Writers Forum #99 January 2010

NEW SERIES
DELLA GALTON’S
have chapters. You’re not limited
to flashback. You can use flash-
forward too! It is great fun to
play with time in a novel.
NOVEL WRITING
The ﬁ rst page and
beyond
TOOL SHED
It’s vital to get your first page
right. It is just as vital not to get
stuck on it. I have a personal
theory that it’s difficult to write
the first page of your novel until
you’ve written the rest of it. If
In our new
you followed the previous series
of the Writers’ Tool Shed you’ll
step-by-step
know that I find ending a short
story the most difficult part. I
course,
found that with novels I had the
opposite problem. It was easy
celebrated
to write the last page, but very
difficult to write the first.
writer Della
The title and synopsis
Galton helps
For me, finding titles is always
incredibly hard, whether they
you make
are for short stories or novels.
Although I might have a working
the transition
title whilst writing a novel, this
is rarely the title of the finished
from short
product – for reasons that we’ll
look at later.
stories to novels
Most novelists I have spoken
to hate writing a synopsis. This is
something you rarely have to do
for short stories but which is an
using the viewpoint of more than essential part of a novelist’s job.
Part 1: Avoid
one character can add a great We will look at the synopsis in
deal of depth. detail later in this series.
Dialogue Selling your novel and
my mistakes!
Each of your main characters yourself
will need to have an individual Finishing your novel is only the
and recognisable voice. This is a beginning. The next logical step
natural progression and isn’t as for most writers is to try and find
need a much more convoluted Characters and difficult as it sounds if you have a publisher or agent. Which is
plot, or perhaps one main plot viewpoint developed them sufficiently. We best? Should you consider self-
and some interlinking subplots, A short story of 1000 words will look at dialogue in detail publishing? The answers to these
to sustain the length. Whereas almost certainly won’t have more later in this series. questions will depend on what
a short story can follow a single than two or three characters, you have written and what you
idea, a book tends to need more. one of whom will be the main Pace and time span would like to achieve next. We
character. There is a lot more If you’re writing a short story will look at the various options
Setting room for characters in a novel of 1000 or 2000 words, say, then in more depth later.
Setting in a novel is much more although that doesn’t mean you you need to hook the reader
important than in a short story. should attempt to have a cast of immediately and plunge straight Next month
In certain types of novels, for hundreds! You will still need to into the story. There is not much In part two, Planning, Plotting
example regional sagas, it is as know whose story it is and all of room for scene setting. In longer and Timescale, we’ll look at what
important as character. Show your characters must be essential fiction, you can afford to move at to do before you begin that all-
setting through the eyes of your to the plot. a much slower pace. This does not important first page.
viewpoint characters – do not In a short story there is often mean you can afford to waffle. How do you know if you’ve
paste it into your novel in blocks only room for one viewpoint. In a Every word must still count. For got a big enough idea? What
or your reader will skip it! novel there is room for more, and many short story writers, pace sort of timescale will your novel
is the hardest thing to adjust to cover: a day, a year, a lifetime?
when they begin to write longer Should you plot or let your story
gone in a moment, I can create of a job well done. When I’m fiction. grow organically and are you
ones I live with for months on writing a novel I sometimes feel writing in a specific genre?
end, which means I get to really I haven’t achieved much at the Structure and ﬂ ashback
care about them. By the end I am end of the day – I haven’t ﬁ nished How will you structure your Readers can get a
in love with my characters, par- anything, just a few pages. novel? Deciding before you begin 25 per cent discount
ticularly the male leads, but don’t Paradoxically, when I do actu- to write can help you to plan it. on Della’s new
tell my husband! ally ﬁ nish a novel I don’t feel Structure is a short story book How To Write
Oddly enough, the worst thing satisﬁ ed in the slightest. I feel writer’s friend, but it’s a novelist’s and Sell Short Stories
is that it takes a lot longer! I’m bereft because I don’t want to let best friend because there are far by quoting WF25
used to ﬁ nishing short stories and the characters go. There’s just no more options. Your novel might when you order
having that sense of satisfaction pleasing some people, is there! have a prologue. It might be split online at www.accentpress.co.uk
into parts and it will probably or by phone on 01443 710930.
If you have a question for Della, please write to toolshed@writers-forum.com and she will try to answer it in these pages Writers
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