A Novel Problem

Last night I was at the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Workshop at UC berkeley (acronym for this workshop > Cal SFFWW) and let me tell you, it was fun!

We were working over a member's piece, which happened to be the start of a book he's been editing for a while. As we worked through it we spent a great deal of time on the very beginning of the first chapter (the portion he brought to the workshop). What was interesting, and Brian (the person brining the piece) noted this, was that there were many interpretations, views, and opinions about how the introduction was carried out.

Aside from the content of the piece I was struck by the sheer complexity of actually putting together a novel from beginning to end. There is a constant struggle between the writer and the reader's interpretations and both must be taken into account through the entire piece. And even when the author has written the piece, there is no guarantee that the reader's will agree. A thread must be started at the very first page, carried through the first chapter, and then kept in tact through the entire book, which must be a daunting task. I feel compelled to write books, but as of yet I haven't begun one (writing beyond research and notes).

Characters must be fine tuned, descriptions and dialogue must fit with the given scene, etc. there are so many factors that need to be taken into account I see the whole process as a person trying to swim to land in a hurricane.

This may seem like a jump but an immediate question comes to my mind > what is a novel? I'm auditing an English Novel course at Cal and this was one (and is ongoing) question we raised early. The general impression I have now is that a novel can be defined by what it is not, and the only way a novel can be identified by what it is, is by general consensus. I feel that the act of writing anything, or reading/critiquing anything is one of the most truly democratic/participatory actions a person can be a part of. When we were workshoping last night we all were a part of that process and in so doing were discussing the nature of the work we had just read. The writer is tied very closely to the readers and the readers have a close tie with the writer. I remember watching recently, a commentary by Seananners (if you haven't watched him on youtube, then I suggest you do so, even if you don't like videogames) where he discussed how 'success' in youtube was to be measured. He essentially implied that it was not just one thing (like # of views, ratings, or comments) but many different factors. The same can be said for any creative work. The success of a novel in particular seems to be tied to how people support it and feel about it. Thus a huge burden is placed upon the writer to offer up his work for people in general to judge.

I feel that this is of particular relevance to SFF (science fiction and Fantasy) writers. Because their worlds explicitly deal with the imaginary there is a intense need to relate the work with reality, and by extension humanity. This can be incredibly difficult, but must be addressed.

Look's like I didn't get around to making a specific point so, the title probably should have read 'Novel Problems.' The process is incredibly complicated, but I look forward to the time when I feel ready to make the plunge.