BLOG SESSION
November 3rd, 2017
Greetings to all Novelists ~ We're discussing National Novel Writing Month during this wonderful month of November 2017, and we are also learning more about writing our Novels online at NaNoWriMo.org.
If you are getting busy typing away online to produce a nice new Novel then you are in the right place to get more insight about being a participant online with other Writers, Authors, Poets, Journalists, Emerging Authors, aspiring authors, and other creative writers like yourself.
A Novelist is a person who writes a Novel. A Novel is a fictional prose often written as a narrative that portrays characters and events in the form of a long story, usually set in a sequence of events. The person who writes a Novel is one who has a heart for writing.
Novels are considerably lengthy and complex in terms of themes, character descriptions, and story settings. As a genre of literary fiction, Novels are the longest of narrative prose. The tendency of being lengthy has led to the considerable debate regarding what should constitute the minimum word limit for a piece of prose to be considered a Novel. It is generally accepted that any piece of prose fiction longer than 40,000 words be categorized as a Novel.
This month on NaNoWriMo, we are aiming for 50,000 word Novels or higher word count. There is such a thing as an Epic. An Epic is traditionally a genre of poetry, know as epic poetry. However, in modern terms, epic is often extended to other art forms, such as epic theatre, films, music, Novels, plays, television shows, and video games, wherein the story has a theme of grandeur and heroism, just as in epic poetry.
An example of an Epic Novel is . . .
Shogun: The Epic Novel of Japan: The Asian Saga, Book 1
Author: James Clavell
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Writing a Novel takes immense efforts; it is no easy task to develop a plot, create fictional characters, and build a story revolving around them that is interesting enough to make the readers read the entire book and make them want to read more. It is a trend that many a times Novelists start out as Journalists or Short Story Writers before they attempt writing a Novel. If you want to acquaint yourself with some of the most famous people from this profession, just go through a few of the biographies presented below, and also take a little time to do some research on your own. Below you will find short biographies of famous Novelists (Authors), along with a little of their life story, professional information, and personal information. Notice the timelines and trivia about each of the famous Novelists listed below...
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway was a Nobel Prize-winning American writer who touched the pinnacles of fame with his Novel ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ which catapulted him to international glory. Over the course of his writing career, he published seven Novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works which greatly influenced later generations of writers. A highly acclaimed writer, most of his works are considered classics of American literature. Born as the first son to well-educated and well-respected parents in Illinois, he had a comfortable childhood during which he developed a keen interest in reading and writing. As a school student he excelled in English and was a regular contributor to his school newspaper, ‘Trapeze and Tabula’. An athletic boy, he also took part in boxing, track and field, water polo, and football. He decided early on that he wanted a career in writing and started off as a journalist before becoming a writer of short-stories and Novels. He went on to serve in World War I as an ambulance driver in the Italian Army before returning to America and establishing himself as a distinguished fiction writer. In spite of all his professional successes as a writer, Hemingway’s personal life was a constant struggle with numerous broken marriages and bouts of depression. Deeply troubled by his personal sufferings, he committed suicide in 1961.
Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison born Chloe Ardelia Wofford, is a Novelist and Professor who has won several prestigious awards for her literary works. As the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Pulitzer Prize among many other awards, she is one of the most brilliant Authors in the genre of African American literature. The seeds for her future profession were sown by her father who told her stories and fables of the African culture which influenced her writings. Primarily a Professor by profession, she began writing as a part of an informal group of writers and poets, and published her first Novel, 'The Bluest Eye'. The critical reviews she got for her debut motivated her to write more. She developed a style of writing that is characterized by epic themes, descriptive dialogues and rich depictions of Black American culture. She went on to write several other Novels that were critically appreciated and won her numerous awards. Her Novel, 'Son of Solomon' was the first Novel by a black writer to be chosen the main selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club in almost four decades. She was already famous by the time the Novel, 'Beloved' was published but this book took her popularity to greater heights. The Novel won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and was later made into a film of the same name.
John Grisham
John Grisham, the best-selling Author of today, was many years ago toiling away at a law firm, unaware of his looming luck. Before he began penning his legal thrillers, he initially worked as a lawyer in Mississippi and would pen stories during lunch breaks at work as a hobby. Today, his books have made it to the shelves of best-sellers and he is a celebrity Author. Some of his well-known Novels include, 'The Firm', 'The Pelican Brief', 'The Broker', 'The Appeal', The 'Theodore Boon' series, and 'The Client'. These works have concreted Grisham's standing as the chief of legal thrillers. In his two decades of writing, he has written innumerable Novels and has sold over 250 million copies around the world. Some of his Novels even procreated hit Hollywood films and some are yet in development. This famous Author outlines his Novels interminably. some of the outlines, in his words, "take longer to write than the manuscript itself". Grisham is largely a self-taught writer, compelled by unimpeachable instinct and a critical reading habit, influenced by the works of Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, Pay Conroy and John LeCarre. Writing apart, he is also an active member of 'The Innocence Project'.
Your Personal Biography
As you prepare to write your Novel this year during National Novel Writing Month, be sure to take a little time to think about penning your biography. A Biography is usually an account of someone's life written by someone else. But for now, try writing your own biography, and you can ask your friends or family to try their hand at writing your biography. You may find this exercise to be very interesting!
F R I E N D S
Until Our Next Blog Session ~
Keep working on your Novel...
Peace, Love & Light
By René Allen
©Copyright - René Allen - 2014-2017 - All Rights Reserved
