Bob the Builder Writes A Novel
Hello there. It’s the Jordyn. Did you know that a while back COOKIE MONSTER WAS TOTALLY ON THE COLBERT REPORT? Anyway, he was. And it was great.
Also yesterday at work one of the ladies who works there was singing Go Diego, Go! Because she has a two-year-old. And when you have or are around two-year-olds you’re completely allowed to know the words to those kinds of songs. And even if you’re not around two year olds, it’s fine with me. Because I really love Bob the Builder. And Dora the Explorer. And Sesame Street. And THE BACKYARDIGANS. Oh, and Blues Clues. I mean, I don’t watch them (except when I’m babysitting, of course), but I still love them.
Because I’m four years old, yup yup.
Also. Transition.
MY NOVEL. IS THE SUCK.
I have one page. Which I’m sure I’ll end up deleting. Because it’s really no good. I’m not sure how to tell this story; I mean, I know the theme and the general story I want to tell, I just don’t know where to begin. Or what perspective to tell it from. Past tense? Present tense? (Because friendlies, I really love the present tense.) Past tense from ten years after the fact?
I HAVE NO IDEA.
AND I NEED HELP.
Tags: bob the builder, diego, dora, frustration, kiddie shows, novels, tv shows, writing
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July 5, 2008 at 4:08 pm
I may be slightly too fond of present tense. (A lot of literary elitists have bad things to say about present-tense writing. But. Whatever. Literary elitists are not to be trusted.) I find it difficult to write in past tense, now. Past tense seems more natural when reading a book, but it always seems cheesy and forced when I try to write it.
I usually end up telling stories from first-person perspective, because I find third-person impersonal and limiting. However, I write in the much-maligned “tell-don’t-show” style, which means that for most of a book, the main character thinks about things, adds silent commentary on the events, and explores her (it’s pretty much always a ‘her’
emotional reactions and psychological problems. Oops.
As far as where to begin is concerned, you may have heard it a million times before, but, it doesn’t matter too much where you begin. Just start anywhere, and you can scrap it later, or add something before if it really doesn’t work as a starting point. I usually do something to set the scene and introduce the reader to a typical day in the character’s life, before (fairly quickly) introducing the problem.
But I feel your pain. I go through the same process for just about every story I write. I usually cave and go for first-person present. BUT, one time I wrote about half of a long story, then went back and changed the POV (thank goodness for find/replace in Word ^__^).
So. Uhm. That probably wasn’t really helpful.
Basically, pick something you think will work, then if it doesn’t, you can always go back and change it.
Also, I have to give myself this advice all the time, but it’s more important to write and then edit extensively if needed, than to not write and have nothing to read or edit. Just let yourself write, and have fun telling the story. Worry about perfection and publishing later, if at all.
That’s probably easier said than done. (My problem is that I write things, but never go back and edit them. So. You can decide whether or not you actually want to listen to any of my so-called advice =)
In any case, good luck, and happy writing! I hope it starts going better!
July 5, 2008 at 4:09 pm
PS, sorry about the creepy emoticon in the middle of the comment. I don’t remember putting a semicolon there.
July 5, 2008 at 4:10 pm
PPS: That could have used some extra editing and punctuation. Sorry. ^__^
July 8, 2008 at 11:17 pm
New Erin - Thanks for all your advice!! Sorry it’s taken me soo long to reply to this comment; I’m way behind on my comment-replying.