Well, we've already hit plot structure, character, and character dynamic, which are 3 of the major areas in novel design. We've also to some extent talked about theme and genre. Another major design area is setting/worldbuilding, which Wai was just mentioning and which I said in some previous post that I've already tackled worldbuilding in one of my developer journal entries and if I was doing a lesson on worldbuilding I'd just link to that, I don't see any real need to write something new. Other than going into more detail by perhaps discussing scene structure or what ought to be in the first 3 chapters, there isn't any more basic novel design theory, everything else is just technique (I would class point of view as a technique choice) and you can only talk about technique in the context of writing a specific thing.

So my question to you is, what else do you feel needs to be done before writing a first draft? Try writing something and, if you can't, try to figure out why. A lot of being a writer is being self-motivated and supporting that with self-diagnosis of problems and creatively solving those problems.


EDIT: BTW the existing worldbuilding thing I am talking about is Chapter 6 of this document. Do you guys feel this says all there is to say about worldbuilding, and if not, what additional subtopics do I need to cover?

[Edited by - sunandshadow on September 13, 2007 7:32:57 PM]

Yes it should be 'share'.

Oh well. Can't help it yet. I don't want to work hard for the story and have fun at the end. I want to have fun all the way while writing it. I would give a try to stress-free writing.

02

Heh, well I do appreciate the appeal of stress-free writing. That's why I still long to write fanfiction sometimes even though I've forbidden myself from going it any more - the characters, the world, the plot, it's all there already and so easy to just start writing, there isn't all this agony about sorting out plot ideas and figure out whether the main character is a shapeshifter because he's a mage or an alien or a human mind in an alien body, whether he's a hermaphrodite because everyone of his race is a hermaphrodite or only because he is a shapeshifter... *falls over*

do you hate the word "sustainable"?

Although the word can be irritating when used in a purely environmentalist context, I like it as an economic concept, and one which has further applications in psychological contexts. For example many stories show how a character's actions or lifestyle are not sustainable by showing how they snowball until suddenly something breaks. For example with my character Merru, he is not naturally a leader. I think it would be very interesting to use his ethics to force him to take a leadership position, then show that despite him being a good leader the stress builds up until he snaps and runs away from it all.

It reminded me of that word because story writing doesn't seem like an inherently sustainable effort. It seems to only drain energy without giving out any. Discussion on the other hand is sustained.

I have heard the word "environmentalist" in your posts a few times. May I know what you think of environmentalists?

I think that whether writing is an inherently sustainable effort depends on one's personality. I have heard some people say that they write compulsively, or that they reward themselves by allowing themselves to spend time writing after getting their real work done. Many writers find that writing is only sustainable with the aid of positive feedback from a writers' circle or fans. I personally think that half the battle is figuring out what you would have the most fun writing and then writing that. I also remember times when I have had a great deal of fun writing a particular scene, so when I find part of the writing process annoying I remind myself that I will probably get to a fun part soon. I also remind myself that I really want to be able to sit on panels at science fiction conventions and autograph copies of my books someday.

Environmentalism, well of course it would be nice if the Earth didn't become a worse place to live, and I don't want to be exposed to toxins in my air, water, or food. But on the other hand I am a humanist, and I start to dislike environmentalism when I hear people say that it's good for the environment when humans die, or that we should restrict human births and encourage endangered animal births instead. I recycle but I have the air conditioning running all summer and the heat running all winter, and I like driving around to places I don't really need to go and shopping for things I don't really need to buy, and owning paper copies of book even though electronic ones would kill fewer trees, and eating meat even though it takes fewer resources to produce an equivalent amount of tofu.

Comparison:

01-2007-09-14

00-2007-09-14

[Edited by - Wai on September 14, 2007 5:53:08 PM]

I like the second one somewhat better, although I like the phrase 'the u-word' in the first one. What did you want them compared in terms of?

How would you describe the tone of those two?


Is there a difference in the relation between the narrator and the reader in the two above and the two below?


What about the tone in these two below:

01 - Internet
02 - The Avatar

Which tone is the easiest to read?