If people could be paid for ideas, I'd be rich as I am sure most of us here would be. I have a myriad of ideas for novels, but not all of them are practical for me to write at the moment due to the amount of research that I would need to put in, some of which is issues like location and others that require money and time away to research, neither of which I have being newly self-employed.

I have two ideas for longer length works - one I see as a film, the other a novel. It is the novel I want to focus on. The idea is partially formed, and is based in my own locality, featuring local issues - none of which should be difficult to findout more about.

My problem is that I don't seem able to get started because I don't know where the story starts. I feel that I need to know this before I put pen to paper, but there is so much information that I can't get my head around it.

What would you do? STart writing regardless and hope that a natural beginning emerges? Or develop the story till I have a good idea of what goes where? Does everyone do this differently?

As you can maybe tell, I have never written a novel - and struggling at the first hurdle is making me doubt my own ability. Help

Hi Daisy

I have exactly the same problem; it took me nearly 3 years to get my novel done, whereas a screenplay is (for me) a far more manageable project in terms of planning structure and character. I made the (possible?) mistake of not planning my novel and it spiralled increasingly further out of control. There was never any doubt in my mind I would get it done, but I think with proper planning I could have halved the time it took. Now I am like you – buckets of ideas but none are fully complete coz my bleedin’ novel took over. I reckon a synopsis is a good place to start for a novel, followed by chapter breakdown. It really doesn’t matter if this changes, but at least you have a direction to follow that has an end in sight.

The thing is, I feel my novel came out better for not knowing exactly where it was going. The twists sometimes even surprised me and I think I built the characters into much more believable entities. But that’s my opinion – the agents/publishers I’ve offered it to don’t seem to agree!

So, on a basic level my advice is as much use as a chocolate teapot, but may help you to decide where to take your novel. Writing screenplays is great fun though, and I find a good warming up exercise is a bit of character development for potential screenplays. Novels are obviously a much more intricate discipline, where every sentence needs to be constructed with thought, so maybe try and do both simultaneously. When inspiration runs dry for one, do the other for a day or two.

Anyway I’m just dribbling on now, so will leave it at that. I hope it helps a bit…

Regards


Dav

Kind of what I thought - planning it is great - but then so is not planning it!

I know where the film idea would start because I can see the openeing seen in my mind. Maybe the fact that it is such a visual medium helps? I don't know.

I do have pictures in mind of scenes in the novel, but I don't have a start yet. Maybe some more deliberation over a couple of glasses of wine is whats needed....

<Added>

Ooops, made one glaring omission...

Thanks for the reply, I truly appreciate it :)

No probs - I hope it helps (probably not as much as the wine, but still...)

On reflection I don't think I could bear to intricately plan an entire novel, only the characters, main points of conflict, the beginning and end. All these can be changed, save the characters. Once you have them, everything else will fall into place.

The visual aspect of movies definitely makes them easier to plan in your mind, before transferring onto indivudual post cards or whatever for the scenes. I s'pose modern, commercial fiction is based on the same principle - show don't tell. The audience is so finetuned to our movie culture, they actually visualise the novel as a movie.

Well, possibly...

Glad it helped anyway, and good luck with the beginning!

Regards

Dav

there is so much information that I can't get my head around it

Hi Daisy,

This is possibly one of the reasons you can’t get started – your head is so full you can’t see what you’ve got. If I were you I’d just start writing it. Write anything, in any order and don’t worry about finding the ‘best’ words or phrases. Just get it out of your head. Then you’ll be able to see it more clearly.

It’s not uncommon to change the opening point of a novel so I wouldn’t worry about starting at the beginning. You can come back to it later. A lot of writers start in the middle and work outwards to either end.

And don’t worry about writing scenes in the correct sequence. If I think of a scene I write it as quickly as I can (otherwise I’ll forget it!) and leave it at the end. Then when I get to the point where it fits I just move it into position. I must confess I got in a terrible muddle recently with the current novel (not the one I’m uploading – shameless plug 110) In the end I printed it out, cut it up and shuffled it into the correct order. I’m now rushing to transfer the changes onto my PC before I drop the damned bundle and get it all muddled up again!

As for visualising – I do that all the time. I see a scene in my head, I can see the characters – what they’re wearing, what they’re doing, their mannerisms – and I can hear them talking. I know where they are, what their surroundings are like, hear background noises… then I simply write down what I see and hear.

Hope this helps.

Dee

Lol @ Dee and her Blue Peter scenario... reminds me of printing off huge spreadsheets at work, and getting out the sellotape - the damned thing took up half the floorspace.

Yeah, I'll maybe have to just jump in with both feet and see where it takes me.

Thanks for that.

Hi Daisy

I'm hesitant about offering advice because there is no correct/best way to write. There's just what's best for you. You only find that out by actually writing.

When I wrote my first novel I started in the middle and worked my way out. I didn't plan anything, but I discovered a lot about how I write. That really doesn't work for me any more - I'm much more of a linear writer - I work out a plot outline, start at the beginning and write to the end. But like Dee says, if I get an idea for a scene, no matter where in the story it is, I scribble it down so I don't forget it. What I also find useful at the start is to write down a character sketch of the main characters, flesh them out a bit. I'm not talking about a formal character sheet - they don't work for me - but just an outline of who these people are, what's important to them.

If you're at the stage where your head's full of plot bunnies, write them down - see where they take you - you may be surprised.

I run the movie in my head too - all I do is write down what I see!

Cas

I have the same problem with short stories, so it's not just novels, although there is clearly more to get your head around with a novel.

What Dee said above is the tactic I am trying to take with the story I am working on right now.... I'm carrying the thing around in my head -- and I know all of the story -- but whenever I start writing I seem to have bypassed something important.

So I have decided that I am just going to write from beginning to end, and then print it, cut out every paragraph, start rearranging, retype, then start fixing.

God I hope this works! It's so FRUSTRATING!

Ani

Here's my advice for all it's worth. Don't think about the words, think about the imags you want, the emotion.

Imagine it as though you were watching the film of the book. How would that film start. Set the scene and build your words to fit, build them around it. Use the image as a scaffold, the words as bricks and mortar.

Geoff

Have you thought of starting with the synopsis of the story?

A useful technique I have used in the past is to write a much shorter version, or synopsis, of the story, say a thousand words. Pretend you're telling the story to a mate down the pub, but make sure you include all the main elements of the story.

You should be able to identify the beginning - the middle - and the end. Then take each of those parts and split them into scenes (or chapters) - a bit like Geoff has suggested, perhaps using his film analogy - and then work on the detail of each scene, how it links to the previous scene, how it moves the story onto the next scene.

Then add progressively more and more detail to each section.

Don't know if this helps

John