Novels are long-form prose fiction, typically over 40,000 words. Questions that use this tag can relate to writing, editing, publishing, formatting or technique as applied specifically to novels. If the question applies to more than just novels, it should probably use the Fiction tag instead.
12
votes
6answers
1k views
How should I break up chapters in a novel?
Is it acceptable to pace my chapters in terms of an event? Can I get away with a 4 page chapter here, and a 30 page chapter there?
Are there any reason why I should or should not be sticking to a ...
4
votes
4answers
151 views
Is it strange if a novel starts the first chapter without one of main characters?
I'm writing a novel with the following structure (I'm not very sure what's the technical term):
Chapter One (based on the POV of Character C): C sees B for the first time
Chapter Two (based ...
0
votes
1answer
119 views
To translate a novel with Westerner's point of view
I am an Easterner. I have been translating a novel, that is originally written in my native language, into English. During the process, I have also been learning about cultural things, meant to ...
1
vote
1answer
84 views
Writing competitions
Are there writing competitions/awards for novel length works by authors under 18?
There are certainly prizes for professional novelists, and amateur novelists, but I'm looking for something for ...
1
vote
3answers
86 views
How should I begin my research for my Military Fiction?
Where can I learn about the voice procedures, military jargons, submarine communications and politics involved in navy?
11
votes
7answers
1k views
How to start a book off?
I have been working on my book (on and off...) for about 6 months. I have a good bit planned out with the plot, story line, and characters. I even have a small idea on how to start the story but ...
11
votes
8answers
494 views
What's the benefit of using invented languages in-story?
I'm working on a fictional story set in a fantastical (although coherent) universe; I'm used to seeing, in works like this, invented languages: Tolkien's languages for The Lord of the Rings, or ...
4
votes
5answers
180 views
How to tell a story with the least amount of writing?
I love to invent stories and come up with ideas, but I don't have the patience to fill out all the details that is usually a part of a novel. (For those of you familiar with Myers-Briggs or Jungian ...
2
votes
3answers
95 views
Is a glossary needed in a novel?
Is a glossary needed in a translated-novel?
or I would only need to put the translation of the native words under the brackets?
1
vote
2answers
72 views
Tenses I should use in a translated-novel
I have been translating a novel that is originally written in my native language into English. Considering that the book's plot is the author's experience of a life that has happened in the past, I've ...
7
votes
5answers
117 views
Getting details of a past century right
I have been gathering ideas for a novel. The basic idea is in place; the story combines two different eras but the same place.
How do I get the little details about the place, the people, their life ...
3
votes
2answers
117 views
UK laws broken by piracy of novels
I'm preparing some briefing notes on various open licences and I'm looking for some clarification on legal aspects of standard practice in the UK. (If there is a better SE site for this question feel ...
1
vote
2answers
64 views
What constitutes historical fantasy?
I'm writing a trilogy set 80% in Italy and 20% in other European countries. Each novel incorporates real historical characters and fantasy elements (a magical object, real/imagined symbols, ...
7
votes
4answers
314 views
Is the first draft of a novel usually shorter than the finished work?
I finished the first draft of a novel I'm writing. Right now, it has 17000 words. I've heard that novels these days range from 60,000 to 150,000 words, so I'm a little bit worried (I'm hoping to have ...
3
votes
3answers
152 views
How many different words are in the average novel?
I realize there's going to be a bit of variation here from one author to the next and depending on length of the novel, but the range shouldn't really be too large.
The thing is, I really have no ...
7
votes
9answers
1k views
What are some examples of modern original plots?
In a comment on this answer, a valuable community contributor suggested that it is possible to be totally original in writing, despite the fact that other valuable community members have stated that ...
6
votes
3answers
252 views
What should be put on scene notecards? (for novel writing)
Once, a while back, I tried to use notecards when noveling to organize and develop my novel. The idea (a fairly common one, I believe) was that each scene is noted on a notecard, and you can then ...
20
votes
7answers
2k views
Do most novels not get published?
If a person writes a novel, grammar alright, decent story, word count, etc. everything okay,
Is it a crap shoot for that person to get published? Is it just like the lottery or maybe better ...
0
votes
4answers
138 views
Should it be a Short Story or Full Story
I asked Three questions in another question. To break it up, I am going to ask one which I still would like more feedback on.
NOTE: I was told to break it up by the moderator who closed it. Although ...
3
votes
1answer
87 views
How applicable are screenwriting ideas to novels?
My current goal is to write a novel (I'm already close to the 35K word mark). However, most of the books I've read about story structure are actually about screenwriting.
While stories are stories no ...
0
votes
3answers
280 views
What is the “three-asterisk-break” section called?
What is the name for a text subdivision that is shorter than a chapter, but longer than a paragraph? They are always untitled (unlike chapters, which are at the very least called "Chapter 1", "2" ...
4
votes
1answer
123 views
Scrivener project statistics is showing an incorrect word count
I just purchased Scrivener yesterday and am trying to get it figured out. After importing my manuscript, I cut and pasted it, separating it into the 23 chapters that are linked under "Manuscript" in ...
14
votes
4answers
1k views
What is a beat?
I keep hearing the word "beat" in Writers.SE, as in "... break your scene into beats" from this question. What is a beat? How is it different from a scene?
5
votes
3answers
171 views
Is it really necessary to add things like “I thought, I wondered, etc,” in first-person narrative?
Example:
The whole thing sounded a bit strange. How had she gotten my number? I
wondered. I didn't know anyone called Maria.
The whole thing sounded a bit strange. How had she gotten my ...
2
votes
3answers
176 views
Italicizing and adding accents to Spanish words in an English novel.
In my current novel I have a few characters who speak Spanish. The book takes place along the Texico border, so it happens frequently. I know that in more foreign Spanish, or when someone speaks a ...
5
votes
2answers
161 views
Breaking the 'cooling down' rule after finishing the first draft
I've read that after finishing the first draft, you should distance yourself from the project at least a month.
I just finished the first draft of my novel (10 chapters). I've been trying to not to ...
2
votes
2answers
168 views
How to know if the events in my novel are 'realistic enough'?
Sometimes I find my self wondering if the events in my novels are 'realistic enough.' I aware that they don't need to happen in real life, but I want the reader to think: oh yeah, this could happen in ...
2
votes
1answer
88 views
Is it a bad idea to turn a short story into a full-length novel?
I've written a couple of short stories. I'm really satisfied with some of them, and I would like to turn them into full-length novels. They were meant to be short stories from the beginning, but I ...
7
votes
7answers
414 views
How to overcome the fact that I can't write long stories?
I have written some short stories (in fact, they are flash fiction). When I'm writing short stories, the ideas and the structure come to my mind by themselves.
Something different happens when I try ...
5
votes
7answers
249 views
What's the most marketable title?
I am writing a novel about someone being chased by the Russian Mafia. A hitman is sent to save her and that's where the books takes off. I have way too many titles floating in my brain - three to be ...
2
votes
2answers
296 views
Should a long flashback be written in first or third person?
In my novel there will be a chapter-length flashback as one character relates a story from his past. The rest of the novel is written in limited third-person, seeing into one person's mind at a time.
...
8
votes
5answers
839 views
What is a good methodology for researching a historical novel?
I'm having difficulty with the research aspect of my historical novel. This question was originally going to be "how much research should one do to write a historical novel?" to which, answering my ...
5
votes
2answers
328 views
Any suggestions to improve these three introductory paragraphs of a novel I'm writing (e.g. writing style, description and flow)?
These are the paragraphs:
Someone had called me at half past eleven. The phone rang six times
breaking the silence and darkness of the room for about ten or
twelve seconds. I didn’t pick up. ...
2
votes
2answers
192 views
How do I maintain flow and interest when handling numerous plot threads?
I want to learn how to maintain the flow of a novel's plot - there are so many characters and events to organize. What I find most difficult is the way a writer needs to shift from one phase of the ...
8
votes
1answer
480 views
What binding and paper should be used on a self-printed novel?
The last time I printed a book I just needed something done cheaply and quickly. The print store used very bright, glossy office paper (the same that they use for office documents) and used ...
8
votes
4answers
427 views
How do I avoid a “mid-story info dump?”
I am revising the manuscript for a novel. About a third into the story, a major turning point occurs when the main character (through whom the reader follows the story) realizes that things are not at ...
9
votes
9answers
221 views
Will my readers feel like they are reading a children's storybook if there are illustrations in my novel?
I'm writing a novel. I also have good drawing skills. I would like to add illustrations of the setting, locations and characters. I may include 8 or 10 illustrations (the novel is approximately 200 ...
15
votes
6answers
477 views
How can I make a story bigger?
I have written a first draft of what I want to be a novel -- aiming for 50-70K words. When the ending arrived I was at about 30K. So I essentially have to double the length. My list of notes scattered ...
13
votes
6answers
844 views
Keeping track of multiple plot lines
How do you track several plot lines woven together?
I usually run 2 or 3 plot-lines in parallel, so I detail those plots each in a separate document. But as the book goes on, it is sometimes ...
5
votes
4answers
339 views
Do I need to know anything to write a short story that I wouldn't know by studying how to write novels?
For a long time now, I've been reading books on how to get the first draft of a novel written. I've finally begun putting the knowledge I've gathered to practice and look forward to the results. In ...
3
votes
2answers
133 views
How to restart a novel(la)?
I've got a novel(la) of 33,000+ (130 or so manuscript pages) words that I would like to build up to 60,000 or so words - but I'm having trouble restarting the project...
So my question is this: what ...
6
votes
3answers
405 views
How to develop a story for a novel?
I am looking for some inspiration on where to start writing a novel. I have a general idea for a plot and characters, but I don't feel it's enough for sitting down and starting to write. It needs a ...
7
votes
6answers
536 views
Examples for books that don't use (traditional) chapters?
I'm a big fan of Terry Pratchett, and he doesn't use chapters (mostly). Are there any other authors who don't or tend to not use chapters?
4
votes
3answers
582 views
I have too much dialogue, how do I add more description?
I was looking at the last book I wrote. In it, I failed to meet the word count I had set for myself by a big margin, like 40,000 words instead of 60-70,000.
Doing a post mortem, I found that most of ...
0
votes
0answers
82 views
When did conversational dialogue in fiction writing become a prevalent writing style in British Literature? [closed]
Is there a specific time period, author or group of authors that popularized the stye?
5
votes
2answers
1k views
What is the recomended word-count for a fantasy-fiction book?
By recommended I mean what is the standard for it to be not too long and not too short. I know I should write until I am finished but I want to take practicality into account as well. Mainly when the ...
7
votes
5answers
276 views
Write multiple trilogies or make a saga?
So I am currently writing a fantasy story that tends to be long.
This question is related to the following question: related
The main difference resides in that it is certain that the story will be ...
8
votes
5answers
356 views
Am I too prepared to do NaNoWriMo?
I've been wanting to do NaNoWriMo for years and finally decided that this year will be the one. But I already have extensive notes and a plot outline, and I'm concerned that this might actually trip ...
5
votes
7answers
313 views
Are fantasy books expected to be trilogies?
Lately, more and more fantasy books I've seen are part of a trilogy. Is this because readers like it, or is it a cynical plot by publishers to draw out the story longer, so they can make more money? ...
0
votes
3answers
274 views
How to cover different perspectives/levels of thinking in one story?
I was reasoning with a friend about why movies/novels often get highly successful while other, despite having an interesting story/topic, dont get much attention. We came to speak about Matrix, Pulp ...
