Tuesday, December 8, 2009

How to Write a Novel

As we all know, a novel is a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella [which, in fact, is a written, fictional, prose narrative longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel]. According to Wikipedia, the further definition of the genre is historically difficult. Most of the criteria (such as artistic merit, fictionality, a design to create an epic totality of life, a focus on history and the individual) are arbitrary and designed to raise further debates over qualities that will supposedly separate great works of literature from a wider and lower "trivial" production.

Although there are no fast rules for how to get your novel from the first draft to the bookstore shelf, I’m trying to give some helpful guides useful in finding the proper way.

1. Choose the right plot
Writing a novel can be a huge, messy undertaking. The editing process will go easier if you devote a little time to plot in the beginning. For some writers, this means an outline; others work with index cards, putting a different scene on each one. Still others have a conflict and a general idea of where they plan to end up and then dive in. If you've been writing for a while, you already know how your brain works and what kind of structure it needs to complete big projects. If you're just starting out, then this may be something you'll learn about your writing process as you revise your first novel.

2. First, write a draft
Don’t get any feedback at this stage. Focus on getting the story down on paper. Maintain a regular schedule and spread the writing out over a longer period of time. It may be useful to enroll in novel classes, which provide weekly deadlines and community.

3. Revise
However inspired you might feel while writing it, the first draft will probably be bad. It will be clunky, disorganized, and confusing. Entire chapters will drag. The dialogue will be unconvincing and wooden. Rest assured that it's this way for everyone. And like writers everywhere, you just have to roll up your sleeves and get to work rewriting it.

4. Get some feedback
When you think it's time to start contacting agents, get feedback from writers you trust. Don't be surprised if they send you back to your desk for another draft. Address any large structural problems first, and then go through the book scene by scene. Anytime you have a question about whether something is working, stop and see what you could do to make it better. Don't just hope the reader won't notice. If you want your book to be good, revise with your most intelligent, most thoughtful reader in mind.

5. Work on something else for a while, if it is the case
If you find yourself banging up against the same problems with every draft, it may be time to work on something else for a while. Sixteen years elapsed between the first drat of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and the published version, for instance. If you find yourself losing your way, go back to the fun parts of writing. Create something new; read for fun. With each new project you take on and book you read, you'll learn new lessons. When you come back to the novel, you will see it with more experienced eyes.

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