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Novelists: What's your best unsolicited advice?



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Sat Dec 31, 2016 6:17 pm
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Nate says...



Everyone is drawing up their New Years Resolutions now, and a fair amount of those for YWSers will involve something like writing a novel.

A lot of people here have finished one, so what's your best unsolicited advice for those who want to take a crack at writing theirs?
  





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Mon Jan 02, 2017 12:30 am
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StellaThomas says...



The scenes you don't intend to write will be your best ones.

Sometimes you need to write a scene to show the passage of time, or to help build a character relationship, or just to move the characters from one point to another, that you didn't plan on writing. Some people would tell you not to write these, that when writing your first draft you should just skip from the first scene you know you need to the second one, to the third one, and that the gaps will disappear or you can fill them in later.

Don't do that.

A novel is more than a plot. My favourite scenes are those quiet, unexpected character moments, that don't necessarily come into play later, or have any bearing on the plot, and yet are the ones that surprisingly reveal so much that you didn't know.

So my advice is write the thing from beginning to end. Accept that there will be moments when you don't know what to write next - and write it anyway. What you find to fill the gaps might pleasantly surprise you - and might even be more important than the stuff you planned to write in the first place.
"Stella. You were in my dream the other night. And everyone called you Princess." -Lauren2010
  





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Mon Jan 02, 2017 1:10 am
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Mea says...



My biggest advice is this: figure out if you're a planner or a discovery writer, or somewhere in between.

I'm mostly a planner, so my advice will probably work best for other planners, but it might help some discovery writers too.

1. Know what kind of story you're trying to tell. Planners will usually know this from the beginning, while it often takes discovery writers an entire draft to figure it out. Basically, begin with the end in mind, but not necessarily knowing the exact ending. Have a basic idea of what the major character arcs are and what the story is building towards - are you writing mystery, adventure, humor, etc. This will help you stay consistent and not meander, making a cleaner first draft.

2. Have a basic plot outline, but don't go overboard unless you want to specifically plan out every single scene. For me, I write an detailed outlines of the first few scenes and some other key scenes, and then make the rest more general. I'll say something like 'travel to x place and build y relationship,' I mostly do this because at some point I just want to start writing the story, and it's likely I'd need to change the specifics anyway.

3. That leads me to my next point: let your outline be flexible as needed. Also, know whether or not it's a good idea for you to go back and fix things in the middle of your first draft. The danger is that you get so caught up in editing you never actually finish the first draft, and that's a problem because you usually need to have written your ending before you really know what changes you need to make.

4. When you've finished that almighty first draft, set it aside for about a month. Then read through it as if you were reading any fiction book. Note your reactions as both a reader and the writer, including any plot holes or other changes you immediately what to make. Then, create a detailed outline of your book, noting each scene and what happens in it. Having this 'birds-eye' view of your book will help as you decide where to add, move, or delete scenes.

5. Write deliberately, and Just Do It. To some extent, writing is about inspiration, but as most extremely prolific authors will tell you, it's far more about the discipline, about writing every day even when it's just not working today. Also, work to stretch yourself and hone your craft, especially in the areas you're weak in. Writing is a skill that can be learned, and practice is the way to go. This isn't as big of a deal if you just write as a hobby, but if you want to make it into a career, making deliberate, conscious choices about the work you do will really help.

And that is my unsolicited advice as a serious aspiring author. Make of it what you will. :P
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Mon Jan 02, 2017 1:49 am
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Carlito says...



Try not to get bogged down and worried about something not being right or it not being perfect. First drafts are supposed to be bad and it's fine if it's not your best writing or if you end up changing most of it in the next draft. No one has to read this draft if you don't want anyone to. No one is going to judge you on this draft. Just get the story out. Have fun with it and see what happens! The worst thing that will happen is that you won't like it and you'll have to change something in draft 2. Oh well! You'll learn and you'll grow and that's what it's all about anyway. Seriously, have fun with it. You can always change it and it's not a waste of time if you end up changing something.

Try to establish a goal for yourself. Maybe you want to shoot for a 70k word novel. That's a big scary number so break it into chunks. Set small goals, like by the end of the month I want to be at 10k. Or, think about how often you're realistically going to be able to write. Once a day? Twice a week? Figure out how many words you want to shoot for per writing session. Maybe it's 1000. Maybe it's 500. Or how long can you write each day - 15 minutes, 40 minutes? Then you can go from there and set some goals, like I can write 500 words six days a week, then within this month I should try to be at 12k. I love setting small goals because then you can celebrate each small success as they come. It also helps if you have people holding you accountable and if you set aside time in your schedule to write.

Resist the urge to edit as you go. This is going to slow you down and frustrate you as you write. If you realize half-way through the novel that you need to change something major, fine. Make a note of it so you'll remember when you go to write the next draft but keep plowing ahead. If you go back and change things you'll lose your momentum. Just get the story out! It doesn't matter if it's ugly, that's what revision is for :)
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Mon Jan 02, 2017 2:57 pm
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Noelle says...



Just write it. It's the easiest advice to give, but the hardest to take. I know. I've been there and keep putting myself there for years.

Embrace the fact that things are going to change as you're writing. Roll with it. You may think that you understand your characters perfectly and know exactly what's going to happen in the plot, but the truth is you don't. Novels are long pieces of writing where one thing after another happens. There are going to be changes. Your characters are going to change goals and possibly personalities. Events are going to happen earlier/later/not at all by the time you finish. Don't let it get in the way of you finishing.

The first draft is going to be terrible. We all know that. Obviously it's going to be a kick butt story though because you wrote it, but there are going to be mistakes. Don't be afraid to make those mistakes. It's inevitable so why try to avoid it?

Burnout is going to happen. Prepare yourself for it. Personally I like to take my characters and write side stories about them when I'm stuck on the main story. It helps take your mind off of the problems of the main story and it also low key helps you develop your characters more. If you feel like you need a break, take it. A novel takes a long time to write no matter how much time you have to dedicate to it. Listen to your inner writer and do what needs to be done.

The most important advice I can give though is to have fun! Writing is fun. We all enjoy doing it, so don't stress yourself out. Enjoy what you're writing and your project will be finished before you know it.
Noelle is the name, reviewing and writing cliffhangers is the game.

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Mon Jan 02, 2017 6:17 pm
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Holysocks says...



1. Take your own advice. One thing I've found I do in writing a lot, is forget about what I would tell other people when it comes to my own writing. As a result of this, I used to read over my draft and say "oh that's worded kinda weird... but reviewers will tell me if it really is worded funky." If you catch yourself saying things like that, then just follow what your gut is telling you to do. And I'm not saying it's bad to seek a second opinion.

2. Tell your inner critic to take a hike. There's no point for that nuisance to sit on your shoulders and yell in your ear about how badly it thinks you're doing. Tell your inner critic to go take a hike while you write the first draft, and just write because you love writing, or for whatever the reason is that motivates you to do the impossible! When the first draft is done and you've given yourself some time to drink tea in between, invite your critic back, make-up with it, and-- actually I find when I do this, it's not as hard to listen to my inner critic because we're on the same side at this point.

3. Write on your mobile. This is my favourite advice these days, so I keep repeating it everywhere! Basically, I've found that it's not as stressful writing on mobile- well it is in some ways; fumbly fingers, slow keyboard, arms falling asleep, etc. But I tend to just have fun when I do it, because really, who'd write a novel on their mobile? Sounds kinda ridiculous, right? I find that I'll write a fair amount on my mobile, and have lots of fun, and then get fed up that I can't write more and THAT's when I move to my laptop. But sometimes I just write a few sentences on my mobile, and leave it at that. It's pretty simple. Also doing this while lying down also seems to help.

4. Figure out what works for YOU. No one's the same. Don't keep struggling one way because that's how "everyone else" writes, or that's the advice that you've been given. Try different ways of writing, even if they sound bizarre - like writing your ending first - and see what works for you.

5. Read writer self-help books. Maybe not WHILE you're writing your novel (or maybe yes, who knows)... but writer self-help books have been amazing for a) giving me different tools to try, b) building/restoring my confidence, and c) entertaining me! I ALWAYS say books on writing are some of the greatest page-turners of all time- why's this? Because these people write for a living- which tends to mean they joke for a living, too. Or maybe I'm just crazy. A few writer self-help books I like are: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, On Writing by Steven King (but if you're not fond of swearing, you might want to avoid both of those), and The Complete Idiots Guide to Writing a Novel (it sounds dreadful but it's just in one of those series of how-to books written by different people) by Tom Monteleone. And there's some good stories in the Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Writer's one. It's a great way to realize you're not alone.

If I think of something more I might be back! XP
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Mon Jan 02, 2017 11:41 pm
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Lauren2010 says...



Write even when you don't want to. You can change it later. It's only a draft!
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Rosendorn says...



Ideas have no value. All ideas can be executed in good or bad ways.

Write what you feel is cool. Don't even bother with anything else, because the lack of passion for your ideas will show.

If you're representing another group, ie- a marginalized identity, you don't get to decide what's accurate and not; you don't get to decide what's harmful and not. They do.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

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