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Fiction writing can be very challenging indeed. It can also be the
most rewarding if you are published by any of the top fiction
publishers. Fiction does not have to be completely untrue. All
writing is based on someone's truth and life experiences. The
more you experience life the better writer you will be. Most
writers do not get published and famous right after they finish
college. They have life lessons to learn to be able to empathize
with others and to really know how life is after they have to go
out on their own in the "real world". Most college professors
teach their students to write about what they know. What do they
know at the age of 22 or so? They know the correct form,
grammar, and structure of writing. Have they learned enough to
write that famous novel?
My point is, it is never too late to write that first novel. If only for
the satisfaction of having written it from start to finish. The most
difficult thing about writing, to me, is the ending. A story can go
on and on and on without an ending and be very frustrating. No
one knows what they will write from start to finish. A novel, short
story, poem, just about anything written has a life of its own. It
carries the writer to uncharted places. The mind is on the
greatest adventure of its life. The writer can travel to distant
worlds and places , see things not seen before by anyone. It is
the birth of a thought taken to the nth degree. Imagination is very
important to the fiction writer but still and yet the writer must
have seen something to trigger the thought that lead to the
image. The image may come from the unconscious mind and be
something seen but long forgotten such as in childhood before
the conscious mind blocks things out. It is said not many people
can remember things before the age of three years old. I
disagree with this assumption. Who can say your memories are
not real when there is no way for them to know what is real in
your mind and what is not real? Who is qualified to judge your
memories? Memories are things that can not be taken away
from you. The freedom of mind and thought is something no one
has a right to but yourself and I am sure has saved many
prisoners of war and helped them to survive.
REMEMBERING PEOPLE
I know you have gone home for Christmas and or Thanksgiving
and visited old friends as well as relatives. Most say, "You have
not changed a bit". You think to yourself, "Oh, yes, I have".
Your friends and family seem only to remember specific things
and major events. They remember the incidents you and they
shared, snapshots in time. There is no way to know another
person completely since each of us is unique and separate of
mind.
If asked "Do you remember when", you and they have different
memories of the same event. We all remember things that relate
to us personally. Taken together they become the whole story.
If you have brothers and sisters, they have their own versions of
family life spent together. Some times these memories vary
greatly. We all have our own personalities and depth of feelings
and take things in a different way. Those with tougher skins may
let things roll off their backs while a more sensitive person may
take it very seriously. We all develop coping skills to get through
life.
If you ever write a "Memoir" you will need these memories and
feelings to tell your story. You can ask someone who spent time
with you how they remember certain events. That will help you
get the complete story.
When you write fiction you still use these memories to build
characters. The main character is probably a little bit of
everyone you have ever known in life, even in stories for children.
Childhood is the foundation everything is built upon. Memories
are more important than imagination in some instances.
Do you think some of the makers of toys and authors of
children's stories could have been produced or written without
the love of a stuffed toy or a real live pet? Things we loved and
took care of long ago. Memories bring back emotions.
Writers must make the reader, see, taste, feel, and share their
stories. Make everything as real as possible, take the reader on
a journey, no matter what age. Get them lost in a world of words.
Rely on your memories, embellish your thoughts, let your
imagination take hold and start that book of fiction. I hope to help
you do this by leading you to information, books, research, web
sites, to help you finish it and get it published.
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There are some very good graphic novel sites on the
internet. Try the following sites for some good links and
information about many of the most popular novels.
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/lml/comics/pages/rec-tra
de.htm. There are links to publishers who specialize in this
type of fiction. There is a lot more than meets the eye in this
genre.
I am sure you have heard of The Crow by James O'Barr.
His graphic novel was made into a major motion picture by
the same name. On his web page
http://www.thecrow.info/granovel.htm you will find out a
great deal more about him and his work.
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