As I slowly give up on NaNoWriMo (because when the required daily wordcount quickly approaches 10k, is it really possible I can win this year?), guilt sets in. Guilt for not writing. Guilt for not having enough tenacity to just stick to it. And guilt for once again, failing.
Yesterday, Savannah J. Foley posted an entry on the Sudden Novel Death Syndrome, and two of the reasons she gave are 1) talking too much about the novel and 2) beginning too soon.
1. Some agree with, and some disagree with, the first rule. Thinking about it, however, that just might be the explanation (or part thereof) for me. Talking to too many people about the novel pre-first draft causes an idea to become stale and saps my creative juice. Instead of channeling the pre-writing enthusiasm toward the first draft, I use all of it on telling everybody I meet how awesome my ideas are, and how this novel is going to be the best ever. By the time I actually sit down to write the novel, it’s not very… novel anymore.
Bouncing idea off another writer/reader, however, is a different matter altogether. I still need to find the balance between the two.
2. Beginning too soon has always been a fault of mine. I begin typing the moment I have the beginning, the characters, and some semblance of the central conflict. For some, this might just be enough. Not for me, though, I am beginning to suspect. After writing the first chapter, I would sit back and think to myself, “Soooo… what’s next?” and come up blank. I have important scenes with no thread to tie them together. This thus gives rise to inane scenes with flaccid prose. Which makes me think all my writing is, well, terrible, and that the novel is frankly unsalvageable: no point in even writing it.
Detailed outlines, however, makes me feel as though I have already written the novel, since I already know everything that will happen. There’s no factor of surprise, of wanting to know more.
I wonder: how does everybody approach planning a novel? Do you do a detailed outline, or do you just write and see where that takes you, or a blend of the two?
November 24, 2009 at 23:46
Have you ever tried the Snowflake method? If you follow the whole thing you’ll have the same problem you have with a complete outline, but completing the first few steps will give you a good general idea of where your story is going and how to get there.
November 24, 2009 at 23:51
I’ve heard about the Snowflake method, but have never tried it myself, thinking that its purpose is to create a detailed outline, which I was never good at. I never thought of just completing the first few steps, however. That’s a really wonderful idea — I’ll be sure to try it out with my novel.
Thank you! :>
November 29, 2009 at 07:25
I had the exact same problem you describe until I found an historical situation that moved me so much I had to use it as the basis for my novel. I’ve changed events and people so much that one can barely say I’ve used the Three Kingdoms period at all, but it helped give me a framework without making me feel forced that this was the way I had to do things. I knew that eventually, this character would betray that character and then die for his mistake, that sort of framework. It worked incredibly well for me. I could just write toward basic events and take a stab at how that would make someone feel. If I got stuck, I skipped ahead to what Holly Lisle calls a “candybar” scene. A moment in your novel that’s so delicious you can’t wait to write it. Doing so is your reward for getting as far as you’ve got. Then you go back and add in the filler threads and weave up to your candybar scene. You’ll find you have to make corrections. Remove this thread, dye another one a different color, but it works!
November 29, 2009 at 07:29
Oh, and what I actually came here to say is, don’t beat yourself up. I started out planning my nano event months ago and I never even STARTED. I’ve felt both envious of those who did (not to mention those who succeeded) and guilty this entire month and you know what, that’s pointless negativism. It only hurts me. Just try, try, try again, but put the flagellation whip away. :)
December 10, 2009 at 00:53
I’m so sorry for such a late reply!
Thank you for all the sound advice! I think the Three Kingdoms period is a such a fascinating period in Chinese history, though very complicated, and it’s admirable of you to work with that!
Then you go back and add in the filler threads and weave up to your candybar scene. You’ll find you have to make corrections.
I shy away from writing my candybar scenes because without the earlier scenes in place, those tend to be obsolete by the time I get to them. However, you’re completely right. I can always make corrections later — I’ll just look at them as treats to myself. :)