There is no Right Way to Write a Novel
October 20, 2008 by John Hewitt
November is National Write a Novel Month, also known as Nanowrimo. The goal is to write the first draft of a novel, producing at least 50,000 words. This will be my second year as a participant. Over the next couple of weeks I will be providing tips for those who want to participate.
The first, best, and most important thing to learn about writing a novel is that there is no one way to do it. Novels have been written in a thousand different ways. One person’s style and approach can be radically different than another person’s and yet still produce a good novel. There are people who plot out every detail before they start writing. Some novelists start with an outline that can stretch for several pages. One writer might write down each possible scene on an index card. Another writer might spend all of his preparation time creating elaborate backgrounds for the characters. Another writer might just start writing, with no idea in advance of where the novel is going and how it will get there. None of these writers would be wrong. Each approach can result in an excellent novel.
Some writers fret over every single word of the first draft. Their choices are so careful and exact that second and third drafts look almost exactly the same as the first. Some writers just tear through their first draft as quickly as possible, unconcerned with the possible messes they have created and sure that they will fix every problem when they start editing. The end result of this process may look almost nothing like the original. Again, neither writer is correct or incorrect. Different styles work. Different approaches work for different people.
If you are looking at writing for Nanowrimo, however, there are some approaches that may be more advantageous. For example, because you must create your first draft in a single month, sweating over every single word of the first draft is probably not a good idea. That approach may work well when you have six months or longer to produce a draft, but it is virtually impossible to be that exacting and produce a 50,000 word or longer draft in a single month.
Writing off the top of your head also has its pitfalls. If you attempt this, at the hurried pace of Nanowrimo, and you could find yourself unable to generate sufficient action or creating character arcs or plots that go nowhere. It can lead to a lot of frustration down the line. While the rules of the process are that you need to write the draft during the month of November, there is no reason why you can’t prepare as thoroughly as possible before you reach the start date. You can create a detailed outline, an in-depth character study, research any subjects you plan to write about and create descriptions of the real or imagined places that will be the settings for the action.
You can prepare as thoroughly or as lightly for the process as you want, but I for one want to take advantage of the advance time so that I can be as ready to write come 12:01 November first as possible. I’ll be spending the next several days providing my tips for how to get started and how to make the most of this process.
Related links
- Deciding on a Narrative Voice (0.893)
- How Setting Influences Story (0.893)
- Maintaining your Novel's Pace-Time Continuum (0.715)
- Writing an Action Outline (0.679)
- What to Do Once the Crisis is Settled (0.607)
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Email: hewitt@poewar.comPhone: (520) 261-6104
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I’m glad you’re going to be giving tips for Nanowrimo. It’ll be good to have some advice because this will be the first time that I give it a shot. Well, sort of give it a shot… I can’t start from scratch this year, but I will try to finish a novel that is already in the works. I’m at 28,000 words already, so it should be manageable!
@ Key,
I am still working through the story ideas I have. I’ve got two that I am going back and forth on. I think the articles will be helpful though.
@ John,
I know what you mean. It can be really hard to pick an idea to work with. I often have so many that I just bounce back and forth without really getting anything done on anything! I’m more disciplined now though, I hope…
Very much looking forward to this series, as a first time NaNoWriMo participant. What’s nice too is when you’ve suffered through at least one novel, as I did over a four year period, and learned just what you said: there is no right way. But there’s definitely things that help. I’ve been thinking strategy, so good timing to turn to PoeWar!
QuietRebelWriters last blog post..Writers Who Matter: Octavia Butler
@ QRW
Thats the thing. I can suggest strategies, but I don’t want people thinking that anything I say is written in stone. I just have some suggestions to offer. Now is the time for all good writers to come to the aid of their Nanowrimo.
Looking forward to following along and getting some tips!
Ellens last blog post..The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond
I really wanted to try NaNoWriMo this year, but I’ll be traveling for the last two weeks of November. I thought of perhaps doing a 25,000-word half-NaNo, but I’m not sure if that really works… any advice from a NaNo vet? Could be National Novella Writing…!
Zoes last blog post..Where Do I Get My Ideas?
John, I’m looking forward to your tips. I participated in NaNoWriMo last year for the first time. I wrote the novel off the top of my head and, yes, doing it that way does make revising a daunting task. To be sure that I didn’t just shove the novel into a drawer and forget about it, I’m “serializing” the novel at a blog (which I will now shamelessly promote): http://www.ahouseofhorror.wordpress.com. I plan to do better this year by at least having a solid story idea (or two) to work from. Writing off the cuff was great fun, though. Ignorance was bliss.
By the way, even though I haven’t been able to drop by your blog as often as I’d like, I still think you have the best writing blog around
Cheers,
Marie
Marie Ann Baileys last blog post..Max the Manx
Hey humans;
I think this NaNoWriMo thing is a great idea, and I can’t wait to try it out. I’ve written some mini-novels in the past… don’t worry, I buried them under a log in a swamp so that no reader would ever be tormented by their words again. Anyway, I’ve been wanting to start a novel which has been meandering around my brain the past couple months, and this will be the perfect push to get it going! Maybe I’ll even be able to bribe my friends into joining as well. Whatever the case, bring on NaNoWriMo: the dwarf is as ready as a dwarf could ever be.
@ Daggerquill Dwarf:
You might be surprised how willingly your friends join in! I invited mine to participate, even though I didn’t think they would. To my surprise, some have said yes! By the way, I have a question: what country is Nanowrimo from? Just wondering, since it is called the NATIONAL Novel Writing Month…
@ Key
Greatings, human;
Well, that’s true. It’s impossible to tell what friends are going to do next. That’s why blogs are so nice–no worries about crazed friends coming after you with lead pipes screaming you stole their story ideas. If you’re lucky enough to have friends without pipes or any other form of plumbing weaponry, however, you ought to have fun sharing the experience!
I’m inspired again by PoeWar. OK, count me in – a NANoWriMo novice. I start day 1 and 2 in a remote location with no online access – that might be key to be doing some actual work on a novel for a change. I ahve an idea I’m not sure if I want to be a ‘real’ novel or not – I’m going to use this as my guinea pig trial to see if it can go anywhere or not. Reading all your advice until then. Thanks for sharing.
ABBs last blog post..All the Fun of the Fair – a summary from the Frankfurt Book Fair
While looking into query letters, I found this site. I find this article interesting because my first novel (still unpublished because I’m not sure where to go from here) is what I call a ’seat of my pants’ novel…meaning, I wrote it without having any sort of outline. Now, along with several other writing projects, I’ve started book two (it’s going to be a series) and, this time, have decided to write an outline…much more difficult in my opinion, because I can’t, for the life of me, stick to what I said I wanted to write. Either way, I definitely fret over every single word…all 161,686 of them (50,000 sure seems like cake-walk by comparision). LOL.
But…I look forward to any tips that I might find in here. I’m not sure I’ll start something new in November (though you never know)…I have seven open manuscripts going on at the same time…not sure I’m up to starting an eight. Unless, of course, the desire hits me and I’m off and running. That is always possible!
Again…thank you!
[...] I don’t recommend it. Instead I recommend that you go on over to John Hewitt’s poewar.com and do a bit of stretching and planning for your novel writing marathon. And don’t forget [...]