To people who write novels....

Joanne

Joanne

I've gone back to working on something I started about 5 years ago - a rough first draft of a novel.  When I took it out of the drawer following its 5 year hibernation period I discovered quite a lot of things I liked about it, and while it needs a lot (A LOT!) of work I am enjoying the rewriting and editing.

My question is, those of you who write novels or other long pieces, how do you keep it all under control?  My characters seem to keep running off on errands of their own.  I can't decide where the chapter endings should come so I keep swapping them around.  And being used to writing short stories I find I am being more economical with words than I really need to be.  I do have a detailed synopsis which I think is fine in terms of characters, structure and plot.  It just feels like I am trying to juggle with so many pages and I am probably wasting time through not working in a very organised way.

Any suggestions are most welcome!

Jenn

with my characters it depends on where i want them to be by the end of the novel. so far, i am nowhere near the end. ive created them to be themselves as individuals, but im the master and i will be guiding their steps. whilst writing the novel you may get more ideas and you can incorporate them into that idea. as you develop the novel, your characters are going to develop with it. i think that having little side plots helps the reader keep an interest (talking from experience and my favourite genre of writing here) so if your characters want to take a little walk down another alley, then let them, but make sure they know their way back to the main road.

thats how i do it anyway

Gardenia

Erm, ever tried to view your chapters as short stories? This works with some authors - sometimes such "shorts" get published first, while the author is still developing the novel. So, that's one way of defining a chapter - it should tell something about your characters, have a beginning, middle and end, and something that happens. After that event happens, you know the chapter is over - next chapter, tell about the consequences. Then next chapter, tell about how those consequences influence other events or people. And that's how the novel goes on and on, in and out of chapters.
As for the characters having a life of their own - well, that should be a good thing. Otherwise your story will sound contrived.

suzan

I used to only write short stories too and I found writing a novel a really different way of working, and I know what you mean about being economical with words: I found that a hard change to make, but I found it started to come naturally as I gradually got into the characters' heads more - and now it's something that I really like.  I think letting them go off at tangents is a really exciting thing:  I find I write during the day, but it's at nights when I'm lying in bed that I imagine scenarios for the characters and I jot down the main points, even if it's just a piece of dialogue I like.  It does feel a little overwhelming sometimes, but I tend to divide editing into chunks and it's not till the end that I work out if chapters end and begin in the right places.  And it's also helpful to have someone else look at it at that point: I had a chunk of text that was so clearly fitted to the following chapter, yet I hadn't spotted it in all the times I'd read it until someone pointed it out.  So,I'm not exactly organised now, but the chaos is slightly less overwhelming, if that helps!!

Kangaroo

Have you worked out what your characters want? If they want something, and there are obstacles in the way, it propels the story forward. And this might help, what about writing a biography of the characters?

Joanne

Thanks folks - all those ideas are really helpful. I did try the biography thing before, but after reviewing the original work I did on this novel I think that it's true that I need to keep in mind what's motivating the characters.  And yes it is a bit overwhelming to have so many pages, and so many words at my disposal after the discipline of writing to a very tight word count.  I now plan to keep on until Christmas just getting as much of the narrative down as I can, then I get a week off work which will be a good opportunity to revise whatever I've done.  It's really helpful to have this source of support and advice. Thanks again.

Postmaster

I started a short story about five years ago, it's now over 90,000 words long, why, because the characters took over.  Moral, let them get on with it.

Evaine

You can always edit later.

pink_princess

some people find cd-rom novel software good for organising your novel. I purchased one but personally prefere to do it in microsoft word, however, I have heard they are a great help to others. They keep lists of characters, plots, events and have timelines etc. perhaps that would help you?

Joanne

Pink Princess (lovely name, by the way)I've read about that software but I am not a technically minded person and don't know if it would work for me.  The 'flow' that is being talked about on another thread seems to work best when I just have pencil and paper, and I've always done my first draft of anything in longhand, 'cos I just think better that way.  I have now got 3 chapters here - a miracle in itself since my usual max is about 2 - 3,000 words for a story. I'm enjoying the writing, which is the most important thing, so maybe I should just accept that chaos is my natural state. Thanks for your ideas.   

DEE

I start with a situation and/or a character and write someting about them - usually a long short story. If I still like them after about 15,000 words, I seem to know what their novel will be about. Then I decide where it will end and point them in that direction. After that it's up to all of us together. I usually keep the end in sight and write something that gets nearer to it, within my original idea. At night they show me how what I wrote really happened, so that is where they take over. If they are getting too far away, I make the minor characters - baddies, those there for scenery etc - do something that pushes them back the right way. They rarely fight back.
(I haven't worked on a novel for a year now - apart from a starter story - and you can see how I'm missing it.)
That said, none of my blockbusters have been published. So do it your way. The only thing I can say about my way is that it's a great way to live.

Joanne

Isn't it interesting how people work in different ways?  Dee, I couldn't bear to write 15,000 words without being sure of whether I liked my main character!  But if it works for you, then absolutely you should carry on doing it!  I'm now on my 4th chapter, but feel the need to go off and write something short for a break.  Just a 1,000 word story to try with the magazines.  Then I hope to come back to the novel with renewed vigour! 

DEE

Lily, It isn't all that hard. I usually know long before 15,000 words if it isn't going to work - and it's a lot easier to end than a relationship with a real live human.
And you can pass their good points and most interesting activities onto the next one. (I suppose we try to do that with human relationships too.)

How about your short story being a future part of the novel? Or at least involving the charaters or what the novel is about?

If that turns out to bore you, then maybe you took four chapters to find you didn't like the characters.

Woll52

Oh dear, I know I am a lone voice in the wilderness here and I am probably going to be shot down in flames as well but this is the beauty of New Novelist where each section is broken down in small chunks. You can incorporate these details according to the attributes.
Woll52

GPW

Yes, I can confirm that New Novelist is an excellent programme. It does not restrict you as a writer but guides you through the process, teaching you to build your characters, with their likes, dislikes and traits. There are 10 steps to the building of the story with a notes field and tutorial available at the click of a mouse. Online help is also available!