What makes a novel strong?

[qwerty]

I'm perplexed. My agent is calling one of my novels "very strong", but another one he thinks it's not strong enough.

(EDIT: my apologies for that sentence, which should have been more on the lines of: but he thinks another one of my novels is not strong enough.)

My problem is, I can't for the life of me see what makes the one stronger than the other. When asked, he said the one he favours is what he calls literary writing. Apart from not knowing what that means, both are written in my style, and I don't see how they are written differently.

[Priene]

Stick some in SYW and we can have a look.

[ChaosTitan]

Perhaps he isn't speaking about the actual mechanics of your writing style, but how you've used your style and voice to write each particular story? One story works better written in such a way than the other does?

[KTC]

Could the agent be talking about plot strength too? Maybe one is stronger that way? I think it's time you talk to your agent and simply ask exactly what it is that makes one stronger. It could be any number of things.

[selkn.asrai]

I agree with KTC - asking your agent outright is the surest way to find out.

Best of luck :)

[tehuti88]

It might just be a matter of personal opinion, especially since the two agents seem to disagree. If the agent who thinks it needs to be stronger can't really give a concrete explanation of why (aside from saying he likes "literary writing"--that's rather vague too), then that only strengthens this assumption. Maybe even he can't put his finger on it!

Unfortunately that's the way writing is sometimes. Very subjective. :/ I once had a reader complain on like Part 2 of a 110-chapter story (a rather slow chapter, in fact) that it was going "too fast"! I'm like, this thing is 380,000 words, how much slower do you want it to go?? :o

[qwerty]

Thanks, guys. I appreciate everyone's input.

You're right, I'm probably only going to find out by asking the agent outright. Thing is, he's my first ever agent, our relationship is very new and I don't want to seem prima donna-ish. Plus I'm sorta humble because he wants to rep even one of my books.

In both novels, I've looked carefully at plot, dialogue, setting, charactisation, lows and highs that keep the story rolling, and I'm damned if I can work out.

I suppose I was looking for some magic formula that says: this is what makes a piece of writing strong, this is what makes it weak. But, as tehuti said, these things are subjective anyway.

[ChaosTitan]

You're right, I'm probably only going to find out by asking the agent outright. Thing is, he's my first ever agent, our relationship is very new and I don't want to seem prima donna-ish. Plus I'm sorta humble because he wants to rep even one of my books.


As someone who's only been repped three months herself, I'd say don't worry about being a "prima donna." You and your agent are, as you said, in a relationship now. I know all agents work differently, but mine has always said "There's no such thing as a dumb question." If you don't understand feedback, ask for clarification. All it means is that you want to do your best and be successful.

Your agent works for you. :)

[blacbird]

I'm perplexed. My agent is calling one of my novels "very strong", but another one he thinks it's not strong enough.

Which says more about these agents than it does about your book.

caw

[CheshireCat]

It might just be a matter of personal opinion, especially since the two agents seem to disagree


I believe qwerty is referring to only one agent, with different opinions on two different books.


My agent is calling one of my novels "very strong", but another one he thinks it's not strong enough.

[blacbird]

I believe qwerty is referring to only one agent, with different opinions on two different books.

Ah, I missed the "he" in the sentence. It's kind of a confusing sentence, frankly.

caw

[CheshireCat]

Ah, I missed the "he" in the sentence. It's kind of a confusing sentence, frankly.

caw

True. I had to read it twice.

:)

[Chris Grey]

A strong novel is one that did a lot of pushups, did a lot of situps, and drank a lot of juice.

Besides that, your agent is going to have a hard time telling you one thing that makes one strong and the other not-so-strong. It's not any one of "plot, dialogue, setting, charactisation, lows and highs that keep the story rolling." While all of those are crucial, and a deficiency in any of those can make a story stink, what makes it strong is the holistic novel. It's not just the elements, it's how they work together, and I think it comes down to chemistry. It could be a matter of taste, or it could be that you need to let it cook a little longer for it to be complete.

[Beach Bunny]

Just a thought and I am so not an expert in writing, but perhaps one has more passive verb tense than the other. *shrug*

Will go back to lurking in the big kid's forums now. :)

[qwerty]

Oops, just tried to read my OP and I'm cringing at that appalling sentence! Am counting myself lucky to get any replies at all, so many thanks again.

Chris, I think you've given the best explanation I'm likely to get.

[tehuti88]

I believe qwerty is referring to only one agent, with different opinions on two different books.

*blushes terribly* My bad! :o

I still stand by my comments, though with the obvious modification that it's one person with two opinions and not TWO people with two opinions. :o

[qwerty]

tehuti, the blushes are mine for writing such a bad sentence. So just you give'em back where they belong.

Otherwise, I'm pleased you still stand by your comments because I've taken them on board - and I ain't giving them back. Thanks again for responding to my post.