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 Spookyhands |
Need Advice/Comments/Etc |
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Posts: 282 (12/10/08 13:31:33) Veteran Shockliner |
I'm about to write up my first novel. It's something that I attempted once, but the end product came out shitty. I'm rewriting my first novel, I
guess you could say. Anyone have any advice for me?
I already have an outline and storyboard for it.
Assistant Editor - Out of the Gutter Magazine (www.outoftheguttermagazine.com)
Work can be found in: Thug Lit Diabolic Tales 1: An Anthology of Dark Minds Out of the Gutter Magazine #2 |
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BileDragon |
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Posts: 7713 (12/10/08 13:59:08) Top-Tier Shockliner Demon |
What's it about?
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Spookyhands |
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Posts: 283 (12/10/08 14:25:22) Veteran Shockliner |
Can't tell you.
Assistant Editor - Out of the Gutter Magazine (www.outoftheguttermagazine.com)
Work can be found in: Thug Lit Diabolic Tales 1: An Anthology of Dark Minds Out of the Gutter Magazine #2 |
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Lawrence Dagstine |
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Posts: 1524 (12/10/08 14:26:27) Veteran Shockliner |
Aw, that takes the fun out of it then.
Lawrence Dagstine Homepage: www.lawrencedagstine.com
Lawrence Dagstine MySpace: www.myspace.com/lawrencedagstine 
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Spookyhands |
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Posts: 284 (12/10/08 14:33:59) Veteran Shockliner |
Lawrence Dagstine wrote:I'll let you read it when I'm done. How's that? I think you'll have fun reading it 
Assistant Editor - Out of the Gutter Magazine (www.outoftheguttermagazine.com)
Work can be found in: Thug Lit Diabolic Tales 1: An Anthology of Dark Minds Out of the Gutter Magazine #2 |
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Sharkguy38 |
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Posts: 1721 (12/10/08 14:42:44) Shocklineraholic |
My advice is to throw out the original version and try to approach every scene in a fresh way.
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Steve Vernon Nova Scotia |
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Posts: 7680 (12/10/08 14:50:10) Top-Tier Shockliner Demon |
The art of writing is a cool sort of gig because it is the closest a fellow can come to playing God. Do not be afraid to completely shake up and kick around
your original draft. Cut and prune with a vengeance. Remember that every story arc is simply a long freight train full of mini-story-arcs coupled together.
Keep your thrust clean and watch out for too many unnecessary tangents. Pay attention to your length - you must neither be too short or too long.
Above all else, have fun. This is your world that you are creating, make it one you believe in. |
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Spookyhands |
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Posts: 285 (12/10/08 14:53:06) Veteran Shockliner |
I'm doing just that. Every scene that I had written out before, no matter how great I thought it was back when I first wrote it, I'm rewriting. I think
my style has changed dramatically since then.
Although I would be thrilled if this goes to number one on the bestseller list one day, I'd feel like more of a failure if I never got it written. It's been in my head for way too long. I got a nosebleed the other day and I think it's because my antagonist wants out.
Assistant Editor - Out of the Gutter Magazine (www.outoftheguttermagazine.com)
Work can be found in: Thug Lit Diabolic Tales 1: An Anthology of Dark Minds Out of the Gutter Magazine #2 |
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Stephen Bacon |
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Posts: 862 (12/10/08 14:55:13) Shockliner |
Why did the original come out "shitty"? Can you identify what was lacking?
Most first drafts are just bare bone structure, upon which you'll need to refine the quality. In my extremely limited experience, most writers would need to rake over the coals of their first draft. Don't let that worry you. Just concentrate on improving. |
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Lawrence Dagstine |
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Posts: 1526 (12/10/08 15:01:53) Veteran Shockliner |
As for your characters, research them and BECOME them, the same way an actor studies a character before playing the part in a movie.
Lawrence Dagstine Homepage: www.lawrencedagstine.com
Lawrence Dagstine MySpace: www.myspace.com/lawrencedagstine
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Spookyhands |
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Posts: 286 (12/10/08 15:13:07) Veteran Shockliner |
Why was it "shitty"?
It was terribly disjointed. I didn't have a plan, just scenes that I liked and tried to force together. Ever try to shove a puzzle piece where it doesn't belong? Felt like that. I didn't have a story board. For the longest time, I refused to outline anything, thinking that I was a mastermind and would just create gold somehow without a plan of action. I still go all maverick sometimes, but I've learned the value of planning. Some things happen on the spur of the moment, but the base needs some sort of blueprint. At the moment, I'm more confident with my writing. I feel like I could do my characters justice. I understand how a first draft will need work, but with the previous draft, I didn't feel like polishing up a turd.
Assistant Editor - Out of the Gutter Magazine (www.outoftheguttermagazine.com)
Work can be found in: Thug Lit Diabolic Tales 1: An Anthology of Dark Minds Out of the Gutter Magazine #2 |
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BileDragon |
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Posts: 7714 (12/10/08 15:24:03) Top-Tier Shockliner Demon |
My advice: keep it simple, use a tight three-act structure. Eliminate the unnecessary.
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Lawrence Dagstine |
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Posts: 1529 (12/10/08 15:28:50) Veteran Shockliner |
The three-act structure does work quite well, or you can use the old vocational "Plot Formula" technique. Describe your story, synopsis/novel project
and all in two to three long paragraphs, beginning, middle, and end, and work from that, only in expanded form.
Lawrence Dagstine Homepage: www.lawrencedagstine.com
Lawrence Dagstine MySpace: www.myspace.com/lawrencedagstine
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Spookyhands |
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Posts: 287 (12/10/08 15:43:07) Veteran Shockliner |
I really do feel my characters. As cheesy as it sounds, I feel like I know them personally. I could sit and have a beer with my protagonist. I would probably
run if I met my antagonist. I can feel their dread, their intensity, their passion.
Cheesy to say, I know. Stop rolling your eyes!
Assistant Editor - Out of the Gutter Magazine (www.outoftheguttermagazine.com)
Work can be found in: Thug Lit Diabolic Tales 1: An Anthology of Dark Minds Out of the Gutter Magazine #2 |
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Spookyhands |
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Posts: 288 (12/10/08 16:03:18) Veteran Shockliner |
I've actually have it spelled out in a three act structure. It took me a while to get the actual story arc carved into this story outline. That's the
biggest problem with the earlier draft. No arc. Was minus an arc.
Assistant Editor - Out of the Gutter Magazine (www.outoftheguttermagazine.com)
Work can be found in: Thug Lit Diabolic Tales 1: An Anthology of Dark Minds Out of the Gutter Magazine #2 |
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MariAdkins |
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Posts: 3146 (12/10/08 16:36:31) Shocklineraholic |
And have fun with it!!
Mari's Midnight
Garden - Apex Book
Company
I don't own a cell phone or a pager. I just hang around everyone I know, all the time. If someone wants to get a hold of me they just say "Mitch," and I say "What?" and turn my head slightly. - Mitch Hedberg 
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 MichaelKnost |
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Posts: 624 (12/10/08 17:58:13) Veteran Shockliner |
I always thought this was great writing advice:
"I try to leave out the parts that people skip." ~ Elmore Leonard 
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Shocklines |
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Posts: 30285 (12/10/08 19:14:29) Administrator |
I'm not a writer, but I'll say this:
Don't worry about writing what you think the industry wants. Write the best book you can, and worry about the industry later.
Shocklines.com -- your one-stop shop for hell on earth
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Spookyhands |
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Posts: 289 (12/11/08 05:11:25) Veteran Shockliner |
MichaelKnost wrote:I agree. GREAT writing advice. ~~~ So I stayed up until two in the morning and finished a rough draft for a first chapter. My aim is to finish each chapter until I'm done and then go back and edit, rather than finishing a chapter and editing the shit out of it. I've found that stops me dead in my tracks. I'm excited. I'm having fun with it. But with as much cigarettes and coffee as I had last night, I know I'll have to slow down on them or risk high blood pressure by the end of this.
Assistant Editor - Out of the Gutter Magazine (www.outoftheguttermagazine.com)
Work can be found in: Thug Lit Diabolic Tales 1: An Anthology of Dark Minds Out of the Gutter Magazine #2 |
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TMWright.gorezone |
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Posts: 679 (12/11/08 05:58:58) |
A couple of things to remember:
YOU are the first and most important reader of your novel: it must entertain YOU--if it doesn't, at any point in the process, try to figure out why. Yes, writing is rewriting. Do not give a draft that pleases you,to someone who loves you, for a critique. Give it to someone who can be fair and candid. And try to find more than one such person to read it. Lots and lots of novels get written every year. Few of them see publication, and not necessarily because they don't deserve it, but because the publishing business is fickle. Good luck. T.M. |
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Allyson Bird |
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Posts: 1890 (12/11/08 06:18:37) Shocklineraholic |
I've just finished planning out my first novel so my advice would be similar to Steve's but first - loads of research, perhaps months of it, get to
know the characters and what form you want the novel to take. Sort out the dramatic structure. Get the plot written out chapter wise - getting the bare bones
of it down. Then go back and expand it, layering it and weave threads/sub plots into it.
One thing I've learnt is that you can plan it as much as you want (you do need some planning) but only in the writing of it do the characters lead you in directions you wouldn't have thought of at the plotting stage. That is where, for me - the fun really begins. Hope it goes well for you! 
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