Writer's Fallout Shelter

Interesting. I had the exact same problems. Still do, to some extent. I always was fine at writing short stories, but a full novel? Forget it!

Here's the eventual conculsion I came to. A book, novel or epic can be thought of as a series of short stories, linked together. Approach each chapter as a short story that, together, tell a larger story. See how that goes. Keep in mind, it ain't a plug-n-play solution. I mean, you still need to figure out how to link the 'chapters' in such a way that it doesn't feel like an anthology.

Here's the deal. The story I am working on now, which I hope to eventually sell, started out like this; I was at work in a warehouse, picking orders. It was mind-numbingly dull and required almost no mental resources what-so-ever. So, I day dreamed. The first 'chapter' of my book was one such day dream. I came home that day, wrote it out and took a look at it. At the time, I had no idea what the end looked like, nor did I have even the slightest idea of what the story was. I knew there was a war of somesorts, and the general 'impending doom' theme, but the specifics weren't there. But I could see several points that I had to write to. So, I started writing. Somewhere around the start of chapter 4, I had a flash of the last scene of the first book. Then I got some more flashes of other scenes between where I was and where I had to go. With each plot point, I simply filled in the blanks that needed to get me from one to the other.

In short, I had the same problem as you but I kept at it. I don't think anyone sees the entire story. They see the main points, they see the end, they see the twist. That's it. That's what sets an actual author apart from person who has a story to tell. We all can imagine a 'great idea for a story'. Not all of us are able to actually put that story down on paper. Put what you do have for your story down, then start working on how to link those points together. You'll get your story.

On the matter of detail. How much is too much? Hmm. How much do you consider too much? How much detail do you like to read? I mean, it's your story, isn't it? Write what you'd want to read. Then get some friends to read it over and give you their thoughts. Myself, I wrote with less detail than I usually would and was told by my friends they wanted more. Simple enough. I can add to it later. The point is, no one can give you a straight answer on this one. It's up to you. Really, it's all about finding your Voice. That is, the unqiue style that is you. Your written fingerprint. You only really find that by trial and error. So have at 'er.

"There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."

- W. Somerset Maugham

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