How to Not Write A Novel

[Katie-Ellen]

Well, what's the goal in writing one? 'Therapy', fun or creating a product for shipping and sale?
I first began, no clear plan, to find out if I could write a novel, any novel, just write one. I needed to find out. I am in awe of those long hand writers who did it all without benefit of a word processor or even a typewriter.

http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/7-things-that-will-doom-your-novel-how-to-avoid-them

 

[Carol Rose]

I write because if I don't, the voices (characters) in my head leak out and commit unspeakable acts.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

To learn. Inspired curiosity, having got so much from books, what might I produce, myself?
To MAKE for the sake of making, acquiring craft.
To draw on a well, see what comes up in the bucket
To explore within a great tradition
To try and understand or convey something about certain experiences
To visit an inner world but not come out empty handed...as with reading Tarot.
For love
For fun
For pride
To spin fortune's wheel
To be a ship looking at a lighthouse
To be a lighthouse standing alone
To be a ship signalling with passing ships...hallooooooo
To add and to share, with goods to ship.

 

[Richard Sutton]

Tara's an old soul with the voice of truth! If I don't write my stories down, they will keep me enslaved. How NOT to write a novel? by NOT writing it.

 

[Carol Rose]

Tara's an old soul with the voice of truth! If I don't write my stories down, they will keep me enslaved. How NOT to write a novel? by NOT writing it.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Yes. Misleading choice of post title.

 

[Kelly Michelle Baker]

Very interesting article. I write because I have something to say. I don't write for a market or audience, I don't write what's selling (FYI: young adult dragon novels are not in vogue). The stories are my own, and if someone chooses to read them, I'm ecstatic that the reader took a chance!

But I follow these rules:

1) Wait for inspiration
2) Nurture the seed of an idea. See if it grows a beginning, middle, and an ending.
3) Take notes. Flesh out the beginning, middle and end. Discover the characters and how they fit. Discover side plots, but don't lose sight of the big picture. This can be done in a few months (crappy novel) or over 15 years (magnum opus).
4) Organize notes into an outline.
5) Start writing when no one is looking. Finish in 1-4 years.

 

[booknut77]

Good responses here. Yes, the voices have got to get onto paper and out of my head.
I will also add that I write what I like to read and can't find enough of, light clean fiction.
Plus, it's a lot of fun and I feel good about myself when I'm writing, something is missing otherwise.

 

[Emurelda]

This is both amusing and resonantly true! Getting back into the groove again after a bit of a week's break is what I was after and found this awesome thread. Thx @Katie-Ellen Hazeldine

 

[Island Writer]

Great responses... I'll add:
To prove that I can grapple with a concept and get it down on paper in a cohesive way
To explore the creativity I never allowed to breathe

 

[Stephen Drake]

Tara's an old soul with the voice of truth! If I don't write my stories down, they will keep me enslaved. How NOT to write a novel? by NOT writing it.

Maybe so, but we all know where that would lead us!