Novel Writing a 'First' Novel: Where to start?

amen, brother!

 

Jack Bickham said that the competition is international.

 

I disagree to an extent with NaCl. Crafting a one sentence story is not the same as crafting a sentence. Like-wise, a paragraph and a paragraph-long story are not the same. Which isn't to say that you can't benefit from working on flash fiction. But that's a medium, not the basics of the craft.


A parallel process to learning baseball would be to adress areas of grammar, pacing, plot, imagery, characterisation, setting, theme, mood, etc; just like you would address the various parts of baseball NaCl listed. Most people would agree that you don't start practicing with one pitch, then move up to one at-bat, then one inning, then one game. You practice individual skills then test them out in a scrimmage/practice, and decide from there where to most improve.

 

^ Agreed. I think a good example of this is writing a short story vs. writing a novel. Both are different in how the writer approaches them. Writing a hundred great short stories does not necessarily mean you are a great novelist, and vice versa.

 

I'm with them. Its not as simple as saying "practice writing prose." Treating the novel as an extended short story or a short story as a condensed novel is a fatal error, and the difference between the two is not simply a matter of length. Obviously a good grasp of writing is required for both, but viewing short stories as practice for a novel is never a good idea.

 

I'm sorry, I lost all respect for this post when you said teenage/tweenage girls are stupid. Unless, in the country you're from, 'stupid' has a slightly different meaning to what it does in the UK (or you teach tweenagers with special needs). If by stupid, you mean naive, impulsive and a bit dippy, then maybe. I've also noticed Americans, in particular, say 'you're such a retard.' In the UK that's quite offensive.

The noisy ones (i.e. the ones you notice) tend to be stupid but how does this differ from any other age group?

I have friends who have gone crazy over Twilight and they're in their mid-twenties. It baffles me but it seems the tweenage obsession with Twilight is not exclusive to this age group.

 

I don't think NaCl or anyone else is necessarily trying to suggest that shorts stories and novels are the same. Short stories can certainly be good ways to get a little practice in a particular skill or two. But the farther you get from your target medium, the less the benefit is. Practicing with short stories will be more beneficial to a novel writer than 6-word-stories, but less than writing novels. I would say a single scene from a novel would be a good way to practice the craft of novel writing at least as much as a short story, and possibly more, depending on the scene.

 

Structure differences between novelettes, novellas and novels reflect global concepts in writing. My point is simple - ALL writing begins at the sentence level and far too many aspiring writers rush prematurely into writing the "next great novel" when they can't even string together a few sentences into a great paragraph.

Consider the OP: "I would love to eventually write a novel...maybe even publish it? However, I don't quite know where to start. I have a few ideas, a few possible starts, but I'm not sure I have the imagination to turn them into a terrific novel. I know research can help with that, but I'm afraid I will end up turning my story into a national geographic book. Help? Advice on getting from point A to point B?"

Let's start at the end of that post..."advice on getting from point A to point B."

How bout we properly define the task? It's not A to B...it's A to Z. There are many steps between "...don't know quite where to start" and a polished novel. What about "...I'm not sure I have the imagination..."? Effective writing employs "imagination" for ideas, not expression. Expression is the craft of writing. It requires study, repetition and attention to myriad details to build a good, let alone "great", story.

All I am suggesting is that a hierarchy of competencies must be accomplished, beginning with basic writing skills, before tackling C, D, E, F and the rest of an alphabet-list leading to a finished product. Characterization, plot development, pace, avoiding traps like info-dumps, effective self-editing...all the important components of a novel begin with one's ability to write effectively at the most basic levels. That's all I'm saying. Start the journey with the first step. Geesh...sometimes I wonder why I bother to offer suggestions on this site.

 

this is a prime example of the 'never say never' axiom... practicing with short stories can be a good way to work up to a novel!... it helps the beginning writer to not only hone his/her basic writing skills, but also learn how to tell a story...

the fact that a novel is more complex certainly does not nullify all one learns by starting with short stories... and the fact that successful short story writers are not all successful novelists and v/v does not prove anything, either...

 

Agreed. There are many elements of fiction you can master in short stories with far less investment than diving into a novel.

Would you recommend against writing sentences and paragraphs in isolation because it isn't the same as crafting a full story?

 

Er... I think you got something I said backwards, NaCl. Nowhere did I attribute a comment talking about the relationship between novels and short stories to you. Nor did I say that starting with the basics was wrong.


I was specifically addressing a set of comments which suggested that the poster should start with sentence long stories and the graduate to paragraph long stories etc. I disagreed with that set of comments politely, but later posts suggested I was misunderstood, so I attempted to clarify.



I would like to agree with mamamaia. Never say "never". Sorry, arron.

 

I am sorry to say, but, at least for the situation in Germany, I have to agree Delphinus. Unless a teenage/tweenage girl has or has had the privilege of attending a private school. In the UK, for some reason, I think they're called public schools, which makes as much sense as calling fees gifts, since they're not open to the wide public. Back to the original off-topic, in Germany one can basically say the vast majority of teenagers are moronic imbeciles. Most boys merely play ego-shooters, watch porn, treat girls as objects, do some mindless sports (like football - soccer in the US) and beat up nursery kids and the elderly. For the girls it's listening to happy-go-lucky boy bands, watching bad movies of even worse books, dressing in skirts that reveal more than a G string thong and treating boys as objects.

The only decent t(w)eenage guys and gals are probably those whose parents are very intelligent or very rich - although they tend to be spoilt, left over are the intelligents in their own right, a group that's luckily growing, they're the kids that read good literature and browse Wikipedia instead of playing ego-shooters or listening to music that sounds as though it was written by a braindead chimpanzee.