Nuts and Bolts
Some Fundamentals of Writing Fiction - and a gripping lecture on theory from the master ( not me ).
Boot Camp is intended to be a newsletter about the practical fundamentals of fiction, not just general thoughts about writing generally ( although that definitely is part of it.)
So here’s my concrete list of things you have to do when writing a novel.
Write. If your book isn’t getting written it’s because you’re not writing it. Crack on. Don’t procrastinate by signing up for yet another creative writing course which will one day reveal to you the holy grail and magically release your latent talent. Only you can do that.
Don’t worry at the moment about grammar, syntax, spelling or the wonderful beauty of your sentences. Not for the moment, anyway Just tell me a story.
Ask yourself why you are writing this book. And what you are prepared to sacrifice for it. Because there is no achievement without sacrifice.
Assign your characters some characteristics. Sounds obvious, but it’s surprising how many writers come to me with manuscripts in which the characters are interchangeable. Is this person calm or nervous? Outspoken or tactful? Aggressive or passive? Or passive-aggressive? Decide who they are and start off by making sure they speak and behave according to the character you have assigned them. The character will evolve and develop, obviously - but it’s a start.
Keep the action moving forward scene by scene. If nothing happens and there’s no conflict or character development, why is the scene there?
Don’t waffle - particularly when it comes to narration. Too much ‘voice’ is an excuse for not knowing how to write a scene - or not wanting to because it’s too tricky. Blathering is not storytelling. It’s a neurosis.
As Chuck Palahnuick observes ‘ language is a second language’. Humans used gestures and sounds before they found words. Describe how your characters move, their physical tics and habits, the noises they make to express meaning.
What are you writing about? What’s the spine? Where’s the heart? Discover the theme of your story ( and it is often a discovery rather than an initial known fact) and you will more easily work out what happens next.
If you have to put in backstory ( Shakespeare rarely bothered) either do it in a chapter or in the length of a memory - maybe a paragraph at most. Strip it in, don’t just put great chunks of it in to interrupt the narrative’s forward motion. Unless, as I say, you want to give that backstory a proper chapter of its own.
Don’t feel guilty about the time you are spending writing - or trying to write, sometimes unsuccessfully. As David Mamet said, ‘writing feels a lot like goofing off’. It isn’t, though. It’s a noble pursuit, tough and demanding, even though to outsiders/spouses it might look like nothing at all and that’s why they’d like you to mow the lawn or do the laundry instead of sitting around like a bum staring out the window.
Put a lock on your door to keep your spouse, children and pets out of the room while you’re writing. Soundproof the room and door if possible so you can’t hear anyone asking for you to get involved in something else. Or rent a croft in the Outer Hebrides. Just get away from distractions, because one way or another they are going to tempt you - or harass you - away from your work.
Don’t get depressed if what you are writing is terrible. My first draft is always terrible. And my second one isn’t much better. ‘Writing is rewriting’. Never were truer words spoken. Or written.
All writers want to be published. But they don’t write because they will be published. They write because they have to write. If they didn’t have to write, they wouldn’t. If they had any sense, anyway.
Stories are not about the conveying of information, like a political pamphlet. They are about evoking a feeling. A successful novel is one that can produce an emotional response in the reader, not simply and intellectual one.
Writing is not just when you sit down at your laptop. Writing is all the time, everywhere. It’s constant process going on in your head and in your unconscious. Actually putting words down is simply the end product of a much larger process. So don’t get too vexed if your word count today isn’t that high. The thing is, is your story engaging you? Is it possessing you? The words will come, but you have to put yourself in a condition of readiness.
Do you have your own practical writing tips? Share them here.
So now you’ve got some solid information, how about some fascinating theory? My friend and storytelling guru John Yorke’s book ‘Into The Woods’ blew my mind when I first read it, so much so that I spent many hours talking to him trying to dig into his ideas. I recorded one of our talks. You can get access the video below - if you are a subscriber
In other news, I am delivering a lecture on the Psychology of Writing for Guardian Masterclasses this Thursday 31 March 6.30-8.30 BST. See Guardian Masterclasses Please come along if you can, I would love to meet you, virtually at least.
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