Is this OK, or is it simply awful?

I'm not participating in Nanonnomowrinamomono or whatever the hell it's called, but I was inspired by it to take a quick stab at a novel I've been thinking about writing for over a decade now.

I've never written fiction before. But I made a start - just the first page or two. But I can't judge its quality at all, being the person who produced it.

I'm OK with it being awful. I don't fancy myself as a novelist. I have some plans for the plot - scenes where the hero is hovering in front of a carrier battlegroup, wondering what went wrong as they launch planes at him, or having a fundamental moral disgreement with the government (directly to the Prime Minister's face) etc. and having the novel chart the way he becomes viewed as a supervillain despite just being a normal guy who got superpowers and tried to do his best to do the right thing. He's going to be a Superman level superhero, so he's viewed as a world threat, and the novel will explore how the real world would react to him (for example, the carrier group would have reconfigured radar systems designed to detect a hovering human sized target).

Anyway, I've attached the first couple of pages. I'm woefully aware that there's no actual dialogue in it, and it comes across quite distant in that sense.

I don't even know if I'm going to continue. Fiction isn't something I've tried before, and it's hard putting words to paper.

First off: kudos for actually scribbling down what has been in your head for years, and kudos for also for having the guts to put it out here.

Writing: it's full of all these european spelling, grammar, colloquialisms, and such... you do know that's not real English, right?! (i'm kidding)

More seriously, I wouldn't call it awful. It's decent; it would take a few more pages for me to get used to the writing style

Example: The frequent use of em dashes and ellipsis was a little awkward in the first half but then once I realized that this was primarily internal dialogue it seemed to somehow make sense that he would be pausing with half-thoughts to himself.

(disclaimer: for the past few years I've been immersed in nonfiction for school and not had much time to read fiction, so I've gotten out of the habit of picking up on fiction-based tones, styles, voice, etc - so that very well could just be a 'me' thing)

There were perhaps one or two sentences that seemed awkward, but overall, it wasn't difficult to read or anything like that and I got (what I think to be) the gist of where it was going in trying to establish simon as an everyday man who is changed and therefore confused by those changes.

And, given the title and the little intro lines i'd probably expect about half the novel to be his rise to power (gaining powers, understanding them, using them to what he believes to be benefits) and then a turning point chapter (something goes wrong or he causes an accident, or someone just no longer trusts him), and then the other half about his fall from grace, the repercussions of falling from grace, and how he is dealing with it. Whether or not i'm right isn't the issue, just trying to say what my expectation as the reader is based on the title and intro lines.

anyway, it is a good start, i enjoyed it, and i hope you have fun with it!

I didn't notice any odd style issues. Is that because I'm european?

Just two sort of akward parts. Take out the -- from around the girlfriends name. And the part about using a mouse to colour a mouse being ironic seemed like a forced attempt at humour.

Anyway, I liked it. If that had been a blurb for a book on the back of another book I'd put it on my waiting list.

First of all, a heads-up: I didn't read your excerpt. Sorry. I gots a novel of my own to write, man!

But I really think you should give Nanowrimo a shot instead of just deciding to write a novel. Without the constant demand of 1667 words per day, your book might never get done. A commitment to daily writing ensures that you'll probably finish the novel that's been banging around in your head for a while.

And, of course, with that word goal, you have to stop caring about whether or not your book is any good. In fact, the trick to it is to unrelentingly refuse to care about the quality of your writing. I mean, I doubt that the first drafts of many bestselling novels are much to brag about anyway. And once you stop caring if you suck, the writing becomes that much easier. Give it a try.

fba827 said:

Writing: it's full of all these european spelling, grammar, colloquialisms, and such... you do know that's not real English, right?! (i'm kidding)

Click to expand...

Ahem!

And, given the title and the little intro lines i'd probably expect about half the novel to be his rise to power (gaining powers, understanding them, using them to what he believes to be benefits) and then a turning point chapter (something goes wrong or he causes an accident, or someone just no longer trusts him), and then the other half about his fall from grace, the repercussions of falling from grace, and how he is dealing with it. Whether or not i'm right isn't the issue, just trying to say what my expectation as the reader is based on the title and intro lines.

Click to expand...

That's pretty much right!

in re-reading my earlier reply, i think my main point may have been less emphasized than I meant for it to be (and for that I apologize for not being clearer), so i'll just remphasize that point..

Did I enjoy/be entertained while reading it? yes.

Hammerhead said:

First of all, a heads-up: I didn't read your excerpt. Sorry. I gots a novel of my own to write, man!

But I really think you should give Nanowrimo a shot instead of just deciding to write a novel. Without the constant demand of 1667 words per day, your book might never get done. A commitment to daily writing ensures that you'll probably finish the novel that's been banging around in your head for a while.

And, of course, with that word goal, you have to stop caring about whether or not your book is any good. In fact, the trick to it is to unrelentingly refuse to care about the quality of your writing. I mean, I doubt that the first drafts of many bestselling novels are much to brag about anyway. And once you stop caring if you suck, the writing becomes that much easier. Give it a try.

Click to expand...

Having "won" NaNoWriMo a few years ago, I can tell you that finishing it (essentially, what "winning" means) will not necessarily get you any closer to having a completed novel that's anywhere near ready to be submitted to agents and/or publishers. Cranking out words simply for the purpose of cranking them out is not how a working writer operates. You also don't complete a novel in a month's time. Unless maybe you're Stephen King or something.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't give NaNoWriMo a try. If you've never done it, I would recommend giving it a try. If NaNoWriMo is your only attempt at writing, though, I would suggest branching out and giving yourself more time to complete a workable piece of writing.

My understanding of NaNoWriMo (as explained to me by my GF, who has participated), is that it's all about overcoming the roadblock of just sitting down and writing. It has absolutely nothing to do with quality or editing.