In my previous post I wrote about Creating a story for your fiction where I mentioned how you can determine what fiction or novel you’re interested to write based on your favorite movies.
In this post, I would like to expand upon that post by exploring how your favorite novels could be used to help determine what type of fiction genre you write.
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Do you believe in writer’s block?
I heard of a writer who after having the first novel published couldn’t write for years afterwards. No matter how hard the writer tried there was no second manuscript in sight.
If that is an accurate description of what writer’s block is about, then it’s pretty severe and scary thing for a budding writer like me to know.
Right now writing is not a problem for me at all.
But wait!
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Read! Read! And Read!
Sorry, but it’s not a secret at all. And this is what I’m doing lately. I am reading a lot – nonfiction and fiction from my favorite authors. From mystery writers to romance novels, I search the ones I like best.
I am a voracious reader. And this causes me trouble. I often borrow books from the library longer than I should (and this is even after being renewed three times!). My DH (Dear Husband) always becomes the one who rescues me from the “sideways look” of the clerk at the library. And when I thought I was safe, my DH whispers giving me the sideways look. “Why is it that whenever I return your books they always have fines on it?” Witnessed the scene, the clerk gave me a sour look.
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I knew I wanted to write and get published when I first got my grubby paws on the romance novel – you know, the ones with gorgeous river pilot on the cover: tall, dark, muscular and handsome hero with beautiful heroine – when I was 16 years old.
I said to one of my best friends, Sylvia, “I’d love to write my own novel one of these days.”
She looked at me. “Like this one? No. You can’t be serious.”
I tried to hide my mischievous smile.
“I don’t believe you,” she said with bulging eyes.
“Watch me,” I said.
She laughed. “All right. The glint in your eyes convinces me you’re up to something.”
Someone clears his throat. “You two, did you finished your work?”
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Do you know that a window is associated with a writer – especially a large window? Well, every time a writer goes to task – writing that is – they will look outside through the window when they get stuck… looking out at the snow falling down and marveling at the beauty of the winter season (right now since winter is still here).
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Year 2008 is here and to all writers out there, I wish you all a wonderful and prosperous new year!
Keep the writing going.
My last entry in my blog was about rewriting your first draft. I had to totally rewrite the last five chapters of my novel. And now I put the novel out of sight and will re-read it later.
Since the writing bug has bitten me, I wrote a short story while waiting for my novel to ‘ferment’. I completed the first draft and found it too long for a short story. My mind is still in the novel writing stage and I have difficulties in condensing it. But it is a short story – it needs trimming – real bad.
So if you have written short stories, you know the elements are similar to a novel – you just need to have one big and important plot. There is no space for a subplot to expand. The writing must be very tight and yet have enough flesh to make the story move forward.
Back to my writing – I was so excited to complete my very first short story – in the English language. I can’t contain my excitement as I broke the first rule in editing your fiction – I showed it to my husband.
Here is the conversation between me and DH (Dear Husband):
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I am baacckk!
I just completed my 65,000 word novel and it was just so exhausting to make it to the end! However, this is just the first draft and as we always know, writing is rewriting. I learned a lot about writing a novel through my journey these past two months or so. And mind you, writing up to 65,000 words is not for the faint of heart. It is a tough job. Now I admire the writers out there who manage to produce novels year after year with an interesting story and plot.
As far as getting to finish my manuscript, I learned that:
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If you have started to write your manuscript I believe you write everyday? I do. I am trying to complete my manuscript as fast as I can. I have all the outlines done to get the plot moving scene-by-scene. Now with the little time I have consumed writing the manuscript, it seems I am not producing it fast enough. I find the characters are begging to be written.
The prolific writer will write everyday up to 2,000 words. If your novel is about 100,000 words, it will take you about 50 days to complete. I would love to be able to do that.
So, I have to make the decision that blogging is become secondary.
I will resume to blog daily when I complete the first draft of my manuscript. In the meantime, I will be organizing the articles I have written so far into a somewhat presentable format for the first timer who visits my blog.
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As a writer you have to write and edit your manuscript. This is very tricky because you are first the author and then must switch positions to become the editor of what you’ve written. Ouch! This is too much painful work!
But the reality is this: you have to experience the process of editing your own work if you decide to be a writer. No exceptions and no easy way out because no one writes flawlessly the first time. And don’t even let me mention the business side of writing yet where you will confront the editor at your publisher.
I remember one of my fellow writer friends who told me she will get sick for a week right after she finishes her manuscript. Then she has to drag herself to edit the draft next. When I saw her during a writer’s conference she really looked like she was just recovering from an unknown disease.
How you do the editing task is up to you. Some writers will edit right after completing the manuscript, while others prefer to edit while writing. Whichever technique is best for you it is the editing process itself that takes the most out of you as a writer.
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In my previous blog I wrote about how to obtain facts for use in fiction and mentioned that I preferred to use my own experiences when illustrating the setting for the characters since this is the best way to show the reader what I see, smell, taste, hear and feel about these place(s). However, if I am not able to experience the setting(s) where I place my protagonist, I will go for the second best – looking for other’s sensory experiences in describing these places.
This is exactly what I did last week. I needed more information about a particular arrondissements in Paris where the setting took place for my novel Antara Dua Kota. I did find some, but it was written by tourists who had been there for less than a week. But I needed a comprehensive description by someone who actually lives there. Before bugging the bloggers who have been to Paris (as tourists) for help, I decided to go to my local library to see if I could find what I am looking for.
I didn’t find anything specific, but I found a novel titled Lion Eyes by Claire Berlinski. I read it at home and I couldn’t put it down. I read it that night cover-to-cover.
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