Jumat, 06 Juli 2012

What Works Best: Novel Software or Books About Writing


Most novelists are readers first and foremost. First you read widely and voraciously for years but then the time comes when you feel you should write a novel yourself. But then, having reached this decision, most aspiring novelists quickly find that there are glaring gaps in their knowledge base, especially how to structure a novel and how to create believable characters. That is usually the time to hit the bookstores in search of books about writing. That's how it has been for centuries. But now novel software offers another medium for learning the craft.
A few renowned novelists have written books on the subject of writing novels, among them Stephen King in On Writing - A Memoir of the Craft. These books can teach a lot to aspiring novelists it is true, but as Stephen King himself points out, most of them fall far short in this mission. For this reason he decided to write a very short book (278 pages), as he said, to be sure it wasn't "full of bullshit".
This attitude is an eye opener, you have to agree. But if you haven't done so already I think you should go ahead all the same and read his book on writing because it is full of insights into the doggedly difficult business of trying to make it as a novelist. Maybe you have faced times when you found yourself wondering why you chose to write at all. Well, it is sort of reassuring when you learn that a successful contemporary novelist like Stephen King went through much the same thing to get where he is.
But where does that leave us aspiring novelists trying to bridge the gaps in our knowledge of the craft? I have elsewhere argued in favor of novel software as a very useful writing tool for giving the beginning novelist fast-track insight into the process and the best practice on how to write a novel, but of course one cannot ignore the role of good books about writing in the ever continuing education of a novelist.
In a nutshell then, where the books on writing may have the edge on writing software in this mission is their ability to teach you a thing or two about sentence structure and writing style, what to leave in and what to leave out in your storytelling - the more nuanced aspects of writing fiction mostly. The very detailed ones may also give you prep-ups and exercises to bolster your endurance and attitude and who can't use a bit of that?
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