So, I was asked to write a reflection on the novel writing project we did in one of my classes. We then had to post it to the internet so people other than our classmates would read it. So, here it is.
My Reflection:
Most of my free writing in the past has been FanFiction and/or circle writing. I love both of those types, but original fiction still holds a dear place in my heart. There's just one problem: I'm bad at coming up with decent, non-original ideas. The few I have had, I loose interest in quickly. But this time, I was going to try my best. I've been enjoying much of the horror genre for shows (mainly Supernatural) and love reading fantasy/ sci-fi. The concept of angels and demons fighting for the fate of the world is slightly older and worn as well as most modern concepts of it. There's also the highly cliche concept of time travel through some kind of coma (Captain America, Sleepy Hollow, etc.) as well as the modern twist on angels, demons and monsters (Supernatural, Mortal Instruments, etc.), but I love all of them, so why not use some cliche? I hope I won't give away too much off what is to come, but I'll go ahead and talk a little about my idea process.
Many of the concepts I hope to be including in my novel will be cliche. I'll admit it. But I hope to use them in a new way. All writers probably say that, but I'll honestly try. Not many of the original ideas are in the story so far, but that's because they don't come in until the main climax come up. I love to start with character building, as that's the first step taken when doing a written role play, but I discovered that it's often better to decide on a personality and let the rest come later. I love to start my stories off so you're put right into a situation that allows you to get to know the character. After the initial excitement, I proceed into the nitty-gritty stuff such as background information and such. One thing I did notice is that I came up with the opening scene quite easily as well as the main climax, but not all of the other stuff. I knew most of the background mostly because I've started a prequel to this story and some of the clues relate back to it. I now realize that I'll need to include more background to what's happening as I go so that readers don't have to go read the start to my other story in order to understand what's happened in the past.
I totaly just went off on a tangent. Crap. Oh well. Back to my reflection. I noticed that after I got all of my ideas for the firs scene out, that I was tired of writing and decided to take a break. That didn't work out so well as I ended up writing double-time at the end to make up for it. I guess now I realize just how hard it is for professionals to write for a deadline. I also noticed that it was hard coming up with names for my characters. When writing in a circle/role play, I simply used the same name every time and the others came up with their names. I believe that the names will come easier as I go.
This project was an amazing learning experience and I encourage anyone with an idea floating in their head to go for it.
Advice: If I were to say anything, I'd say to plan. If I didn't have any idea to where the story was going at this point, I'd be completely stuck. Try coming up with the climax first, then work your way up to it. I know it's tempting to just go from the climax to the ending, but It will help you a lot if you start with establishing everything before you begin moving forward in your writing. I'd also recommend reading as much as you can. Read everything from the Odyssey to FanFiction because there's so much out there. You'll be sure to find a genre you love and hopefully your ideas will come.
That's all I have right now. Happy writing!
YOU ARE READING
Reflection on My Project
De TodoFor the month of November, I had to write the start of a novel for a project. This is my reflection on said project (I had to post it somewhere people besides my classmates could see it).
