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| Hi! I'm not sure if this is where I'm supposed to post this but...I need help. Basically I have this novel idea right? And it's just an idea, I've written a few things but I don't have a structure yet. I don't have an outline even. So if anyone wants to help, please message me or reply to this, it would be really appreciated! |
| Hey Paula, I'm not an experienced writer myself but I'll try my best to help you^^ What exactly do you need? Best wishes Alex |
Good question, Alexandra. What aspect do you need help with? Jack |
| Hi Alex, so many. Let me first start off on what the book is about: So my novel is gonna be about a girl who now has no friends, has social anxiety, and spends most of her time in her room. Then we follow her as she navigates life and different experiences, and the things she does, etc. And I really want to show her thoughts because she thinks so much and lives much of her life in her head. Here's what I need help with: 1. I don't know how to present her thoughts (this takes up a lot of the book). Whether I should use internal dialogue or what? I don't know. 2. I don't know what tense to use. And moreover, I haven't even decided if I'm gonna be telling the story like it's happening or if everything already happened, I don't know. Also, there are distinct parts in her life where she felt and thought differently and I don't know how to present that. 3. I don't even have an outline for it it and so I'm kinda lost. I kinda can't write a novel you know. Now to be honest, this is semi-autobiographical, so, things are happening as I write. And that's part of the confusion. Feel free to message me and I will and we any questions! Thanks for responding |
| Hi Jack, thanks for the response. I replied to Alex's reply about it. Feel free to message me also! |
| Hi Paula, I'm not Alex but I think I could help. And here's what I got: 1. I think internal dialogue would be a great idea because it seem most like actual thinking and is very unique! 2. I typically use past-tense but I would recommend you use whatever seems most comfortable. 3. try using your antagonist (social anxiety?) to help create your plot and perhaps some obstacles to lead to a final climax. best of luck to you. |
| Wow, ok, you have a lot to work on, so what you really need are ideas to help feed your imagination. In a purely fictional novel, the story lies in the character and their eventual evolution, with the (entertaining) plot being the sequence of events that trigger and escalate their internal struggle, leading them to the point where they have to resolve that internal struggle - the evolution. With autobiographical and semi-autobiographical stories, you can play by different rules. For example, instead of plot, you can use cause-and-effect, whereby one scene is the effect of the previous scene and the cause of the next. Charlotte might be a few coins short to buy the newspaper she was sent to get, so the next scene shows her doing something to get the extra coins and only gets herself in trouble. The first scene is the cause of the second, the second is both the effect of the first scene and the cause of the third. You also have an opportunity to tell two different stories in different timelines - one in the present, one in the past. By intermingling the scenes (make sure the reader can tell which timeline they are in), you can draw both stories to a conclusion, which should (perhaps must) have a commonality - e.g. the lessons learnt in the earlier timeline inform her decisions in the present, particularly the end result of each timeline. If she screwed up in the past, will she repeat her mistake in the present? Whatever you do, you really ought to consider having your character change at the end (or near the end), to either become a better person, or go a shade or two darker. If you go for the dual timeline scenario, then the earlier timeline could explain what her internal struggle is and how it came about, with the present timeline heading towards some kind of resolution. It would also help if you determine what the theme of your story is, and what the point is. For the point, it could be a moral one, or it could be a social or political one, or something else entirely, it really doesn't matter. Understand these two things, and and you'll already have a good idea of how your story will play out. |
| Thanks for the advice! I have a few more questions if that's okay with you: 1. I actually don't even know how internal dialogues work! Have you read a good book where it uses it a lot and effectively? 2. I think I'm gonna use past tense too, for narration, but my trouble here is that I don't know if the time, let's just say, of the story is character telling events as they happen or they all already happened and she's just recounting them, kinda like The Catcher in the Rye I guess. In that case, I don't know how to present her thoughts. I guess I should just think more about them this is a lot, I know. Anyway, thanks for your answer |
| Thanks for the advice, I'll think about these things as I write. I definitely want her to change in the end. The "plot," I guess will be: she does things, she wants to change, she does things, she still wants to change, and then she does different things and finally she changes! I don't know if that's much of a plot, what do you think? Anyway, how do you propose I write it using the "different timelines" thing? Thanks again for the advice! |
| To paraphrase advice I've heard from multiple 'expert' sources: Story is the journey the character makes on the way to their evolution. Plot is the sequence of events that trigger the character's internal struggle, escalating it at every turn to a point of crisis where the character is forced or must choose to resolve their internal struggle. Resolving that struggle is key to the character achieving their desire (or at least have a decent shot at it). The different 'timelines tale' is one I would approach by writing each timeline as a separate story. Generally, the story of the past would be a shorter one - but not always. Having written both stories, it is then simply a case of taking your in-the-present story, and interspersing scenes from the other story. By treating them as two different stories, but with a common thread and (obviously) the same lead character, you can ensure the two stories complement each other. Peter F. Hamilton, in his Void trilogy, took a slightly different tack. The earlier timeline was of different characters in the deep past and long dead, and this was almost pure fantasy. The present timeline was set in the distant future with new characters and was pure science fiction. Part of the puzzle that the reader and the characters (of the future) have to resolve, is how these two threads are in any way related - which of course they are. Moreover, the 'past' is the key to resolving the problems of the future (the future is presented as the present). While you may not be a fan of either fantasy or sci-fi, the story shows, with great skill, how two very different stories can be interwoven to create a much larger story (in every sense). It is one the finest and most well crafted stories of modern times. |
| watch the video on youtube .. Numb by Linkin Park May help a little :) |
| Here's what I need help with: 1. I don't know how to present her thoughts (this takes up a lot of the book). Whether I should use internal dialogue or what? I don't know. 2. I don't know what tense to use. And moreover, I haven't even decided if I'm gonna be telling the story like it's happening or if everything already happened, I don't know. Also, there are distinct parts in her life where she felt and thought differently and I don't know how to present that. 3. I don't even have an outline for it it and so I'm kinda lost. I kinda can't write a novel you know. Now to be honest, this is semi-autobiographical, so, things are happening as I write. And that's part of the confusion. Here is a good thing to start with What is the goal of your main character? For instance what do you want her to accomplish at the end of the book? i.e. Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz wanted to get home What motivates her to continue on this journey? Why doesn't she just stop at the first sign of a problem? i.e Dorothy has been dropped in Oz. Its a nice place but its not home. Home where she is loved and wanted and feels safe. Her Uncle and Aunt are worried about her. She feels bad about how she left. What is preventing her from reaching that goal? conflicts with out conflicts you have no story. i.e. We know all about Dorothy's problems- monkeys, witches, poppy fields, reaching the curtain and having to try again If your book is filled with internal thoughts, her telling a story that's in the past or thinking about everything. Put it next to the above form. Will it stand up to that? If so, you can make the whole story about her thoughts. If not, you might want to add some other characters in there, along with dialog to move the story along. |
| You are over thinking!!! I did that too then i just started with what i wanted to do. I said to myself, This is my story, im writing it for me so if i ever forget i can go back and read what i thought.. Kind of like The Notebook. The movie. Clear your mind and have faith. Remember you can 'Break the rules a bit" Just write if for yourself. |
| I have to second this. The first step is going to be figuring out what you want to say. A great way to do that is to just start writing. Write down all your thoughts and hopes for this story and they will begin to evolve and clarify as you write. When you have it all on paper, then you can look at it to determine the best arrangement and approach for the material. It will also help you see what's missing (another character? an obstacle? a minor win?) before you've invested a ton of time and words on an incomplete story. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| Here's the brute force approach, I'm just gonna tell you what to do: 1. if it's just her point of view through the entire story, write it in First Person, past tense. Her internal dialog is the entire text of the story where she's not doing things or speaking. 2. past tense is the industry standard. stick with that until you have the expertise and 3 published books under your belt. I made that last bit up, but if you don't know how to approach writing a book, you have no business deviating from the standard. 3. Google up "CS Lakin 20 Key Scenes" That will get you started. You are free to ignore this, but consider this. You just asked a bunch of newb questions that were roadblocking you before you even began. You don't need to be jammed up like that. So take those decision points out. Learn how to fit your story into the restrictions I just gave you. You WILL get a workable story out of it. When you've done so, you'll have a better understanding of the process and what worked or could be changed. |
| You raised an interesting point, Ken, about first person. I'm currently writing a novel, where the vast bulk of the story involves just two women, and the story is told entirely from one woman's POV. I chose to write in third person rather than first. Perhaps if I explain why I chose third rather than first person, it may help others make an informed decision in their own work. The story is a psychological one. I want the reader to be privvy to how the POV character interprets the words and actions (and assumed actions) of the other character. I also want them to be privvy to what the POV character learns and what she is thinking, especially when she is trying to be manipulative. Her emotions are also important to understand. All of these ought to suggest a first person POV. At the beginning, I paint the POV character as a strikingly clean white-hat, an innocent. Her adversary is clearly the black-hat, and nobody ever wore a blacker hat than this woman. As time goes on, we find out that that our white-hat isn't quite so sparkly clean, and the black-hat isn't nearly so black as first appeared. There is a dark undertone to our POV character, and therefore we can't be inside her head all the time or it would be too obvious. At the same time, I want the reader to become more sympathetic to (or at least, intrigued by) the antagonist even when our POV character isn't. This means a first person POV is unlikely to work, where a third-person limited view provides the necessary mechanisms. |
| excellent point Zen. 3rd person per your reasoning will work well. I'd argue (now), that it' the true default choice. My aim was to shut down analysis paralysis. There's only one option for tense unless you are a master writer. There's only 2 options for POV. We know there's more, but really... :) |
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