How to finish the rough draft of a novel
Jul. 13th, 2006 12:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lobelia321How to write a novel
Extracts from Jane Smiley's 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel
Because I promised![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sheldrake I'd post this. :-)
I always try to take so-called novel-writing advice with a huge pinch of salt. This does not stop me from being addicted to how-to books, brimming with novel-writing advice. Jane Smiley is more conducive than most. Here are some of her nuggets of wisdom in condensed form. Posted here for my own referencing convenience and, as a fringe benefit, the interests of anybody else as well. :-) Plus navel-gazingnesses, inevitably.
Headings in bold. Smiley in Roman. Me and my own mustard (as they say in German) in italics.
Part One: How to finish your rough draft
• Keep adding sentences to the ones you already have. Sheer length persuades (because it builds an object in the mind).
• A book must be a habit. The ony standard of achievement to begin with (and for quite a long time) is the accumulation of pages.
• Writing is writing, not planning.
• Know that your audience will be pleased with your gift.
(This is an important one for me as I angst endlessly over feedback and tend to disbelieve positive comments from the past and encouragements from others in the present. I now try to believe and encourage those comments one gets: 'Can't wait for you to post x, y, z.'. Those are fabulously helpful incitements!)
Also, I tend to be a far worse critic of myself than anybody else out there.
• Though choosing the right words is an effort, the right words are inspiring.
(I discovered this in writing Half-time, my recent football fic and the first fic I've written in a long time that was unaccompanied by angst or self-conscious experimentation. I actually scribbled little lists of words I love in the margins, as they occurred to me, and then I wove them into the story. The words sustained the atmosphere. It was a lovely experience. Hm, I wonder whether choosing anger-words will help me with Rooney and Dudley.)
• To pursue truth and interest is much more productive than to pursue originality (which will happen in any case). Do research. Pick up the jargon of your subject. Writing novels is an essentially amateur activity. Professional readers and literary types need to be able to dispense with their professional side in order to engage in the amateurism.
• Beginning novelists are often naturally event types or meaning types. As you accumulate pages, observe what intrigues you more. The side that does not come easily to you is the side you should develop by intelligently broadening your reading and learning how other authors negotiate the pitfalls of each.
Well, I never like the 'should' word but let's substitute the word 'could' here. *g*
• Failures of event and plot: solution is in character and meaning.
• The ideal edifice that exists in your mind may not be, cannot be, and never will be communicated. But something will (Smiley's italics). That something is the novel you don't know you can write until you get it written.
• Something about every novel induces its readers to forgive or not even to notice its flaws.
• Energy not inspiration. Contemplation of the material creates forward energy -- one word, line, thought, sentence or paragraph elicits another.
• Smiley advises against rewriting until you have the whole arc of the novel complete. The desire to get each scene "just right" works against producitivy because it allows you to get into the habit of ruminating upon your self-doubts.
I need to staple this advice to the inside of my brain. This works for academic writing, too.
• In short stories, perfection is a valid goal. But when writing a novel, you simply have to get those words down. A novel comes alive, incl. to its author, as it precipitates onto the page.
• You lose interest. Boredom is a symptom.
1) Maybe you don't know enough about your material. Remedy: Find out more. Read. Travel. Do; don't think.
2a) Maybe you are confused about how things take place, how to carry things forward. Remedy: The plot is a piece of logic. If you don't know your premises, you will draw illogical conclusions and get confused.
2b) Maybe it's just too much to handle. Remedy: Re-read what's going on (not re-write). Make an outline, draw a picture etc.
3) Maybe you feel fear. Remedy: Intuition conflicts with reason; that's its job. You cannot write a novel on impulse.
4) Maybe you feel shame. Remedy: The critic interferes. The only way a rough draft can fail, is by not arriving at the end.
• Do things to help you keep up the discipline.
I'm thinking: use LJ shamelessly, *g*.
• Don't rely too much on rituals. They will make you think that conditions will have to be just right. Seeking praise from others can be a kind of ritual. But you can never have too much discipline.
• You can never control whether your writing efforts will be successful, but you can control whether they will be enjoyable or satisfying.
This one is tremendously important for me. I get so mired in doubts and self-criticisms. I lose the fun of it!
Part Two: How to revise your rough draft coming up anon. :-) ETA: Part Two is now here.
Extracts from Jane Smiley's 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel
Because I promised
sheldrake I'd post this. :-)I always try to take so-called novel-writing advice with a huge pinch of salt. This does not stop me from being addicted to how-to books, brimming with novel-writing advice. Jane Smiley is more conducive than most. Here are some of her nuggets of wisdom in condensed form. Posted here for my own referencing convenience and, as a fringe benefit, the interests of anybody else as well. :-) Plus navel-gazingnesses, inevitably.
Headings in bold. Smiley in Roman. Me and my own mustard (as they say in German) in italics.
Part One: How to finish your rough draft
• Keep adding sentences to the ones you already have. Sheer length persuades (because it builds an object in the mind).
• A book must be a habit. The ony standard of achievement to begin with (and for quite a long time) is the accumulation of pages.
• Writing is writing, not planning.
• Know that your audience will be pleased with your gift.
(This is an important one for me as I angst endlessly over feedback and tend to disbelieve positive comments from the past and encouragements from others in the present. I now try to believe and encourage those comments one gets: 'Can't wait for you to post x, y, z.'. Those are fabulously helpful incitements!)
Also, I tend to be a far worse critic of myself than anybody else out there.
• Though choosing the right words is an effort, the right words are inspiring.
(I discovered this in writing Half-time, my recent football fic and the first fic I've written in a long time that was unaccompanied by angst or self-conscious experimentation. I actually scribbled little lists of words I love in the margins, as they occurred to me, and then I wove them into the story. The words sustained the atmosphere. It was a lovely experience. Hm, I wonder whether choosing anger-words will help me with Rooney and Dudley.)
• To pursue truth and interest is much more productive than to pursue originality (which will happen in any case). Do research. Pick up the jargon of your subject. Writing novels is an essentially amateur activity. Professional readers and literary types need to be able to dispense with their professional side in order to engage in the amateurism.
• Beginning novelists are often naturally event types or meaning types. As you accumulate pages, observe what intrigues you more. The side that does not come easily to you is the side you should develop by intelligently broadening your reading and learning how other authors negotiate the pitfalls of each.
Well, I never like the 'should' word but let's substitute the word 'could' here. *g*
• Failures of event and plot: solution is in character and meaning.
• The ideal edifice that exists in your mind may not be, cannot be, and never will be communicated. But something will (Smiley's italics). That something is the novel you don't know you can write until you get it written.
• Something about every novel induces its readers to forgive or not even to notice its flaws.
• Energy not inspiration. Contemplation of the material creates forward energy -- one word, line, thought, sentence or paragraph elicits another.
• Smiley advises against rewriting until you have the whole arc of the novel complete. The desire to get each scene "just right" works against producitivy because it allows you to get into the habit of ruminating upon your self-doubts.
I need to staple this advice to the inside of my brain. This works for academic writing, too.
• In short stories, perfection is a valid goal. But when writing a novel, you simply have to get those words down. A novel comes alive, incl. to its author, as it precipitates onto the page.
• You lose interest. Boredom is a symptom.
1) Maybe you don't know enough about your material. Remedy: Find out more. Read. Travel. Do; don't think.
2a) Maybe you are confused about how things take place, how to carry things forward. Remedy: The plot is a piece of logic. If you don't know your premises, you will draw illogical conclusions and get confused.
2b) Maybe it's just too much to handle. Remedy: Re-read what's going on (not re-write). Make an outline, draw a picture etc.
3) Maybe you feel fear. Remedy: Intuition conflicts with reason; that's its job. You cannot write a novel on impulse.
4) Maybe you feel shame. Remedy: The critic interferes. The only way a rough draft can fail, is by not arriving at the end.
• Do things to help you keep up the discipline.
I'm thinking: use LJ shamelessly, *g*.
• Don't rely too much on rituals. They will make you think that conditions will have to be just right. Seeking praise from others can be a kind of ritual. But you can never have too much discipline.
• You can never control whether your writing efforts will be successful, but you can control whether they will be enjoyable or satisfying.
This one is tremendously important for me. I get so mired in doubts and self-criticisms. I lose the fun of it!
Part Two: How to revise your rough draft coming up anon. :-) ETA: Part Two is now here.