This is another great post about a particular aspect of writing a novel that most New York Times best selling authors rarely if ever write about. I look forward to reading anything you write about Paris because you have told us a writer writes best about something they most care about. And you don't leave out the really interesting small stuff (like huge scarves or intermittent customer service) that define a place or somewhat the people who live there. I have the ending to my first novel but not exactly how to write its ending nor what happens in the middle that leads up to it to it to accomplish an overall metaphorical grip on the reader's attention from start to finish. But I feel like your advice in this post is the best for either dilemma. Even if I can't go back to the exact place, I can go back to all the experience and details I've stored in head about it that I might even still need to further research. Even if it might be a fictional farce, the feelings and details must be real and convincing for it to work. Thanks for this excellent very practical writing advice to work out from under any novel writing dilemmas. And I am so glad to hear your Paris novel lives and continues being written.
Thank you, Larry! I think you hit on something here--the writing comes more naturally when we have something we feel strongly about. And yes, all those details you have filed away in your brain about a place prove so useful and meaningful when writing fiction, even if you can't physically return to that place.
It's great that you have an ending to your novel. Yes, the middle is truly the hardest part! I always struggle with this. I will try to write something in the not-too-distant future about middles.
This is another great post about a particular aspect of writing a novel that most New York Times best selling authors rarely if ever write about. I look forward to reading anything you write about Paris because you have told us a writer writes best about something they most care about. And you don't leave out the really interesting small stuff (like huge scarves or intermittent customer service) that define a place or somewhat the people who live there. I have the ending to my first novel but not exactly how to write its ending nor what happens in the middle that leads up to it to it to accomplish an overall metaphorical grip on the reader's attention from start to finish. But I feel like your advice in this post is the best for either dilemma. Even if I can't go back to the exact place, I can go back to all the experience and details I've stored in head about it that I might even still need to further research. Even if it might be a fictional farce, the feelings and details must be real and convincing for it to work. Thanks for this excellent very practical writing advice to work out from under any novel writing dilemmas. And I am so glad to hear your Paris novel lives and continues being written.
Thank you, Larry! I think you hit on something here--the writing comes more naturally when we have something we feel strongly about. And yes, all those details you have filed away in your brain about a place prove so useful and meaningful when writing fiction, even if you can't physically return to that place.
It's great that you have an ending to your novel. Yes, the middle is truly the hardest part! I always struggle with this. I will try to write something in the not-too-distant future about middles.