Archives for January 2020
WRITING FROM BEHIND THE CURVE—Which of my story ideas should I write first? Blog #5
Episode Title: Which of my story ideas should I write first?
If you’ve thought of writing for many years, it may be that you have more than one story idea that you have given considerable thought to. So how does one decide upon what is to be written first, to pick from the litter, so to speak. When I first began to write what eventually became Serpent at the Well, I was in my mid forties, had already left what was a lengthy career in banking, and mostly wanted a challenge to fulfill my longtime desire to write. At the time, my wife and I had recently moved to Mammoth Lakes, California, which is located in the eastern Sierra Nevada and not far from Mono Lake. The more that I learned about that ancient lake’s history and the decades-long water fight that it was the focus of, I sensed a story. I put my other story ideas aside and pursued that story, full out. In Serpent at the Well, Mono Lake’s alter ego is Lake Clarity. And although the characters and plots are unique to the storyline, many of the book’s legal arguments and outcomes closely follow the actual history of Mono Lake.
Image by Clker Free Vector
Since telling Serpent’s story was my singular focus, I paid little attention to the many-armed octopus that I was about to create. As the story progressed, I realized that I was ill equipped to write a novel that would eventually be nearly 700 pages in length, have ten important characters, have several retrospectives over a fifty-year period, and have seven or eight subplots that support and propel the main story. I mentioned in Blog #3 that I did many rewrites of Serpent, which in no small part was due to my taking on more than I should have for a first effort. Years literally went by while I learned the craft of writing, over which, I continually updated my novel with the new knowledge gained. The point in telling you all of this is to urge you to make your first writing one that will have few principal characters, have a forward looking storyline with few or no retrospectives, and have a main plot without two many side puzzle pieces. Said another way, why not get your sea legs first? By staying with a simple story construction, you can juggle less and concentrate on the depth and quality of your story. You will, however, have actually completed your first short story or novel, and prepared yourself for more complicated writings that you may choose in the future. I’m happy to say that writing my latest novel, MOLTO GRANDE, was far less stressful than Serpent, even though it is an epic story, based in 17th century Europe, and, at 260,000 words, is nearly twice Serpent’s length. Imagine if I had started with MOLTO GRANDE!
Photo by Ian Schneider
Now that you have entered the world of writing, it is sometimes fun to learn about the publishing industries related statistics. An analysis done by “In the Book” comes to me through the newsletter of writing consultant Molli Nickell. It pertains to the average ages at which best-selling authors first become best selling. Here are the stats by genre:
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Horror: 41
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Science Fiction: 45
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Other: 46
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Romance: 46
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Literary Fiction: 47
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Fantasy: 47
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Historical Fiction: 50
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Mystery/Crime: 51
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Thriller: 52
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Average Age for all genres combined: 48.8 (men and women)
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Number of yearly first time, best-selling authors: Around 60
Keep in mind that some of these authors may have multiple best sellers, but this is the average age at which that first best seller was published by genre. Also, while there are examples like Margaret Mitchell (Gone with the Wind) and Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird), whose first novels were smashing successes and best sellers, these are indeed rare. More likely, when considering the writers who comprise the above numbers, many toiled long and hard, over many years, before writing a best seller. That superior achievement waited on the development of their technique and storytelling. One other point of interest comes from the study: While, as indicated, the average age for all genres is 48.8 years, there are some striking differences in some categories for men and women. For example, in the Science Fiction genre, the average age for first-time, best-selling women is 35 versus 46 for men. On the other hand, in the Horror genre, average ages are 44 for women and 38 for men. In most categories, though, the age differentials are much closer. (Please retweet this blog—thanks!)
All the best,
Dick Franklin
richardsfranklin100@gmail.com
Note: Dick is author of novels Joshua Rye, Serpent at the Well, and MOLTO GRANDE. Go to: amazon.com/author/dickfranklin
WRITING FROM BEHIND THE CURVE—Okay, I’m ready, but where do I begin? Blog #4
Episode Title: Okay, I’m ready, but where do I begin?
You are on the brink of a great adventure…and challenge. You will create everything about your story: the plot and subplots, the characters and how they interact with one another, the time period in which the story will unfold, the many scenes that will propel your story forward, and so on—you are the ringmaster! Two new questions now materialize within the mind’s eye: The first of these is the fundamental matter of how to begin; the second, mentioned briefly in Blog #3, is how to find what has always been the most fleeting of life’s commodities—the time to write.
It is time to remind you that I am but a fellow writer and, thus, I can only share my own experiences in the writing of three novels. Most of all, however, I recommend that you allow your common sense to be your guide. You see, there are as many answers to “where to begin” as their are writers. So, what I am about to tell you is more about your personal preference concerning what would work best for you, than it is about any established, hardcore guidelines.
Photo by CJ from Pixabay
Some writers have found that a detailed outline works best for them, chapter by chapter, keeping them on track to completion. This method has the benefit of requiring the writer to make many plot and character decisions up front. If done properly, any flaws within the story’s concept will be found out early, allowing modifications to be made before one paints themselves into a corner, so to speak. At the other end of the spectrum, some choose not to predetermine the direction of the story with even the broadest written outline, not wanting to be limited by their earlier conceptual thinking about how a story will unfold. This method requires considerable flexibility as to how one’s story might evolve, and the ability to ride the storyline as it stretches out before them. All and all, it is not my recommendation that you should wing it this way, for this, your first effort. Those in the middle of the spectrum might want only the broad strokes of their stories to be placed in outline form and then only as a general guide. I fall into the this category, wanting only the broadest markers for my stories. Some of my best thinking on character and plot development, in my judgment, occurred during the novel’s progress. For this same reason, I do not tell anyone about the detail of a story while it is being written. I simply don’t want anything to compel me in one direction or another, including someone else’s expectations of the storyline. I prefer the story itself to direct me, as it is being written. Remember, you are writing for yourself and not for a demanding publisher, so you have the freedom to do what makes you most comfortable—no one is going to ask you to send in your detailed outline or story synopsis. But it is important to decide how you wish to proceed.
Nik gb on Unsplash
Finding time to write can be an impediment to your finishing a short story or novel. After all, as a premise for Blog #1, isn’t the lack of time one of the principal culprits in keeping you from writing up until now? If one follows the advice from just about every source on the subject of writing, the strong and consistent admonition is to write daily, no matter what. And I suppose if you and I were that young writer trying to actually make a living with our pen, we’d better be in there knocking out something daily—our daily bread would depend on it. On the other hand, for people well into their years, who have a busy life already, I would argue that the idea that one must write daily is not only unhelpful, but counterproductive. It provides an easy excuse to rationalize that one cannot meet such a stern requirement; it is an excuse that will stop you dead in your tracks. Rather, why not think in terms of a schedule to write multiple times over a period of a week, or even a month. Select what you think is a reasonable number of times and hours that you can dedicate to your story over these longer time periods. Then, if a day or two, or even a week passes and you are unable to write, you have planned for the vicissitudes of your very active schedule. Again, you are the ringmaster of your story, and, yes, this includes your determination of what reasonable commitment of time you can make. But make the commitment, stick to it, and go forward. Please retweet! Thanks.
Image by Izoca from Pixabay
All the best,
Dick Franklin
richardsfranklin100@gmail.com
Dick is author of Joshua Rye, Serpent at the Well, and MOLTO GRANDE. Go to: amazon.com/author/dickfranklin