Right! Writerly folk!

[framlingem]

annathepiper, I am looking at YOU specifically. 'Kay?




I write poems. I write short stories. The longest thing I have ever written weighs in at a staggering twenty -seven double-spaced pages in a twelve-point font - I was seventeen when I wrote that, and looking at it now, the first two thousand words are completely unnecessary and are really more of a companion essay than part of the story.

This is because I have never yet had an idea I think would translate well enough to anything longer. I've always hated wordiness in novels, and to have a wordy short novel would be even worse.

I have an idea which I think would work well as a novel... but I have absolutely NO clue how to go about writing a novel, in terms of mechanics. Obviously having an outline would be a good idea, as well as notes on character background and world background (it would be a speculative fiction novel set at a hypothetical point in Earth's future, on Earth, so I'd have to extrapolate quite a bit), but in terms of sheer _mechanics_, I am up the creek.

How do I work in background without going into long descriptive passages? How do I pace it? All my stories hinge on one event - usually, they hinge on one _sentence_. Is writing a novel like writing a lot of directly sequential short stories about the same people? The best way to learn is probably by figuring it out, but I'd rather have a roadmap.

It's weird - I learned how to write short stories by reading a lot of them; I read novels voraciously (probably over a hundred and fifty a year. Fortunately, there are libraries and I can read things multiple times happily, otherwise I would be very, very poor.), and I still can't fathom it.

They say everyone has a novel in them. (Not everyone has a _good_ novel in them, though :p) I can probably do this over the next decade or so, and I'd like it to be decent because I really like the idea, and I've been thinking about it for weeks and I'm pretty sure it's not directly derivative of something I've read like most of my ideas. I was enamoured with the whale-farming idea for a bit, but then remembered Clarke already did that. Someone else ALWAYS already did something. But not this time. Leastways, I don't think so.

Comments

how to write a novel

[(Anonymous)]

I've heard other writers say that a novel or short story begins with two or more half ideas or observations put together to form something new. You seem to have gotten through that bit, which is the easiest part.

Elmore Leonard suggests making a very loose outline. If you get too detailed and anal about the outline, it's just typing, and you cut yourself off from going down story avenues that might prove interesting. In my opinion, you might find it's best to start with that key sentence and work backwards until you reach the catalyst or natural beginning of the story. One does not have to begin at the beginning.

As others have said, you have write. Put one word in front of the other and see what happens; have faith that much will come to you during the process.

As for background information: Jump right into the action without worrying about explaining everything all at once. Write to a smart reader who can figure things out and who knows that the author will eventually answer their questions. Break up long chunks of expository with action or dialogue and offer background through a pair of eyes that will develop character or plot or tone.

Regarding unnecessary words: short works compress the prose, loading it in poetic fashion. As you are primarily a poet, this might explain your desire to be brief. In novels, prose is less condensed; it takes the time to give details, concrete examples (of character and setting) and can be rich in imagery. Plots can be more complex and you can introduce far more characters in a novel... All of this, not wordiness, takes time and space.

I hope this helps.