Truly, it’s not something I talk about often, but I love writing fiction. Ironic, I know, because I don’t do it very often.
I write non-fiction a lot. All the time. Blog posts. Emails at work. Notes to friends. Marketing pieces. Comments on blogs. Pretty much everything is non-fiction. Facts and opinions, and I’m fine with that. I like all sorts of writing, so I’m not complaining. If I truly wanted to be writing fiction and nothing else, well, I wouldn’t be having this (non-fiction) conversation with you. I’d be up to my eyeballs in the next Great American Novel.
So, why am I bringing this up? Well, Melissa‘s talking about Fiction all month, so there’s that.
But also, on a whim, I opened up the Word document of one of my unfinished novels. …Um, yes, I have more than one. I have one, complete novel, a half-written sequel to it, and a third, half-written novel that kind of bumped the second one out of its place in line but which has been stymied by a circa-1912 legal problem whose solution escapes me. None of these are novels I’ve managed to sell, and since I’ve been focusing on the non-fiction writing for the last several years, they’ve been languishing on my harddrive, poor things.
Anyway, I opened the Word document of that half-written sequel of mine and started to read … and ended up with a huge smile on my face. I LIKED it. I enjoyed it. I was enchanted … it felt wonderful.
Now, I’m not saying that that my fiction is the best fiction in the world. But the fact that simply skimming over the story I had in progress made me feel so good about it reinforces my Number One Rule for Fiction.
Write Something That You Would Buy.
I’ll read almost anything. I’m a reading addict, for heaven’s sake. I can’t go to sleep at night without reading in bed. I carry a book around the house with me, so it’s always in reach. I read while brushing my teeth, while stirring things on the stove, while waiting for the kettle to boil. It’s pretty much my default behavior–if I’m not doing something that is incompatible with reading (driving, bathing, walking the dog), chances are good I’m reading.
When I wrote my first novel, I wrote it because the story that came to me was so good that I wanted to READ IT. And since nobody else had written the book, I was forced to do it myself.
The entire process was a pleasure. Figuring out the story. Making sure my characters were realistic (I hope). Working out the interweaving of the various plots. I loved it. It was like creating my own puzzle, and I ended up with a book that, had I seen it in a bookstore, I would have bought in a minute.
There’s plenty of fiction out there that I read but have no desire to try to write. Tom Clancy-esque action/adventure would require too much technical research. I like reading mysteries, but working out the gruesome details of a murder is too, well, gruesome for me. Those dark, brooding, symbolic books that are loaded with Meaning but leave you feeling like you’re carrying the world on your shoulders are too depressing for me to immerse myself in.
No, the three books I’ve written (more or less) all tell stories that I love. Love! The kinds of stories that make my eyes light up when I think about them. The kind that make me smile. The kind that–even if somebody else had written them–would live on the bookcase next to my bed for the next several eons, just so I could keep them close.
Forget about writing what you know. I mean, yes, it’s decent advice, but even better? Write what you LOVE.
Yes! Write what you want to read and the rest will follow. Personally, I can’t wait to read your novels. You let me know when they hit the bookstores!
Melissa Donovan’s last blog post..Homophones: Weather and Whether
I couldn’t have said it better myself! Writing what you yourself would want to read is a message I’m still trying to get across to my students. I’m bored to tears when it’s time to grade research papers!
Carmen’s last blog post..One More Week….
Deb,
Get those novels finished. I’m eager to read them.
Lillie Ammann’s last blog post..The Taylors Coming to Visit
Lillie, it’s not the finishing that’s (so) hard, it’s the getting them published part that’s tricky! Believe me, I would LOVE for you to have a chance to read them!
I don’t write fiction — yet I tell stories with words and drawings. Some of my stories are examples of searching for solutions or answers to questions I ask. (And I seem to have many.) I draw inferences and use metaphor (fictional, I suppose).
If what I write doesn’t please me to read later, I ignore it. (Lots of that too.)
My favorite reading is good stories — usually with twists or a puzzle to solve. Stories in which people grow in character… uplifting with hope, overcoming obstacles. While I don’t write novels, I suppose what I do write fits those parameters.
I write short, but I read long. 🙂 And all the time, as you do — except not while brushing my teeth. Haha! If I don’t have the next book or two, I panic. I go nowhere without a book to read and a journal to write in. 🙂
You’ve sold me on your trilogy — when do we get to read it?
@Barb–“Write short but read long.” I LIKE that!
And, yeah, just as soon as I find a publisher … anybody know one? (grin)
I’ve heard this before…mostly in writer interviews. Someone asks, why did you write this book, and the author says, because it’s what I want to read. Love this advice. I don’t write non-fiction, so it doesn’t apply to me. But then again, maybe it does. What if we take this advice into our non-fiction writing as well? What kind of email would you want to read? What kind of blog post? What kind of tech document. That’s the best way to approach any kind of writing, I think.
J’s last blog post..The Hearts of Horses
I just popped in to say hi, and I hope you haven’t been blogging because you’re too busy writing fiction and querying agents 😉
Melissa Donovan’s last blog post..From Creative Writing to Creative Marketing
It’s absolutely true–writing something that you yourself would want to read seems absolutely key, and yet so many people don’t think that way!
–Deb’s last blog post..How NOT to Get Your Novel Published
Hiya Deb
I found your blog via Brad Shorr at Word Sell Inc whilst selecting his content for The Write Network.
I saw the title of your article and thought I would say hi and contribute with one of my favourite quotes. This one by Toni Morrison:
I think anyone interested in writing could find some inspiration from that quote. Love it.
Chung Nguyen-Le’s last blog post..Writing a Business Email
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