Chapter 61

Rants all aside, this is business.

I've picked up on the book I was writing again, shoving out whatever damned aphonia had seized my brain over the last three or four months. I've completed a chapter and a half, now finding myself on Chapter 61, at some 550 pages, last tally. The miracle (or cursed) thing about this book is the first draft has been entirely hand-written.

It was started as a two-man project waaaay back in Grade 9 (I'm in College now), with me and a then good friend of mine, when we got bored of everything and decided that writing a joint story would be a good idea. Well, he's since moved on to "better" things like drugs, booze, and womanizing, so I've taken the book on as my own personal burden, and my own personal demon to exorcize (there have been some bad memories associated with this book). So far, it's looking good.

I've been rusty for a while, but the more I turn my brain over, the more horsepower it puts out, so I'm putting my nose back to the page. For anyone looking to start writing a full-length novel (anything above 700 pages, like what this is going to be when it's done), please, listen to my advice:

1) Type the bastard. Don't handwrite, don't start it handwriting. Take notes, but do not write the damn thing by hand unless you really have no other choice. Editing and revision is 100x easier on computer, rather than with erasor and pencil.

2) Use fresh, original ideas. Incorporating yourself into other people's adventures is not only legal if you change the wording, but it makes you look like a better creator than you are. And besides, it gets boring after a while. So if you're thinking about writing something, make sure it's original. Sleep on it if you have to, to let it develop and ferment. Like I said, take notes. Bold the ideas you like, cross out the ones that are either impossible or poorly developed.

3) Don't give up on it. If you don't like something, or you don't like where your story is going. Finish the damn thing anyway. You can always go back and edit it, or you can choose to be disgustingly zealous in your editing for the second draft. A lot of stories change through each iteration, so don't be afraid if it's not good the first time.

4) Don't listen to outsiders. Write for yourself, and if people like it, they will read it (even if they don't like it, they'll have to read it to find out they don't like it, so you get teh win either way). Never listen to criticism on content unless its from your editor. The only thing anyone has a right to criticize while you are writing is grammar and clarity. If something doesn't make sense, sure change it. But don't chuck one of your characters because your friends say they don't like them because "they're annoying."

5) Don't make a bulletproof protagonist. Unless there is something horribly tragic about them being completely immortal, whilst others suffer, etc etc etc. Nobody hates a book about a demi-god, sent to wipe away the scourge of evil forever. People love characters that are human and fallible. People really love characters that become familiar and almost close to the reader. If you want a primer on how to make a living, breathing character, I recommend you read some of Terry Goodkind's work, primarily the Wizard's First Rule, his first book in the Sword of Truth series. There is nothing wrong in learning craft from other writers, just don't copy their work, or else everyone will come and beat down your door.

*6) Make a place for you to write that's peaceful and condusive to your mindframe. Where you write can have a profound effect on how well your writing turns out. If you want to write about life in a medieval prison, find yourself a crappy flashlight, and lock yourself in the coldroom of your basement, writing by the poor light of the flashlight. You will be able to get the mood down to a "t" if you really want. Just don't forget to come out for warmth and food and other things like that.

*7) Experience things. Good writers can draw amazing things from their imaginations. Great writers can couple their imaginations with real experiences they've had. Something is all the more believable when it sounds like the reader has actually been there, and can describe, in detail what it looks like, smells like, feels like, etc.

(*) Optional rules. I've met a few really good writers that ignore these two, and if you can, by all means, do so. I just find that not having a nest to write, and being ignorant about the world tend to diminish the quality of my writing.

Well, this may be one of my last posts this week. Thanks for reading. I'm going to get back to writing now, and I hope many of you decide to do the same in the near future.