- Writing is a verb -
Last week I have reached my first milestone: the first ten chapters of my book are finished! Okay, they still need to be rewritten and some things might need to be added, but considered all this, it feels pretty good to have completed this part! All of a sudden it is the beginning of a real story with body, where characters come alive. The good thing about the way I started, with writing short stories per chapter, is that I have already written some material to use later on in the book.
Apart from writing I still keep on doing research per topic. Still looking for tips on how to improve myself as a novice writer as well. I keep on searching for information, confirmation and input to check if I am still on the right track. The question came to mind: 'What makes a novel a GOOD novel?' Well, that depends on who you ask, as it mostly based on personal taste. Of course there are guidelines and formulas to write a book, especially a novel. A great website to consult for this is www.schrijvenonline.org with many forums and tips from professional writers. Another thing I am doing at the moment is rereading novels, with the eyes of a writer this time, to analyze them.
I have summarized tips and personal opinions of readers and came to quite a list. Are you ready? Here it comes! A good story: needs to be original, unpredictable, exclusive and credible, has lively characters, is written in clear language and a fluent way, triggers emotions with the reader, gives the reader something to think about, has to have continuity, contains some threat, mystery or suspense, 'draws' the reader into the world of the book, challenges the reader to come to new insights, provokes the imagination of the reader, shows good research and, last but not least, seduces the reader to read it more than once... Still a long way to go, but I am enjoying the view along the way!, Love, M.
