novel writing tips

[thedrifter]

hey guys, i recently decided to write a novel. i have the idea and the basic plot, and in the past couple of days i have written about 5000 words. I was wondering if anyone on here had some novel writing or even short story writing experience who could share some advice and tips with me. i like what i have so far, any tips would be appreciated, thanks.

[Yog]

The two most common mistakes of young writers are not including enough details and "telling" the story rather than "showing" the story.

An example of telling the story would be to say, "John was tired so he laid down and went to sleep." This gets the job done but its ... well ... boring. You are telling the reader the action, moods, expressions, etc of the character.

An example of showing the the story is this: "John's eyes were bloodshot and he found himself still wearing the clothes he had on yesterday. He heaved a long sigh as his body involuntarily fell into the bed. His eyes were closed before he found the pillow." Note that in this second example the reader isn't explicitly told that John was tired or that he went to sleep. It is clear what has happened. Furthermore the the reader is given a great deal more information. He's been wearing the same clothes for over 24 hours straight, he can barely keep his eyes open, and his eyes are bloodshot—two signs of exhaustion.

Most of the time it is better to describe or show the action than to tell it. There are times when it is a good idea to tell the action. This can be done when the action is slow and you just want to move things along quickly: "John slept without moving. In the morning he awoke ..."

Just as a base, there are several other things you will want to keep in mind:
Character—What motivates your characters? Are your characters acting consistently with the way you have set them up to act? If not, is there a compelling reason for them to be acting differently?
Scene—What is your setting? What does it look like, smell like, feel like, taste like, sound like? How do your characters react to the environment they are in?
Voice—This is the style the story is written in. Is your voice unique or are you writing it like the novel you just finished reading? It is very important for each author to convey a distinct voice. The best way to develop a distinctive voice is to write a lot. Also read a lot. Reading will help you identify elements of other writers that you like and enjoy. Emulating elements of another writer is fine, copying their voice is not.
Plot—Is your plot believable? Does the main character/characters change in the plot? Change is almost always the driving force behind every story. Characters should almost always change in some way. (Another viable way to write a story is for the main character to be put in a situation where he/she should change but can't or won't. This can be very interesting if done correctly.)

Seems like there is one or two others I'm missing. Anyway, I have to head back to work. I'll post more when I can.

[thedrifter]

thank you so much this is exactly the type of thing i was looking for. i read through a lot of what i wrote so far and could see the points i was telling the story where it would have been better to be more fleshed out and descriptive. Is there somewhere on this forum to post little bits of story for critique? i have looked around but cant seem to find a place for it. if not, do you know of any good forums for novel writing critique. thanks again for your help, it is much appreciated.

[Yog]

You can post here in the critique folder as that is for both prose and verse. There is also a prose folder with several short stories and a book chapter or two in it.

There are also several excellent exercises you can do to help with writing. These are basic writing exercises good for anyone no matter how experienced a writer they are.

Exercise 1: details

Find a picture that interests you. Now pick a small portion of that picture. Write a short descriptive paragraph about that small detail. Use as many senses as you can. If possible try to tie the detail into the picture as a whole or use it as symbolism for something larger.

Exercise 2: Tell to Show

Create a series of tell language and then convert them into show language. You could start with the following:

Jane smiled.
Derek was sad.
Bob is strong.
Beth is sexy.

Exercise 3: character exercise

Write a monologue or letter from one character to another. When JRR Tolkein died they found dozens of letters written from one character in "The Lord of the Rings" to another. They found letters from Aragorn to Gandalf, letters from Frodo to Gandalf, letters from Gandalf to Elrond, etc. These letters and monologue serve to cement the character of your characters in your mind. Frequently you can even use parts of the monolgue or parts of the letter in your story.

Exercise 4: Details II

Read through your story and identify any detail, no matter how small, and write a short paragraph about that detail. It doesn't matter whether you decide to add it to the story or not, it's still a good exercise.

Exercise 5: Rewrite for no reason

Just pick something from your story and rewrite it. It doesn't matter if you liked the original version or not. You will often find something in your rewrite that you can use. This exercise should be stream of conscious. Just write what comes to mind without worrying about grammar, spelling, etc.

[thedrifter]

once again, thanks a lot for the tips, i will definately try some of those exercises. i have a lot of spare time at my job so i work on writing the novel a lot then. i will probably post something in the critique section pretty soon.