Thread: To those who are trying (and failing) to write their first novel

Hi folks,

It's been awhile since I've posted on the forums. I figure that there are a lot of people on this forum who are in the same situation that I was in, so I want to give you a little snapshot of my life.

Six years ago I started college. It was typical 13th grade syndrome. I had no idea what I wanted to do. Somehow I got the idea in my head that I wanted to write a novel. A few months later, after several nights spent writing while my roommate slept at three and four in the morning, I read the thirty hand written pages that I had written. It was complete crap. It sucked on every conceivable level.

I gave up. I transferred schools, started studying graphic design, and forgot about writing (but not reading). In the fall of 2008, a year from graduation, I realized that I had committed myself to a field that I had absolutely no passion in. I asked myself 'what are your goals in life?' and was slightly disturbed when I could think of nothing. Then it hit me. I wanted to write a novel. Really write one. Back in middle school I read Ender's Game, and the subsequent three novels in the series. To this day they are still my favorite books. I wanted to write a story that made people feel the same way I felt after I'd finished them. I got serious. I read three books on style, structure, and character development (not a masters course by any means) and started.

Between then and now a lot has happened. I graduated from community college with a degree in graphic design. I moved between three different states and worked four different jobs. I attempted to write two novels, each reaching over 30,000 words before failing miserably (one of which I've posted on this forum). With each attempt, with each failure, I learned. Sure I was bitter that it didn't work out like I had expected, but I learned. With every failed attempt I knew what I had done wrong. The one lesson that I took from those experiences of failure was this:

Don't try to write a story in a voice that is not your own. Don't try to fake it. Write naturally, not pretentiously. Don't try to create a style for yourself. Your style is already there. It's your natural voice, and if you try to fight it you won't get anywhere.

It was November of last year, and I had an idea. I was sitting in an un-airconditioned warehouse in the middle of a particularly rainy city, pounding on key chain blanks with a rubber mallet (I'm not kidding here) when I said to myself 'what if an army of garbage men started a revolution' (again, not kidding). I wanted to write a fun, entertaining, science fiction story, something that I would want to read. Something that would make me feel like Ender's Game had made me feel. I started writing.

Four months after that day (about sixty pages) I moved away from that rainy corner of the country. I quit my job, drove half a country to the east, and started working for the railroad in one of the most barren sections of the continental US (basically on a whim). I was two thousand miles from anyone I knew. I was lonely. I wrote... a lot. Last night, at 11:30 pm I typed 'The End' into my lap top. 143,000 words. The first draft of my first novel, finished.

I'm not trying to brag here. What I really want to do is let you know where I'm coming from. I have absolutely no formal training as a writer. Every time you hear a novelist talk about their past they say that they've been writing since they were seven or eight years old. I didn't start writing until I was eighteen years old. I never thought consciously about writing a novel until college (although I've always loved reading).

I work for the freaking railroad! Is my story good? Will it make people feel like I felt after reading the Ender's series? I honestly don't know. I believe that it's good. Honestly, it really doesn't matter. I completed my life goal. I wrote a novel. Will people like it? Will it get published? Who knows. I'm going to try. If it does, it does, and vice versa. Am I still going to write? Yes, because it's what I want to do with my life. I'm a story teller, and so are you, so don't give up, no matter what. Whether you have a doctorate in english lit or you pull hairy clogs from drainpipes, we all have stories to tell. That's why we write. Don't give up and don't lose hope.

Sincerely,

Froman

I kind of needed to hear that.

Cheers Fro, and congratulations on fulfilling a goal, remember to keep us in the loop with what happens.

Very inspiring, Fro.

I, like you, didn't start writing until I was in my late teens. I loved reading when I was younger -- absolutely devoured two and three novels a week -- but it never carried over into writing until my sister passed and I needed a cathartic outlet other than punching everything in sight. I did a little better than you on the first attempt. I managed to finish the novel, but it was woeful. Mediocre. Of course, at the time I didn't think that. I gave it to a friend to read and he tore it apart. That knocked me for six. I didn't write for months afterwards.

I had my epiphany one day in an attic on a building site. It was a glorious summer day and there I was, sweat dripping off me, installing fibreglass insulation. It wasn't even my job. The foreman had no other work for me. I don't know if you've ever installed fibreglass insulation, but the wool contains tiny specks of glass. It itches. Makes you cough. The ideal answer would be to wear a dust mask and cover your arms with a jumper. You can't do that in a sweltering attic. I got so browned off that I started asking myself what the hell I was doing with my life. Sure, I had written a sucky novel. Was that it? Was I just going to give up? Was I going to let someone else dictate the rest of my life? Hell no!

So I kept writing. And writing. And writing. It got better. Novel two vastly improved on novel one. Novel three was the 'Eureka!' moment. The moment I knew I could write a novel good enough for people to read. But good enough wasn't good enough. I wanted it to be great. As the saying goes, no one ever became great by aspiring to second place. So I kept writing, penning four more novels before I decided I was ready to rewrite the first. I was finally ready. I self-published it last year, and just recently it was accepted by a publishing house. A far cry from the comments I received from the guy who read my first novel.

I am happy? No. There's still room for improvement. There always is.

That was a nice post to read. Thanks for the inspiration. I too believe what you are saying. Last year I wrote like a madman and hammered out an unbelievable storyline. After I finished I was dissatisfied and starting reading a lot of "How to.." books about writing. I had a great laugh reading "How NOT to write a novel" by Sandra Newman and Howard Mittlemark. It was so witty. I realized I had done quite a few of the things they tell you not to do.

This year I went back to the story and rewrote it completely. I am now on a second draft and enjoying writing it. I feel it is something I could send to a publisher one day.

Great post, Froman.

I'm still working on my first. Still conceptualizing. It's not an easy task and there is always the chance all my work will be rejected. Blah.

Just gotta key tapping the keys.

What if you only have one novel in mind and you have no desire to write anything else?

Thanks for sharing that.

And you make a good point, people start writing at different points in their lives.
I didn't begin on my first novel (I've since written three more) until I was in my late 30s and I am a truck driver!

It is never too late to pursue what you truly love.

Wishing you the best on getting it into print!

Very inspiring Fro. Thank you for sharing it with us.

I think everyone can take something away from what you have said. I know I certainly can. I have files and notebooks all over the place with research and ideas for novels, but for some reason I never get beyond that point. Perhaps it's time constraints, or my enjoyment of other hobbies that seem to occupy most of time. Who knows.

Originally Posted by S1E9A8N5

What if you only have one novel in mind and you have no desire to write anything else?

Publishers like to avoid the one hit wonders or one time writers. They like to see longevity and continuance (it's better for thier long term revenue). Anyone considering one and only one piece might be better served e-publishing or giving it out to the public domain.

J.D. Salinger is the only exception I can think of.

What if you only have one novel in mind and you have no desire to write anything else?

I don't see a problem with that. Keep working and finish that one novel. When you are done, just go on with your life. If you want to keep writing and maybe try to write another novel you will, and if you don't want to you won't. There's no way you can really know that right now, so don't bother thinking about it. Just think about your story.


Also, for those who are interested:

There is a really great film that you may or may not have seen about a girl trying to write a novel. It's called Whisper of the Heart directed by Yoshifumi Kondo and the screenplay is by Hayao Miyazaki. It's probably one of my favorite films. It has given me a lot of inspiration and deals with the ups and downs of writing, the obsession with how good or terrible you think your story is, and how writing fiction is a craft that takes a great deal of time and effort to master (just like any other craft). Plus it's just a really great movie.

Check it out.

Hey Froman, congrats on the first draft. I don't want to take the wind out of your sails, but if your experience is anything like mine, as Olivia Newton John would say, you may have only just begun. I 'finished' my novel Waking Up Gilligan around a year ago last February. I worked hard on that sucker over many years, writing and re-writing until I had a narrative of 145,000 words of prettily polished prose. But was it any good? Chunks of it, which I'd posted here and on another site, got good, at times even rapturous feedback. But what about as a whole? My wife liked it. My friend, a former English teacher called it a 'really good read'. But another friend, a professional writer (Brenda L. Baker) was kind enough to read it and inform me that the story didn't truly start until Chapter 15! I spent hundreds of dollars and sent the manusript off to Kirkus for a professional review. They said some good things, some very good things, but also that overall, despite a promising premise the novel was 'too dense' and need more depth in the characterization. After a few hours of feebly trying to convince myself that the reviewer didn't know what the frak he or she was talking about, I decided to re-write the whole thing.

I researched literary structure quite intensively (google William H. Coles for excellent info and futher reading) and before I knew it I had a brand new beginning point and was merrily chopping away and learning how to appropriately insert backstory and so on. I was down to 85,000 words and a story with some structure and pace. But these bones wanted some flesh and I found myself adding new material and fitting some of the old into more advantageous spots. The result? 118,000 words now available though www.smashwords.com Tomorrow the first hard copy proof should arrive from Create Space. I can't wait to hold it in my hands.

SamW: Dude, you've got to get yourself one of those nylon coverall things with the hood- like $8 at Home Depot. And wear a respirator and goggles- at least the until they fog up after five minutes. Gaa- insulated attics in summer- the horror.

SIE9: I'd say write it no matter what and get it out of your system.

Originally Posted by Robert_S

Publishers like to avoid the one hit wonders or one time writers. They like to see longevity and continuance (it's better for thier long term revenue). Anyone considering one and only one piece might be better served e-publishing or giving it out to the public domain.

J.D. Salinger is the only exception I can think of.

I figured that but it can't hurt to try.

Originally Posted by froman

I don't see a problem with that. Keep working and finish that one novel. When you are done, just go on with your life. If you want to keep writing and maybe try to write another novel you will, and if you don't want to you won't. There's no way you can really know that right now, so don't bother thinking about it. Just think about your story.

True. I have other ideas but no where near as passionate as the one I'm working on now. Since you were talking about writing one novel and improving on the next, my next question would be: How do you improve if you only have one story to tell? Through drafts?

Originally Posted by J.R. MacLean

SIE9: I'd say write it no matter what and get it out of your system.

Thanks!

Thanks for the advice.