Not knowing what the story is about?

BlueLucario · Nov 18, 2008

By the way, is it possible to write up to 50,000 or 60k without knowing what the stoory is about, or without knowing what your genre is? According to an article I read, J.K Rowling wrote her book and had no idea what genre it was, even though it should be blatantly obvious. To many authors this was frowned upon. I was also told by someone that I didn't know what my story was about. At first it didn't make any sense. If I didn't know what a story was about then why would I write it? That's reckless. But then come to think of it, she might be right. When I'm asked this by other people, It was hard to explain to them. Either it was because of my shyness, or not knowing what my story was about. MY story now went from an urban fantasy to a combination of Sci-fi and fantasy, which I was told was not good. IT wouldn't make sense to have robots and magic in an urban fantasy world. I fully inteded it to be a fantasy, but I'm very unsure.

This could be a problem. Is that possible to not know what your story is about? OR not know what your book'd genre is?

scarletpeaches · Nov 18, 2008

On the first draft, yes.

But, on the rewrites, one usually plays up a particular theme or genre, once you know which bits deserve to be dropped and which bits stay.

For me, at least, the first draft is simply about writing the damn thing, letting the chracters do what they do.

My NaNo (sorry to bring this up in yet another thread) could be women's fiction or erotica or chick-lit or any number of things. I'll figure out what I'm aiming for when I rewrite it.

Probably romantica. If such a genre exists.

But anyway...you'll be better able to realise which genre you've written once you're able to look at the book as a whole, so just get it written for now!

Captain Ian · Nov 18, 2008

I believe it's much more important to know what your story is than what it's about.

I pretty much know the genre of my novel, and it's essence. But I have trouble explaining it to someone who might ask. I can't say "It's about this or that" -- I'm at a loss sometimes, because I feel it's more than a book "about spies" or "about buried treasure", if not for the simple fact that it has all that and much more. As a writer, I feel there is more to the essence of my book than a cliche or a short description. That might work against me when I write that synopsis!

On the other hand, you have the example of WAR AND PEACE.

Nobody knows what that stupid book is about, what the genre is, the plot, or the point

, but for some reason people read it.

Sunshine13 · Nov 18, 2008

I have no idea what genre my next WIP is but I'm just going to worry about writing it and figuring out the genre once I'm done with it. It's nice to have a general plot line though, IMO, before trudging through the process of first draft. Is there a simple plot to your story? Who's your MC and what is their purpose? As long as all the loose ends get tied up in the end of your story, you should be good, but I personally like to know even if just vaguely, where my story is SUPPOSE to go. Sometimes it doesn't end up there, but somewhere better (or worse) depending on my characters and what they want.

Good luck!

tehuti88 · Nov 18, 2008

Not knowing the genre at first is okay. But I think if you don't know what your story is about, it could be a problem, if only because how are you going to write a coherent plot if you have no clue where it's supposed to be going? Even though I don't outline, I at least have SOME idea what the thing is about, otherwise it could end up being a book "about nothing." Meandering and pointless. Characters doing stuff, but with no real point to it all. "Why am I even reading this? I could just walk around in real life and get as much done."

I used to start stories with no real idea of the point of them. They never went anywhere. Nowadays, I mull them over much longer, find the point, and THEN write. And finish.

That might be just me, though.

Sunshine13 · Nov 18, 2008

War and Peace . . . historical romance maybe? Hmmm . . .

scarletpeaches · Nov 18, 2008

Toothache in book form, I would have said.

kuwisdelu · Nov 18, 2008

The last novel I wrote, I had no idea what the plot would be until about 30k or 40 words into it (it ended up at only around 74k). I just started writing a few disconnected scenes about characters I thought up. I didn't know if or how they would tie together. I didn't know what any of these characters had to do with one another.

But I kept writing, and eventually the sets of scenes started to develop their own separate plot lines. I kept writing a little more, and they started to unexpectedly, mysteriously converge. Eventually, they all tied together and met up at an somewhat contrived yet brilliant ending. (The contrived part of the ending actually had nothing whatsoever to do with the disparate plot lines, but rather the logistical problems of blowing up a nuclear power plant.)

Dumb luck? Meant to be? I don't know. It worked. It's possible.

Of course, the novel had other failings, but that was mostly from it being a first attempt from a sixteen-year-old than the process that bore it..

Red-Green · Nov 18, 2008

On my first drafts, I never know what the story is about. Then as I'm rereading that draft, I start to find and recognize theme, plot, motivation, etc. The second draft is a complete do-over, as I go back and piece together the story out of all the random stuff I produced.

Birol · Nov 18, 2008

Blue, when you say you don't know what the story is about, what do you mean? What are you referring to? Not knowing what the story is about could mean or refer to different things. It could mean you do not know the story's underlying theme or it could mean that you do not know the major events of the story.

Mel · Nov 18, 2008

BlueLucario said:
By the way, is it possible to write up to 50,000 or 60k without knowing what the stoory is about, or without knowing what your genre is?

In the beginning, yes. It may show itself not too far in, or it might not until you get past 10k or wherever.

According to an article I read, J.K Rowling wrote her book and had no idea what genre it was, even though it should be blatantly obvious. To many authors this was frowned upon.

Are those authors published? And were they in Rowling's head to have first hand knowledge of this? Blue, I keep getting the impression that you put too much stock in what others say, especially about Rowling. You are not her, no one is, except J.K. Rowling. Period.

I was also told by someone that I didn't know what my story was about. At first it didn't make any sense. If I didn't know what a story was about then why would I write it? That's reckless. But then come to think of it, she might be right.

Well color me reckless! I'd rather not get into an argument of which comes first: Plot vs. Character. For me it's character(s). I just follow them around, although sometimes it feels like they're dragging me around. For me the story comes out through my characters.

When I'm asked this by other people, It was hard to explain to them. Either it was because of my shyness, or not knowing what my story was about. MY story now went from an urban fantasy to a combination of Sci-fi and fantasy, which I was told was not good. IT wouldn't make sense to have robots and magic in an urban fantasy world. I fully inteded it to be a fantasy, but I'm very unsure.

When did Science Fantasy disappear? Maybe these people who toss out such wisdom should try some google searches. Wikipedia might be a good place for them to start.

~~This could be a problem.~~ Is that possible to not know what your story is about? OR not know what your book'd genre is?

Yes.

You want to know more about first drafts then go to the NaNo board and find the pep talks from well-known published authors. I think there's also a link to pep talks from last year. Go. Read. Them.

The Lonely One · Nov 18, 2008

I think it's just silly that the lit-wigs are so worried about whether J.K. Rowling knew her genre. Genres are just stereotypes anyways, best to ignore them (EDIT: until the submitting/marketing stages) IMHO.

Unless you're Stephenie Meyer.

Sci-fi for people who don't like sci-fi.
Vampire novels for people who were rubbed the wrong way by Bram Stoker.
Give me a break.

Um, I neglected to answer your question, though. Sorry...

I think some good advice I got from an author was not to worry about outlining until after you write a story.
Writing is about what works for you. Consequently, I work kind of similarly. Sometimes I have recommendations for my characters but it doesn't usually work out. Then after I write the story I outline where the major plot points are and edit edit etc.

Some of us write nude (I found out after joining this forum...) Others write in a bubble bath or while making a sacrifice to Beelzebub. Go with it.

katiemac · Nov 18, 2008

Genre is a marketing tool. Many books do not fit in only one genre. Yours is not the first and it won't be the last.

C.M. Daniels · Nov 18, 2008

I had to ask around about one of my novels. I wasn't sure where it fit, because it was actually in a genre I hadn't read/knew nothing about at the time. I know now that it's considered urban fantasy, and will be able to use that as a description when people ask.

As for being 50k in and not knowing what your story is about, sounds like it's time to re-read what you've got and figure out what it's about, then finish accordingly.

Mel · Nov 18, 2008

C.M. Daniels said:
As for being 50k in and not knowing what your story is about, sounds like it's time to re-read what you've got and figure out what it's about, then finish accordingly.

Except I believe what Blue is talking about right now is her NaNo novel. Not a good idea to go back and read while doing this. My first NaNo is 44K ::4 in the works:: and I do know what mine is about, but I think more about where my characters are and how they act and react to whatever is hitting them at the moment. Have had some nice surprises and a few characters that showed up unexpectedly. If Blue really wants to do NaNo then she needs to just get the words down and weed out what doesn't work later.

KTC · Nov 18, 2008

Blue...maybe your reader found that they didn't know what your story was about. Sometimes that can happen...where the reader is trying to make sense of things and is lost in too many plot lines and too many wrong turns etc. If a story is confusing, a reader may ask the writer if they know what the story is about. Sometimes the story DOES get away from the writer. It is a problem if a story is gone madly off in all directions. You have to have a fundamental understanding of what your story is about to be able to write it. I think when people say things like that, they are trying to see the straight line from point A to point B, but can't. If the reader is lost in the shuffle, it's a good indication that the writer was too. Maybe you have too much going on in your story. If you can't say what it's about, you probably lost anchor and floundered too much. That's okay...just go through it and decide what your story is. Wrong turns have to be corrected or you won't get to your destination. Examine your story...THE story will be revealed to you.

BlueLucario · Nov 18, 2008

Mel said:
In the beginning, yes. It may show itself not too far in, or it might not until you get past 10k or wherever.

Are those authors published? And were they in Rowling's head to have first hand knowledge of this? Blue, I keep getting the impression that you put too much stock in what others say, especially about Rowling. You are not her, no one is, except J.K. Rowling. Period.

When did Science Fantasy disappear? Maybe these people who toss out such wisdom should try some google searches. Wikipedia might be a good place for them to start.

No. It was in an interview with her. Then this author made these comments. And yes she was published.

There's a science fantasy? *scratches head*

EDIT: Btw, no. This isn't anything to do with my nano book. My other book before I started, which was about 60,000 words before I started over.

Clair Dickson · Nov 18, 2008

Yes it's possible to not know where you're story is going until late in the game. No, it's not a problem.

George Lucas wrote the first draft of the script for Star Wars with number 2 pencils on yellow legal pads. Just because he was fantastically successful with it doesn't mean that I, or anyone else, should ascribe to that.

Keep writing. Keep revising. Don't worry so much about genre. Worry about the conflict and climax. And telling a good story.

As others have said, you need to worry far less about what other people think/say/preach about writing. Published authors or not-- what works for one person does not work for all. I mean, have you been writing your draft in a coffee shop and turning off the heat at home to simulate the conditions Rowlings said she experienced while writing? Will you be a single mother to emulate that? You are not Rowlings. You need to write as Blue Lucario writes. Just as I need to write as Clair Dickson writes.

Kalyke · Nov 18, 2008

Last night I was wondering where you went BL. Hadn't seen you recently.

I usually do not know what the story is "about" and cannot answer the age old question: "Tell me in 3 words or less what the story is about" until after I have written, finished the first draft and then reflected on its meaning. Then I can pare down and shape it in editing to reflect that meaning a little better. I know "approximately" what it is about.

I always write the same genre: I call it mainstream, but it might not be, it could be literary, but I am not sure. My WIP now could be sold as: Mainstream/literary or even Young adult, since the main character is a teenager.

MumblingSage · Nov 18, 2008

BlueLucario said:
By the way, is it possible to write up to 50,000 or 60k without knowing what the stoory is about, or without knowing what your genre is? According to an article I read, J.K Rowling wrote her book and had no idea what genre it was, even though it should be blatantly obvious. To many authors this was frowned upon. I was also told by someone that I didn't know what my story was about. At first it didn't make any sense. If I didn't know what a story was about then why would I write it? That's reckless. But then come to think of it, she might be right. When I'm asked this by other people, It was hard to explain to them. Either it was because of my shyness, or not knowing what my story was about. MY story now went from an urban fantasy to a combination of Sci-fi and fantasy, which I was told was not good. IT wouldn't make sense to have robots and magic in an urban fantasy world. I fully inteded it to be a fantasy, but I'm very unsure.

This could be a problem. Is that possible to not know what your story is about? OR not know what your book'd genre is?

Very certianly possible. I've done it myself--at least, as far as writing without knowing where the plot is going.
As for genre--I have it easy. I label everything 'fantasy', because generally it is. Later I decide it it's more sci-fi fantasy, slipstream, surrealism, or what have you. But I hardly ever write anything other than fantasy, and when I do it's not very long.

Some people like crossgenre works, so I wouldn't worry about your story provided it's well-told, etc.

Scrawler · Nov 18, 2008

I need to know. I need to have a solid theme I can weave throughout my plot. Knowing this influences everything.
My characters have a story to tell. I need to know what they want to say, otherwise they're just wandering around

maxmordon · Nov 19, 2008

I don't know exactly what's my novel is about; I know how's the plot and the path that follows but don't know how to say it in just three lines. I always thought it was bad until I read The President by Miguel Ángel Asturias. I can't say what's the novel about but if it win an Nobel it must be for something.

Greenwolf103 · Nov 19, 2008

Sometimes, I will start a story with only bits and pieces of it in my head. No character sketches, no outlines and no research. There will just be parts of the story that I know will be important parts to include. So I'll start writing the story with the character(s) leading the way and after the first draft is done, weed out the REAL story buried in there somewhere. First drafts are meant to just get the story down. Even if you don't know what kind of story it is. Save all the analyzing, revising and genre-placing work for after you have written the complete first draft of your story.

Just my two cents.

James D. Macdonald · Nov 19, 2008

When people ask me what one of my stories is about, I usually say, "About 90,000 words."

Genres (as we usually use the term here) are really marketing categories. Let the marketing people worry about them.

In fact, there are only four genres:

Poetry
Fiction
Essay
Drama

Charlie Horse · Nov 19, 2008

I don't even know what life is about, and if I haven't figure that out then how am I supposed to know anything about a work of fiction. So yes, it's quite possible, quite likely even, to not know what your novel is about.

Not knowing what the story is about?

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