What is the most important thing in writing?

[Silverhand]

My uncle once told me that when writing anything down, that the concepts and the ideas have to be solid before a real story can start. If both of those things are well thought out, everything else can be fixed.

As I just started a new project, I am curious what everyone else thinks.

As anyone who reads my posts knows, I am poor at grammar. I spell very well, but I don't type good enough. :) In that same breath, I do not edit at all until I am completely done with a project.

When submitting work to critique groups, I never go back over my own work and look for syntax, grammar, or spelling mistakes. I make changes at that time based solely on my concept - making sure everything flows and is understandable.

When I read other people's work, I don't pay attention to the stuff I am weak at. Thus, they usually ask me about their concept and ideas...and I am very useful at that.

My question is, what is the most important part of writing a novel? If the concept sucks, but the grammar is perfect...is it fixable? Or, if the concept rocks, but the spelling and structure is horrid...is that easier to fix?

Maybe a better question would be...how would you list out the different attributes of a solid novel?

Personally, here is my list:

Concept, believability, overall story flow, dialogue, sentence structure, grammar, and finally word choice

[DamaNegra]

The most important part of a novel is writing it. If you haven't written anything, there's nothing to work on.

[FloVoyager]

Concept, believability, overall story flow, dialogue, sentence structure, grammar, and finally word choice

Sounds like a pretty good list to me. But like DamaNegra said, writing it is the most important thing. Just get in there and write it.

[Simon Scarrow]

The most important thing in writing is getting a really big advance from a publisher, then they daren't let the project go down the pan. Trust me.

[Sunshine13]

Honestly, I think it;s having a good story. Your list sounds pretty good. Without a story, nothing matters anyway. :)

[Bufty]

Er....good characters?

[aadams73]

Two things: The writing itself--you have to do it to fix it. I also think either you have a talent for twisting words to say things in an interesting way, or you don't.

[triceretops]

My uncle once told me that when writing anything down, that the concepts and the ideas have to be solid before a real story can start. If both of those things are well thought out, everything else can be fixed.

Taking into consideration that we will write the book and edit it, the above comment, in my mind, rings the golden bell. The premise or concept must be there and sufficiently hook the agent/editor. A cliche plot or unorignial idea cannot be fixed--it's the death knell and I've run across it before.

Tri

[KTC]

Great writing.

[PeeDee]

Story. Sheer story. If you have a story that blows my mind, then I'll forgive so much.

There was an old episode of Tales from the Crypt (that blessed show!) on HBO. I forget what it was called, but it was a Christmas episode. The basic premise is, shortly after a wife has killed her husband with an axe and is about to dispose of the body, she discovers that an escaped criminal-pscyho has noticed her through her window and is trying to get her. She can't call the police, obviously, what does she do?

The acting was terrible. Over all, the show was horribly, horribly lame. That said, the sheer idea behind it was magnificant and thus, I adore the episode.

I will forgive your bad grammar (which is fixable, as is spelling, because it's mechanicle) faster than I'll forgive your broken story or your cheating characters. I can even forgive bad dialogue, but that's not far down the last from the broken story bit, so take heed.

Tell a story you care about. Write it until you've written an ending for it. From there, you can fix everything else. Gene Wolfe has admitted that he writes really horrible first drafts, that's probably true, but look at his finished product.

[Tsu Dho Nimh]

My question is, what is the most important part of writing a novel? If the concept sucks, but the grammar is perfect...is it fixable? Or, if the concept rocks, but the spelling and structure is horrid...is that easier to fix?


As long as the grammar isn't so bad that it obscures what the author means, it's fixable. I regularly fix Dunglish, Japlish, Chinglish, Korlish and Raj-lish and the only time I have a problem is when it's not only bad, it's inedible. Then I have to ask the author what they meant.

You can go back after the flow and plot is good and tidy up the grammar. It's not THAT hard. :D

But fixing a poorly structured story is not an easy task.

[PeeDee]

As long as the grammar isn't so bad that it obscures what the author means, it's fixable. I regularly fix Dunglish, Japlish, Chinglish, Korlish and Raj-lish and the only time I have a problem is when it's not only bad, it's inedible. Then I have to ask the author what they meant.


Even then if you make no sense, you can still write successfully. It just means you're James Joyce's...er....literary...heir.

[James D. Macdonald]

Don't bore the reader.

[blacbird]

The most important part of a novel is writing it. If you haven't written anything, there's nothing to work on.

Amen. It amazes me how easily skipped this step seems to be.

caw.

[Patricia]

Great writing--equals don't bore the reader.

[Carrie in PA]

For me, it's all intertwined. Probably the story itself is the biggest piece to the puzzle, but you can't get the story across properly if you can't communicate it clearly.

Some things may be *less* important, but it's all essential to the finished piece.

[davids]

We dunno-maybe a computer? Started on an old type-writer-went to a word processor-ended up on a computer-it is all the same to me-just sit down and write-like Mr. Macdonald said too-double dittos

[ORION]

Finishing.

[scribbler1382]

A comfortable chair.

[Rob Gregory Browne]

1. Voice.

2. Characterization.

3. Plot.

All of which are deeply intertwined.

[Aubiefan]

Like others have said before, completing your project is the most important thing. You can go back and fix mistakes, but you can't revise a blank page.

[moblues]

These are all wonderful, and helpful replies. UJ always has the right answer. Go figure. ;)

Oddly enough, the first thing I thought of was for the writer to believe enough in the story to tell it in the first place.




Mike

[seun]

I have nothing to add. PeeDee said it all. :)

[JimmyB27]

Don't bore the reader.

Don't bore or confuse the reader.

[Higgins]

My uncle once told me that when writing anything down, that the concepts and the ideas have to be solid before a real story can start. If both of those things are well thought out, everything else can be fixed.

As I just started a new project, I am curious what everyone else thinks.

As anyone who reads my posts knows, I am poor at grammar. I spell very well, but I don't type good enough. :) In that same breath, I do not edit at all until I am completely done with a project.

When submitting work to critique groups, I never go back over my own work and look for syntax, grammar, or spelling mistakes. I make changes at that time based solely on my concept - making sure everything flows and is understandable.

When I read other people's work, I don't pay attention to the stuff I am weak at. Thus, they usually ask me about their concept and ideas...and I am very useful at that.

My question is, what is the most important part of writing a novel? If the concept sucks, but the grammar is perfect...is it fixable? Or, if the concept rocks, but the spelling and structure is horrid...is that easier to fix?

Maybe a better question would be...how would you list out the different attributes of a solid novel?

Personally, here is my list:

Concept, believability, overall story flow, dialogue, sentence structure, grammar, and finally word choice

Basically I agree with you. After all if you don't know what the novel is supposed to DO (ie what is the narrative scheme and by that I mean, flow plus how the reader is guided through the story, ups and downs, ins and outs, heres and theres) how do you know when it is DONE?

[Jamesaritchie]

Basically I agree with you. After all if you don't know what the novel is supposed to DO (ie what is the narrative scheme and by that I mean, flow plus how the reader is guided through the story, ups and downs, ins and outs, heres and theres) how do you know when it is DONE?

You know it's done when you type "The End." I think an awful lot of new writers try to complicate the process beyond what it really is. You tell a story, you fill it with good characters, and you always follow the first commandment of writing which is "Thou Shalt Not Bore the Reader."

[jpserra]

Although it depends on your goal, I would say to finish! Begin at the beginning and finish at the end.

Everything else is editing.

JPS

[expatbrat]

I'm on first edit right now - not boring the reader is my current focus.

[Shadow_Ferret]

Great writing.

I think this has been disproved many times by well-known best-sellers.

I think the 2 most important things are:

A good story.
Interesting characters.

Because without either, even if the writing is the greatest since in the history of the world, I'll get bored and go turn on "Whose Line is it Anyway?" or something.

[Willowmound]

Not boring the reader, and not confusing the reader.

Everything else are just ways of accomplishing that.

[UrsulaV]

I'll buck the trend--I had an editor tell me last week that plot is fixable, plot can be taught and edited and beat into shape, but the voice had to be solid and engaging first, and that was a bugger to teach. (I'm paraphrasing, here.)

Can't say if that's true on a universal scale, obviously, but for this particular editor, (who, god willing, will be making an offer on my book soon!) she was willing to sit down and work with a writer on plot as long as the voice was engaging and readable.

Which has generally squared with my experience as reader--I would read a fun writer write about their trip to the grocery store, but if your writing is dull, your plot has to be pretty earthshaking to keep me interested. I will not forgive bad dialog and bad grammar if you have a neat plot, but I'll forgive you a pretty pedestrian tale if you have me laughing and snerking through it.

Obviously, there's different kinds of readers, though, as above posts have shown.

[Azure Skye]

The most important part of a novel is writing it. If you haven't written anything, there's nothing to work on.

Yeah, exactly.

I wonder how many people feel their idea is solid enough in the beginning anyway, ya know. Sometimes I've had ideas come to be just by free writing. If you don't write anything down then the idea remains just that, an idea. Write! Write like the wind!:)