So... You want to be Popular? (FINISHED)

Noelle's Blog: My response letter

I love reading inspirations blogs, writing journals, or personal diaries.  Noelle's blog is called: Monster don’t live under your bed. They live inside your head.  The blog features free spirited entries about college life, boyfriends/dating, friendships, and writing.  I can never convince her to update her novels frequently, but she updates her blog frequently and I enjoy all of the entries. 

Each entry is usually a opinion drawn from some experience or memory.  If I show a ten people the same article, they may each have a different opinion and draw their own conclusions from that article. This undoubtedly makes personal entries special.  I was really inspired by Noelle's #22 entry. So here are some of the topics I agreed and disagreed with.  

#1 Cliché stories/ Unrealistic stories/ happy endings/ 

  The site is filled with unrealistic stories. As Noelle points out, love/hate romances and bad boy stories are very popular.  People love cliché stories and that is undeniable fact.  

Quote:  "Do you really want to read forty chapters into a novel, only to find out that the main protagonist doesn’t get his/her happily ever after in the end?"  -Noelle (Source=blog) 

   Actually, I would love to read a story with a sad ending. I'm not necessary the typical romance reader, though. 

 The typical reader wants to escape with a story that will make him/her forget the stressful events of everyday life. Let's face it; most romance stories are not intellectual stimulating. They are used as an activity to escape.  Some romance novels may inspire deep thoughts. Others may have the ability to make you laugh or smile.  

Noelle also says, she knows a writer with incredible writing skills and this author has the ability to turn a simple idea into a masterpiece. Noelle also says,  "Here’s my point: You don’t have to have a good plot to write a good story. You don’t have to have a superbly complex plot, like Inception, or a unique one like Easy A." 

Write what your heart tells you to write. It doesn't matter if you choose a simple story or a story with a complex plot.   Noelle says some of the best stories of all time have had simple plots such as mean girls, Wild child, and A Cinderella story.  

So honestly, I cannot write a simple story to save my life.  The majority of my novels have complex plots. I often take on stories that are too complicated.  However, I wouldn't define all simple stories as cliché ideas.   

For instance, the man in the sea doesn't have a complicated plot by any means.  Yet, it is one of the greatest classics of all time.  If you write a simple plot, make it realistic.   I would rather read a story about an average woman falling for an average man.  

If a plot is simple, then I do believe it should be more realistic.  Imagine an innocent widow falling for a dark, dangerous man.  Why are they attracted to each other? Cliché stories are fine,  but they become repetitive and boring after a while.

Take the idea of a typical cliché story and shock your readers by turning it into an original.  

Noelle also says that not everyone is capable of writing.  Quote:  So no matter how hard they advertise, or how hard they try, they’re never going to get the reads because they can’t tell a good story. (Source: Blog) 

Do you have to have some underlying talent to write a good story?  I don't think so.  The other day I was checking my messages.   

"Give me an idea. I want to write a story that will attract thousand of readers."

"I want to write good story. How do you write a good story." 

 No one can tell you how to write. I can tell you: here are things that will help you attract readers but I can't tell you how to write a good novel.  Hell, I'm not even sure if I could write a good novel for myself.  I think people tend to take stories for grant and therefore don't realize how hard it is to produce stories. 

There is a great story of a doctor and a writer.

The doctor says:  I'm going to write a novel, today.

The writer says: I think I'm going to perform brain surgery today. 

This example may be extreme but writing one story doesn't make you an author.  And people shouldn't expect to get a massive amount of readers for their first story. If you want to write  a good story, you have to believe in your work and you have to continue to push yourself everyday. 

Point is:  I don't think it takes talent to write a story. I think anyone an be a writer if they choose to. I think anyone can learn how to write if they have a passion for the craft.  But, you have to be willingly to write for years. You have to passion for your stories. What compels you to write? This is a question that really needs to be answered. 

Writing is a life long commitment. Don't call yourself a writer if you are not willingly to dedicate yourself to the craft.  It takes a lot of time, skill, and dedication to produce novels. 

Though, everyone thinks they can write an inspiration novel.  

Noelle says: So at times, when I go on Booksie and see this newbie go: “Can you read my novel because I think I’m going to get published?”, I’ll be like “Seriously?


I literally laughed out loud when I read this part of the article.  I don't like when writers boast about their abilities even they are great.  In fact if you have to convince me that your novel is great then they is obviously something wrong with your novel.  

When people say that they are going to get published, I stop and laugh. These people are people who have no actual knowledge about the publishing industry.   Yes, you would be lucky if an agent read past the first line of your novel. 

Noelle concludes the article with a few final points: They say that as a writer, you can be your biggest critic, and your biggest fan. (Noelle’s blog)

Quote: "Being a fan of yourself is fine. OBSESSING over your novel isn’t."-Noelle (Blog)   She says that she  hardly ever hardly thinks of her characters.  

Quote: "Treating your fictional characters like they’re real is unhealthy as well. "  Both of these statements are very complex.  It's easy to say it is wrong and unhealthy to think about anything obsessive.   Having an obsessive personality does push people to accomplish great things.  If you watched the Olympics, you can understand this concept.  Think of an athlete who works around the clock to accomplish his goals. If that athlete didn't isolate everyone his family/friends, he would not have won a gold medal.  If that writer didn't write ten hours a day for twenty years then he may of never had a chance to produce a best selling novel. So I will argue that having an obsessive personality compels people to succeed. 

I have an extremely obsessive personality. If I devote time to studying, I’m NOT going to get below a high B.  I'm either failing or on the honor roll.  I think of my stories consistently and I over analyze every plot line in the mind.  And, I play random scenes in my head all day long. I think about what doesn't fit and what will or won't make the story better.  Physically, it's a button in my head I can't turn of because being a writer is a huge part of my identity.  I have to write everyday or I don't feel whole.  

And now, I'm going to be writing more than ever.  But, I'm not just writing for the fun of it. I'm writing because I'm trying to accomplish all of my goals in the next 5-6 years.  

:)  If I used anything in the blog, I tried to cite it to the best of my knowledge.  

Link to Noelle's blog: http://cremoisies.wordpress.com/

Read it or Die: I'm kidding! But you really should check out her wonderful blog!