I'm Writing a Novel!!!

[Lord Loss]

I'm writing a humorous novel about a Paranormal investigator... that also happens to be a cat. I'm using many detective novel clichés in it. The story begins when a terrified cat called Hazel goes to the Feline Paranormal Investigator (I haven't finalized his name yet, I briefly thought of calling him Voltaire, Mortimer, and many other names but don't have a final name yet) and his partner Worchester, a meek Basset Hound with a mind for machinery. She gives a harrowing account of a haunting in her home...

I need advice on writing a book and/ or writing detective novels ( I know lots about the supernatural already)

Advice? Like the Premise? Don't like the Premise?

[Grumman]

Why have you decided the protagonists should be animals?

[Closet_Skeleton]

Why have you decided the protagonists should be animals?

Presumably to add an element of originality into an otherwise stale concept.

That or he just saw The Great Mouse Detective and decided "this needs more voodoo".

[Makensha]

-Figure out your ending before you finish.

-Write every moment you don't have to do something else, especially if its a long novel.

-If there is a "point" to your story (as in "life is a never ending cycle of joy and pain) make sure to hit your reader over the head with it. Let it show throughout the events of your story, and then maybe write a paragraph with it at the end. A great example is The Great Gatsby. In fact, The Great Gatsby is a great example for subtle characterization also.

-Try not to be based on so many cliches. You might be trying to make it humorous about old cliches, but still having to read those cliches isn't made easier by noting how overused they are.

-Ask yourself why your cast is animals. Is it to encourage the silly mood? Is it because they need to have certain abilities humans don't have (like a cat's night vision)? If you don't have a good reason, don't make them animals.

-Decide on your audience, and then write your novel based off of your audience. For instance, if your want a humor novel, don't make long, epic descriptions about things that don't matter unless the description shows something funny or adds dimension to one of your characters.

-Since you plan on writing humor, don't flesh out every person met on the street. Keep minor characters to a few traits. Your main characters (Protagonist, Antagonist, Sidekicks, etc.) should be unique and have backstory that you don't necessarily need to write about, but should explain why they are the way they are.

-Make sure your characters all have faults.

-Have your characters interact in a way that has a lasting impact on their perspectives of themselves and those around them.

Feel free to disagree with me, but figure out why you're disagreeing before ignoring advice.

[Mystic Muse]

Presumably to add an element of originality into an otherwise stale concept.

That or he just saw The Great Mouse Detective and decided "this needs more voodoo".

Both is also a possibility.

You could have a villain so evil his picture actually smiles once you mention his name.:smallbiggrin:

[warty goblin]

-Try not to be based on so many cliches. You might be trying to make it humorous about old cliches, but still having to read those cliches isn't made easier by noting how overused they are.

-Ask yourself why your cast is animals. Is it to encourage the silly mood? Is it because they need to have certain abilities humans don't have (like a cat's night vision)? If you don't have a good reason, don't make them animals.


These are the only points I really disagree with. Don't worry about cliches, just tell the story you want tell.Do that with with passion and interest, let these qualities show in your writing, and people will probably like the result. The only people who won't like it are the people small-minded enough to reduce everything to tropes, and then complain about how this ruins it for them. Screw 'em.

Of course this cuts both ways. If the story you want to tell has a bunch of cliches in it fine, but don't tell a story that way because it is cliched, even ironically. Mocking cliches is easy, and also fundamentally boring, and certainly don't tell a story in a cliched way even when you would rather do something differently, just because the other option is harder.

And if you want to tell a story about a cat detective, tell a story about a cat detective. Ask yourself what being about a cat detective brings to the story sure, but go for the story you want to tell because otherwise you don't have a snowball's chance in hell of finishing it.

[Lord Loss]

Thanks for the tips! I appreciate all the advice (although I don't agree with the part about not using clichés). I'll post a sample once I've got more of it done.

[Leecros]

that also happens to be a cat.

this reminds me of something...


hold on...


where is it...


ah!


(warning some language&gore) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVx2uCcDXX0&feature=channel

[Makensha]

Of course this cuts both ways. If the story you want to tell has a bunch of cliches in it fine, but don't tell a story that way because it is cliched, even ironically. Mocking cliches is easy, and also fundamentally boring, and certainly don't tell a story in a cliched way even when you would rather do something differently, just because the other option is harder.

That's what I was attempting to say. I'm really not good at explaining things. Cliches are cliches for a reason, but having cliches for the purpose of having cliches is not good.