For anyone else who wants to start/progress/finish writing a book in 2011

[artifarti]

As the title says really!

Me: After several years of dithering with short stories, I committed myself to Nanowrimo last month and managed to bash out a 50,000 first draft of an idea I've had for ages. There is some excrutiating crap in there but also the bare bones of a plot and some interesting characters. So I'd really like to spend 2011 trying to develop it into something better.

But I need some company so that we can mutually kick each other's arses when the temptation to watch Holby City is proving too great. Anyone else?

[strandednomore]

Thanks Bagged and Arti. I had looked at the Gotham course before so may have another look. I am a little nervous of committing myself to doing x amount of work per week though - although I guess I would just have to buckle down to it in the evenings if necessary. So much in my life depends on the sleeping patterns of the two dd's and how many times I am disturbed in the night. Fingers crossed though, they have both slept through for two nights running (that will be the kiss of death then).

After writing that I was finding it hard to get back into writing last night, I felt inspired by this thread and wrote over 1,000 words. Trouble is I am boxing myself into a bit of a corner with the plot and the more I write the more complicated and implausible it is becoming! So I do need to do a bit of planning, methinks. Trouble is, I really enjoy the non-stop writing where the story and characters start taking on a life of their own.

Also this is a really fick question but when you print your stuff of do you do it on your home printer? I am afraid of burning ours out if I do it all at once. Perhaps I should do it in small parts? But I also don't particularly want to print it out until I have at least done two drafts.....

[artifarti]

stranded - I took mine on a memory stick to a local (London) print shop as I was also afraid that my home printer would explode! It cost about £11 for 140 double-spaced A4 sheets, so probably less than the ink catridges I would have used!

[strandednomore]

Brilliant idea - I will see if there is one near us. (and I hope I don't sound really clueless, I've just not yet reached the point of printing anything off so hadn't thought much further than using my home printer) (which is on a ship somwehere in the Atlantic anyway) (hopefully).

[belledechocchipcookie]

I sent the ideas for two picture books and a novel to a publisher, she's asked to see one of the picture books and has given me some tips for the novel so I can alter it before sending it to her. I'm excited!! Wish me luck (please)

[strandednomore]

That's brilliant Belle - Good Luck!

[belledechocchipcookie]

Thank you. She's being really helpful with the novel. She said it 'sounds young' but I'm not sure if this means that the plot is for younger children or the idea's fresh

[artifarti]

That's very exciting, Belle - good luck!

I have finally stopped faffing about and started my second draft. Hurray!

[belledechocchipcookie]

She didn't like the first version of the picture book and they were thinking of buying the idea from me. I wan't too happy with this and have rewritten it, it's now fantastic! (I'm only a tad biased) I've shown it to a published author and he's said it's brilliant, very contemporary and quirky. He's said it's at the same level as the Gruffalo which I think's pushing it but quite flattering. I've sent it back to the publisher so will have to wait and see what they think.

Well done at starting the second draft arti. Keep at it, it'll be brilliant!

[schroedingersdodo]

I've been a good girl and have written every day. Now my first draft has 18 thousand words and I have no clue where it's going to!! Help! Things have been happening and I think I have a couple of good characters. But there is no conflict, and I see no climax coming. Where do I go from now?

[belledechocchipcookie]

Make notes on it, then put it all away and come back to it. It helps to have a break from it.

[atswimtwolengths]

Get some paper and a pen and draw out a sort of chart of what happens in the book. Think about the ending and how you'll get there, think about the climaxes that will occur en route. Do you have a sub plot? If so, do that in a different colour. Do you change points of view? If so, do those in different colours, too, because you'll see if one person gets a disproportionate amount of time.

It's quite a good way of viewing your story. There should be a story arc and this will be reflected in your drawing. You should be able to notice any flat areas where nothing much happens, and then you'll have to think about whether they're really necessary.

Good luck with it!

[strandednomore]

How many points of view is considered too many? I am worried I have too many voices in my novel. There are three main characters, plus 4 or 5 others from whose point of view we watch the action (although one is killed off fairly early on). Then there is a sub-plot, of which there is one main character and a couple of minor ones.

I think I need to do a course!!

[atswimtwolengths]

The agent who's dealing with my work says that the biggest mistake (in her opinion) that new authors make is having too many points of view. It's so difficult to make the voices distinct.

Are you writing from all those points of view? I have to say I like reading one or two points of view - I like to get totally involved in the story and find if I'm bouncing from one person's point of view to another, it stops that involvement.

What sort of novel are you writing and how long do you think it will be? If it was sold on Amazon, whose novels would be advertised alongside it?

[schroedingersdodo]

belledechocchipcookie, If I put the story away I'm afraid I'll never get back to it. Once I finish the first draft then ok, but now I think I'd better just get going. Too bad I don't know where to!

atswimtwolengths, I've tried that, but it doesn't work for me. That's why I decided to write even though I didn't know where it would end... And now I'm 18k words on the way and I still have no idea!

strandednomore, may I ask you if you really need all those POVs? Are they all necessary to tell your story, or are they just a gimmick? If you really need all of them, well, then they're not too many (and I agree with atswimtwolengths that it is hard to create that many distinct voices - not impossible, but hard)

[BaggedandTagged]

stranded no more- some authors use multiple POV to great effect. Stephen King (The Dome) springs to mind. However, the golden rule is one POV per major scene (don't head hop within a scene) and the use of multiple POV's should add something- i.e. give a perspective on events which is critical to convey and which would be impossible without that POV.

Personally, I think you need to consider very carefully whether minor characters should be given POVs and whatever you do, don't "head hop" when you do multiple POV within a single scene.

schroeding- the advice that I was given on conflict is that you need to ask yourself what your protagonist wants (and all protagonists must want something). Then you create an antagonist who wants to prevent the protagonist from achieving this. The antagonist is usually, but not always, another person, or group of people. There's your conflict. It took me a while to realise what my protagonist wanted and I had to pretty much re-write the whole book afterwards so if you can think about it earlier, it would save you time and effort. I'm not much of a planner though so I just go the inefficient route

[artifarti]

belle - saw these and thought of you, in case you're interested:

Puffin Digital Prize:
www.puffindigitalprize.co.uk

Write a Story for Children Competition:
www.childrens-writers.co.uk

[belledechocchipcookie]

Thank you arti.

[schroedingersdodo]

BaggedandTagged, I thought I knew what the character wanted but found out that, well, I don't! :)

I'm doing things quite erratically, characters keep popping up and doing things and I think evenrything is a bit of a mess. However, when I was planning things the story wasn't nearly as lively, so I think I have to go through this mess so something will come up.

It's my first novel and I admit I'm a bit lost with all the process.

(hm, I'm writing a short story too and I'm a bit lost as well. So maybe I'm a confused person)

[strandednomore]

Thanks everyone - whether I need so many characters/POV's is something I have been thinking about as I come to the end of my first draft. It will be roughly 100,000 words but can add/cut if necessary. It IS only a first draft and I will either ditch it totally or give it a work over. I think I need to sit down and read it in on sitting, that will make it a lot easier to see whether I really do need so many characters and viewpoint - and how I can cut some out.

I don't, however, hop between pov's in each scene. Chapters tend to be one or two only. And a couple of characters only come into it a few times, but at the moment (hint - this could change when I re-read it) I do think they are all important in order to tell the story.

Roughly it is (meant to be) a suspense/thriller set in the Caribbean (guess where I was living when I wrote most of it?!). It involves diplomats, spys, politicians, journalists and police officers and the plot is based around a very corrupt drugs trade. The sub plot tells the tale of a drug mule.

In terms of which novel would it be advertised along side on Amazon - this is not something I have really been able to think about but I guess while I was writing I have someone like Nicci French in mind while I was writing (yeah, right, I wish...).

[artifarti]

stranded - I think you should just carry on get it finished, put it in a drawer for a few weeks and then read it afresh. Only then will you start to get some idea of whether it's working. Sounds good though!

schroedinger - I tried to plan and never got anywhere so just wrote and wrote and finally produced a first ever rough draft. My characters did all kind of things and one of them decided he wanted a subplot all of his own! Several of them changed name and appearance halfway through! But there is the bones of a good story so now I am on draft two it is about keeping the good and losing the crap/bizarre. Keep ploughing on I say!

[ninah]

8526
I say no more
not great, but not too terrible!
aiming for 30 by 30th like for nano (jano)

[belledechocchipcookie]

You can do it ninah!!

[artifarti]

Good work ninah!

[BaggedandTagged]

Yesterday I had my draft printed and spiral bound so that I can go through and edit it. I haven't finished yet but there are a number of inconsistencies, weak characters and other problems which I want to go back and fix before I work on the end and I think it's easier to do with a hard copy than constantly scrolling around.

[ninah]

thanks all, still hovering around the 9k mark tho! hopefully will get some done at weekend
I spiral bind my final drafts too bagged and tagged, easier to manage
how's everyone else getting on
arti have you started editing process yet?