Do you think writing a novel is hard?

Talkatoast · Aug 11, 2008

I used to think writing a novel was easy until I actually began to REALLY write.

I was discussing with a friend of mine on how writing a novel is really difficult. Another friend of mine butted in and said that it's not. He just said you need to look at the sentence word for work, and then the story. Yeah...that sounds easy when you say it, but when you actually do it, I highly doubt it. It seemed like my friend did not understand that there is more to writing than grammar and a storyline that matches up.

Do you believe he was saying that out of ignorance? I really think he did because I have read his writing, and even though it was a rough draft, it was really bad--cliche, especially.

I hate it when people say writing a novel is easy. It's like they don't know what writing a novel is all about.

To me, people who say writing a novel is easy really don't know what writing a novel is then.

I'll bet even Stephen King would say writing a novel's hard. Hard work.

HeronW · Aug 11, 2008

Yes it is, so is the 2nd & 3rd etc because you're always trying to be better. Muses willing you are.

Danger Jane · Aug 11, 2008

Writing a novel is as easy as writing a symphony. It's just that most people can't so much as read musical notation, let alone begin to compose with it, whereas most people can string together a few sentences--as far as they know.

Ignorance, for sure.

alainn_chaser · Aug 11, 2008

I do think writing a book is hard. Some parts are hard, some are harder than others and some are just excruciating. It's different for everyone. (For example, finishing the book I am now I would have to say that climaxes are excruciating.

) Of course, ideally it should also be fun (once you forget the pain which is similar to childbirth I guess). And it should definatly be satisfying.

What I think most people don't understand is that a paragraph that takes one minute to read can take a writer hours to write and rewrite and revise and edit to get it to what you see in the final draft.

KC Sunshine · Aug 11, 2008

Talkatoast said:
I used to think writing a novel was easy until I actually began to REALLY write.

I was discussing with a friend of mine on how writing a novel is really difficult. Another friend of mine butted in and said that it's not. He just said you need to look at the sentence word for work, and then the story. Yeah...that sounds easy when you say it, but when you actually do it, I highly doubt it. It seemed like my friend did not understand that there is more to writing than grammar and a storyline that matches up.

Do you believe he was saying that out of ignorance? I really think he did because I have read his writing, and even though it was a rough draft, it was really bad--cliche, especially.

I hate it when people say writing a novel is easy. It's like they don't know what writing a novel is all about.

To me, people who say writing a novel is easy really don't know what writing a novel is then.

I'll bet even Stephen King would say writing a novel's hard. Hard work.

Has your friend ever written a novel?

Clair Dickson · Aug 11, 2008

Oh, sure, writing a novel is easy. Writing a GOOD novel is hard. Writing a GREAT novel is excruciatingly difficult.

KTC · Aug 11, 2008

Clair Dickson said:
Oh, sure, writing a novel is easy. Writing a GOOD novel is hard. Writing a GREAT novel is excruciatingly difficult.

I'll ditto Clair.

Gogirl · Aug 11, 2008

I agree with everyone so far.

For me, writing a novel is always hard--hard work, period. But it's harder on some days and easier on others. The latter are when the words and scenes flow off of my fingertips onto the computer screen, and those moments are also the most rewarding.

benbradley · Aug 11, 2008

Danger Jane said:
Writing a novel is as easy as writing a symphony. It's just that most people can't so much as read musical notation, let alone begin to compose with it, whereas most people can string together a few sentences--as far as they know.

Ignorance, for sure.

If you give the average person enough time alone with a ~~typewriter~~ piano, they'll eventually string together a few ~~sentences~~ notes.

Writing a symphony has its own "gramatical rules" and basic things - the composer has to know (or at least look up!) the note range of every instrument he's writing for, else he could be asking musicians to play notes that their instruments just won't play. And it's also nice to know why there's 12, 16 or 24 violinists and only three trumpeters - because trumpets are so much louder than violins that it takes lots of violins to even approach making up the volume difference.

Ben, who knows enough to be dangerous. About writing both novels and symphonies...

Talkatoast · Aug 12, 2008

KC Sunshine said:
Has your friend ever written a novel?

I think he lies. I've read "in-complete" novels and he said a publisher wanted to publish his novel one time, but someone stole it. I pretended to believe him when he told me, but that is the most amateurish mistake ever--have back-up copy! Then again, he looks like he writes, as if he doensn't realize the format of a manuscript.

I'll attempt to bring this discussion up again, and I'll put him in his place. Comments like that just bother me.

It's like saying childbirth is easy. I wouldn't know because I'm not pregnant, but from watching it on tv and hearing it from women, it sounds like hell.

Talkatoast · Aug 12, 2008

*shudders* I could never write a symphony. Although the flute was easy for me to play--in the beginning, and then you get to those insane notes--it was difficult enough trying to compose a piece for one instrument!

Ugawa · Aug 12, 2008

I guess sometimes. But once i'm on a role i can write about 2000 words within an hour without much work.

XX

Sage · Aug 12, 2008

It's easy to string sentences together word-for-word. Harder to put them together in a coherent and interesting plot with realistic characters and character development.

timewaster · Aug 12, 2008

Clair Dickson said:
Oh, sure, writing a novel is easy. Writing a GOOD novel is hard. Writing a GREAT novel is excruciatingly difficult.

I don't know about that. I mean I don't think novel writing is particularly hard and I guess for people with more talent than me writing a great novel isn't any more difficult for them than writing a publishable one has been for me. How the thing turns out doesn't seem to be greatly correlated with the difficulty involved in writing it. People talk a lot about the work involved and the pain etc but it seems to me that sometimes really good stuff come easily. I mean is there any evidence to suggest that really great writers work any harder than very average ones?

Talkatoast · Aug 12, 2008

timewaster said:
I don't know about that. I mean I don't think novel writing is particularly hard and I guess for people with more talent than me writing a great novel isn't any more difficult for them than writing a publishable one has been for me. How the thing turns out doesn't seem to be greatly correlated with the difficulty involved in writing it. People talk a lot about the work involved and the pain etc but it seems to me that sometimes really good stuff come easily. I mean is there any evidence to suggest that really great writers work any harder than very average ones?

No offense, but that comment speaks itself in ignorance. Have you ever tried re-writing a novel? Let me tell you, it's not easy. Like you quoted, writing a novel is easy, writing a good novel is harder, writing a great novel is difficult. There's a reason why it takes such a long time to write a novel. There's more to writing than stringing a couple of sentences together, levening out your plot, and making it sound pretty. So much more. And to me, it's a fact that writing a novel's hard. Anyone who thinks it's easy as obviously never done REAL writing. Even Stephen King would tell you writing a novel is hard. Even the most seasoned veterans find themselves daunted.

Talkatoast · Aug 12, 2008

Ugawa said:
I guess sometimes. But once i'm on a role i can write about 2000 words within an hour without much work.

XX

Anybody can do that. Even a three-year-old can do that. It doesn't take much. Now, try re-writing those 2,000 words. You'll think much differently.

I did the rough draft for my novel--100,000 words *gasp!*--and it was easy.

Re-writing it, that's much harder. Your rough draft's plot is not going to line up. Anybody who tells you he or she got his or her rough draft right the first time is lying. There are going to be a million mistakes in your rough draft. Then you'll understand how hard it is.

donroc · Aug 12, 2008

Ist-drafting is relatively easy. Crafting is the difficult part.

Bufty · Aug 12, 2008

I'm sure there are folk around who genuinely believe Publishers simply publish everybody's first drafts.

Claudia Gray · Aug 12, 2008

I think there are some first drafts that come easy -- not for me, God knows, but I've had a couple of writer friends who went through the joyous experience of having a draft just pour out of them. But even they had to rewrite, and that is hard for everyone.

smcc360 · Aug 12, 2008

I was told once that writing a novel is simple: Think of the story, sit down, and type it. When the story's finished, type 'The End' and call an agent.

But 'simple' isn't a synonym for 'easy'. Climbing Mount Everest is simple, too: Stand at the bottom and walk forward. When you reach the pointy part, plant a flag and take a picture. But it isn't easy.

I agreed when I first heard it, and I still do.

And your friend is yanking your chain. But you know that.

timewaster · Aug 13, 2008

Talkatoast said:
No offense, but that comment speaks itself in ignorance. Have you ever tried re-writing a novel? Let me tell you, it's not easy. Like you quoted, writing a novel is easy, writing a good novel is harder, writing a great novel is difficult. There's a reason why it takes such a long time to write a novel. There's more to writing than stringing a couple of sentences together, levening out your plot, and making it sound pretty. So much more. And to me, it's a fact that writing a novel's hard. Anyone who thinks it's easy as obviously never done REAL writing. Even Stephen King would tell you writing a novel is hard. Even the most seasoned veterans find themselves daunted.

Well I've published seven so I do know what I'm talking about. I'm currently copy editing my eighth. I've written an adult one that hasn't sold and needs revising and a couple of unsold novellas so not everything I've written has been publishable, but I still don't think novel writing is hard. Sorry. It's fashionable to make a huge fuss about it but if you are prepared to keep going it is not a big deal.

timewaster · Aug 13, 2008

Talkatoast said:
Anybody can do that. Even a three-year-old can do that. It doesn't take much. Now, try re-writing those 2,000 words. You'll think much differently.

I did the rough draft for my novel--100,000 words *gasp!*--and it was easy.

Re-writing it, that's much harder. Your rough draft's plot is not going to line up. Anybody who tells you he or she got his or her rough draft right the first time is lying. There are going to be a million mistakes in your rough draft. Then you'll understand how hard it is.

That isn't necessarily so. Some people write a pretty clean first draft or do rolling revision so that the first draft is actually in quite good shape. I don't think it is all that helpful to be so didactic about process. Some people find editing easier than writing too.

qwerty · Aug 13, 2008

Talkatoast said:
Anybody can do that. Even a three-year-old can do that. It doesn't take much. Now, try re-writing those 2,000 words. You'll think much differently.

I did the rough draft for my novel--100,000 words *gasp!*--and it was easy.

Re-writing it, that's much harder. Your rough draft's plot is not going to line up. Anybody who tells you he or she got his or her rough draft right the first time is lying. There are going to be a million mistakes in your rough draft. Then you'll understand how hard it is.

I guess if you make a million mistakes in your own rough drafts, and you don't use a plot that does line up, you would find it hard to re-write. But I don't understand the assumption that other people bash out a full-length novel the way you apparently did, or that those of us who have been writing for years need to be told we need to understand how hard it is.

To go back to your original question: Do you think writing a novel is hard? I don't find it hard as in difficult. Maybe that's because I don't write a rough draft then go back and re-write it. My way is to write it as near to the way I want it as I go, then read through and do tweak and polish editing.

What I call hard/difficult is shaping a piece of pottery on a wheel. That's hard for me because I don't know how to do it and I don't have a natural aptitude for making pottery.

Dorian Grey · Aug 13, 2008

I dnt think writing a novel is hard, or trying to in my case, the punctuation and grammer and all that depend on the person, but you can learn this. Its just the way it goes from being an idea in your head, to the page.
I guess some people are just better at putting their ideas onto the page, so its more difficult for the rest of us because we dnt have the same ability... Its not a universally difficult or easy thing, its just one of those things that people can do easier than others, like running, some people run better than others... im not sure i had a point there...

Nakhlasmoke · Aug 13, 2008

I think writing a novel is hard in that it's actually work.

Some days the prose flows, and some days it don't.

Seriously, the hard part of a novel for me is getting the first draft down. Once that's done I can tweak forever and never be completely happy.

Do you think writing a novel is hard?

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