husband speaks Linux, but we don't have any experience with Scrivener yet.

[Julianne Douglas]

Chatterbox, Anna has said it better than I can. I, too, have found the plotting and writing much easier this time using Scrivener. You can move between chapters instantaneously, and the corkboard function is so useful for plotting. When you want to print something out, you go to a list and checkmark the chapters or sections you want to include and presto--just those pages print out. There are many other functions that I haven't learned to use yet. It sure beats the multiple files and annoying problems I had writing my first novel with Word.

I think it's definitely worth springing for a Mac, but then we're a very Mac-partial family. :)

I'm sad because my daughter will be taking my amazing Mac laptop to college, and I'll have to go back to using the desktop, although it does have a wonderfully large screen.

[juleswatson]

Anna, thanks for the heads up about Scrivener, I had not even heard of it. I downloaded the free trial, though I think it's something that you have to START a book on, so that will be next year! Sounds good tho.