write a novella

There are a few things I like to have handy before I start writing:

1. A brief, one-sentence pitch about what I’m writing. I write this down on an index card and put it in front of my desk, so if halfway through my book, I don’t forget what I’m writing and end up writing something else entirely.

2. A series of brief, one-sentence character sketches.

3. A chapter-by-chapter outline. Not everyone does this, and that’s OK. But I like structure, and I like heavy plots, so an outline helps me out tremendously.

Once I have all that, I try and find a focal point that will give me perspective. For example, this novella will be around 60-75 pages, which is roughly about the same size as an hour-long TV drama. Having that as my focal point will (hopefully) help keep the pacing sharp, and keep me from making the plot too heavy for the allotted word count (17,500 words).

I know a lot of people who write scenes as they come to them, but I prefer a linear structure. That means I’ll start on page one and push through until I reach the end. No jumping ahead, no staying behind to edit. Sure, this makes for more work in the editing stage, when I go back through and realize I’ve changed my main character’s name four or five times, but the way I see it, the first draft is the fun draft. It’s the only draft where anything can happen and usually does, so why suck the fun out of it? Written pages can be fixed; blank ones, not so much.

Right now, my goal is to write an hour a day, every day, until I’m done. (I like to measure my progress in time, rather than words, because a huge part of setting realistic goals is basing them on things that can be controlled, as opposed to things that can’t—like how many words I can churn out in a day.)

For a while I’ve been wanting to write a novel but can never get above six pages, but my short stories are brillant. Normally I can write them in a day. mostly though I write to six pages and freeze I now it won’t turn into a novel because I’m half way through, but the thought scares me a bit. Novels are so hard for me, even reading them makes my head twitch. So I’m trying out novellas. I know I can write them I love to have people guessing in my writing so I now I’ll have enough to say. So wish me luck (or good fortune) because I’ll need it.

I have a story to tell.
It started with an incident in January which I thought I was going to turn into a short story. I though of two or three themes that would naturally have to be the focus. I only wrote down a description of the real incident, though. The story outline stayed somewhere in the back of my head for months and I had fun thinking about it every now and then. The last time I thought about it, I realised that it had actually grown quite a bit and that some other themes were quite relevant, more times and places, thoughts and consequences ought to be described…
The outline right now looks a lot like something that’ll hopefully be a novella when it’s written: The core of the story is a conflict,it’ll focus on one character and its relation to another, the whole story is triggered by a very singular event and I will heavily rely on one particular symbol.
I’m still quite unsure about the ending, the characters are kind of shady and I wonder about the structure and when to mention what for dramatic effect. I intend for it not to be as staight-forward as novella structures usually are, I guess.

So, I’m really becoming a writer! Finished about 11 pages so far on the novella and started another story, not sure whether it’ll be a short story or novella.

First 6 pages done, very stoked. First time I truly feel passionate about writing a story, I know this will mean that I will follow through until completion. My Heart shall be in this novella, It will be written with my blood.

It was published by an academic press and I hold the last remaining copies (not for sale). BUT the best thing was not the publication, not the best part at all. The writing and being able to look back at it now and see the writer that I was becoming. I had a mentor at the time and that made a significant difference in the progress and completion of the work.

I finished my novella…!

Now I must edit edit edit!

I hope it can be (locally) published!

Finally, I’ve started writing my novella.
It just came one night, when i got this electric typewriter from work…
It’s called Interface.
I’m so excited!!!!

I can’t write a novel. But I can do poetry. So I think maybe a novella could work. I just need to take writing classes! I have sooo many good ideas tho…

the novella form is really interesting. it’s condensed, but it still has all the same elements as a novel does.

my recent editing bout with my novella has helped me think about writing in a very different way.

i am definitely thinking about writing more down the road.