# Tips for writing a fiction novel?



## iemanja (Feb 5, 2012)

Yet again, I'm unsure if a thread like this has been posted but...
I want to write a fantasy story and I always come up with loads of (what I consider to be) great plots. The only problem is that I get bored of the story idea or struggle with adding detail needed and get stuck.
Are my difficulties type-related, or do I just need to practice writing more? Are there any solutions to this considering the MBTI? Do you have any tips on overcoming these obstacles? 

Your advice would be greatly appreciated O wise ones :3


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## Nevontzway (Mar 9, 2012)

If you are getting bored, then I'd say you are not inspired. Get inspired!


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## JoetheBull (Apr 29, 2010)

I don't get bored so much as I usually get writers block. I am also more visual then verbal so that doesn't always help. I say you should practice more and don't be like me and chicken out.


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## Vexilla Regis (May 4, 2011)

I recommend reading: Stephen King's, "On Writing," and also, Mike Nappa's, "77 Reasons Why Your Book Was Rejected."

When I start any artistic process, I begin with the "big picture" in mind and then work inward... Think of a circle, or whatever works best for you. Maybe a triangle or a star? 

Visualize
Visualize
Visualize


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## iemanja (Feb 5, 2012)

> If you are getting bored, then I'd say you are not inspired. Get inspired!


Yes, but my problem is that my inspiration cannot sustain my interest in _completing_ my novels. Do you mean that I have to stay inspired for the duration of the time I write my novel?? That seems like a long time to be inspired to do something! Doesn't inspiration come in little bursts rather than a stretched out period?


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## HorribleAesthete (Aug 5, 2010)

Well, inspiration is certainly one of the most difficult stumbling blocks to overcome, but it is actually a small part of the actual writing process. That old cliche about it being 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration is, while trite, also true. Once you have your initial flash of inspiration, the rest is research, plotting, the actual process of writing, and revision. Having that amazing, original idea is important, but so is the writing and all the details,. It is these that will pull the reader into the tale and carry them along to appreciate the fullness of your vision. 

I used to brainstorm with an INTP, and it was interesting to see how my Ni and her Ne contrasted. She would take an idea and a thousand possibilities would spawn from it, whereas my method was to see the big picture, all of the possibilities, and hone in one one. Without her, I tended to be a bit to rigid at times and not think quite far enough outside the box. Without me, she would tend to get lost in a whirlwind of brainstorming and endless permutations of her ideas.

I think the only way to overcome your difficulty is to simply select one of your best ideas and to go through the painful process of refining it. I use outlines and time-lines to hash out my plot structure; it keeps me focused and consistent. Of course, I have not tackled anything as time intensive as a novel, though I am working on the scripts for a fairly complex comic series. I have thus far been limited to short stories (fantasy/sci-fi). This might be a good choice for you. Attempt taking one of your ideas and putting it into short story format. It will be less time intensive and more manageable. Then perhaps attempt to tackle something more involved. A novel is an enormous investment.


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## Ace Face (Nov 13, 2011)

Do not limit your mind. Placing limits on your mind is the worst thing you could do when trying to write fiction. Fuck anyone who says wigs can't be made of water  In fiction world, it exists.


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## JamieBond (Dec 13, 2011)

I had the same problem! I had what I considered great ideas over and over again and I would start the stories... and they'd get stale. It wasn't until I came up with an idea tha was purely original and that I could connect with (my main character is the extroverted version of me) that I was able to complete a manuscript. When I found the right idea, it only took me four months to complete the rough draft.

I agree with above posters on that you just have to WRITE. It's horribly rehashed advice but it works! Outline and reoutline and work it out and write and rewrite and change plot points and invent characters and conflict and kill characters and change names and jsut have fun.

That's the other thing. The manuscript I completed was the one I had the most fun with. If you come at it with the idea of "I have to do this" you're not going to complete it. Unless you're an SJ. They complete everything lol.

But yeah, just write. And reading books on writing is good, but do it too much and it's a cop-out. The only solution to having trouble writing is... you guessed it! Writing. Just like the only solution to not being able to ride a bike is to ride a bike. Not to read a book about how equilibrium keeps you from falling over or how to fix a blown tire.

Just my two cents. Good luck on your book!! Do you have a working title?


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## kagemitsu (May 15, 2011)

My writing teacher says that writing is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. 
Having a good plot is just the 1%, the rest is all about working on it. Add stuff little by little, review, rewrite, try free writing and see what comes out of it.


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## iemanja (Feb 5, 2012)

> Do you have a working title?


I tend to decide on the title last; when I complete the story, I think about the themes that were prevalent in the plot and extract a title from there. 
The general idea of the story, if you wanted to know, is based on a camping trip, 5 day adventure-excursion sort of thing I went on at school. I made a lot of new friends and had a really good time so I decided to rewrite it as a steampunk epic in which we are a bunch of pirates flying around on airships. Haha 

Anyone want to share their favourite genres while I'm at it?


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## JamieBond (Dec 13, 2011)

iemanja said:


> I tend to decide on the title last; when I complete the story, I think about the themes that were prevalent in the plot and extract a title from there.
> The general idea of the story, if you wanted to know, is based on a camping trip, 5 day adventure-excursion sort of thing I went on at school. I made a lot of new friends and had a really good time so I decided to rewrite it as a steampunk epic in which we are a bunch of pirates flying around on airships. Haha
> 
> Anyone want to share their favourite genres while I'm at it?


Awesome! Favorite genres... mystery/fantasy/science fiction for me.


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## Thrifty Walrus (Jul 8, 2010)

If finishing is your problem, then will smith's advice may help you, he said in an interview that his dad made him build a brick wall over a summer. The point of this was for will to build the most perfect brick wall he could, this taught him that he shouldn't go out and try to build a great wall, but to lay each brick as perfectly as he could, eventually there was a wall. So maybe you just need to focus on making each chapter, or page or whatever as perfect as possible. Just realize that today (or tonight) is going to pass whether you write a part of your book or not, so you might as well have it pass with you having written some.

My favorite genres are sci-fi/thriller/horror.


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## owlet (May 7, 2010)

This is a very good writing site  It's helped me out a lot!

Absolute Write Water Cooler - Powered by vBulletin


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## Le Beau Coeur (Jan 30, 2011)

Creative writing teachers often told me to write what makes _you_ happy first.


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## iemanja (Feb 5, 2012)

Le Beau Coeur said:


> Creative writing teachers often told me to write what makes _you_ happy first.


Ah good, because only doing things that make me happy motivate me. I'm on the right track then. (Or shall I say *write* track? Har har)


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## calcifer (Oct 31, 2011)

Stay inspired... Even listening to music, reading a book, or going for a walk could hit you with new ideas in the process.
Also, I find the _Dramatica_ theory on story construction to be fairly sound and useful.


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