Hi all

Just joined as a trial member to see how it goes. Trying to write my first story, but am struggling. I also have three questions:

1/ Are there ever any really successful (I don't just mean financially, just that "work") writing partnerships?

You see I have trouble in that I have lots of ideas but it's the getting them down on paper. I'm not very good at handwriting as my hand ends up hurting (I hold the pen/pencil too tightly). My job is typing for most of the day, so to then go home and the thought of going home and typing more in an evening or weekend just doesn't exactly thrill me. But on the other hand, I don't think I could dictate.

So I was wondering are there any teams out there where someone comes up with the ideas and the other one gets them down on the paper?


2/ Do you think there is any truth in the saying "Everyone has a novel inside them?"?

I have a client who says this is a stupid phrase, after all it's not something that's applied to any other creative process. How many people have you heard say "I think I've got a Chippendale Chair in me."?


3/ Is writing something that can be learnt or are you born with it?

I've tried several creative processes: watercolour painting, drawing and photography and I now know there's no point me buying an easel, expensive drawing paper or a top of the range camera!

So is writing any different?

Any thoughts, advice, help, etc., gratefully appreciated.

Hi Raziel, and welcome!
Well, your questions aren't easy ones to answer and I reckon you'll get many very different responses, but will put in my two penny worth:

1/ Are there ever any really successful (I don't just mean financially, just that "work") writing partnerships?

There are plenty of partnerships, in comedy and occasionally in novels, where both people write the material together, but you say you're looking for someone to get your ideas down on paper. Only ghostwriters do that, to my knowledge. I wasn't sure whether you meant you wanted someone to do the physical writing of what you dictate, or whether you want someone to actually shape and write your ideas. If it's the former, I see from your profile that you provide secretarial services online - maybe your answer might lie there! If it's the latter, it would be more challenging to find someone, I think, without paying them.

2/ Do you think there is any truth in the saying "Everyone has a novel inside them?"?

Hmm. No, because a novel is the end result of a lot of hard work. It's an idea that's first been written, and then drafted and redrafted and revised. Many people may have the ideafor a novel inside them, but the difference is whether they're prepared to actually sit down and write it. I think what the phrase generally means is that everyone has the material for a novel inside them - ie a lifetime's experiences that, if carefully selected, could provide the basis for a novel - but there's a huge difference between that and actually having the application and skill to go through the process of writing one.

3/ Is writing something that can be learnt or are you born with it?

I think it's something that can be learnt - up to a point. But I'd add that there has to be a really strong desire to write underlying that. Because it's that desire, passion, whatever you might call it, that eggs you on to learn as much as you can in order to be a better writer. And it's that desire that keeps you going when you want to give up.
I'm sure other people will have very different responses, though!
By the way, have you ever tried flash fiction? Might be a good place to start. And good luck with your writing.
Susiex

Hi Raziel, and welcome to the site.

I agree with most of what Susie says. Writing a novel is a long and difficult task and requires a great deal of hard practice and study.

On a practical level, if you start out writing longhand, at some point you will have to type it up onto a computer – and it’s far better to do that yourself as part of the editing process, even if you could afford to pay a secretary to do it for you. Alternatively, you could try using a voice-activated programme to convert your spoken word into a document. I haven’t tried it, so I can't recommend any particular programme.

Yes, it’s said that everyone has a novel inside them and, with most people, that’s where it should stay. As Susie says, most people have an idea for a novel, but not the stamina to write it, rewrite it, rewrite it again, edit it, polish it…

Part of the process of learning to write is knowing what makes a good, satisfying story. So read everything you can lay your hands on. Read your favourite authors and analyse why you like them. Read writers you don’t know, try different genres, read the classics to understand why they endure.

The main place I disagree with Susie is about flash fiction. It’s a very specific and elegant form of story writing and being short doesn’t mean it’s easy. You still need to know the basics of construction, structure, plot, characterisation, dialogue – so I would recommend you start off with something that doesn’t impose restrictions on the length of what you write.

Good luck

Dee

Hi Raziel, and welcome to WW.

1) There are writers who work as a pair - it's common in scriptwriting, I think - though the booktrade has a theory that customers won't buy multi-authored fiction, so they sometimes hide behind a single name. Nicci French is actually a husband-and-wife team, for example. But the assumption would be that you'd be equal partners, working together in whatever way works best, and splitting the money equally too. Given that there's not much money in it in the first place...

But I suspect it would be hugely helpful in trying to form a team for you to have more experience of writing on your own.

You could try voice recognition software for getting the first draft down: you might find sitting down at a keyboard less daunting if you already had something to work on.

As to the mechanics of handwriting, this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Teach-Yourself-Better-Handwriting/dp/0340859989/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199384003&sr=8-1

is a really good book which I highly recommendfor adults who want to re-train their handwriting for whatever reason (too slow, too painful, to childish-looking, too messy, too illegible, a left-hander never taught properly...).

2) Everyone has a novel inside them, perhaps, but that's only because novels are extracted from real life, and everyone's alive. As Susieangela says, the hard part is what you do with it after that. The Chippendale chair is a good analogy, or a wardrobe even more so: most people can hammer bits of wood together, but few can build a wardrobe so it stands up, holds clothes, looks wonderful, fits the room, keeps the moth away, and is still doing the job in a hundred years time. And then you have to build another one...

3) The craft of writing, like furniture-making, can be learnt, if not taught: a good writing teacher is as much an enabler as a preceptor. But the use of craft is to enable you to make the piece you want to make. What that piece is like - how good it ultimately is - is a mixture of how good your craft is, how much hard work you're up for (both of which you can do something about) and how much talent you have. I blogged about this recently, and the comment trail had some interesting things in it...

http://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/2007/12/if-technique-an.html

Emma

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Crossed with Dee, and I think we're saying much the same thing. I absolutely agree that Flash is a very demanding form, but show me a form that isn't, if you're doing it properly...

Flash is a very demanding form, but show me a form that isn't, if you're doing it properly...

Absolutely agree, Emma. I just wouldn’t want anyone to think flash is easier because it’s short. It is, however, an excellent way to hone a few writing skills.

Dee

Dee, it did cross my mind as I wrote it that it might sound like I was saying flash fiction was easier. Just meant that if you are struggling with the method of how to write a short story, you might find that flash really focuses the mind on the essentials.
Susiex

That’s exactly what it does, Susie, butt there’s a danger of focusing on the single aspect of brevity. Flash fiction has to be a complete story with a beginning/middle/end, so it leaves little room for a new writer to explore things like, for instance, narrative description.

Dee

Point taken.
Susiex

hi there

i am also new to this and know exactly where you are coming from around the partnership idea. I not only lose interest quickly in actually getting my thoughts on paper but my spelling goes out the window as I am in such a rush to get everything out. My friend and I try to exchange ideas but living on different sides of teh world causes issues. I would say it is well worth trying to find someone though, even if just to bounce ideas off of.

good luck!

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

Yes I do provide a secretarial/virtual PA service so have people who could type a manuscript for me.

I'll just have to struggle on and see how I go. At least it's good to know that writing can be learnt.

my spelling goes out the window as I am in such a rush to get everything out.

To me this says that you're exactly in the right zone for writing - the creative, spontaneous, simultaneous un-rational right brain. Spelling can come later - it's a critical, analytical, editorial left-brain thing. If you've got at the things you want to say and they're coming out, go for it, and worry about cutting and shaping and getting it 'right' later.

Dorothea Brande's Becoming a Writer is the classic book for exploring this aspect of writing. Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way and Natialie Goldman's(?) Writing Down the Bones are more recent explorations of the same kinds of thing.

Emma

That's Natalie Goldberg.

That's the one! For some reason I never remember her name, though I've got the book on my shelves.

Emma

I've got it on my desk!

I wrote a novel with someone when I very first started. Never, EVER EVER again. It does not work. Well, certainly not for me because, I think, a novel (or any story) is such a personal thing.

Writing anything is very difficult to do - but it is doable. I'd suggest jumping in and seeing where things take you. If you've got plenty of ideas then you've plenty of potential places to start.

Best of luck!

Nik.


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PS Welcome to the site you two!