While talking to different people who are into fiction writing, I have recently stumbled upon a question that I ask each of them.
“Why are you writing this novel?” I ask.
And every time, the answers are different. Some writers do not have an answer. But I’ll try and quote the others from memory:
“I want to be published. I have published a few short stories, but that just not have the same impact.”
“If I had a choice, I wouldn’t. But there’s this deadline…”
“Because I think I can write one…”
A scattered few say:
” Because I can’t help it. The characters in my head won’t stop talking….”
“I care about what happened here, and I want to write so that the truth is out, once and for all….”
” This issue is close to my heart, and I’ve carried this story within me a long, long time….
I’m a reader for some of these writers and when I get their manuscripts in my hand, it is always the work of the latter category that keeps me reading to the last page. They aren’t always technically perfect, these works driven by passion or even obsession, but that can be corrected with the help of an editor.
I have come to believe that passion, more than knowledge of the craft, is what carries a novel with a reader, and makes him or her want to read on.
I’m not writing my novel, yet, but I’m sure I’ll ask myself the same question when I get to writing it. I’ll be sure to come out with my first, most spontaneous, honest answer, and then take a long, hard look at it.
So, why are you writing your novel?
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4 Comments so far
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I definitely fall in the category of – the people in my head won’t stop talking at me.
.-= Melissa Garrett´s last blog .."Shiver": a review =-.
[Reply]
By Melissa Garrett on 11.18.09 7:50 am | Permalink
You have no idea how much a party it is up in my head! Once I write down their stories, they quiet down…
Ceylan
.-= Ceylan´s last blog ..16 November 2009 =-.
[Reply]
By Ceylan on 11.18.09 7:16 pm | Permalink
The first novel I wrote (er–completed) started out because I was testing a system with an idea I wasn’t initially attached to. But the characters wouldn’t let me rest. They evolved.
I dreamed them, I saw them in that funky space between reality and imagination… I had to write them.
And looking back, I have to believe that the intensity and desire to write them was what came together on paper eventually and landed me my multibook contract with St. Martin’s Press.
Perseverance and feeling the heart of the story seem to be the keys to success. I wish them to all of you as well!
~Shannon Delany
Author of the 13 to Life series (launching June 22, 2010)
http://13toLife.us/blog
[Reply]
By Shannon Delany on 11.19.09 3:33 pm | Permalink
Once I’ve created a character and spent some time getting to know them, I know their story has to be told. The idea stays with me through the entire writing process and every time I look at the ms I realise how little justice I am doing the story in my head. Why am I writing? Because I want this story to be told.
.-= Cassandra Jade´s last blog ..From The Book Shelf – Tomorrow, When The War Began =-.
[Reply]
By Cassandra Jade on 11.20.09 2:57 am | Permalink
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