HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN TWELVE STEPS: What to Write (#TWO)

HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN TWELVE STEPS (#TWO)

STEP TWO: WHAT TO WRITE

·         This is a tricky one.

·         Some people like genre fiction: romance, action, dystopian, YA, sagas, adventure etc. Some people like to read literary work that defies genre.

·         There are new genres being created. Go to the store, go to the library and most importantly find out what you like to read. When you consider what 'genre' to write, do you choose one or does it choose you?

·         THE ANSWER: WRITE WHAT YOU ENJOY. WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW.

·         The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is an example of YA dystopian fiction that has never been ‘bigger’ but if you ask publishers they might tell you a new genre fad is on its way…

·         I’d be wary of following fads. Maybe not so wary of creating one!

·         Remember, by the time you start writing a specific genre, publishers are preparing to reveal a new ‘fad’. That said, I don’t think dystopian YA is a fad, I think it’s here to stay (just like reality TV…) although I’m not comparing the two… but when reality TV started to get popular, people said it would never last…

·         The answer to the question of what you should write is:

·         Most writers start off as readers. Readers know what they like to read and when they read, they have a sense of what they want to write. So should you.

·         A NOTE ON FIRST NOVELS:

·         Some of my favourite novels are first novels (The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, for example & Harry Potter). Where would we be without the circus of dreams or Harry and his friends? I am very glad those authors didn’t shelve those novels indefinitely or give up in their quest to get published (assuming their publishing processes weren’t ‘easy’. JK Rowling’s was tough – her agent famously had to submit her novel to many publishers before it found a home.) Neither she, nor her agent, gave up. We are glad they didn’t!

·         Then again, they weren’t teenagers when they started and the writers I’ve just mentioned weren’t inexperienced, clearly, even though they’d reportedly never been published before. Both the writers I just mentioned had a good decade or more of learning and adulthood behind them.

·         That said some remarkable first novelists are teenagers. SE Hinton wrote The Outsiders in high school. The Outsiders is one of my favourite teen novels of all time.

·         So, there are no rules about when to start or what to write about and no one person ever knows everything.

·         You should be the judge of what you’d like to write about, in the beginning, at least. After you meet people in publishing, perhaps they might suggest something to write about in advance. They may even pay you! (Where are those people?). Just remember, once your work is out there, everyone else will be reading & maybe judging it…  So, make sure you’ve chosen a genre you enjoy and given your manuscript time to marinate before others read it and offer ‘advice’.

HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN TWELVE STEPS: Where To Write (#ONE)

·         HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN TWELVE STEPS (#One)

·         STEP ONE: WHERE TO WRITE

·         Space: Before you start, make some space. I don’t care where your space is but if you are seated, overlooking a beautiful view, chances are you are going to spend a lot of valuable writing time enjoying that view. That said, you want your writing space to be comfy, cosy and have room enough so you can spread out your notes and your laptop or computer out. I have a large, old dining room table but at the moment I prefer to work in a coffee shop that serves fab coffee and tea (and iced chocolates when I need them… oh, and vanilla milkshakes). I try to take some fruit with me, because that’s healthy.

·         Noise: Silence is golden, Lovelies (sometimes). Fix your noise issues: know how you concentrate best. When I am at home, writing by myself, I like some sound, but controlled sound. I like a cd or a dvd (not the news, because then I listen to it and not the TV because then I watch it) playing in the room. This background noise keeps me from listening to the birds tweeting, the neighbours shouting or cars in the street (neighbourhood noise is not pretty when you are trying to concentrate on your sentences, Lovelies). But that’s me – you may need noise. You decide that; just make sure you have it covered.

·         People: Sort out your peeps. You may want to tell the world you are writing a novel. That’s great – that’s your call. I would advise against it unless you know the peeps you are talking to are going to be supportive. A word of warning, sometimes even your best friends may doubt your abilities – that doesn’t mean you should. However, if you tell everyone (or anyone outside your nearest and dearest) there is pressure on you that you don’t need at the start.

·         Exhibit A: I had a very old and dear friend (I say had, remember) and he said to me when I told him about my first novel… ‘Wow, you’ve been working on that for ages… how long is it taking you to get that published?’  He was not supportive of me when the going was tough.  Your true friends should be supportive but don’t test the friendship too soon. Make sure you are selective about who you mention your ideas to, who reads your work, and when.

·         Let’s just say, in my humble experience, it’s better to keep the pressure off and TELL NO ONE until you are sure you are okay if you don’t get the encouragement you are hoping to receive.   

·         Your desk: Just make sure it’s the right height. Big is better. This process may start out small (just your laptop), but as your story progresses you are going to need a lot of space for notes, drafts, maybe even story boards… and other stuff.

·         Your chair: I can’t stress this enough. Get an office chair! I like one that is padded, comfy and swivel. Make sure it is the right height (and adjustable) for you. Trust me; your back is going to thank you one day. 

MARILYN: THE PASSION AND THE PARADOX by LOIS BANNER: GREAT UK REVIEW

As my readers already know, I have enjoyed this remarkable biography about Marilyn Monroe - beyond words. But here is a journo who has put into words what this reader felt (by the way, I am currently up to the final part of this great bio). Here is the link Marilyn Fans!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/9464570/Marilyn-Monroe-The-Passion-and-the-Paradox-by-Lois-Banner-review.html

And another link to a very informative review:

http://bookshelfbombshells.com/review-marilyn-monroe-the-passion-and-the-paradox-by-lois-banner/

MARILYN MONROE POEM: NEVER GIVE ALL THE HEART (YEATS)

I am so thrilled to have discovered some Marilyn fans out there like me, who want to read everything about her. I have almost finished reading Lois Banner's The Passion and the Paradox (highly recommended buy it or borrow it but read it!) and am half way through The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe (page turner!) and I'd like to quote the first part of a Yeats poem that Marilyn read aloud once. Banner mentions it on page 286 of my hard copy of her bio:

"Never Give All the Heart"

Never give all the heart, for love
Will hardly seem worth thinking of
To passionate women if it seem
Certain, and they never dream
That it fades out from kiss to kiss;
For everything that's lovely is
But a brief, dreamy, kind delight.

HOW DO YOU WRITE A NOVEL? (THREE: Story Arcs in classic novels: Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice)

STORY ARCS

Okay, we all know a story should have a beginning, middle and an end. Not all stories or novels should follow a formula but many of the classics do (in a very disguised and sophisticated fashion).

With my 'modern teen classics' series I have the basic outline or story arc from the classic novels of Jane Austen: (Pride & Prejudice/Pride and Princesses & The Hotness), Emma (Popular), Persuasion (Truly) and Emily and Charlotte Bronte: (Wuthering Heights/ Wuthering Nights and Jane Eyre/ Anne Eyre).

These brilliant, classic writers created memorable, lasting stories that have been adapted in different forms by hundreds of movie makers, publishing houses and writers throughout the decades.

Are they formulaic? Jane Austen is in some ways, she's great formula but she had a formula all the same. The formula was the obsession of the day - a woman, single at the start, seeking her fortune in the form of finding the right man.

Jane Austen's stories have strong female characters, "hot" but difficult men (er, Darcy anyone?) and happy endings - in the main - marriages.

Emily Bronte was probably the least formulaic of the writers I've mentioned, in the sense that her main characters (Heathcliffe and Cathy) do not have a happy ending in the traditional sense. The story is also metaphysical and mystical which was quite unusual. Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre only gets her 'happy ending' after an incredibly tough childhood and early adulthood. Jane Eyre is bittersweet - a lot has been lost before much is gained.

If I were creating an entirely original story I would keep these lessons in mind from these great writers: bold characters, a strong beginning, some action in the middle and a powerful ending. To create a story arc that other people want to read you have to have a real sense of what you want to write about, how the places look in your mind, how the characters speak and what they say.

HOW DO YOU WRITE A NOVEL? (TWO: Inventing a character)

I'm not sure we invent characters. They sometimes take on lives of their own. If we write, we use our imaginations - unless we are writing non-fiction.

When writing fiction, my characters are sometimes based on ideas I've had from my own childhood. In some of my original and unpublished work (writing that lives in the many drawers of my cupboard and is probably never going to see the light of day) characters just seem to develop on their own but sometimes a newspaper article or person is going to create a spark in my mind. There is an image I had of a librarian from a film  - sort of generic - that I incorporated in Pride & Princesses. She is not based on a teacher I had at school but on a teacher I imagined from all the different kinds of teachers I met throughout my schooling! Sometimes I make characters do things I would never do in real life - but I know other people might do. For example, I know girls who were very nice at school to people's faces but behind their backs they said mean things. None of us is perfect and sometimes people change when they grow up. So, I try to find something about the not-so-nice character that is good, that might not be obvious and let the reader in on that secret. As a writer, I really like the mean girls in Pride & Princesses even though they are not very nice. Teegan, Tory, Brooke and Freya were so much fun to draw in my mind and they have a desire to improve (sort of) by the middle of Pride & Princesses, so I tried to focus on that element of their personalities.

Some writers say that all the characters they write have some of themselves in them. Maybe that's true, sometimes. Most characters like most people are not all good or all bad. They have different qualities and it's in those differences that we create characters.

When I was writing the modern vampire version of Wuthering Heights, I related far more to the Heathcliffe character than to the Catherine character and I'm not sure why. I tend to relate to female characters (with the exception of Ponyboy Curtis in The Outsiders). Heathcliffe was just a strong character to me in the original novel and I never really understood why Cathy Earnshaw didn't marry him instead of Linton.

That's just me. Writing is very personal and the minute you start to think other people are reading what you write, it becomes tough to write honestly. Because 'other people are reading' becomes 'other people are judging.' You have to be honest with yourself and it helps to have a strong sense of yourself. It's a cliche because it's true, lovelies. Now go to it & keep on writing (or reading... or, like me, sneaking out for a cup of tea and something yummy to eat very soon!)

HOW DO YOU WRITE A NOVEL?

Lovelies, here are my thoughts:

I start with an idea or a visual image (some girls playing in a school yard - Pride & Princesses - my own school memories), then add some words... (in the beginning, I wrote the story, just a few pages - which became Pride & Princesses and drew some fun sketches).

The language was not 'nice' or 'pretty' the way I ended up publishing some of it in Pride & Princesses. The language was real. It is a bit more fairy story now but P&P became it's own world and has its own language. The original title was also different as were the names of the main characters. I remembered words girls used at school and had to be reminded to leave them out (after all, this is YA and bad language does tend to 'date' a story in its own way!) I hope I found a way to give a sense of some of the meanness and also kindnesses that teenage girls display.

After all that, those characters and words have their own voice, my voice. No one else has my voice but in the end the characters should live on the page and have their own voices... does that make sense? I hope so!

I think 'voice' in writing is the most important thing and I don't know if you are the best writer or reader in the world (you may be) but I know no one else does it like you do. And no one else should. No one else sounds like you and no one has had the exact same experiences you have had.

That said, sometimes it pays to write about things others can relate to. In Pride & Princesses there is this spark of first love that I think all teenagers feel. Mark and Phoebe feel it, even though they don't put it into words very successfully until the end...

After that, ideas, story and characters take over but I usually start with a plan, at least in my mind and sometimes on paper - and I think that is very important. The rough draft starts in your mind then becomes words on paper that lead to a first draft.

What follows is the first plan (more like ideas) I wrote on my laptop for the novel that became Wuthering Nights (although I couldn't think of the title I wanted to use back then...) Often I also scribble notes on paper, but it's harder to reproduce them!

As you can see, this 'plan' is a total mess, terrible spelling and no punctuation - but don't worry about that stuff initially.

I wasn't even sure I would add vampires, but I know I'd thought about it well before I wrote this. I had the images that I wanted to share in my mind on paper as well as the first line:

NOTES: (early draft of Wuthering Nights)

MODERN (High concept!) WUTHERING HEIGHTS NOVEL  - 20 pages a day, just keep writing – plan it on Friday (?)

Possible titles:

Wuthering Bytes

Wuthering Lights

Hareton Hall

When I saw the house in the misty light across the heath, I could barely make out the man’s face in the morning mist.

In sections – first part, walking across the Heath, a stranger. Who is this person? Ha from the department of Social Services (!)

The house, crumbling but perfect in the misty morning.  There are cobwebs on the windows. Across the open common there is another home, also owned by the same person – the Heathcliffe character. What is a good name for this man?  

There are two young teenagers living in the house (18 years old – they are both miserable and home schooled – taken out of boarding school or on their way to be returned there?) when she turns 18 Katrina is gonna run out of there and she convinces Hareton to go with her – she’s teaching him to read…these two characters are messed up – Heath is a real baddie, but he has his reasons…he was in Los Angeles, gonna be a rock star or something when some woman turned him (?) who knows – maybe he was like that as a little child…agrees to gamble with the older brother and fleeces him. Is devastated when he returns to the Heath – to find Kate in the social pages – she has married a really ineffectual bore a money man…

Idea – Heath: – he is a vampire, when he arrives as a frightened little boy, he’s a foster child – the home is abusive, but he is brought there to repay a debt (?) Maybe he’s not yet a vamp (?) maybe he is… little teeth are very pointy in the dark cellar (!) Kate goes to him, puts her arms around him. They have horses in the country house.

Little girl, Kate:

The two children of the neighbours – Edmund and Bella (named after their ancestors – home from boarding school).

Or do we set this off the Kings Road in Chelsea – make the girls go visiting there some days – go to the pictures in the movie house on Fulham road.

Set first part in 2012

Then go back to 1993 –  What films were around then because these two go to the movies, maybe? Google IMDB – then set most of it in London back then – Hampstead Heath -  what films that were about then (?) google that year: My Own Private Idaho(?) maybe – Withnail and I? – on repeat? – The Rocky Horror Show (also on repeat at the Charles cinema just off Leisester square – around the corner from the ice cream bar. Apparently it would have been cheap nights, where you could go to the pictures for a pound. They eat popcorn etc.

 Heath (guitarist) and Kate (ballet dancer or artist or singer – something artistic – or fashion designer…Heath has been kept from being educated by Kate’s cruel older brother.

Then there are Edmund (Heath’s child with Isabella) /(Hareton- The older brother’s child) and Katrina (Kate’s child?)

In the scene where Kate gives birth to Katrina – Heath goes in desperation…and turns her? Or does she scrape her wrist along the window pane – remember this scene from Wuthering Heights?

So, there you have it - a total mess and the first scribblings of Wuthering Nights which became: 

WUTHERING NIGHTS    

Prologue

From the journal of Greta Gardner, February 1978

The boy arrived at night, wrapped in a blanket. He was carried by his adopted father who placed him on the kitchen floor next to me. His big blue eyes stared out from under his wild black hair. He shrank from the fire, he shrank from my touch, yet his skin was cold as ice…

He arrived with a list of instructions tucked into the pocket of his jacket.

Eats - mostly chicken and oranges (likes: roast chicken, blood oranges and plums).

Drinks - mostly water and citrus juice.

 First warning - do not let him go in the sun often as he burns easily.

Second warning - make sure he wears his necklace amulet (a parting gift from his biological mother). He screams if you take it.

Final Warning - do not let him go out at night alone.

As a small boy (just walking) he had a tendency to wander off, and many times staff at the orphanage were unable to find the little fellow for hours. Once, he was found hanging upside down from the roof of the school gymnasium, like a bat. The only giveaway was the drip drip drip of juice as he stuffed his baby face with blood oranges.

His file was then stamped: Special Needs. 

So, while I was waiting it out with various agents and publishers trying to find a publisher for what became Pride & Princesses, (during a prolonged, gruelling and stressful process), I started toying with the idea of writing modern versions of Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre.

Just for myself. Just for fun.

I would say, I knew and had read each of these classic stories, in particular, Wuthering Heights, before I started.

Some readers asked me why I didn't make Pride & Princesses more like Pride and Prejudice (thankyou for that - great question!) Pride and Princesses was always meant to be a  unique story... just the scene at the dance is classic Pride and Prejudice. The Hotness is going to be more of the classic storyline...  On some level writers should aim to please our readers, of course, but first, we must please ourselves. Trust me, if you don't want to read it (over & over again) chances are others may not either!

So, I experimented with Wuthering Nights - adding vampires - but I had been obsessed with the story as a young teenager so, again, I could play around with the story arc quite easily in my mind as I knew it so well.

Anne Eyre (which is based on Jane Eyre - obviously) was a different story entirely. It is very clearly the closest thing I would ever write to fan fiction. It too is an experiment. Anne Eyre follows the original story of Jane Eyre (in a far more #YA manner) because I wanted to see if readers liked that. I don't think I would ever write a modern version so close to the original again and of course the original is much better! That said,  I enjoyed writing Anne Eyre. I like the idea of a two-hander scene stealer - the whole of my story is mainly a back and forth conversation between "Nathanial" and "Anne".

Here is what I know. You have to spend an enormous amount of your days (and nights) working on your work and I don't imagine in a billion years I have perfected mine.

You have to be consistent and you have to keep going! HUGS:)

WOOFTOALLTHELOVELYWRITERS&READERSWHOJUSTREADTHISNOWGOANDWRITE:)

YOURS TRULY by Summer Day

I've just uploaded TRULY onto my blog. I thought about calling it "Confessions of a Love-Starved Hermit" but I like to keep my titles short and sweet. Anyway, the main character is different by the end of this because even in real life the 'love starved' part never lasts forever. I hope you enjoy reading this teen story as I spent many months writing it. Although it is inspired by Jane Austen's classic novel Persuasion, which is about two people who meet then part then get the chance to 'get together' again, this story is written for young adults and (maybe) new adults. Anyone who is not new or young might also like to read it and they would be most welcome! Writing away in cafes and on kitchen tables can sometimes be a lonely business so it gives me happiness to know that you might be tagging along and reading with me. *Just a note, I've written all the content on my blog and there's more to come! Have a truly great Monday, lovelies...