Want to Write a Novel? Advice for the Aspiring Novelist

How To Write A Novel
By Donna Grisanti

Before starting the exciting journey of writing a novel, check the true level of your enthusiasm. In an informal survey of writers, the “why are you considering writing a novel” factor strongly affects the success of completing the “how to write” factor. On average, writing a novel is a 2+ year task, which requires a strong positive attitude that you’ll not only start the novel but you’ll also have the drive, passion, and belief in yourself and the project to see that adventure through to completion. Your motivation must be very strong -- always thinking of interesting plots, characters or things you want to write about, as if you can’t help yourself; longing to put everything down on paper or computer screen. Bridging the gap between thinking and writing is as much an artistic adventure as the finished manuscript.

If novel-writing isn’t near the top of your life goals or objectives list, perhaps you need to reconsider the size of your writing project (change to short stories or articles) or investigate honing separate skill sets necessary to novel writing (plot formation, character development, dialogue and setting). Learning novel-writing is a process, so there’s nothing wrong about starting in increments and building small success upon small success. Taking the task in manageable chunks, with your goal of a novel in mind, brings confidence and possible pages ready to be incorporated in the final product -- your novel.

In gaining information about learning the craft of novel-writing, not every author, article or writing class will benefit you, just like everyone doesn’t like every type of food. But they do have the advantage of “getting published,” so accept and discard advice advisedly. You’re still the amateur. Fortunately, the Internet, libraries, bookstores and writing groups are no-cost or low cost sources of gathering useful information which can help, or convince you, of proper technique in your efforts to learn (or get back on the right track) in your writing.

Authors need a clear idea of their story as a foundation for their task. Do you know what you want to write about? What genres do you read or do you have favorite authors? Although you are not limited by your answers nor should you slavishly “mimic” another author’s style, your responses might help you identify or hone your original idea to begin the process.

Before starting, determine the “success” quotient of the idea for your novel. It must interest you, in order for you to spend the time and effort to write well, but, most importantly, it must be able to interest others, in a fresh, entertaining way. Always keep in mind, there’s a lot of competition out there for a reader’s time. The adversaries are the quality and availability of the 24/7 stories in broadcast and cable television and Internet as well as print media. So you have to craft the idea well and carefully; the potential reader of your novel is very busy and very sophisticated. Ask people who aren’t “yes men” for a critical analysis of your idea to ascertain if the idea is clear, manageable and gripping.

Now, the plot plan is next as you try to think of mixing the characters, settings and situations into a pace that will keep your reader entertained and entwined with your characters; wanting to turn the page or not wanting to turn the nightlight out before bed. Like an extension ladder whose rungs allow the worker to climb in incremental steps, the plot and subplots, must, overall, direct the reader in a cogent path to the last sentence.

In real estate where the watchword is location, location, location, the other necessary part inherent the best plot plan is conflict, conflict, conflict; by which the reader is able to see and experience the change in the characters and situations. With so many other books on the shelf or manuscripts begging to published, what attributes set your plot plan above the rest?

With the idea in the forefront, a writer turns attention to time span, setting and characters. The writer has the final say, of course, but for the first effort consider things you already know in your work, pastimes or hobbies because you must be completely knowledgeable in these areas. Research, especially time span and setting, are crucial in determining the accuracy of your writing which cascades into your plot, dialogue and believability of the characters themselves. Be expert without being boring, redundant or preachy. Accuracy in your research flows into the writing, which gains the trust of the reader; proving your words have the same beauty and excitement as watching a professional musician, athlete or actor.

Setting a schedule to gain information on how to write and actively writing are two more critical action steps. Perhaps you can’t write every day but commit to a realistic number of hours per week, if you are not enrolled in a writing class. A “learning” writer is just like anyone trying to become skilled at a profession or craft -- it takes time, effort and sweat.

“Birthing” each page, scene or chapter may be painstaking, but writers have to be willing to be tough on their work, but not too tough. Again, show your work to trusted critics, writing group members or editors, if you can afford them. Give close attention to their critiques and carefully gauge the consistent areas they feel you need work. Polish those, so you can stop problem areas before they become unfortunate habits. Judicious “sculpting” early makes things easier in the long run and impresses editors and publishers as well.

Writing can be anything in-between a lonely landscape of you and a white page getting larger and larger in its blankness or the sheer joy of words flying from your ideas faster than you can get them down. Care, preparation, a clear idea and plot plan can help push things into the latter category. Don’t get discouraged. Good luck.

Copyright © 2007 Donna Grisanti

Donna J. Gristanti is a Tucson, Arizona based fiction writer. Wandering Hearts, her first published novel, was written over a five year period. A former senior nursing administrator, she now divides her time between writing, family, and church.

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Editorials: Sound Off or Sound Like an Expert?

All right, maybe you've gotten the chance to do an editorial. You're thrilled, right? After all, this is simple. Editorial = opinion. All you have to do is put your opinion in the allotted number of words, and you're done. Easy money.

Not quite.

I always thought that, too. Then I had the fortune to have to take a class on editorials in graduate school. If I remember nothing else, I took away the fact that editorials are more than the rantings of an opinionated writer. Rather, a good editorial shows the reason behind the opinion. That's right, you have to change your formula to: Editorial = informed opinion.

Say you want to do an editorial on the dangers of fluoride in city water supplies. Option 1 is to spout off:

"Let's face it; fluoride is bad for us. There have been lots of studies proving it, but not one supporting its value."

Aside from the problem of how you're going to get an entire column out of that, it sounds weak. It's just your opinion, so why should readers pay attention? In fact, at this point, you sound like an enraged kook (all right, I wrote it...so I sound like an enraged kook). Try Option 2:

"Many cities put fluoride in their water supplies because someone out there has gotten the idea it helps us.

"A Stanford study by Hawkins and Cladell has proven just the opposite. They studied five cities with fluoride in their water supply and compared them to five cities without fluoride.

"The cities that used fluoride had a 57% higher cancer rate than those that didn't. In fact, their findings indicate that fluoride is more toxic than lead. Yet, there's not one study supporting the benefits of fluoride to teeth when taken internally."

Okay, there's no Stanford study. I made that up. Don't do that when you're writing a real editorial. However, you can see how much stronger the editorial text is when you have facts to back up your opinion.

Even from here, I can hear the wheels turning in your head. What about all the writers and broadcasters who publish columns or spout off on TV backed up by nothing but their own thoughts? They're professionals, and they're not "supporting" their opinion.

True, but who do you trust more--someone who spouts off their opinion, or someone who spouts off their opinion with seven different studies to back them up? Of course; the person with facts. There's no reason to listen to the other person unless you already agree with them and want an ego boost.

In the course of finding facts to back you up, you may find there are none. Or, you may find that you change your own mind because opposing evidence is more compelling. That's okay. Journalism is about finding the truth, and that means not lying to ourselves, either.

Make that part of your column.

Shameless Self-Promotion

I try to keep this blog strictly informative, but it's time for some shameless self-promotion.

I recently self-published a book of short stories through Lulu.com. You can purchase it through the button to the right. The price is $7.95. Hey, folks, I'm excited!

Buy it! Buy it!

The Devil Is in the Details: Too Much Detail in Your Writing?

Detail is good, but when is it too much? Here's an answer by Vivian Gilbert Zabel.

Too Much Detail Stops the Flow
By Vivian Gilbert Zabel

Writing a good story requires the author have enough detail that the reader knows who, what, when, where, why, and how without over-loading with unneeded information. A novel can contain more detail than a short story, but paragraphs filled with exposition loses the reader’s attention. For example, read the following paragraph:

The angry man strode toward the French doors. The tall windows reflected the fire burning in the fireplace. The antique furniture shone with a high gloss. Candles provided the only light other than that of the fire. A glass of liquid sat beside a cut glass container on a small table in front of one sofa. A Persian rug covered high gloss wood floors.

The above paragraph describes a lovely room, doesn't it? What it doesn't do is move the story along. Unless all those details are needed for plot, then they don't belong in a story. Any that are needed should be woven into the story in such a way that the flow of the story isn't disrupted.

The angry man strode toward the French windows. His anger blinded him, but even if he wanted to see outside, the windows reflected only the fire burning in the fireplace.

"What were you thinking?" He whirled to face the woman who sipped from a glass before placing it on the table.

Two of the details are included into the action, giving enough detail to help the reader "see" what happens without de-railing the plot. As the story progresses, more of the details, if needed or wanted, can be included as part of the action or storyline.

Sometimes I've received reviews wanting to know more details than given or needed in the story. Short means just that, short. Everything cannot be included that would be found in a novel. An author needs to know what to include and what to eliminate to make the story alive and moving. Readers need to realize that wanting to know more about the characters doesn't mean that more information is needed, but that the writer did a good job of making the characters believable and interesting.

In a novel, when too much information in included at one time, those details that don’t “move the plot” forward, reader will skip those paragraphs to find where the story line continues. Just because one writes a book doesn’t mean that every single detail be included.

Therefore, we need enough detail to give readers a sense of where the action or story is taking place, but we shouldn’t include so much that the flow of the story is disrupted.

Vivian Gilbert Zabel taught writing for twenty-five years, honing her skills as she studied and taught. An author on Writers (http://www.Writing.Com/ ), her portfolio can be found at http://www.Writing.Com/authors/vzabel. Her books, Hidden Lies and Other Stories, Walking the Earth, and The Base Stealers Club, can be found through book stores or Amazon.com.

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