For years now, I've always wanted to write a novel. Reading has always been a great passion of mine and is perhaps the first among favourite hobbies. History books and classical English (and some French and German) literature line my (increasingly overloaded) bookshelves up and down. There's nothing better than holding an old book to your face and inhaling that indescribable scent while flicking your thumb through the pages... (okay, there are better things of course, but you know what I mean!)
My essays (short stories) for English class in school were mediocre at best; barely above average. My excuse was that I wanted to "save the best till last" - but there never was a "best" and by the time we got to the "last" (i.e. the dreaded "Leaving Cert" exams) it was already too late. The ship to write well had already sailed by then.
The next things I found myself writing were academic essays in college. Now that was something I did turn out to be good at. Despite the referencing stuff being a pain in the you-know-what, I had learnt more about proper structure, how to order and categorise your thoughts and most importantly (at least in my opinion), good presentation (i.e. proper punctuation, paragraphing, fonts and indention etc.). I ended up getting an 'A' for my 'Final Year Project' (bachelors thesis), so I must have done something right...
Upon completing my degree, I attempted to write my first book. A work of historical fiction set in France in late 18th century. The premise was interesting but the execution proved to be far too ambitious. I wrote about fifteen chapters or so before having to shelve the project indefinitely. Something just wasn't working out. The language seemed too dry and the chapters, even though following on from each other, came across as discordant and the descriptions of events were either too vague or too vivid. I still have these drafts saved on a USB and had printed out the first thirteen chapters for correction, but don't know when (or even if) I'll get back to finish that ambitious project.
But despite this first major setback, I did not give up on writing. My first book, published about this time last year, was not a novel but a guided commentary to the Old Testament. In the end (or in this case, in the beginning) my academic side won out. But I wasn't going to give up on the dream of writing a novel.
Inspired by the many psychological thrillers and mystery films and series I had unhealthily binged on in the meantime, I came up with a brand new idea for what would become my first successful attempt at novel writing. The synopsis of this novel will form the subject of another blog (hopefully in time before its release). For now, I just want to give a brief evaluation as to why I succeeded this time around, while failing miserably on the first attempt.
In short, of the various elements that a writer must consider when penning a novel, the two most indispensable ones that cannot be underestimated are:
Outline; and
Structure
Before you even attempt to write a book (any kind of book), it needs to be outlined from start to finish. You need to know what you're writing about and, also extremely important, what you're NOT writing about. It sounds so simple and yet, this is where many aspiring writers go off-track. The biggest and single most fatal mistake I made with my first attempt at novel writing, is that I did not have the entire story outlined. I had a few ideas in mind for the chapter I was currently working on and simply took it from there.
This is a (hopeless) strategy referred to in writing circles as 'pantsing'. And yes, based on personal experience, it doesn't work. Novel writing is an art form and there is a method to the madness. So, my advice would be to get yourself a notebook or a foolscap (or both) and start jotting down your ideas. We'll talk about sorting and arranging ideas another time. For now, suffice it to say, that your best friends should be your pen and paper. Don't start typing until you're ready. It may take some extra time but it will be worth it in the end.
The second element I mentioned above is structure. Good novels, like good plays, films and TV dramas, are structured and have a proper beginning, middle and an end. Well... duh! Obviously! is probably your response to that. After all, this is something that's persistently drilled into us since primary school. But do you actually know what this entails? Until very recently, I didn't! For example, in story-telling, do you know what the 'hook' is? or the 'inciting event'? There's also the first, second (mid) and third 'plot points', all of which should occur at a particular moment in the story.
Truth be told, I would still be completely in the dark if I hadn't come across the self-help books of K.M. Weiland, an experienced novelist who, as her online blog is appropriately named, helps writers become authors. Writing becomes such a worthwhile and rewarding experience once you know what you're doing and how to do it. So remember: outline and structure. We'll talk about themes and characters another time.
In the meantime, keep writing!
