Fiction novel questions? Please help!?

?

2012-08-11 16:28:22 UTC

1) Character description will depend on you and your style. Some don't give much thought to how their characters look and just have the bare minumum description to implant a picture in our heads. Others would prefer to be more detailed. For really minor characters that just pop in and out, I just give really short descrptions: The old lady, the young boy. For main character, I would give a little bit more description and if there's a physical aspect I want to emphasize, I'll do so throughout the writing. For the side chars who are there, a simple description will do fine. You can be more descriptive if you wish to be but just remember, you're readers would like to have some fun in picturing the character as well. Unless you're female character's bangs are important to her hairstyle and her looks, leaving that minor detail to your reader to choose is fine.

2) You will have to discover what works for you. A rough outline would prolly be best if you feel intimidated but don't feel like you have to stick to it if you want to change something. Personally, I find it best if I have some sort of goal in mind as a write, whether it be plot wise or character wise such as "main character will eventually become king" or "girl will die by his hand." This helps me to filter out all the new ideas that keep coming because, though the new ideas are great, sometime they end up changing the story into something else.

3) hmm...There really isn't an 'original' idea out there anymore. Unless you start mixbreeding unicorns and dinosaurs or something o: Not all vampire books were like twilight and besides, vampire books were there even before Twilight. o:

4) Character description doesn't 'stop' the plot at all. Ever read a book where you realize that two characters might be related because of the descriptions given? It's 'halts' the story only if you end up spending paragraphs upon paragrpahs upon paragraphs on it. You're setting description follows the same patter as your characterization descriptions. If you have a goal set to relate a scene of etheral peace to your reader then go ahead and use more descriptions. If you feel like the description of a forest is already a common enough picture in your reader's head, then you can leave out that three paragraph description of it should you choose. Unless you have something you want to convey, you can minimize your descriptions if you choose to.

Readers:

1) Long and blocky is fine for me as long as the characters are interacting with it. Like "The wall was cold and wet agianst her hand" Weaved in subtly is fine. If you spend four sentence of a pice of grass and how it sways to and fro, I might just skip around.

2) there was no 2 :(

3)I'm not too fond of non-fiction but i'll read it if it's a topic I'm intrested in. Fiction and romance is where most of my readings come from. Magic is fine, keeping it real is fine. If you paint a picture that catches my eyes and keeps me there, then I'll read it.

4) Again, it varies on what you're describing and for how long. If you're unsure, write it out how you want and then leave it there for a few days without even thinking about it. Pick it up after your break and read it again. If you go "ugh, what is this?" then you know you should prolly fix it up a bit.

Writing is not a talent the vast majority of us acquire but a skill we choose to polish.

Lady Jane

2012-08-11 13:35:12 UTC

There's no set way to do it—it's art, so it's all subjective. However, I'll answer by how I do it:

1. I like it when the description is relative to character development. For example, if your character has a nervous habit of twirling her hair, you can throw in the color of her hair in the description of her doing it. Holden Caulfield's hair color was explained because it makes him look older and that helps him get into bars and buy drinks—Harry Potter's hair was explained by a short anecdote that expressed his magical tendencies when Aunt Petunia cut off his hair but it grew back over night because he was so embarrassed. Also, Harry's eye color is often mentioned because it's a link with his mother, just like his hair color is a link to his dad. See how that doesn't completely halt the story? It fits naturally. That's for your main character—minor ones are easier, because you can describe them in relation to your MC, especially when your MC gets a certain first impression from their appearance.

2. This is entirely personal preference. You should definitely have an ending planned out so that you know where your story is going, but it's up to you how to organize your thoughts on the matter. One thing I do is keep an Ideas journal, where I do stream of consciousness entries about ideas that I have. You should definitely have some sort of direction, whatever you do.

3. You can't seek out inspiration—it just hits you. There's no such thing as an original idea (though it's wise to stray from things that will be associated with already popular fiction, as you stated). Anything from personal experiences, stories you hear, people you know, what ifs, writing prompts, REM dreams... It just wham! Comes out of no where. The important thing is to really develop that idea and especially develop the characters. That's too common of a mistake—flat, undeveloped characters. Y.A. does it all the time, because it's "not important", or something silly. I guess that depends whether you're writing for someone's entertainment (where the plot is super action-y and exciting) or for deeper, emotional and intellectual reasons, in which you want the reader to really connect with your characters. I much prefer the latter.

4. Sweet and simple. I like to think about it like a good song—emotional songs are brilliant because they sum up such profound thoughts and expressions in small packages of lyrics. Think The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Elton John—artists with brilliant lyrics. That being said, I much prefer when the description is body language and emotion instead of a room. I hardly ever care what the room looks like unless it somehow adds to the plot (e.g., how a person decorates a place can reflect their personality). Again, though, that's relative to your writing style and personal preference.

As a reader:

1. Effortlessly weaved in

2. Realistic fiction, because it depends on character development. Raw, real emotion. Though I frequently go for the appeal of fantasy if the characters are just as good.

3. Just a few sentences.

Never write for someone else, though. Writing is expression—outpour your soul and do what you want.

Cate

2012-08-11 13:58:31 UTC

1) It's quite easy really. So if your main character is a girl, you could have this.

"She collapsed into the street, knees bloodied from falling over so many times. Her brown hair clung to the pearly complexion of her skin, and her usually bright amber eyes were dull with fear"

Just don't over do it, as you mentioned and slip it in subtly, like I did ^^

2) It's up to every writer. What are you most comfortable doing? For me, I map out the whole plot before I even begin writing, and then I rest for a month or two and then start the actual writing. Other writers just write, really, and let the characters tell their own story. Whichever one you like better, comfortable with or in general just prefer I would go with.

3)I can't give you ideas. If you can't come up with your own ideas, they won't be good because it will be someone else's imagination trying to combine with yours. Go outside, read more books, meet new people, do new things. If you just spend time out of the house and away from your notebook or word document, then ideas will come to you. Wizards isn't copying harry potter, and there are more vampire novels than I can count. As long as you make it unique and your own, you won't be copying anyone. Besides, all novelist get their ideas from other people. If we didn't have other people to draw from to fuel our imagination, there would be few writers.

4) Describe it like this:

"Alla moved into the rose garden. She seldom wandered here, it was a place that reminded her too much of her mother. The blooming blue roses that sat in bushels of green leaves, and the snaking ivy trendels that clung to the wall of the castle. The stone underneath her bare feet was old as dirt, and she moved carefully to avoid jagged edges. But the thing that hurt her the most was the white archway in the middle of the garden. Ivy, roses, and little purple flowers covered the figure so that no white could be seen, and underneath was a little marble bench. The same marble bench where Alla had cried rivers after her mother had died"

It can be a paragraph, usually no longer, just describing the feel or the look of the place so that the reader can picture it in their mind, but you don't want to create a whole page on how the blossoms of that particular rose twisted into the shape of a butterfly, if you know what I mean.

~

1) I like both. I love to picture things in my mind, and I tend to write and read fantasy so I like to know where the character is.

2) Fiction. I never read non-fiction, it bores me to death. Magic is always fun, but remember there are so many more types of books to try and write besides magic, though i must admit, it is fun to write and to read.

3) Vividly but not too much. As I said before I don't need a page on how the petals twisted to look like a butterfly, but a little sentence describing the color of a soft rose wouldn't do me any harm, or what the rain looked like as it plummeted to earth and splashed against weathered stone.

Hope I helped <3

?

2012-08-11 13:28:17 UTC

You must be new to writing to ask these questions. That's okay, but pay attention to my answer please.

You need to write enough to find out what works for you. Every writer has their own style. You won't find it on day one. It may take a year or so. Not kidding. So the more you write the more you will know your voice and your style.

For me, I write very complex character descriptions but not as part of my story. They are for me. Then I use it as I write to guide me how my characters are. I don't dwell on physical descriptions.

I don't outline.

I don't go into great detail about setting descriptions. It depends on my POV and narrator and how much they observe.

And don't ask readers what they want. You're not making lunch. You are creating something from your mind and your soul. The story and style have to be yours and come from you.

2012-08-11 13:40:20 UTC

1. http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-goal/write-first-chapter-get-started/weave-in-backstory-to-reveal-character

2. http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/create-structure-in-your-fiction-using-index-cards

3. http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=htsf&oq=&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GWYF_enUS310US310&q=get+an+idea+for+a+fiction+novel

4. http://www.writersdigestshop.com/elements-of-writing-fiction-description

Advice. Now, believe me, let me tell you. You ARE clueless on this stuff. After all, look where you're asking. How do writers learn how to do what they know how to do? The same way everyone else does:

1. Decide you want to do it bad enough to go through the steep learning curves.

2. Learn where to go to find the books that will teach you this stuff. (And those articles? Merely the tip of the iceberg. You can learn very little in an article. If you want in-depth, you read in-depth. That was just to whet your appetite. Asking on here was just to make yourself feel good.)

3. Study, study, study, and, oh yeah, when you're done studying? Study some more.

4. Apply what you learn.

5. When you get the feeling you know what you're doing, find real writers who are already doing it, so you feel dumb enough to go back to study some more.

I'm only at step 5. I'll figure out Step 6 when I get to it. ;)

BTW, by its very definition a novel IS fiction.

tullier

2016-07-28 02:22:11 UTC

Yes, of course. Writers do that always. It can be without a doubt more common to location a fictional inn (or some other building) in a city than to use an institution that already exists.