Poll: [Poll] Writing a Novel, need advice.

[Valkaris]

So I am writing a novel based in a world of my creation. The world itself is a sort of post-industrial fantasy world. There are airships, guns, magic, bombs, etc. The world has several detailed nations with their own traditions and cultures and histories. All in all I very much enjoy the setting I have made, but my problem is deciding what kind of story I should write in it.

One idea would be something like Wheel of Time that focuses on a main character on an adventure across the world. This would involve a overwhelming enemy of some sort, perhaps an evil organization or powerful demigod. Certainly there would be lots of action, travel, battles and personal struggles. This would be nice as it translates well into contained novel format and is easy to follow and enjoy. The problem is that this quintessential "journey" is fairly difficult to do in a setting where planes, trains, and cars are existent.

Another story would be of a much more Song of Ice and Fire format. This would probably take place in one area of the world and focus on multiple characters living their lives through world-changing events, interacting rarely and giving a clear picture of detailed and numerous battles, political machinations, struggles and personal adventures. There would be no "protagonist" and the people in the story would have very different stances and personalities. These stories can be hard to follow and difficult to get into. The good thing is that the setting is very friendly to that sort of thing.

The third idea is one that follows one or two people's struggle in their little part of the world. This could involve a princess trying to regain her kingdom from warring factions, an explorer carving out new territories, or a soldier fighting in a war. These would be a highly personal story without the epic adventure of the first and without the broad interconnected plot lines of the second.

So what do you think? What would you rather read and experience? Please vote and give an answer below.

 

[Srelun]

Hi there Valkaris.

I don't know if my advice will be of any help, but personally I'd love to see how you could combine idea three with elements of idea two. (E.g. the princess in pursuit of her rightfull claim has to align with the soldier and his rogue platoon, who maybe turns out to double cross her and the explorer who at first seems to be not even remotly connected to the story, but then stumbles across some sort of royal ensignia, proofing that the owner of the ensignia is the rightfull heir and thus is hunted by the princes and the soldier)
But hey, thats just some sort of idea of mine, which I would love in a setting like you described. I personally first tend to get the story idea and spinning the net of the setting as I go on. I have by now written three novels and published one, but those won't be of any help to you (probably) because I am austrian and I write in german. Which you surely noticed, judging my poor gramma skills.

Hope I could have been of any help
Good luck!

 

[Jedoro]

I feel obligated to mention that you should write what you want to write, but because you asked, I'd be most interested in the second idea. It's nice to see different aspects and viewpoints of the same events, but that third idea would seem like it should be broken into different novels if they're not connected stories.

EDIT: Also, poll options don't seem to line up with OP options.

 

[Valkaris]

Hi there Valkaris.

I don't know if my advice will be of any help, but personally I'd love to see how you could combine idea three with elements of idea two. (E.g. the princess in pursuit of her rightfull claim has to align with the soldier and his rogue platoon, who maybe turns out to double cross her and the explorer who at first seems to be not even remotly connected to the story, but then stumbles across some sort of royal ensignia, proofing that the owner of the ensignia is the rightfull heir and thus is hunted by the princes and the soldier)
But hey, thats just some sort of idea of mine, which I would love in a setting like you described. I personally first tend to get the story idea and spinning the net of the setting as I go on. I have by now written three novels and published one, but those won't be of any help to you (probably) because I am austrian and I write in german. Which you surely noticed, judging my poor gramma skills.

Hope I could have been of any help
Good luck!

Thanks for the advice, I think I may take it. I really like the idea, though that style is pretty daunting.

 

[Srelun]

Hi there Valkaris.

I don't know if my advice will be of any help, but personally I'd love to see how you could combine idea three with elements of idea two. (E.g. the princess in pursuit of her rightfull claim has to align with the soldier and his rogue platoon, who maybe turns out to double cross her and the explorer who at first seems to be not even remotly connected to the story, but then stumbles across some sort of royal ensignia, proofing that the owner of the ensignia is the rightfull heir and thus is hunted by the princes and the soldier)
But hey, thats just some sort of idea of mine, which I would love in a setting like you described. I personally first tend to get the story idea and spinning the net of the setting as I go on. I have by now written three novels and published one, but those won't be of any help to you (probably) because I am austrian and I write in german. Which you surely noticed, judging my poor gramma skills.

Hope I could have been of any help
Good luck!

Thanks for the advice, I think I may take it. I really like the idea, though that style is pretty daunting.

No Problem, I like to help co-authors. It's a tough hobby, but its worth it. And trust me, daunting polls are the most enjoyable to write. Because it really kindles your imagination.

 

[Slash Dementia]

If you like all three of those options and are willing to write them all, write them all. You just have to write whichever one you feel like writing first.

As for me, I'd read the one person's story. But really, write a few lines and see to which option your writing will suit best at the time and go with it.

 

[SckizoBoy]

snip

They're all viable ideas, and it honestly depends on your writing style (variety of grammars, dialogue heavy, detailed narrative, visceral imagery etc.) and what you're comfortable with. The best thing to do would be a write a few chapters on each, read them back to yourself (or perhaps you can use Esc as a sounding board... *shrug* s'a suggestion) and think about how well they read, did you enjoy reading them, and maybe most important of all, did you enjoy writing them (won't say 'easy', because once you enjoy it, it comes naturally to you).

Me personally, I'm fully capable of writing in all three styles (or at least, I hope so), but I doubt very much I'd enjoy writing a multi-plot (option 2) book, because I'd never be satisfied with the emphasis required for each thread that the novel must take. However, that's just me, and I prefer single or dual protagonist perspective, but that's not necessarily you. So, go ahead and have a try at all three and settle into whichever one suits you best.

Scribble away, see you the other side of publishing!

 

[Arbi Trax]

I'm not much of a writer myself, but I have been a project manager before, and if it's one thing I know, it's that a finished project is better than a half-finished opus. And you haven't written a book until other people are reading it.

Try finishing a short story about one aspect of this world of yours. Finish it, release it, see how the feedback goes. You can use it to foreshadow an event in the main novel, and they will help you to nail down pieces of canon, work out characters and refine your writing style. If it's good, it will also generate hype for the main event!

I'll put my publisher hat on. I like your moxy kid! Show me the goods! I want a short story with:
- No more than 15 pages
- Size 11pt
- 1.5 line spacing
- Arial

I want this on my desk by 5pm on 7th June. Go go!

Captcha: One, two, three...it's as easy as that!

 

[Giftfromme]

You're writing a full novel? I guess it depends how old you are and how much you want this. I'm 25 and working on finishing my first one. I just started writing the story back in year 9, and slowly worked on it from there. It was really only a few years back that I seriously started to write and wanted to publish it. That is my goal for this year. I have nearly finished the first draft at 300 pages now. It depends how dedicated you are willing to be, but my story didn't start out with the intention of ending the way it is now, instead it evolved over time. I think it's better when you let the characters dictate the story, because it shows that you have strong and hopefully recognisable characters.