ABOUT WRITING FOR NOVEL...

I’ve always being fascinated by people, (especially young people), who are able to write a manuscript; have the chance – with also a bit of fortune – to be picked up by publishers and obtain success at their first novel. I’ve always wondered how they do it—how they go about creating an interesting and captivating story with consistent characters and dialogue. In other words, realizing a verisimilar story that keeps the readers glued to the book, page after page.

Well, the time for admiration turned into a time for experimentation when I had to put myself to action. The challenge is hard, the difficulties huge. From the choice of the plot to the creation of characters and beyond, in a language that is not mine, I’ve met with all obstacles that a novice writer often falls into. For instance, the  tendency to tell too much instead of showing. ‘Show, don’t tell’ is one of the most important rules every teacher will tell and repeat to their students, yet when writing it is not simple to apply. Telling and showing get opposite results: boring the reader with too many descriptions in the first case and, in the second case, involving the reader and letting them to forget about the author, let them see what is happening. Actions make the difference between one and the other effect. Complications need to emerge; in the construction of dialogue, you need to pay particular attention to the use of attributes. It is easy to lose control of them. The writer has to remember to make it clear who is talking, without weighing down the writing with with a lot of ‘he said/she saids’.

These are only few of the pitfalls I have faced; the list could go on and on, and still that question bounces in my head: how do writers do it?