Every person who possesses even a 3 out of 10 skill in he English Language wants (or hopes or dreams) of writing a novel. Well not everybody, but lets reiterate it for people who want to write and possess that minimum of skill.
We all used to write short stories since we were in kindergarten, abut bags and bottles and breakfasts and favorite pastimes and so on. Then as we got older essays were expected to be written on major social and other problems affecting the humanity. Stories got wilder, with more violence, a healthy essence of fright and a cupful of romance. However, maximum word limit ranged from 500-2000 . Not a big deal, really. I mean all you have to do is make two people embark on a perilous journey, go through wild, hair-raising escapades and fall in love(I wish that happened in real life!) and eventually get killed(or not killed, depending on the mercy of the writer) by an absolutely terrifying( I’m talking fangs, three heads, 10 feet tall, blows fire) monster.
Come on, you do remember it. (okay, its only me).
Nevertheless, a novel is a rather ambitious task. Not only does the writer has to work towards writing almost, but not confined to, 50,000 words. For an amateur writer, sharing the likes of moi , the task seems impossible at best. But as I open a fresh, crispy-clean, white as snow Word document, with eyes full of dreams of attending the movie-based-on-book premiere, I crack my knuckles and begin to type. What?
Exactly what I type, is a mystery to me . So I do what I do best(no its not procrastination, what makes you think that?!) I think and I pace about and think some more and some more pacing follows and eventually, an idea comes up, its not the best, but it will do.
So i am pretty excited about it and so now I, hereby, vow to start my novel (on Microsoft Word) and end it, hopefully.
Of course I’m going to blog about random stuff to get my mind off it.
Thanks,
EQ
Portia Said:
on July 16, 2010 at 3:20 am
I spent a whole lot of time laughing at the way you described story writing. It is exactly what I have done in the past, minus the fangs, three heads and 10 feet tall monsters. I have watched my mum write more books that I dare to remember and even though she is an academic writer there is always something that is amazing about it. She tells me that she has to convince herself to write a paragraph… then another one… then she might finish the page and then move on to something else for a little bit (normally cleaning the house is at the top of her list). So my advice (even though you might not want it) is that you should forget how many words there are and just keep putting little bits down on the word document and see where it takes you. All the best
evanescentquill Said:
on July 16, 2010 at 1:25 pm
Thanks! And you’re right, every little thing counts and even though I have convinced myself of that several times, everytime I read something profound, I just feel….overwhelmed, like I’m not good enough :/ I always need advice, you can never be good enough
Portia Said:
on July 16, 2010 at 1:55 pm
There are two quotes that come to mind when I read your response and they are “Overnight success takes 15 years” and “Every hero started out as an ordinary person” (I am yet to locate who they were by) but it made me remember meeting authors who had written many books before they were publish or for that matter written books that were very good. From what you have written in your blogs it is obvious that you have a way with words and I think that if you persisted the final product would be amazing. If you want I can give you my email address and you can send me pieces as you write them. or just someone to bounce ideas off. Also the question is never are you good enough it should be “am I doing what I love?” if the answer is yes then you are on the right track. You should never judge yourself against other people. Be happy with who you are that is what is most important.
evanescentquill Said:
on July 19, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Thats a fantastic idea, because let me tell you, when an idea starts forming in your head, you think more and more about it and in a period of say a week, it has grown into a fully developed plot. By the time you write all of it down and go through it, the idea sounds stale. Consequently, the Word Document is removed from your computer, never to see the light of day. A second eye can see things that the originator can’t.
Also I am aware of the practice and persistence required but, I guess it human nature to want things to happen fast. The one reason I like fast cooking is because I want to see the end product, not caring if the meat is raw, or whatever.
You see what I’m saying, These are the makings of a crap writer.
You have been warned.
(I was kidding ofcourse)
(or was I?)
Portia Said:
on July 20, 2010 at 6:36 am
So was that a yes to you wanting my email address?
evanescentquill Said:
on July 21, 2010 at 8:00 am
thats a yes =)
Portia Said:
on July 21, 2010 at 8:20 am
Here it is then. It may take a little bit for me to respond but I will do my best.
portia-scott@hotmail.com
Morph Muscle Builder Said:
on July 26, 2010 at 8:51 am
I just want to add my personal two pennies in on this article to say howdy.