In a previous post, I wrote about the many rules that sometimes hinder the act of writing. There is one, however, with which I cannot but agree, though it is more an advice than a rule, and I cannot really remember when I first came across it. This advice is: write what you want to read.
I don’t suppose I’m the only one in this situation, but as a reader, I tend to get a little frustrated at times with some novels, even ones I love. There’s always something that doesn’t really work for me. A scene I don’t like. A character I love being killed off. Too much or not enough romance. Too much or not enough adventure…
I will love the style of one novel, the characters of another, the plot of a third. But I have yet to find my perfect novel. And the “my” is important: this is all down to personal taste and I don’t expect my ideal novel would necessarily please another reader. And maybe I’m just a really fussy, annoying person who’s always finding something wrong and complaining about finicky little details. Probably. But I’m sure I’m not the only one like that. Please tell me I’m not the only constantly unsatisfied reader!
All right, not constantly unsatisfied. But still looking for the perfect novel I could call my all-time favourite, I could rave about for hours on end, I would have absolutely no reserves about. I mean, I’ve got favourite novels. Novels I liked. Novels I absolutely love. But I’ve realised recently that I haven’t got an all-time favourite book. Or I think I have, for a couple of years, and then I reread the book in question and see that after all, no, I don’t like it so much (all right, all right, I’m just a fussy, annoying person).
And this leads me back to the initial subject of this post, writing the book you want to read. That’s the wonderful thing about being a novelist (or a would-be novelist): you can write, or try to write, your favourite novel of all times. You can create your own favourite book. That doesn’t mean it will be a masterpiece, or that it will be another person’s favourite. But you, but anyone, can write (and even publish!) the novel they want to read, the novel they need to read, the novel that will allow them to escape in a wonderful fictional world, the novel that will help them understand their own world better, the novel that will entertain, uplift, please them.
When I started writing my novel, I wasn’t thinking of that. I wasn’t thinking of writing the book I most wanted to read. But I realise in hindsight, after having reread and edited and reread it for a hundred times at least, that it’s actually what I’ve done. As Winter Came and Went contains a number of elements I would want my perfect novel to have. And I’m not saying it is everyone’s cup of tea. Another person could find it boring and uninteresting. Another might like some aspects and not others. But I think I’ve written the novel I, personally, wanted to find in a bookshop and read and enjoy.
It all comes down towriting what you want and enjoying the process. You are the sole decision-maker when you create your novel. You can take your characters wherever you want them to go. You can write the story in whatever style you want. You are completely free.
And anyway, it’s important to enjoy the writing process. If you’re bored by your own story, well… I don’t suppose other readers will enjoy it then. If you love your story, you’ll have at least one satisfied reader: yourself. And even if everything else fails, if your novel doesn’t sell, if no one wants to read it, writing the book you wanted to read, writing a book you love will have been an achievement in itself.
I don’t suppose I’m the only one in this situation, but as a reader, I tend to get a little frustrated at times with some novels, even ones I love. There’s always something that doesn’t really work for me. A scene I don’t like. A character I love being killed off. Too much or not enough romance. Too much or not enough adventure…
I will love the style of one novel, the characters of another, the plot of a third. But I have yet to find my perfect novel. And the “my” is important: this is all down to personal taste and I don’t expect my ideal novel would necessarily please another reader. And maybe I’m just a really fussy, annoying person who’s always finding something wrong and complaining about finicky little details. Probably. But I’m sure I’m not the only one like that. Please tell me I’m not the only constantly unsatisfied reader!
All right, not constantly unsatisfied. But still looking for the perfect novel I could call my all-time favourite, I could rave about for hours on end, I would have absolutely no reserves about. I mean, I’ve got favourite novels. Novels I liked. Novels I absolutely love. But I’ve realised recently that I haven’t got an all-time favourite book. Or I think I have, for a couple of years, and then I reread the book in question and see that after all, no, I don’t like it so much (all right, all right, I’m just a fussy, annoying person).
And this leads me back to the initial subject of this post, writing the book you want to read. That’s the wonderful thing about being a novelist (or a would-be novelist): you can write, or try to write, your favourite novel of all times. You can create your own favourite book. That doesn’t mean it will be a masterpiece, or that it will be another person’s favourite. But you, but anyone, can write (and even publish!) the novel they want to read, the novel they need to read, the novel that will allow them to escape in a wonderful fictional world, the novel that will help them understand their own world better, the novel that will entertain, uplift, please them.
When I started writing my novel, I wasn’t thinking of that. I wasn’t thinking of writing the book I most wanted to read. But I realise in hindsight, after having reread and edited and reread it for a hundred times at least, that it’s actually what I’ve done. As Winter Came and Went contains a number of elements I would want my perfect novel to have. And I’m not saying it is everyone’s cup of tea. Another person could find it boring and uninteresting. Another might like some aspects and not others. But I think I’ve written the novel I, personally, wanted to find in a bookshop and read and enjoy.
It all comes down towriting what you want and enjoying the process. You are the sole decision-maker when you create your novel. You can take your characters wherever you want them to go. You can write the story in whatever style you want. You are completely free.
And anyway, it’s important to enjoy the writing process. If you’re bored by your own story, well… I don’t suppose other readers will enjoy it then. If you love your story, you’ll have at least one satisfied reader: yourself. And even if everything else fails, if your novel doesn’t sell, if no one wants to read it, writing the book you wanted to read, writing a book you love will have been an achievement in itself.
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