The first few lines of ‘How to write an Imaginative Novel’
by Robert Trainor attracted my attention. “I retired at 58 and began my
first novel..” Here I am, retired at 58 and wanting to write something, and
hence, I read further with great interest.
At the outset, Robert outlines
the process of beginning writing in chapter 1. Then discusses the first problem,
the author has to face, of naming characters. After a brief talk, the care one
should take for the next important issue, naming a set of places for the
characters to reside is described. Thereafter he goes into the next critical
task, imagining events, with warning that imagination is different from
recollection of the past.
The next chapter is about plot and the composition of the
plot. Why plots should include matters capable of attracting attention from the
readers, like murder, sex (the easy ones), political infighting, and forms of
romance. And the care to be taken to avoid contentious issues.
Thereafter Robert goes into construction of the plot. Using
the metaphor of a line without clothes, he tells how characters are added
making the line heavy and eyeful. This is followed by a discussion on cover
creation. An insight into beginning of a novel, the next chapter, is followed
by another chapter on outline, first draft, drafts after drafts till it becomes
uncountable by fingers.
Then comes the happiest and the final part of writing a novel,
uploading it to kindle.
Though the title of this book may make one very happy, this
book imagines that the reader is in possession of imagination. The author has
done a wonderful job of covering all the other parts of writing a novel. He has
rightly shown the importance of a rather disciplined approach in using computer
for having the document accepted easily by the publishing sites. I cannot agree
with the author’s views on the use of romantic or murderous twists. This
technique for garnering attention from the reader, I think is a short cut,
liable for overuse and also, too common.
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