Writing: Magna Cartas
While reading No Plot? No Problem, one (or is it two?) of the exercises the author suggested completing prior to attempting the 50K novel in 30 days, such as National Novel Writing Month in November was two make two lists:
- One list of the elements that bring you enjoyment of reading a novel.
- One list of the elements that make you want to bury the book in the backyard so you never have to look at it again.
These are meant to be guidelines to keep in mind as I or you write our own novels. If we stick to the list of things we like ourselves in novels, we will more than likely keep the momentum going in our own writing.
So…here’s my attempt at those lists. I’m not putting a time limit on creating them so they may be constantly changing as I put more and more thought into it all.
(quotes are from No Plot? No Problem!)
What, to you, makes a good novel?
It’s an excruiatingly broad question, but give it a shot. And feel free to be as vague or as nerdily detailed as you like; this list can include anything from ultra-short chapters to ribald sex scenes to massive infusions of ill-tempered elves. Anthing that floats your fictional boat should go on the list.
- strong female characters
- reluctant heroes
- antagonistic protagonists
- bad boys struggling for redemption
- vampires
- the supernatural
- characters who shift back and forth between good and evil
- conspiracies
- quirky characters
- love/hate romances
- unexpected twists
- unexpected endings
Write down those things that bore or depress you in noels. Again, feel free to be as specific as you like. And be honest. If you don’t like books where the words-to-pictures ration favors the text too heavily; write that down. We’re not here to judge. We just want to understand better.
- too much flowery description
- men that are too perfect
- all-powerful characters
- tortured, sulky vampires
- vampires the defy logic — like being invisible in mirrors or changing into bats
- stereotypes — either cultural or characteristic
- predictability
- too much time spent explaining things
