It all depends on the reader and the audience. Who do you see as the target audience--who might read and enjoy it, even thought it is negative and sarcastic? If readers can identify with the POV character, that will go a long way toward making the story work.
I am a sucker for a happy ending, but perhaps you are right, frivolity might somehow disrespect the tragedy. I have a lot of working experience with suicidal people and from reality point of view, people don't hang themselves after they've been jovial or relaxing or what have you. Even in so called "smiling depression" which is when a person decides to kill themselves but they hide it from others by appearing to be improving in their mood, inside them, suicide is constantly on their mind and everything they do has one goal only - to successfullt kill themselves. There are many traumatised people around and vast majority don't kill themselves; to take one's own life is such a huge and painful decision, it almost defies logic. And hanging is a method most commonly employed by people who definitely don't want to be rescued, so they almost inevitably, thought it all out well before. With people who have issues with impulse control, and are thus more likely to make such a decision as you are describing, there's a preexisting pattern of behaviour that foreshadows the tragedy. If you are determined to have the ending you described, and because you want to portray inner state as well, I think it would make psychological sense to describe suicidal thoughts throughout. The only rash, "I'm upset and drunk so what the hell" kinda attempt is usually only an attempt, using potentially much less lethal means like an overdose on pills and calling the ex to take them to the hospital, that kind of scenario. What does happen is that people in that situation may not get rescued in time, so they die by misadventure. Anyway, that's my first thoughts, best of luck, the story sounds really good!
And that is the heart of the matter. Everything else is sideband. As someone who stopped his own father from committing suicide - twice - I can tell you that, in terms of a realistic presentation and feel, it works. Because someone who is teetering on the edge of suicide will veer back and forth, looking for reasons to hang on while going through periods of despair. Moreover, it sounds as if you are looking to balance how the outside world sees her with how she sees herself. I say go for it. Stop worrying about who might or might not like it or why. You have a wonderfully compelling story to tell and (judging from the above) a good plan for telling it. Don't question yourself for a second. Forget target audience. If your story is good enough, your publisher will worry about that. Right now, your job isn't market research, it's to write your story. Go do that. I would only make one suggestion - keep the reader in the dark as long as you can as to her decision to commit suicide. Make it that she is listenting to music to soothe her nerves (along with drinking the wine). You may not want to even describe the act, and certainly not the decision. You may even want to leave the reader hanging at the end of the penultimate chapter, and then have her body found in the final one. Just a thought. And best of luck.
you/we can't tell if it'll work till it's written... so go ahead and write what you feel is best and see how it turns out... you can always change things later, but first you have to have a completed work...
Thanks for all the comments! Its nice that people seem to like the overall concept . I think the method of suicide is a really good point. Hanging seems more like something that would require a more considerable amount of planning and determination. I know I have taken someone to hospital before after they got drunk and downed a heap of pills. Its probably a much more likely method to use given the rest of what is going on in the story. There are also hints to suicidal thoughts at the beginning of the book, although minor. At the end of the first chapter I have her standing on the platform on the tube (subway) listening to the train coming down and relatively calmly contemplating the practicalities of how much it would hurt id you were hit by one, exploring a feeling of temptation to move in front but ultimately not doing so. The idea there is basically to introduce the switch from normal/negative thoughts right from the start then over the rest of the day to explore how these behaviours/emotions have come about. Im also hoping to try and introduce defeatist and depressed attitudes underlying in some of her humour too. One of the more lighthearted moments is a flippant rant about her experience of online dating, which she ultimately dismisses as irrelevant because she will be alone forever anyway. Im trying to be careful not to give away too much about how the relationship ends too quickly either. I'd noticed that early on in the book ber feelings of loss and blame combined with initial ambiguity about the events almost created an impression the fiance was dead now because of her. Im hoping I can use the thoughts of longing, guilt etc. To play through the memories of the relationship etc. in a way that could leave the reader believing it was logical and genuinely all her fault (although hinting at dominant and controlling behaviour on the part of the bf at times) until the actual reveal of exactly what happened and that the guy was abusive.
I'm not sure that you need any advice, it sounds as if you have a very well thought out and planned story, and you need to get it written. Then, I think, it will be time to take into account other peoples opinions.
Haha thanks I still definitely got some useful wee ideas from Ed and Jazzabel though, I think the change in the method of suicide works well. I've done a few chapters now, Im on about 10,000 words. I've mainly just been refining those over the past couple of days rereading and adjusting before I pop something up for review while I carry on into the rest of the story!
Hello, I was wondering, how do word processing documents translate to novel page size format? I am working on a story and I am on page 23, about 3/4 through now, but I was wondering approximately how many novel pages that would be. It just seems like, despite my story being developed over a few years in my mind, it still is too short. Well, maybe novella? Thanks for any help! Mike McGuire, NJ
Well, the first thing I'd say is that you need to start thinking in terms of the number of words, not pages. Page count varies depending on font, font size, margins, etc. Word count is the same regardless. But that said, 23 pages seems much too short for a novel, however you spin it.
Word count is more important than page count. An average novel is about 80,000 words. A novella will be about half that.
The lowest I have seen a publisher go on word count is about 75,000 words. 23 pages is around 15,000 words? It is a bit off the mark. I would suggest finishing the story as your doing it now. When you go back to revise it you add a bit of meat to the bones of your story and fatten it up a bit.
Thanks for the info, guys! I thought about it and I will add some more and see where things go from there. Maybe eventually, it can become a novel.
First thing - change it all to Manuscript Format. Any reasonable publishing site will tell you what that is but generally it is: Courier or Courier New Format Font Size 12 Double Spacing Single side print (if you're into printing and not digitally submitting) Generous Margins (usually about 2cm or 1 inch - but depends) Most if not all submissions are based on Word Count not pages. I've seen some sites say around 80k for a novella and some up to 150K for a novel. I think they usually aim for around 100K for a starting author's novel. What that page count ultimately ends up at, is at the discretion of the publisher and how they choose to package it.
I've read some pretty hefty short stories, you could finish it, and, conversely to Dresden's suggestion, take a weed whacker to it and tighten it up! Turn it into a short. To me that seems like a much nicer solution than trying to pad it out, unless you have legit material to cram in there.
most traditional publishers want 80-100k for a first novel by a new and unknown writer... and all agents and traditional publishers deal only in word count, not page count... the only time you might want to consider page count is if you're having it printed on your own, or by a vanity press of one variety or another... standard for margins is 1" all around... that is, unless specified otherwise in an agent's/publisher's submission guidelines... and mss submitted to agents or publishers are always printed only on one side [i can't see how 'digitally submitting' could call for two-sided printing]... always check each agent's and publisher's guidelines before submitting anything...
Hello folks. I want to get your opinion on this: If you read a story that makes you say "Wow... this is really quite different from anything else I've read", how do you classify that story, personally? 1) Does it make the story more memorable for you? 2) Does it make you more likely to put the story in your "favorites" stack/shelf? 3) Does it make it more likely that you'll return to the story some day and reread it? 4) Does it make it more likely that you'll recommend reading the story to a friend, relative or colleague? Also, what precisely should be "different" about a story that truly - and quite intentionally - wants to be "different" from the rest? Should the construction of the story be "different" or unique? Or perhaps the dialogue you hear in the story? Or perhaps the descriptions of places, objects and characters? Or perhaps the overall writing style, pacing, perspective, and the vocabulary choices itself? I'd be happy to hear your view on this, Dryriver PS: This is early research for a story I haven't written yet, and will probably start writing sometime next year (2013)...
It depends on whether that's "different = good" or "different = What the...". If good, then 1-4 all apply. Otherwise, only #1 applies. As to what would make it 'good' different, that's hard to enumerate. All of the things you listed could be part of it, but for me it would be just the right combination. If any of those items goes too far, it could turn the story into the "What the" category very easily. For me, at no point can this "different" seem contrived or artificial or (God forbid) 'artsy'. And of course, every reader is going to have a different combination and thus different 'tolerances' for how far it can go and still remain a delightful discovery.
Some say every story has already been told. To a certain extent this I think is true. Good versus evil , weak overcomes strong, love concurs all, etc, etc, and in every combination there of. The difference in most stories are the characters and specific situations. What makes most stories sell is how it relates to the reader, and of course good writing.
i agree with SW, it's a positive thing if it's good. Simple as that. I also agree with what Superpsycho said, every story has been written but you can still stand out by the way you write it, which can be a sensational way or a way that doesn't work so well with readers.
To me its avoid cliches... You may have a similar storyline to say like LoTR but you have to make it your own work and avoid copying things such as elves in holy light. Dialogue is very important also.
"Different" can be a strange beast. Many times, we want something familiar, which is why there is a market for romance fiction stuffed with books that are all very similar and formulaic. And it's weird because we avoid things that are different, but when we discover something new it changes everything. So I'm all for you trying to create something different, but remember that many people won't want to listen to you at first. And on the flip side, don't be different for different's sake. People can tell when you're trying to hard. I like what michaelj said; avoid cliche. But after that, do whatever makes the story feel right, and don't worry too much about whether it blows someone's mind.
I dont think I would ever endorse a book just because it was different. It could be transcribed in crayon by a 4 year old and it would be different but it would also be quite terrible. If the concept was original, or the characters where refreshing then I would be far more likely to pass it on and rave about it. Ultimately though for me, as long as the story has a purpose and a message the author wants to pass on then I will give it the time of day. If it aligns with my own beliefs and passes a message I believe in...I will endorse it.
I don't think Different = Good, but it doesn't necessarily = bad either. If the only thing the story has going for it is it's uniqueness... you are in trouble. But I think it's possible for parts of a story to be unique enough in some ways where said "unique" aspects of it are strengths. I can't think of a "unique" plot off the top of my head... something like The Matrix comes to mind although people have said that it's similar to other things. As "unique" as that story was, the thing that people probably remember most about that movie was the cool new special effects.
