Stan’s Comments (group member since Apr 29, 2008)

Stan’s comments from the You Imagine group.

Hi, I'm Stan, and I am an aspiring novelist and an entrepeneur. I finished a first draft of a 400 plus page novel called Caldera a few years ago and then put it away. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with it, in part because I feel like it needs a complete rewrite and I'm not sure I'm up to it. I've started other novels but never finished any of them. I'm kind of stuck because I really admire great fiction (like Hemingway and Faulkner, etc...) and am a little embarrassed by the type of novel I was working on, because it is popular fiction!

I'm also a bit of an entrepeneur and really enjoy social networking sites like this one. I'm in the final stages of getting ready to beta launch a website called www.textnovel.com, which will be a way for authors to write novels online using email and cellphones (text messaging). This has been a big phenomenon in Japan and China and I'm hoping it works here. It will include some social networking features and voting (and ability to invite people to subscribe to your stories).

If anyone has any ideas about how to best market it or get the word out, let me know. I'll be offering a $1,000 prize to the winning story (contest ends December 31, 2008) and hopefully I can partner with a publishing house and during the second year will be able to offer a much larger prize. My blog is at www.textnovelblog.com.

4:00 a.m. before anyone else wakes up? Or 10:00 p.m. after everyone goes to bed? What works best for you?

For 3 years I used to get up at 4:30 in the morning and write for two hours before anyone else got up. I produced a first draft of a 400 plus page novel during this period. Then I read it and I wasn't sure I liked it. In fact, I was a little embarrassed about it. That was in the early 90's.

So I guess at this point, it is fear that I don't have it in me. When you combine that with the fact that I am afraid of NOT doing it, I am pretty messed up!

The other thing is life. Just got busy. But at the end of the day, I don't think that is a real excuse for me.

One thing I have noticed with first-time or early stage writers is the tendency to assume that your first or second or even third draft is the end product. It is easy to get tired and reach the conclusion that the writing is done, not because it is, but because you're tired of it.

Another thing that is challenging is the question of whether to work from an outline or just start writing. In other words, do you develop the overall story line and plot first or do you develop the characters and a general concept, and let the characters drive the plot? I personally think it really depends on the type of fiction you are writing. If you are writing traditional popular fiction (such as young adult novels or a romance), then I think you need an outline. If you are trying to write the great american novel, and want your writing to look like Faulkner or Hemingway wrote it, the outline may not matter as much.

That's some thoughts from someone who writes fiction on the side (but hasn't published it yet) and who writes non-fiction all day long!

I'd like to write a book that a lot of people read and that either brings them a lot of enjoyment or meaning or helps them change their perspective on life in a positive way. I have started and never finished a couple of novels that I hoped would meet this criteria. Its about time that I got something done!