Today, I am thinking about relationships, specifically how each of my characters relate to the protagonist, Annabella. I realised that I had too many good guys and not enough really horrible ones – so I have tried to balance this out a little by creating the following list.
Louise Doughty says, “A novel is written in increments, just as a weight-loss plan happens pound by pound…it is important to realise that there will always be times when it is one step forward, two steps back.” She concludes this particular chapter by declaring, “Today is the first day of the rest of my novel.” – not a bad mantra to have!
Authors may have a commitment to writing, but inspiration and enthusiasm, it seems, come in waves. After months of writing, I am stuck and I need your help.
What is the difference between a novel and a short story: the development of character…the characters change in some way. The novel I am writing will take place when my main character is 17 years old. Through a series of flashbacks, the reader will get insight into various events from the protagonist’s past. The main character has no idea of who she is or of her heritage, but she learns this throughout the novel – in this way, she is changed: she learns who she is, she accepts and steps into this knowledge.
What writers do is write…I’m sure you’ve heard me say this before, as have many people before me. At times, writing on particular projects can be labored and finding ideas becomes like panning for gold in modern day teen accessory store! When this happens to me, I do some writing activities. Any writing is better than none, plus, in my experience, this is the quickest way of finding hidden gems.
My writing has been slowing up a little and becoming more of an effort than when I first began. I started writing 1,500 words each day, but after almost a week, this took a down turn and even banging out 300 words seemed immensely difficult. I have tried all kinds of things to get back on track, to fish for more ideas, etc. etc. That is not to say all of the work I have done has been in vain – quite the contrary. I have a basic story plot, I created a concept for my novel and I have been developing my characters. What has helped me the most so far though is time.
Novel writing is not a task to be scoffed at or taken lightly. It is a massive undertaking! Having a robust concept can help you keep a strong focus while taking plot deviations, encountering numerous characters and creating multiple twists and turns.
“I hold the world but as the world…
A stage where every man must play a part,”
Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
I collect first lines…from novels and short stories – from anything really. I don’t only select first lines from novels I like and read in their entirety, but aim for a broad range of styles, genre, etc. I like the idea of taking these lines out of the context within which they were written and seeing what I can create around them, seeing what writing they inspire within me, once I have forgotten their original context.
“…cherry-pick the interesting incidents and emotions from your real life and put a fictional spin on them or give them to a fictional character with an agenda entirely separate from your own.” Louise Doughty tells us. You can do this with any aspect of our life and the more fictionalised your writing becomes, the less autobiographical. Write from what you know until you have enough writerly confidence to write what you don’t know, to rely on imagination alone.
Another Louise Doughty inspired piece of writing about being lost, physically and metaphorically. It is based on an incident in my life, but overly exaggerated. Actually, reading it back I really dislike the writing I have done (perhaps because most of my writing is in 1st person and this is in 3rd person – but this was intentional, to replicate the distance the character feels from those around her and from herself). However, the purpose of this blog is not to publish only highly edited and re-worked posts, but to give you a sense of ‘writing in process’ over the course of writing my novel…and it is my hope that seeing my less than brilliant writing will also inspire you to have a go at writing yourself.