Advice on Writing a Novella and Longer Pieces in General

[Sandor]

I've started writing a Novella recently, in part from motivation from this forum. It's going to be the longest piece of fiction I've ever written. What advice do people have about writing longer fiction? I'm curious about pacing, character development, plotting, and generally keeping to a project.

 

[Banespawn]

I always encourage people to think in terms of scenes. Each scene should move the story forward in some way. They should have a clear beginning and end, typically centered around the goals of the characters, though as the author, you should have goals for each scene as well.

Think about what you want each scene to accomplish. About how you want each scene to affect the reader. Don't be in a rush to reveal everything. You want to be both subtle and patient in how you dole out the information. Every story is part mystery, even if you aren't writing a mystery. Stories are about raising questions for the reader and the reader turning pages to find the answers. You want to structure your story in such a way that the reader is asking the right questions and feels rewarded and satisfied with the answers.

If you are writing a linear story from a single POV, then the order of your scenes is pretty straightforward, though you do have to consider which scenes you need and which you don't. You don't have to include every waking moment of the character from beginning to end. Skip the unimportant stuff. Summarize when needed and focus more on the dramatic bits.

If you have a non-linear story and/or multiple POVs, then you also want to consider the order in which you are laying out your scenes. Think about the information presented in each scene and how that information may change the reader's experience depending on the way you order them.

 

[Sandor]

I always encourage people to think in terms of scenes. Each scene should move the story forward in some way. They should have a clear beginning and end, typically centered around the goals of the characters, though as the author, you should have goals for each scene as well.

Think about what you want each scene to accomplish. About how you want each scene to affect the reader. Don't be in a rush to reveal everything. You want to be both subtle and patient in how you dole out the information. Every story is part mystery, even if you aren't writing a mystery. Stories are about raising questions for the reader and the reader turning pages to find the answers. You want to structure your story in such a way that the reader is asking the right questions and feels rewarded and satisfied with the answers.

If you are writing a linear story from a single POV, then the order of your scenes is pretty straightforward, though you do have to consider which scenes you need and which you don't. You don't have to include every waking moment of the character from beginning to end. Skip the unimportant stuff. Summarize when needed and focus more on the dramatic bits.

If you have a non-linear story and/or multiple POVs, then you also want to consider the order in which you are laying out your scenes. Think about the information presented in each scene and how that information may change the reader's experience depending on the way you order them.

This is really helpful, I'm going to add this to my outlining process. Do you think figuring out "notable images and bits" as well as "what is the emotional core of the scene" for each scene would be helpful? My mom was an actress for a while, and she taught me to look at "the emotional core" of scenes when I was doing theater in middle and high school. What are your thoughts here?

 

[Banespawn]

This is really helpful, I'm going to add this to my outlining process. Do you think figuring out "notable images and bits" as well as "what is the emotional core of the scene" for each scene would be helpful? My mom was an actress for a while, and she taught me to look at "the emotional core" of scenes when I was doing theater in middle and high school. What are your thoughts here?

Absolutely. Your job as a writer is to shape what the reader thinks and feels at any given moment.

 

[GlitterRain]

With pacing, I’d keep an eye on your word count for every scene (as long as you are using a word processor in which you can do that). Unless there is some reason you need to add in purple prose, your mantra for every scene/chapter should be get in, get the story across in the most economical way possible, and get out. As a beginning writer, I found it very hard to cut material, so the more you can stick with this, I think the more likely you are to not end up with an unhealthy word count that you will have to cut later. However, with that said, I would avoid editing as you go. That will slow you down and cause unnecessary frustration. First drafts shouldn’t be frustrating; save that for revisions.

Plotting: I saw you said you have an outlining process already, but make sure that you are outlining scene by scene, chapter by chapter (even if only vaguely), and you know which scenes are the important scenes/chapters in the book, like which one is the climax, etc. Mark those important scenes somehow so you don’t forget them or forget to build up to them. Also, the earlier on you decide what sort of story structure you want to follow, the better.

Character development: Please, please, please, spend time with your characters. This is the only way you can develop a character into one that feels like they can jump off the page. Let yourself daydream about them. Let random things in your real world remind you of them. Put them in crazy hypothetical situations where you can think about what they would do. Also, you need to know what they really, truly want in your story, and you need to know if you’re going to give it to them or not. They may want multiple things. The main plot is likely going to be one thing - the most important thing - and those other things may be subplots.

Set goals with your writing, but make sure they are realistic. Give yourself grace with these goals. If you don’t meet them, try again next week. You’re just starting out and figuring out how you work, more than likely. It takes time to work out the kinks in your process, and you likely are going to be balancing it with school and/or work and other obligations you may have. It’s completely acceptable to take a day or even a week or two off. You’re going to produce better work if you’re in the right mindset rather than trying to force something out just to meet a self-made quota.

Writing often takes a long time, and it can be months or years until you have something to show others. That sometimes makes it feel like a finished book will never happen. When I start a project, I like to look ahead and figure out if I write so many chapters a week (generally two for me), I will finish the project in the week of X. It makes me feel like the process is more concrete and gives me incentive to keep working even if it gets hard because at the end, during the week of X, I will finally have a complete book.

Hope this helps!

 

[Sandor]

With pacing, I’d keep an eye on your word count for every scene (as long as you are using a word processor in which you can do that). Unless there is some reason you need to add in purple prose, your mantra for every scene/chapter should be get in, get the story across in the most economical way possible, and get out. As a beginning writer, I found it very hard to cut material, so the more you can stick with this, I think the more likely you are to not end up with an unhealthy word count that you will have to cut later. However, with that said, I would avoid editing as you go. That will slow you down and cause unnecessary frustration. First drafts shouldn’t be frustrating; save that for revisions.

Plotting: I saw you said you have an outlining process already, but make sure that you are outlining scene by scene, chapter by chapter (even if only vaguely), and you know which scenes are the important scenes/chapters in the book, like which one is the climax, etc. Mark those important scenes somehow so you don’t forget them or forget to build up to them. Also, the earlier on you decide what sort of story structure you want to follow, the better.

Character development: Please, please, please, spend time with your characters. This is the only way you can develop a character into one that feels like they can jump off the page. Let yourself daydream about them. Let random things in your real world remind you of them. Put them in crazy hypothetical situations where you can think about what they would do. Also, you need to know what they really, truly want in your story, and you need to know if you’re going to give it to them or not. They may want multiple things. The main plot is likely going to be one thing - the most important thing - and those other things may be subplots.

Set goals with your writing, but make sure they are realistic. Give yourself grace with these goals. If you don’t meet them, try again next week. You’re just starting out and figuring out how you work, more than likely. It takes time to work out the kinks in your process, and you likely are going to be balancing it with school and/or work and other obligations you may have. It’s completely acceptable to take a day or even a week or two off. You’re going to produce better work if you’re in the right mindset rather than trying to force something out just to meet a self-made quota.

Writing often takes a long time, and it can be months or years until you have something to show others. That sometimes makes it feel like a finished book will never happen. When I start a project, I like to look ahead and figure out if I write so many chapters a week (generally two for me), I will finish the project in the week of X. It makes me feel like the process is more concrete and gives me incentive to keep working even if it gets hard because at the end, during the week of X, I will finally have a complete book.

Hope this helps!

This is helpful, thanks so much.