Anyone can write a novel.
1. Start writing.
2. Keep going.
3. End it after 80,000 words.
Pitfalls are mainly: not starting, not keeping going and not finishing.
How To Write A Novel
1 Think of someone elses story.
2 Write it down in 80,000 words.
Great stories to write down.
1 Child wizards.
2 Horny teenage vampires.
3 Books where men shoot Arabs.
4 Books where women wear shoes and talk about f**king.
5 What ever bollox Richard and Judy are reccomending and Tesco are selling for £3
Things that may go wrong.
1 Dying of boredeom
2 Findng out you're actually Jefrey Archer.
Why 80,000 words exactly?
EDIT: When I say "exactly" I don't mean you have to write no more or less than 80,000 words. I just want to know why that many.
Quote: Ian Wolf @ July 31 2010, 8:48 PM BSTWhy 80,000 words exactly?
EDIT: When I say "exactly" I don't mean you have to write no more or less than 80,000 words. I just want to know why that many.
that many'd be a long short story
Quote: Griff @ July 31 2010, 8:15 PM BSTIs there an echo in here?
I think there are many echos of this, all over the place.
Of course some would say the 'ickle novels are really novellas. Stephen King does quite a funny intro on what novellas are in 4 past midnight. It's rather better than any of the novellas in there.
Quote: Griff @ July 31 2010, 7:53 PM BST4. Pissing about on the Internet
That's the fella.
I've done 22000 words of one so far and it's hard work
Quote: Griff @ July 31 2010, 9:22 PM BST80K to 100K words is the length of an average novel. It's just a convention I suppose, in the same way that people have settled on 30 minutes for the length of a sitcom rather than 20 or 40.
It varies of course - Animal Farm is 30,000, Anna Karenina is 10 times that.
Marc P will know more I am sure, and be able to inform us of the word counts of his smash hit bonkbusters.
I only ask because I sent a manuscript to a publisher and it was over 40,000 words, which is about half of what you suggest.
Seventy thousand is probably the normal minimum. Depends on Genre a little I guess.
The only genre I know of which is smaller than that is Mills & Boon which is around 50,000, and YA/Teen fiction which can be around 40,000 upwards.
I guess some literary novels may come in smaller, but unlikely unless you are already established I guess.
Yes, if you are Thomas Mann, feel free to write another Death in Venice.
That's fecking tiny. The lazy bastard.
Quote: zooo @ August 1 2010, 9:36 AM BSTThe only genre I know of which is smaller than that is Mills & Boon which is around 50,000, and YA/Teen fiction which can be around 40,000 upwards.
Well, I suppose my book is not strictly speaking a novel. It is more of a humourous future history.
Quote: Griff @ August 1 2010, 10:18 AM BSTHow long are your novels, Marc?
Punk Noir length.
Usually round the 80 K mark, give or take. I have one to deliver tomorrow at about the 73 K mark I should think,