how to find ideas for novel

guest · Sep 10, 2006

hello forum

I am new to this forum and I want to know how can I find an idea for the novel about a country?
for example if I want to write about it, how should I proceed for the ideas?
is there any way to decide how this story(about a country) could be told effectively?

I will greatly appreciate your help
thankssss
curious guest

jbal · Sep 10, 2006

tart with the story, not the setting. I have heard of plot or character driven stories, but never setting-driven.

James D. Macdonald · Sep 10, 2006

Use one of these ideas:

If This Goes On

The Man Who Learned Better

How Do We Get Home?

Who Are Those Guys?

The Brave Little Tailor

Who Am I?

Gentle Reader, I Married Him

============

All else is mere elaboration.

Lilybiz · Sep 10, 2006

Read the history of that country. History will spark your imagination.

Oddsocks · Sep 10, 2006

You could first work out what aspects of the country are important - what you actually want to do in your novel. Then you can think about what kind of story you can tell, what plot/characters etc will best help you get that accross.

Zisel · Sep 10, 2006

Welcome to the forum!

When you say "country" do you mean more the land itself, as in a "person versus nature" story, or the people and culture, as in a "person versus society" story? You might get more specific answers if you clarify this.

For ideas (and to avoid rehashing stale topics), you might also want to look around at the fiction that’s been written about the country or, for that matter, any fiction where a nation state plays an integral part in the development of the story. As just one example, if you find someone has portrayed a certain aspect of the country in a way that you feel is inaccurate, you might set out to portray that aspect more accurately.

Building on what aertep said, you could get ideas from looking for themes in current events, too.

Z

LeeFlower · Sep 10, 2006

jbal said:
tart with the story, not the setting. I have heard of plot or character driven stories, but never setting-driven.

Card talks about setting-driven "Milieu stories" in How To Write Science Fiction and Fantasy. According to Card, the setting-driven story is one where a character finds himself in an unfamiliar setting, interacts with that setting, and either ends up deciding to stay there or returns home, changed by his experiences.

It would take a braver writer than I to tackle such a tale, but it's been done well. The first Dinotopia is basically a Milieu story, as I recall: MC gets marooned on dinotopia; tries really hard to find a way off of dinotopia; eventually decides that it's not such a bad place to live and stays. But a bulk of the story is him describing the world as he encounters it.

James D. Macdonald · Sep 10, 2006

Dinotopia relied on the paintings; the story was the flimsiest thing imaginable, a slight framework on which to hang the artwork.

Without the pictures I doubt anyone would have read it. I suspect that many who bought the book never read the words at all.

guest · Sep 11, 2006

thanks a lot for your kind responses. I am so glad to find nice cooperative people here on this firum.

*I want to ask before writing a novel should i write short stories, or should I start right away with a novel?

*If I write a novel about a country by telling the story of a family(the changes in a family's life parallel with the changes in the country), is it not a common technique already used by some authors to tell the story of a particular country/state? would it be a good idea to use this technique?
thankssssssssssss

James D. Macdonald · Sep 11, 2006

There is nothing that hasn't already been tried. You can make a story your own by how you do it.

Some people write short stories then move on to novels. Some only write short stories. Some only write novels. Some start with novels then move on to short stories. There's no one, and no right, path.

Do you have any short-story length ideas? Write them. Do you have any novel-length ideas? Write them.

Don't worry over-much about things that aren't under your control. Write!

jbal · Sep 11, 2006

guest said:
thanks a lot for your kind responses. I am so glad to find nice cooperative people here on this firum.

*I want to ask before writing a novel should i write short stories, or should I start right away with a novel?

*If I write a novel about a country by telling the story of a family(the changes in a family's life parallel with the changes in the country), is it not a common technique already used by some authors to tell the story of a particular country/state? would it be a good idea to use this technique?
thankssssssssssss

I started with a novel.

Evaine · Sep 11, 2006

James Mitchener - he did a whole series of books taking the history of a country, or a US state, and he seemed to have the formula down pat. I'm thinking of Poland, or Texas, or Hawaii....
He also did some jolly good stuff that wasn't in that formula, like The Source, which was a really well-worked out history of the Holy Land with reference to an on-going archaeological dig.

arrowqueen · Sep 11, 2006

Patricia Wright did a very good novel called 'I am England.'

That might give you a few ideas.

littlewriter · Sep 11, 2006

hmmm.... I don't really know if this is along the same lines, but have you read Animal Farm, by George Orwell? It is a novel, sort of about a country, although more about the government. Is this the sort of thing you mean? I agree with James D, most things have been tried before, but putting your own style and twist to things will make it unique (hopefully).

sarah

Jamesaritchie · Sep 11, 2006

guest said:
thanks a lot for your kind responses. I am so glad to find nice cooperative people here on this firum.

*I want to ask before writing a novel should i write short stories, or should I start right away with a novel?

*If I write a novel about a country by telling the story of a family(the changes in a family's life parallel with the changes in the country), is it not a common technique already used by some authors to tell the story of a particular country/state? would it be a good idea to use this technique?
thankssssssssssss

Short story or novel, write what you most enjoy writing. Loving what you're doing will make everything easier.

how to find ideas for novel

guest

jbal

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle

Lilybiz

glad to be here

Oddsocks

Zisel

LeeFlower

Lurker Extraordinaire

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle

guest

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle

jbal

Evaine

arrowqueen

RIP, our sarky besom

littlewriter

Jamesaritchie