Your chess analogy is perfect lol. I play chess a lot myself, and the biggest difference between a 1200 and a 1600 is making g every move count for something
I would like to offer my writing advice in exchange for the very practical help Carl has given me Take up the guitar. It helps if you play badly. When you get stymied in your writing, pick up the guitar and play something challenging like Glow Worm. You’ll get so overwrought and frustrated that you’ll flee headlong into the comfort of your novel
When I have many characters I must have this to remember who is who, because some of them are not well defined yet and it would be quite bad to make some rookie mistake.
This obsession with "spacemaxxing" is the import of screenwriters, where every page bloats a studio budget by several cents per minute. You're not shipping an iPhone, you're making art. Sometimes filler is okay. Sometimes we just want to read two pages of Biblo Baggins having a cozy feast with dwarves, even though it could have been deleted. What is "necessary" for the reader is often subjective. Sometimes as a reader i like just hanging around a campfire with the characters and hearing them tell jokes or something. The flaws in a work are sometimes part of what make it beautiful. My fav novel ever (Catch 22) has plenty backstory info dumps that would be deleted by an editor in 2024. But they are some of my favorite parts.
I agree. I am tired of novel writing advice along the lines of 'If you can cut it without losing important plot info, you must cut it!" That may be true of fast-paced thrillers... It is definitely not true of all other novels.
@@PaulRWorthington If it is there for pacing, then it is serving a purpose. There is more to a writing a novel than just the plot. [Note to self: Order a chainsaw for next edit of book]
People complain about Stephen King books being filled with unnecessary bloat, but that’s precisely why I love them. Slice of life, normal people doing normal people things, playful banter, friendship and relationship interactions, wholesome bonding moments, makes the characters and the setting feel so much more alive and real.
@@nightmarishcompositions4536 I think that's the reason LOTS of people love them. We are spending time with PEOPLE we care about, not just characters in a book! That's why we miss them when the book is over!
I wrote two novels that might look somewhat similar if I just summarized the major characters and plot points. One book is barely 50k; the other is 160k! I like 'em both. Neither is right or wrong. They are different reading experiences.
You're getting a high views-and-engagement-to-subscribers ratio. Your style is unique and captures a niche type of sense of humour which keeps those same people viewing. At some point it may blow up like Brandon McNulty recently did after years of being small.
Regarding character sheets: For years I felt guilty about not having them, since everyone kept saying that REAL writers used them. (And of course there's an entire cottage industry of selling forms for them.) But I developed my characters as I went along, and backfilled my mental sheets of my characters as I went. I think that character sheets are bad not only for the reason you mention, an irresistible urge to vomit forth every jot and tittle about them, but because the LIMIT the organic growth of your characters.
Good one! From what I'm told a debut novel can't exceed a certain length (80-90 thousand words), because the publishers won't risk marketing something that will require a huge commitment on the part of the reader when the author is unknown. I personally think this rule is a sad admission of how little confidence they have in the reader's ability to sustain interest, and something that probably made a lot of debut novels feel rushed and half-baked, but it is probably wise to keep it in mind when planning a story, if you want to publish the traditional way.
I'm a lifelong reader and soon to be published author, and even I wouldn't commit to a debut if it was too long. Tell your story in less words. Easy as that.
@@theq6797 Well, that's what I'm trying to understand. When you're making content about a subject, I need to be able to trust that advice is coming from a place of knowledge and experience. I can think of UA-camrs who acted like subject matter experts, but in the end were just folks with well-presented opinions. Perhaps valuable, but also, perhaps not?
Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like a, your opinion, man. I don't believe in experts, there are only folks with their opinion. It is for you to decide if this opinion is valuable or not. You shouldn't give up this decision to other people including those who decide who will be phd.
@@theq6797 Who would you prefer to build your house (or, teach you how to build a house) someone who had built houses or someone who had merely read about building houses? Experience matters. Knowledge matters. We need to bring expertise back. I’m not saying Carl is not btw, I just wanted to take a look at his writing. I got burned watching iWriterly a couple years ago, who was another self-proclaimed expert who didn’t really know anything. Did she help people regurgitating writing platitudes? Maybe, but we deserve better than that.
@@theSantiagoDogI don’t think a person has to have published a novel to give advice about how to write a novel. He may have written several novels which might give him insight into the writing process that he uses to inform his videos. Writing a novel and publishing a novel are two different things.
I'm definitely an over-writer, but that's how my brain works. It's a lot easier for me to pare down the the excess than try to flesh more out. And I've given up on short stories. My.brain.just.wont.
on a more serious note. i am working on a series and one thing i am having a bit of trouble with is, how many books? how much story do i have for this many books? i know a lot of authors like trilogies, but i am seeing more story than what i could squish down into a trilogy. so was thinking 4 solid books because it's more of an epic road trip from Alaska to the Carolina's and is set in a post apocalyptic world. plus maybe a few companion books if the readers were interested. and if i went 6 books then i feel i would be drawing it out. having to add "fluff", which i am opposed to doing just for the sake of a 6 book series. although it does seems that a lot of series are based on combinations of 3's. any thought's on this would be much appreciated.
Well, I thought I had a single big novel's worth of story, but no, my ideas are too big. But it didn't really fit the trilogy format, either, so now it's actually 4 books, possibly five if I can't finesse it. It depends so much on the story and how you tell it. I don't think there's any magic number of books these days, but it also depends on if you want to go trad pub or self. Im definitely self, so I don't have to factor in what a publisher might want.
I went from 120k, to 110, to 95 and finally ripped that sucka down to 87K. It felt awful at first but boy does a writers group and some beta readers make a difference! It’s almost half of what it was word count wise and yet twice the well developed story.
I have a novel finished that is roughly 130k words long. And a novella with roughly 50k words, which literally marks the threshhold for being a novella. I dont lnow the magic number in english, but in german its 50k words that still makes a novella a novella. After that it becomes a novel.
US publishers generally consider 50k a short novel, altho' they'd also prefer you to either make it 60-70k or pare it down to be much closer to 20 for a novella. If you self-pub to an American market, your 50k is fine for a novella as long as it's clear on the product page, and, ideally, the cover. 😊
High romantacy is difficult in this. Easy to end up with 300k in first draft, then 60-80k at the finish. Just an aside; I'm sick of urban fantasy romance with werewolves...
I love that you choose topics that haven't been done to death by other UA-camrs. Please keep 'em coming. 😺👍
Your chess analogy is perfect lol. I play chess a lot myself, and the biggest difference between a 1200 and a 1600 is making g every move count for something
I would like to offer my writing advice in exchange for the very practical help Carl has given me
Take up the guitar. It helps if you play badly. When you get stymied in your writing, pick up the guitar and play something challenging like Glow Worm. You’ll get so overwrought and frustrated that you’ll flee headlong into the comfort of your novel
the one I just finished writing is 160,000 words. I thought it was going to be about twice that, but realized it didn't have to be.
Hope its turning out goos
D
@@elchiponr1 thank you! It's actually the best work I've ever done.
Character sheets are just a distraction from the actual writing.
When I have many characters I must have this to remember who is who, because some of them are not well defined yet and it would be quite bad to make some rookie mistake.
I'm an underwriter so I can't relate lol
literally bruh I be telling an 80,000 word story in 30,000 words shi is NOT sweet
This obsession with "spacemaxxing" is the import of screenwriters, where every page bloats a studio budget by several cents per minute. You're not shipping an iPhone, you're making art.
Sometimes filler is okay. Sometimes we just want to read two pages of Biblo Baggins having a cozy feast with dwarves, even though it could have been deleted.
What is "necessary" for the reader is often subjective. Sometimes as a reader i like just hanging around a campfire with the characters and hearing them tell jokes or something.
The flaws in a work are sometimes part of what make it beautiful. My fav novel ever (Catch 22) has plenty backstory info dumps that would be deleted by an editor in 2024. But they are some of my favorite parts.
I agree. I am tired of novel writing advice along the lines of 'If you can cut it without losing important plot info, you must cut it!"
That may be true of fast-paced thrillers...
It is definitely not true of all other novels.
@@PaulRWorthington If it is there for pacing, then it is serving a purpose. There is more to a writing a novel than just the plot. [Note to self: Order a chainsaw for next edit of book]
People complain about Stephen King books being filled with unnecessary bloat, but that’s precisely why I love them. Slice of life, normal people doing normal people things, playful banter, friendship and relationship interactions, wholesome bonding moments, makes the characters and the setting feel so much more alive and real.
@@nightmarishcompositions4536 I think that's the reason LOTS of people love them. We are spending time with PEOPLE we care about, not just characters in a book! That's why we miss them when the book is over!
This has hit me each time I finished a book project.
Even though none of those have been published yet.
I wrote two novels that might look somewhat similar if I just summarized the major characters and plot points.
One book is barely 50k; the other is 160k!
I like 'em both. Neither is right or wrong. They are different reading experiences.
You're getting a high views-and-engagement-to-subscribers ratio. Your style is unique and captures a niche type of sense of humour which keeps those same people viewing. At some point it may blow up like Brandon McNulty recently did after years of being small.
I don't know... Getting a thousand people to stare at my face for ten minutes already seems like a stretch
It’s your tongue in cheek humor-and the startling unoriginality of your countenance. (Dorothy L Sayers)
Regarding character sheets: For years I felt guilty about not having them, since everyone kept saying that REAL writers used them. (And of course there's an entire cottage industry of selling forms for them.) But I developed my characters as I went along, and backfilled my mental sheets of my characters as I went.
I think that character sheets are bad not only for the reason you mention, an irresistible urge to vomit forth every jot and tittle about them, but because the LIMIT the organic growth of your characters.
Good one! From what I'm told a debut novel can't exceed a certain length (80-90 thousand words), because the publishers won't risk marketing something that will require a huge commitment on the part of the reader when the author is unknown. I personally think this rule is a sad admission of how little confidence they have in the reader's ability to sustain interest, and something that probably made a lot of debut novels feel rushed and half-baked, but it is probably wise to keep it in mind when planning a story, if you want to publish the traditional way.
Great point. Longer novels are also more expensive to print and edit, and can't necessarily be sold at a higher price.
I'm a lifelong reader and soon to be published author, and even I wouldn't commit to a debut if it was too long. Tell your story in less words. Easy as that.
Very useful 🎉as usual 🎉. Thanks a lot 🎉.
Cronic overwriter here; needed some of this advice. Rough draft has Phantom Menace Syndrome minus Jar Jar
@@Leitis_Fella what do you mean by that
This is an inspirational video. Thank you.
Carl, your videos have been popping up in my feed. I like them so far. Your bio says you write novels. Where can I find them to check out?
Maybe he didn't finish any novel?
@@theq6797 Well, that's what I'm trying to understand. When you're making content about a subject, I need to be able to trust that advice is coming from a place of knowledge and experience. I can think of UA-camrs who acted like subject matter experts, but in the end were just folks with well-presented opinions. Perhaps valuable, but also, perhaps not?
Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like a, your opinion, man.
I don't believe in experts, there are only folks with their opinion. It is for you to decide if this opinion is valuable or not. You shouldn't give up this decision to other people including those who decide who will be phd.
@@theq6797 Who would you prefer to build your house (or, teach you how to build a house) someone who had built houses or someone who had merely read about building houses?
Experience matters. Knowledge matters. We need to bring expertise back. I’m not saying Carl is not btw, I just wanted to take a look at his writing. I got burned watching iWriterly a couple years ago, who was another self-proclaimed expert who didn’t really know anything. Did she help people regurgitating writing platitudes? Maybe, but we deserve better than that.
@@theSantiagoDogI don’t think a person has to have published a novel to give advice about how to write a novel. He may have written several novels which might give him insight into the writing process that he uses to inform his videos. Writing a novel and publishing a novel are two different things.
I need to play this video several times
ummm... yeah... i live in oHIo... so that is a very old joke here.. 😂
I'm definitely an over-writer, but that's how my brain works. It's a lot easier for me to pare down the the excess than try to flesh more out. And I've given up on short stories. My.brain.just.wont.
Carl, where can we read your novels? (Positively and genuinely interested)
I'm not published and I don't have anything posted anywhere public at the moment. I do appreciate your interest though!
But killing your darlings is so damn heartbreaking! Like mama bird eating her youngest so the other chicks survive.
on a more serious note. i am working on a series and one thing i am having a bit of trouble with is, how many books? how much story do i have for this many books? i know a lot of authors like trilogies, but i am seeing more story than what i could squish down into a trilogy. so was thinking 4 solid books because it's more of an epic road trip from Alaska to the Carolina's and is set in a post apocalyptic world. plus maybe a few companion books if the readers were interested. and if i went 6 books then i feel i would be drawing it out. having to add "fluff", which i am opposed to doing just for the sake of a 6 book series. although it does seems that a lot of series are based on combinations of 3's.
any thought's on this would be much appreciated.
Well, I thought I had a single big novel's worth of story, but no, my ideas are too big. But it didn't really fit the trilogy format, either, so now it's actually 4 books, possibly five if I can't finesse it.
It depends so much on the story and how you tell it. I don't think there's any magic number of books these days, but it also depends on if you want to go trad pub or self. Im definitely self, so I don't have to factor in what a publisher might want.
I went from 120k, to 110, to 95 and finally ripped that sucka down to 87K. It felt awful at first but boy does a writers group and some beta readers make a difference! It’s almost half of what it was word count wise and yet twice the well developed story.
Hi
What writer group are you in?
my novel is 352K words :D
and the sequel is currently 258K and is not finished
How do you publish that?
@@theq6797 that's a problem for future me lol
but definitely indie
@@xChikyxAre you trying to write War and Peace or something? That seems way too long, especially for the current market
@unicorntomboy9736 the current market is a complicated topic lol
Hell yeah 🤘🏽
I have a novel finished that is roughly 130k words long.
And a novella with roughly 50k words, which literally marks the threshhold for being a novella. I dont lnow the magic number in english, but in german its 50k words that still makes a novella a novella. After that it becomes a novel.
US publishers generally consider 50k a short novel, altho' they'd also prefer you to either make it 60-70k or pare it down to be much closer to 20 for a novella. If you self-pub to an American market, your 50k is fine for a novella as long as it's clear on the product page, and, ideally, the cover. 😊
High romantacy is difficult in this. Easy to end up with 300k in first draft, then 60-80k at the finish.
Just an aside; I'm sick of urban fantasy romance with werewolves...
Lololol. Yeah, that's gotten pretty worn out.