Writing Sucks: Day 1

Well my loyal readers, I have finally started the process of writing that long delayed, often talked about novel of mine.  The momentous first night of writing was nothing fantastical, nor was it particularly interesting, compelling, or grand.  No, it was simple.  Which is how most novels start out.  Simple and basic. 

My first night of writing consisted of working on character bios for my main characters and fine tuning the outline I already have. I managed to work my way through 3 bios that night, detailing a great deal of the backgrounds for the three characters in question.  I fleshed out where they were born, what kind of upbringing did they have, what are their interests, their passions, what are their dreams.  Basically it was character building from the ground up. 

It also was tedious and alittle slow going.  But it is a necessary step in the process and one I have to complete before I write one word of the novel.  To me, I have to know as much as I can about my characters prior to writing their stories and exploring their world.  I can't pretend to know what they would do in a given situation unless I know who they are.  That is why I am writing up these bios. 

You see some writers don't write outlines or character bios.  They already know their characters and allow their natural choices to determine the course that the story takes, rather than predetermining their fate and forcing their choices to fit in with that predetermined course. 

I tend to be of the opinion that you need to have the main points of your novel figured out.  You need to understand some of the major turning points in the overall narrative so you have a loose structure, the bones of the story, to work off of.  It isn't that I don't necessarily trust my characters to make the right choices that will lead to a strong narrative.  It is rather I like the comfort of knowing where I would like the story to go and allow the freedom for it to change depending on what choices the characters make. 

Writing a great story is about having the ability to mine the rich ground your character's choices lead to, but also having enough control as a writer to not allow them to send your story into false avenues and down paths that will hurt the overall narrative.  That is the balance, if you will, I am setting out to achieve in my writing. 

But alas, the novel has not yet commenced and I am just writing bios for characters for now.  One step at a time I suppose. 

So tomorrow, Thursday, I will be laid up and most likely unable to write.  My hope is to do the writing I had planned for tomorrow on Friday night when I am feeling just a tad better. 

I will have up a new entry about day 2 of writing sometime on Sunday.  So definitely look for that.  Until then as the great Edward Murrow used to say: Good night and Good Luck.