Posted on 12/23/2024 8:51:04 AM PST by Lazamataz
Merry Christmas, all!
I'm finding that the act of writing a novel is very hard work. My writing style tends to be very concise. I can pack a lot of thoughts and ideas into a small number of sentences.
This does not work well with my current project. Various sources tell me that 90,000 to 100,000 words is the typical count for a given novel. I'm only at 15,900 words. I have quite a few chapters to go, but it's a struggle to flesh out this work to the right size.
I have a first draft manuscript, and if anyone wants to request a copy of that, I can provide it by email. Perhaps one or more of you have ideas on how I can improve this work.
bttt
Maybe find a collaborator or partner Who can help Like a color commentator on football
Also an editor.
A good editor can take what you Actually wrote and Turn it into what you thought or hoped you said
Yeah, it is pretty bad when you have to dumb down for over half the market.
That’s Brutality at It’s Worse!
.
Try my Bumper Sticker style.
Do coloring books count? JK; I have a hard time staying within the lines. I’ve written an essay or two (not published); the best ones are those that just sort of pour out of me, with little or no changes required. But who can say? I wanted to read Ben Hur, by Lewis Wallace, out loud to my husband; couldn’t get past the first page because the writing was so flowery as to be nearly unreadable. I don’t think I would have had that problem reading it silently. Perhaps if you try reading what you have out loud it may give you a clue; maybe even recording yourself reading it, then listening to the playback. Just a thought...
“He got into the RAV4. It was blue, shiny, and the left rear tire looked slightly low. A bird had crapped on the hood and the sun’s reflection angle drew reluctant attention to it.”
Chapter Two
Suddenly, a pirate ship appeared on the horizon! A shot rang out. A door slammed, the maid screamed. As a gentle snow fell the little girl in a tattered shawl selling violets on the street corner wipes away a tear, wishing she had a pony. Thirty thousand feet above her a flaming engine detaches from a Boeing 747 .. .
There’s no deadline. Contact me by freepmail and I will send you a draft of what I have so far.
The Lord chooses
The Weak
To Confound
The Strong!
Must be entertaining if fiction. Preaching kills novels.
Chapter lengths should be between 12 to 15 minutes of reading time. (credit: Katherine Kurtz). 60,000 to 90,000 max word count. End chapters with a hook so they turn to the next.
First draft usually will end up being twice as long as it needs to be and you will have to go back and remove the fluff and side plots you put in.
Following Alistair MacLean’s advice: leave sex out as it ruins the pacing. (He was a master of description).
Many of the SiFi conventions will have writing programs with successful authors. Attend a few for what works and what doesn’t.
Just keep writing. The advantage of fiction writing is it just comes from the subconscious and it will flow out as you develop the story. Obviously, you have a beginning but do you know how you want to end it? Hold that ending in mind as you strive to develop the plot and side plots to get there.
Writing groups can be helpful for developing a style but on the whole, they are gripe sessions on how little money they make. Consider your writing as a hobby as first book will not make money.
Fascinating.
Now tie it back.
Why does it mean so much to him? What is percolating under the surface that this spot would draw so much attention? Is it symbolic of someone in his life that doesn’t respect him or literally dumps on him, his work, his accomplishments?
In the same way Rosebud in Citizen Kane was a symbol of better times, or the whiteness of the whale was a symbol of death in Moby Dick, why does the character care?
Study the Kamala Harris speaking model.
“You can always look to Herman Melville for inspiration.”
How true, but you can’t start EVERY book with, “Call me Ishmael.”
Laz, I bail out of novels that get uselessly over-desciptive.
...In the distance, a dog barked.
I think you’d like my style, then.
The entire upper part of the building lifted up in the air, he saw the shock wave coming, and as he tried to scream, "Oh my G___" he was thrown on his back and finished the sentence, "God! Save my soul!
At one point I had 35 books for sale on Kindle.
SciFi, romance, military scifi (yes, there is a difference) and a few stories aimed at ‘preppers’. I’ve pulled everything this year - too much trouble to constantly be promoting the works.
_____
You should write the last chapter as part of the total workup. That way you can ensure the novel is a full story.
I then write up some parts of each chapter - sort of a short story, which will expand into a full chapter as you work on that part of a story.
You should be able to ‘see’ the full story in your mind - not word for word, but rather, the full story line.
Finally - you can do typo checks as you write each chapter or wait until the novel is complete - either way, this will be a real chore and a very necessary chore.
Good luck.
After my harangue, I turned and the door struck me in the buttocks as I exited. Not my finest moment.
Oh man. That’s the kind of writing that made me quit reading fiction. LOL.
I particularly hate detailed descriptions of the clothes people wear, down to the color of tweed in a jacket, for example.
Good luck Laz!
Wish I could still find your essay “Something happened today!” from all of those years ago...
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