I have just finished chapter 2. This leads me to a question. Do I write the next chapter and then begin to polish the first three to perfection in order to start sending samples out to agents? Or do I write the whole thing first knowing that I'm probably going to make drastic changes as I get to know my characters?
I think I'm going with option two as surely after spending a year writing a novel I will hopefully be a more experienced writer who will probably rip what I've already written to shreds. Also I change my mind. A lot. I've already gone from one protaganist to two, written in a shifting first person viewpoint. This is something I'd never envisaged doing, but I've seen Sophie King make it work in School Run. Anyway, we'll see how it goes.
Another reason, I want to write the whole thing before sending it 'out there' is that I want to get the story down on paper. I need it to make sense before I start perfecting it. It seems a bit mad to be sending anything out so early as I don't feel I've even hit my stride yet. I'm still feeling my way into the story. I've also started waking at four in the morning needing to write things down. Is this normal? Does novel writing always turn people into insomniacs who also dart off in the middle of the day to sit with their notebook?
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3 comments:
Well done on completing Chapter 2. Great that your full of enthusiasm and the story's flowing. I've always been told to write the whole novel first because, as you say, you'll probably want to change the first chapters when you reach the end.
I hope the words continue to flow. I have the opposite problem at the moment, can't get into my novel at all!
From what I know, agents ask that you have a finished and polished novel before you start submitting it to them.
And it's true that it changes as you write it. Mine changed radically.
Thanks for your comments. Great to know that people are willing to give advice on things like this. The more I think about the novel the more I change things around in my head. Definately a good idea to finish it first.
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