Tag: Writing

Choosing a Publisher

Ask the Doctor – Sections in a Novel / Self-Publishing

Q: Is there any technical reason for a novel to be broken up into parts? I want to break my next novel up in a way that I haven’t really seen before.

Part 1 – Introduction of the main character (the good guy). Provide plot and conflict.

Part 2 – Introduce opposing character (the bad guy)

Part 3 – Good and bad characters clash, and conflict is resolved.

The first twelve chapters focus on the “good guy” perspective. The “bad guy” is introduced in Chapter 13. If I spend the next twelve or so chapters telling the other side of the story (the bad guy’s perspective), will readers forget the plight of the good guy in the first twelve chapters?

I really want to have the two sides (good and evil) make compelling arguments. By breaking up the novel this way, I hope the reader will be conflicted going into the third part of the book. Any thoughts?  

A: The reason you can’t find any specific material on the subject of breaking a novel into parts is that (at least to my knowledge) there is no absolute rule regarding it.

The only problem I can perceive is that according to your outline, all the clash occurs in the final part, so what will make readers continue reading through the first two parts? Yes, it says plot and conflict will be provided in Part 1, but if there’s only one character in that part, how can there be conflict? Conflict and tension are the elements that make readers turn pages and keep reading.

That said, I can’t judge the book without seeing it, so if you sense that it is working the way you are writing it, trust your gut and move forward. I have seen good books broken into parts for the characters; Franny and Zoey by J.D. Salinger comes to mind, for one.

Bobbie Christmas, book doctor, author of Write In Style (Union Square Publishing), and owner of Zebra Communications, will answer your questions, too. Send them to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com. Read more “Ask the Book Doctor” questions and answers at www.zebraeditor.com. 

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Even More Writing on the Road to Self-Publishing

Nothing necessitates production like demand. Whether that demand is real or imaginary is irrelevant when it comes to motivation. Of course, “real” demand is certainly better in terms of promotion and readership. But “imaginary” demand also accomplishes the same goal – incentive for you to write a certain amount within a certain period of time.

We’ve discussed writing to publish (in some form) everyday, and great resources like Yahoo Groups and Google User Groups to help accomplish that. It doesn’t matter what; just the act of writing is inspiring and moving in the direction of book publication. Perhaps you even subscribed to a group or two, or at least reviewed a few to become comfortable with the new medium.

There are also a couple of additional options for writing online. These options accomplish the goal of writing publicly but add the additional incentive of “demand.” Both also create great marketing tools for promoting books, especially for those self-publishing authors when on sales in the ever growing online marketplace.

The first option is a “blog.” If you’re reading this chances are good that you’re blog experience is already there. Do you have a blog of your own?

Short for web-log, blogs are online diaries that allow you to post content quickly and conveniently for the world to see. Each blog posting is time-stamped with the date and time of your entry. Other readers can post comments to your blog if you allow them to. And you are open to comment on other interesting or related blogs.

Blogs that are updated consistently and frequently are more popular than those that languish. There’s your demand. If you want a blog with “buzz” you will find yourself motivated to add to it every day. Even if you’re only adding a paragraph with every posting – those entries add up.  Keeping ahead of your public’s expectations is a great motivator to write.

The second option is an online newsletter, or e-newsletter. If you vow to distribute an e-mail newsletter on a consistent basis (let’s say once a week), you’ll be motivated to contribute new content to each newsletter before distributing it.

 

i hope that helps. Have fun and keep writing!

Sincerely,

Karl Schroeder