So You Wanna Write a Novel? PART ONE

I often have discussions with people who will say to me "Wow- that is so cool you actually have published novels. I wish I could be disciplined enough to write one. I have this great idea..."

Well, I will say...why not?

It is an ambitious task, no doubt, writing and finishing a novel. It takes weeks, or months of writing on a daily schedule. Even a few sentences a day. BUT- before you attempt it ask yourself these questions:

* Have I thought out the plot enough to be able to sustain a compelling story for 200-300 pages?
* Are the characters fleshed out to create a cast of interesting and unique individuals?
* Do you know your world well enough to describe it and make it a character in itself?
* Maybe you idea would make a better short story? Or a screenplay?

Lets assume the answer to the first three questions are a resounding YES. Now what? Well, that depends on your personality and style. If you are a detail oriented and obsessed with planning than use that strength. Write a chapter by chapter outline. This could be as simple as chapter names or as complex as detailed descriptions.

If you are more impetuous and like the freedom of spontaneous creation that go that route...(BUT if your are penning a complex thriller than I suggest a detailed outline noting all the twists and turns and red herrings. There is no such thing as a meandering page-turner. )

No matter what genre you are writing I would suggest one rule of thumb regarding planning: Know WHY your story ends. Not so much WHERE or WHEN but WHY are you writing it? You sent your hero (or anti hero) off on an advnture. Why? What is he or she to acomplish or learn? Every word you write pushes the main character towards that end. If you have your destination set firmly then you can stop at a few roadside attractions on the way as long as they offer a worthwhile view. The little tangents and character surprises (where the characters begin acting "on their own" is one of the greatest joys of writing.

You will find the first few chapters flow easily. You're excited and motivated. Then you hit a few speed bumps and this is where the champs are separated from the wannabes. Keep writing. Set a daily goal. Make it easy–one paragraph. That's it! If you promise yourself ten pages a day I will tell you exactly what will happen. The first two days you will meet your goal. YES! Then day three you'll stop at 5 pages. OH OH. Then 6 you'll write two. UGH. Then one. I SUCK. You will be discouraged and you'll stop and that stack of thirty or so pages will remain just that–an unfinished novel.

Trust me. If you write something per day, a page, a paragraph, a sentence BUT keep it going every day I promise that by the end of the year, max, you'll have your first draft.

A YEAR! UGH.

Well ask yourself this: did you have a completed manuscript at the end of last year? If not, just think how nice it will be to have one at the end of next year.

Sart with the questions above. Answer them honestly. Then start your novel. One word at a time and watch the stack grow.

To be continued...

Michael DiCerto is the author of Milky Way Marmalade and recently his first middle grade novel Book One of The Adventures of Rupert Starbright: The Door to Far-Myst and Book Two: The Adventures of Rupert Starbright: The Secret of My-Myst.
www.mikedicerto.com

Writers Need Itchy Feet

In my middle-grade fantasy series, The Adventures of Rupert Starbright, young Rupert shakes the leaves from his gray world and travels afar to magical lands and strange new roads. The impact on him is immediate and powerful.

As a writer, travel is one of the greatest sources of inspiration and, I feel, a must for anyone who writes for love and or profit. I recently took an amazing trip with my wife to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. We chose the Mediterranean as our destination and got to see amazing places in Spain, France but especially Italy where I felt a strange and wonderful sense of belonging. Being of Italian decent, I fell in love with this beautiful land which felt like home from distant memories.

I despise the "ugly" traveler. Be they American or Zimbabwean, nothing irks me more than folks who find it necessary to make comparisons to their homeland with the places they visit- pointing out flaws or problems in the guest land. When traveling soak and revel in it all. The bumps and bruises are part of the character of a place. Unless you hail from a Utopian heaven-on-Earth, there is no sense in pointing to the black stains on the kettle, to use a cliche.

Exposing yourself to new landscapes, faces, foods and cultural artifacts makes you a better person. It sparks the imagination and adds new entries into our inner library of sights, sounds, smells and tastes that can be later plucked and put on the page. But beyond the practical use of your experiences in your writing, it opens up your mind and broadens your outlook. If you let it.

Its fun to see the popular tourist attractions, especially if it is your first visit to a place. But it is also a great fun to find peculiar and unique sites. Being animal lovers, especially cats, my wife and I learned that there was a cat shelter located in the heart of Rome. We found it on the map and were determined to visit this site which was located in an ancient Roman ruin known as Largo di Torre Argentina. Fresh off our flight from NYC, we wandered the sunny Rome cityscape until standing before us was a square block sized sunken ruin. Dotting this landscape (where Julius Ceaser was killed in 44 AD) were fuzz balls of difference colors. I volunteer at a NYC cat adoption center but to see one of this nature was a joy. We met many of the residents, some who looked rather beat up but were very friendly and obviously well cared for. Despite the huge difference between Ollie's Place in NYC and Largo di Torre - the common denominator was the love of gattos. The distance from NYC to Rome shrunk to pea size. It proved that we share so much as humans  but simply do things with different cultural masks.

I returned from this adventure filled with a desire to continue to learn to speak Italian, to read up on Italian history and to write. My itchy feet were scratched for now and I feel a richer person for it. I await the next itch. Until then- bouna scrittura!

More info on Mike DiCerto's books can be found at www.mikedicerto.com

I'm hooked on Rupert Starbright

I hope you are enjoying the Memorial Day weekend!

This month I’m posting my review for The Secret of My-Myst by Mike DiCerto (another YAAYNHO blogger). This is the second book in the Rupert Starbright series which I love because it’s all about the magic of imagination, which is such an empowering message to young readers. And the cover is totally cool. I hope you will join me in introducing this fun new series to all the kids you know and love.

The Secret of My-Myst
The Adventures of Rupert Starbright (Volume 2)
By Mike DiCerto
Zumaya Publications 
April 2012
240 pages

The Secret of My-Myst is Book 2 in the Adventures of Rupert Starbright series. And Mike DiCerto does not disappoint. We jump back into the thick of it with our hero, Rupert and his companion Dream Weaver. The evil Murkus still enslaves the children of Far-Myst while his darkness spreads across the land. He is more terrifying and powerful than ever before as a flame-throwing, winged Dragon Lord. Rupert is still trying to make his way home to Graysland. On a quick trip to the outhouse, Rupert crosses paths with Quix and Xerks, Murkus’s boy soldiers. They lure him into the Wildness with the promise of finding the treatmentia bush to cure his grandmother’s coffus. After all, the only reason he even came to this bizarre-o-land was to help his grandmother, who happens to be a very wise woman. But now he’s stuck here.

As much as I would like to go on and on about this captivating tale, you really must enter the mysterious land of My-Myst with Rupert and meet the shape-shifting Truseens for yourself. Be prepared to lose all contact with the outside world while immersed in this mesmerizing adventure. Once again imagination plays a major role – which I love. Amazing things are learned about the Weaver kids. And the path to victory does not necessarily mean destroying the enemy.

The Adventures of Rupert Starbright is a top-notch, original fantasy series. For all the questions The Door to Far-Myst (Book 1) asked,  The Secret of My-Myst answers – then asks some more. Along his journey this time, Rupert discovers a connection between Graysland and the strange lands of Far-Myst and My-Myst. See if you can figure it out. I’m pretty sure the answer will come in Book 3. I confess, I’m hooked on Rupert Starbright.

Peggy Tibbetts

Now available at Amazon
PFC Liberty Stryker
Letters to Juniper

Become a Facebook fan