Questions questions questions
HARK!
I hear … a question …
Facebook: So many questions, so many (conflicting) answers.
True, it’s hard to imagine Dostoyevsky posting, “Hey guys, if I have a main character kill a defenseless old lady -- is that too over-the-top?”
Or Kerouac: “Has ‘the road novel’ been done too many times?”
Bukowski: "How dirty is too dirty?"
Anyway...
Kearabetswe Ramontseng asked a good one in Aspiring Writers United.
“When writing a novel does the length of each chapter really matter?
Fifty-two people answered that, from a one-word “NO!” to
"I think it does. Many readers have a short attention span. Some are not good readers at all. A percentage can only read to an eighth grade level. Others get lost in big words or subtext, and may need to re-read what they have read. Long chapters, especially those not well written hinder a reader. To keep it shorter is to keep manageable and more digestible. But then it also makes a difference what audience the book is written for as well. Good luck."
And
"I think if you tell a complete and compelling story for each chapter, it doesn’t matter. If you’re shooting for a particular length, you’ll either leave out material that could be quite interesting or even vital, or you start adding “filler” that adds nothing to the quality of the chapter and may confuse or bore the reader. Just my opinion."
Tony Santiago
"It is personal preference.
"I prefer a shorter chapter that does not get to be more than 5 to 7 pages. When they hit 8 or 9, I start looking for a way to split it apart or cut it down."
Same group, David Bernstein:
“Do you think your book would make a great movie or mini series and why?”
No big surprise: What aspiring writer doesn’t see his/her/their book on the best-seller list, big screen and Netflix/Prime heavy rotation?
But, Tommy Ellis had a caveat:
"Only if it was made by Tim Burton!"
An invitation piggybacking on a question:
Awosope Emmanuel in BOOK PROMOTION.
"Hello authors, have you recently published a book and you need traffic and sales? Kindly drop your book links for promotion"
hmmmm...gotta wonder about some of these
Rachel London brought up the dreaded “WB” in Authors Supporting Authors.
"Hi everyone I am writing my fourth novel and I'm struggling with writers block. How do you guys deal with writer's block."
Ditto for Sierra Bass in Aspiring Writers United
"I'm having serious writer's block 🙃 I haven't written in over 2 years due to crazy life circumstances so I don't even know where to begin.. what recommendations do you guys have for getting back into the swing of making stories?"
Good suggestions:
John Garzaniti
"Write something absurd and ridiculous, then revise it"
Marcia Bufalo Juarez
"Just write. Write anything even if it isn't any good. Then you'll get back into the swing of things. That's what I do when I can't seem to get my creative juices going."
Jonathan Hopkins
"I often go long periods without writing. The easiest way I've found to get back in is not to carry on from where you left off but start a new scene later in the story and re-start from there. You can always fill in at 2and draft stage."
I have a more politically-correct term for “writer’s block”:
Textile dysfunction.
My question:
If you consider yourself a writer, you weren't sick or incapacitated -- but still didn't write much during the pandemic, you don't have writer's block, you have (fill in the blank).