Young Writers Society

Introduction.


Work is going ahead on my first novel, The Broken.

Well, I say it’s my first novel, but it’s not really; I’ve started a bunch of novels in the past, and few of them have ever got beyond the first chapter. Indeed, this is actually my third attempt at writing this particular story.

But as I said, work is going ahead. At this point in time, the first 5,500 words have been written. Huzzah! It doesn’t quite beat the first attempt at the story, which weighed in at around 16,500 words before I gave up, but it does thoroughly trounce the second attempt, which only reached a paltry 3,000 words.

The first two chapters - together weighing in at 4,000 of those 5,500 words - are already on the site. They can be found here (Ch1) and here (Ch2).

Both are in their first draft. Personally, I can barely read them without flinching every couple of seconds. During revision, I hope to upgrade their quality from ‘Poor’ to ‘Okay’.

The first two chapters came fast enough, and then I didn’t write anything for a while. Not because I gave up on the novel (oh no! that isn’t happening this time … well, probably) but because I came back to University, which threw my writing habits out of sync. But I’m starting to slowly get back into it, and I’m writing a little more each day now.

I’m writing again, baby, and I’m in this for the long haul. I will get past 16,500 words; I will get past 50,000 words; I will hit my target of 100,000 words!

… hopefully.


This journal is here to chart my progress as I attempt to finish my first novel. I don’t know if anyone will read it, but that’s beyond the point. I want to write about it, and if someone reads it, well, that’s just a nice little plus.

So then, let the painful journey begin.


-- Sureal.


---------------------------------

Chapter One // Chapter Two // Chapter Three // Chapter Four

Entry One
-- The Story.


I suppose first thing is first: what is The Broken about?

And alas, that is a hard question. Not because it’s an awfully complex story - it isn’t - nor because it’s a really original plot - again, it isn’t - but because it’s hard for any writer to easily sum up their novel in only a few short words.

It doesn’t help that the story is a fantasy story, and due to the natural constraints of the genre, it’s hard to explain it in a few short words without it sounding altogether stupid.

But what the hey.

The Broken is the first book in a series. You may have already guessed this, as it is a fantasy book, and fantasy books are often one book in a series of books. I’m not entirely sure how many books the series will encompass, although the number ‘six’ is sounding nice enough to me right now, so I’ll call it a six book series.

So, The Broken is book one of six in a fantasy series. There is an alternate fantasy world involved, as there often are in fantasy books. Unlike most alternate worlds, though, mine is based loosely on the modern world, with little to no magical elements in it. It’s very much not Middle Earth.

The story focuses on a small collection of characters known as ‘the Broken’. They are five teenagers, all aged around eighteen plus, all from the real world, who have suddenly found themselves in this fantasy world. Again, this is a typical fantasy cliché, although I do hope that how I’ve implemented it is at least a little original. (I won’t give details just now.)

People from the real world appearing in the fantasy world is a periodical occurrence, occurring every five to fifty years, and they are always known as the Broken. And when the Broken arrive, the people of the fantasy world read into this as an omen, meaning that another war is about to begin. The Broken are the heralds of war. They are intricately linked with it. They are (symbolically, of course) War itself.

The Broken are then conscripted into the armies of various different countries, and end up fighting and dying in wars that have nothing to do with them.

But that doesn’t happen until later in the series. Book one - The Broken - deals with the arrival of the latest batch of Broken, how they react to their situation, and how the other characters react to their arrival. As country leaders try to get them on their side and enlist them in their armies, the Broken inadvertently cause several small, violent clashes, and the Broken themselves become the tools and playthings of politicians.


(… huh, that description could of gone worse.)

Hey Sureal,
I don't know if I'm allowed to post anything here but I must.
I'm not much for fantasy in general, unless its HP, but your book sounds interesting. =] I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions...... since this isn't instant I'll take the liberty to assume that you said sure

One: Even though you vaguely described your first book, I was wondering how did you come up with the concept for The Broken?

Two: Just out of plain curiosity, what made you decide on the title The Broken?

Three: what made you decide to make it a series?

Four: Do you have any idea as to what your other books are going to be called?

(and yes i am naturally nosy )

Sorry for all of the questions,

-ButterFlyInk <3

Haha... it's part of a sextet...

*amused*0

A journal! *obvious*

It scared me; I thought you had stopped writing it I know the feeling, and, you know, hate going through my plan only to be thinking 'oh, cliché'.

This has, so far, been one of the only stories I have enjoyed reviewing =P

ButterFlyInk:

Yeah, it's perfectly fine to post stuff here. =)

1) The idea grew very gradually over time. I mean, the first ever idea for a book I ever had - back when I was a lil' thirteen year old - was basically The Broken. Over the years, I slowly changed the story, altered it, and played around with it, and after seven years it eventually became the story I'm writing now.

The original idea was different to The Broken in almost every possible way, although one or two small things have survived the alterations. The idea of a teenager finding himself in a fantasy world, for example, was in the original story too, although it was done in a different (but still similar) manner.


2) I'm bad at titles. I tried to come up with something better, but failed. If I do stumble across a better title during the writing process - and that's entirely possible - I'll consider changing it.


3) I've always imagined it as a series, right from the beginning. I just don't think I could capture everything I want to write about in a single book.

Having said that, the number of books the series would be has changed drastically over the years. At one point I was considering making it a trilogy, and another time I was thinking of making it over twelve books long.

Six books sounds like a fair number, and should be enough to capture the story I want to tell, but it's highly liable to change.


4) Nope. I have no idea at the moment. I don't even know what to call the series.


Snoink:

All the cool writers are writing sextets.


Blink:

Knowing me, I'm impressed I haven't given up already. I'm so lazy.

Hey Sureal,

I thought of a title, it happened yesterday when i first read the title the broken,
its the shattered, and there was the scattered I have no idea why they popped into my mind but they did.

I figured i just had to let you know =]

P.s. cool journal =]

Thanks for the suggestions, ButterFlyInk. =) I dunno if they'll fit, but I'll certainly take them into consideration.

Entry Two
-- Writing a Novel.

Novels are tricky things to write. Many, many people start them, but few ever finish them. Most people never get beyond the first few chapters. This is something I can personally attest too.

I’m managing to write around 500 words a day, which is okay, but far from amazing. At this rate, it will take me over half a year just to finish the first draft. That is a dauntingly long time, just as 100,000 words is a dauntingly large number of words to write.

I’m determined to finish this novel. I really am, and I really want to finish it, even if it is only to prove to myself that I can finish one. This is something I have been increasingly insecure about. I dream of being a novelist, but what is a novelist that cannot finish a novel? What is a writer that does not write?

I see other writers here at YWS finishing their novels, and mixed in with my happiness for them, there is a real sense of envy. They can finish a novel, why can’t I? I can already answer that question, of course: I lack discipline; I’m lazy and easily distracted; I lose sight of what I’m trying to write and give up.

But these are all problems that can be overcome. Let’s see if I can’t overcome them, eh?

I’m at 6,500 words at the moment. That’s 6.5% of the first draft done. So I’m getting there, bit by bit by bit.

I want to try to write another 500 words before I go to bed. It’s half two in the morning already, so I honestly doubt I’ll manage it, but hey, I’ve got nothing to lose from trying.


(… well, apart from my self confidence as a writer, of course. But hey, who needs that anyway?)

Procrastination really is the spawn of all evil, wouldn't you say? I tried hard today though--forget about the characters and everything you know about them. Then write; as NaNo suggests, writing part of an already started novel makes for disaster simply because you'll keep stopping and going back, then rewriting and getting angry throughout November.

The same applies to non-NaNo writing, of course. I pumped out 1921 words today. That's double the second amount I have ever written in a single day in my life.

As for the title, I think you need capture the true mood. In my novel it's more meaningful and to with how the characters were, are, and will be. So my name's centred around the characters' mood as opposed to the main plot--but who am I question names? Mine are horrible I'm guessing The Broken is more practical (plots and such)? But trust me, a year on, nobody cares about the title.

What am I rambling on about?

*goes home*

I like the idea.
It certainly has originality - yet still has the premis for incoporating all the elements of the fantasy genre.

Cool journal btw.
keep up the good work

Wow, I actually never really read fantasy novels unless they REALLY interest me. And this REALLY interests me. I hate those fantasy stories with the weird names and the alternative fantasy worlds that are abound on this site. But I'd say this is a relatively original fantasy story and I'm excited.

Procrastination sucks, doesn't it? I've written up to 50,000 words and then just given up on the idea because I hate it so much. I'm not really lazy, though. I'm such a perfectionist I end up just hating the idea and just giving up. Hopefully my idea, which is around 2,500 words at the moment, ends up being more than one of those 30 page stories that you end up deleted off your computer in disgust.

I like the title. I don't know why. It's just very simple and intriguing. Some may call it cliche, I call it PERFECT. Don't change it, don't change it!

I haven't read the first or second chapters yet, but I am very interested. I'm sure if they are poor, you can change them and make them "okay" (if that's what you are aiming for).

Hopefully my excitement has boosted your ego. Goodnight!

Entry Three
-- Mary Sue is very pretty.

This is really cool: the Mary Sue Litmus Test. It’s a great way to waste half an hour that should be spent writing.

For those not in the know, a Mary Sue is a character that is simply too perfect, lacking any real flaws, and often stand in as an idealised version of the author, acting as a sort of wish fulfilment for them. Wikipedia (that all-knowing bastion of knowledge) says that:

“Perhaps the single underlying feature of all characters described as "Mary Sues" is that they are too ostentatious for the audience's taste, or that the author seems to favor the character too highly. The author may seem to push how exceptional and wonderful the "Mary Sue" character is on his or her audience, sometimes leading the audience to dislike or even resent the character fairly quickly; such a character could be described as an "author's pet".” (More here.)

So! it’s quite clear that we writers want to avoid our characters being Mary Sues. With this in mind, I ran through the above test with three of my characters from The Broken. The two characters I feared were most likely to get a poor score both passed with flying colours, whereas the one that I was sure stood no chance of getting a poor score bizarrely got a 20 (“probably not a Mary Sue”, as opposed to “most likely not a Mary Sue”). To be honest, I suspect this is more of a flaw with the test than anything else though.

Still, it’s interesting to think about. A Mary Sue is obviously an undesirable character to have in your story, so why do they pop up? Even published novels can suffer from an infestation of Mary Sues (I’m looking at you, Eragon).

I’d imagine the answer is really quite simple. It’s the same reason clichés are found in stories: the writer is simply too close to their own work to notice. That’s why other people are important.

I can feel this quickly turning into a “reviews are good!” rant, but it’s true. Quite simply, when we write something, we don’t have the necessary distance to really notice many of its flaws. And reviews are great for this. Reviewers are never too close to a piece of writing, as they didn’t write it. They can spot flaws - such as Mary Sue characters - far easier than the actual writer. Of course, reviews aren’t the only way. If you write something, leave it for a long while and then come back, you’ll have the necessary distance to better objectively view what you’ve written.

But back to Mary Sues: it’s very easy to see why they are so attractive to writers, especially to fan fiction writers. Mary Sues are so cool! Or, rather, they’re so cool for the writer, even if they may bore the reader to tears, and this is the crux of the matter. If a writer is writing for their own enjoyment, Mary Sues are fine, cool and dandy. If, however, a writer is writing for others - especially if they hope or plan to publish the piece - then Mary Sues should be avoided like a plague of locust that have come to devour the writer’s carefully grown narrative, else wise their readers may starve.


(… note to self: never attempt to write a simile ever again.)

Oy!

I am 100,000,000,000,000,000% in the same boat as you. I'm writing a novel at the moment simply to prove I can finish one. Only difference between you and I is that I've never tried before, having preferred to try and perfect my short story writing.

I got to 12, 000 words.

And then uni started again and destroyed me.

But I intend to start again!

Luck with it.

*poke*

Where's the next chapter?

*stab*

Make with the chapter, no slacking off! (I've somehow got it in my head that if you succeed, I will too, so now I have to push you to finish it and thus motivate myself...no pressure though. My entire life depends on you now.)

XD