Novel Writing Tips
Posted by Jo | Filed under NaNoWriMo, Novel
Here are some more sites you may want to check out. These should help you organize your thoughts and be ready to start writing that first draft.
I’m really intrigued by the Snowflake method. In fact, I’m using it this time around to get ready for NaNo. You start with a one sentence synopsis and gradually expand it to a full-fledged plan, including a scene-by-scene outline. Randy Ingermanson is the creator, and he recommends taking as much as a week for some steps, so don’t put off getting started!
Justine Larbalestier describes a more seat of the pants approach to novel writing. You sit down and write first, and only after completing a significant chunk of writing do you start to plan out the novel. If the Snowflake method seems a bit too much work up front for you, this might be a good option.
And here’s some tongue in cheek advice on writing your novel while at work. I wouldn’t recommend everything in the article (okay, not even most things in the article), but arriving a little early to work on the novel before your real work day starts might be a good option for some. Using your lunch time is another option, but that’s one that I try to avoid because I need the mid-day break to mentally recharge.
Further Reading
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September 22nd, 2007 at 4:34 pm
The snowflake method intrigued me too, but ultimately I found that the one-sentence synopsis was the hardest part of writing the entire book.
Maybe if it was called something other than synopsis — you know, that word makes it seem so finalized and all-figured-out. If there was a way to combine the coolness of the snowflake method with the sort of scrambled logic of the seat-of-the-pants method…
I guess snowflakes are by definition not scrambled.
September 24th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
I can relate. I have a novel-length manuscript that was written with the seat-of-the-pants method, and it definitely shows. I think trying to rewrite it, and salvage the good parts, is much tougher than the original draft. I’m hoping that doing more prep work up front will help.
One good thing about having this huge, if messy, manuscript. I can write the synopsis; I know what my characters want, etc. For me, I don’t think there’s any getting around doing at least a partial (very) rough draft.
September 25th, 2007 at 10:00 am
I tried snowflake some months ago and i don’t like it because I feel I put more time snowflaking than writing
The second method seems better.
September 26th, 2007 at 8:48 pm
Snowflake does seem very time consuming, and I may shorten it a bit as I work my way through. One thing that will help is that I already have about 60,000 words to work with! I just need to organize my thoughts and work out a few plot kinks. I’m hoping snowflake can help with that.
October 3rd, 2007 at 10:02 am
[...] Novel Writing Tips [...]
October 4th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
That Snowflake method sounds a lot like some tactics I got in a screenwriting class, which taught us to essentially begin with a one-sentence tagline for our work, and then work through the nuts and bolts of major plot points, to develop an outline before we start. It seemed a little formulaic to me, and a little confining. But it did help get me thinking about overall structure. For NaNo this year, I’m starting to brainstorm and come up with notes, but I think I want to leave a fair amount to feed the muse come crunch time.
Cheers
October 10th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Yeah, that’s what’s made me hesitate on outlining up front. I’m afraid that I’ll lose the creative “spark” by over-analyzing. Unfortunately, I’m sitting on two novels that need so much work, they almost need a complete rewrite. I’m willing to try this to see if I can do better this time around.