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 So, how do you approach your novel?

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alj
madhatter
Shelagh
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lin
LC
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LC
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LC


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So, how do you approach your novel? Empty
PostSubject: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptySun Apr 25, 2010 8:06 pm

I may try my hand at a novel. I've been collecting articles relative to its subject, in both paper and electronic folders. I find many ideas for it when reading newspaper and magazine articles.

It occurred to me that I'm approaching it the same way that I do nonfic: trying to synthesize a bunch of collected material. I suppose there's no right or wrong way to do it, just the end result, but am curious about how you all start your novels, and what you draw on for content -media articles, interactions with people, etc.

Do you sketch out an outline and work your novel to it, or just wing it? Myself, I am too attached to outlines to wing anything.
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lin
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptySun Apr 25, 2010 8:25 pm

Gingerly.



If you don't have any ginger, try a mixture of garlic and saffron.
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LC
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptySun Apr 25, 2010 8:33 pm

Well, I suppose that was as good a help as any.

I am drinking a banana/strawberry smoothie right now. Perhaps I'll find my muse at the bottom of the glass.
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lin
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptySun Apr 25, 2010 8:43 pm

And when you do, she will say, "We are NOT a muse."

Check your PM
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joefrank
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptyMon Apr 26, 2010 10:18 pm

4/27/2010

LC...

First I write a short outline, then I
create the characters , next to their name I put
how their invovled in the story, then I let my
imagination take over...It works..


Cheers...Joe
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Shelagh
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptyTue Apr 27, 2010 12:08 am

For my first book, I had to pass my driving test first! Then I drove into Glasgow to the Mitchell Library to collect the information for the first draft.
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LC
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptyTue Apr 27, 2010 10:08 am

Did you write your first novel at 16? Or did you pass your driving test much later?
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Shelagh
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptyTue Apr 27, 2010 10:09 am

Much, much later.
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Shelagh
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptyTue Apr 27, 2010 10:14 am

This explains all:

http://shelaghwatkins.wordpress.com/2009/02/28/hello-world/
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LC
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptyTue Apr 27, 2010 10:27 am

Why didn't you have a license already? (wait for it ..."I didn't need one.") lol
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Shelagh
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptyTue Apr 27, 2010 11:06 am

I'd just never got around to it.
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madhatter
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptyThu Apr 29, 2010 3:56 pm

I think every writer approaches this differently.

I like to write character sketches first--background, physical appearance, quirks, education, etc.

Then, I have a vague outline of the plot. Trying to follow a strict outline doesn't work for me. Never has. If I try to stick to one, the characters mutiny and take off on their own.

The first draft comes out in a blob. I just sit back and let it rip. I don't worry about editing at that point. I revise later. And revise. And revise.

Works for me.

Try not to over-think it. Just do it.So, how do you approach your novel? 733985
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LC
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So, how do you approach your novel? Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptySat May 01, 2010 1:26 pm

Is it fairly easy for you all to write novels, or do you have to think about them a lot? I guess what I'm asking is, is any of it forced, for lack of a better word, for you?
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lin
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptySat May 01, 2010 1:32 pm

I play it coy, look alluring and let the novels approach me.
I CAN be had.
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LC
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptySat May 01, 2010 2:01 pm

Easy but not cheap, huh?
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lin
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptySat May 01, 2010 2:19 pm

For you, today...
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Shelagh
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptySat May 01, 2010 2:41 pm

LC wrote:
Is it fairly easy for you all to write novels, or do you have to think about them a lot? I guess what I'm asking is, is any of it forced, for lack of a better word, for you?
I've arrived at the conclusion that I'm not very good at it. I knew from the onset, really. When I wrote The Power of Persuasion, I didn't know anything at all about writing novels, although I knew that I didn't have the skills to write a genre novel. I also felt that, if I learned, I wouldn't be good enough to compete with other genre authors. I was almost certain that my stories would be interesting but not quite good enough to compete with the best.

So, I did what I knew I could do. I wrote the novel I wanted to write in the style I wanted to write it. The first version of the first chapter is still on the forum if you want to read it:

http://www.publishedauthors.org/first-chapters-f12/the-power-of-persuasion-version-1-part-1-t2955.htm

Then I submitted the opening chapters to all the London publishers and received a stack of rejection slips. They all enjoyed reading the manuscript and added comments to the standard reply slips saying as much. However, it didn't fit onto any of the publishers' lists. How could it? It never attempted to be similar to anything that had gone before.

I've learned a great deal since then, re-written the novel, self-published it on lulu.com and found out that it really wouldn't sell. By your definition, it is garbage.

I could write another novel but I don't see the point. It's a catch twenty-two. If I write the novels I want to write, they won't sell. If I learn to write the kind of novels that do sell, they won't be good enough. I'm not being defeatist; I'm being honest.
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alj
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So, how do you approach your novel? Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptySat May 01, 2010 5:13 pm

Neither of the novels I'm working on is ready to look for a publisher. I feel much as Shelagh does, that what I want to do doesn't really fit into any one genre that easily, and I would prefer to write the story that develops, rather than following some pre-set guidelines.

Writing a novel is difficult. It isn't just about telling a good story. You have to do as much research as you do for a non-fiction book. You won't need to document it, but without it, your book won't be real. One of my books is set in the 19th century, on a farm. I have had to learn as much as I can about farming and running a household during the time.

Several of my female characters were known to be expert horse riders, who only rode sidesaddle, so I had to research riding aside. They made their own clothes, and sometimes loomed their own fabrics. Had to learn about that, too. Was cotton common enough in 1845 for my heroine to have cotton dresses? She wasn't rich by any means.

The other is sort of science fantasy, set in modern day Houston, where I lived while I was writing the basics. I am not a scientist, so I've had to learn what I could from my son and others about such things as computers and what is possible - and not - in space travel.

I spend far more time researching than I do writing. The basics of the storylines have been done for a long time, but I'm still working out the mechanics of how it could all happen.

I may never get them, or any others, ready for publication, but I can't imagine spending my time on anything else. These stories are a part of who I am, so I feel compelled to tell them.

Ann
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LC
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptySat May 01, 2010 6:19 pm

Interesting input, everyone. I am reading and researching the craft of writing a novel. Don't know if I'll ever actually write one, but my text is in review right now, so this is an interesting way to pass the time.

I found Randy Ingermanson's home page, he's a novelist who also wrote a Dummies book for writing fiction. There's a bunch of newletters on his site that I downloaded. He has an engaging style of writing, and I'm enjoying reading them. He mentioned that he incorporated himself as a writing business at legalzoom.com. This would never have occurred to me.

eta -Ann, you mentioned you're working on two novels. Is this common? I can't multi-task like this, lol. I can only do one book at a time.
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Abe F. March
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptySat May 01, 2010 9:14 pm

Inspiration in my view is the most important factor.
You either write to inform or entertain. If you are excited about your subject, your readers will feel it. If writing becomes a chore, they will feel that also.
If you lack motivation, don't write.
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Domenic Pappalardo
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptyTue May 04, 2010 5:19 am

I try to get a feeling for the location. I want to know its smells, its weather, its history, the bones beneath its dirt. I want to live there before I start the story. I want the characters to be a part of the location. The location is also a character in the story. Without a good location, there is no story.
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dkchristi
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptyTue May 04, 2010 6:51 am

A recent $300,000 award recipient for short stories is a sometime university teacher who simply continued writing short sories that didn't sell particularly well but kept polishing them until she had a publisher for an anthology.

Apparently, the general population wasn't rushing to buy her stories; but the writing received some expert attention that found it worthy. She is 64 and had been concerned about her income during her senior years since writing and teaching were not looking sufficient......

When you receive a $300,000 award, the number of books sold becomes insignificant - because they will now sell very well!
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LC
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptyTue May 04, 2010 11:44 am

How long does it take you all to write a novel?

While waiting for reviews for my text to come back, I have been sketching out an outline, thoughts, and characters for my novel. It occurs to me that it could take me as long to write this as it did my texts. The thinking process is so much different.
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lin
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptyTue May 04, 2010 12:02 pm

I;ve had them take six months, and six weeks.
It's one of those "how big is a dog" questions.
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LC
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PostSubject: Re: So, how do you approach your novel?   So, how do you approach your novel? EmptyTue May 04, 2010 12:19 pm

Six weeks? I would think the research needed for one would take longer than that. Well, I guess you know your stuff. Smile

An author on Writer's Net (a published one with lots of romance titles) said one took her 18 days. Guess she had the formula down pat.
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