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So Ive been writing 3,000 to 5,000 words a day....

bookmasta

Dreamer
My novel just came out a week ago and I already have the sequel done, about 30,000 words. Started the day the debut of my fantasy came out and finished the second book today. Now I just have to edit it. This is what I love about fiction, in the fantasy world you can do anything. If I want a flying horse with a flaming Maine and tail that poops rainbows I can do that. Besides editing I am wondering how quickly I could write the third installment in the series.
 

Spider

Sage
Not sure what the question is here. Also, fantasy worlds should have their limits. If you could do anything, then the world wouldn't be believable to the reader.
 

Trick

Auror
Not sure what the question is here. Also, fantasy worlds should have their limits. If you could do anything, then the world wouldn't be believable to the reader.

Have to agree with Spider on both counts. Are you asking a question for which you need advice or opinions?
Believability in your characters and to a different extent in your settings is definitely important. Much like a suspension bridge, the suspension of disbelief can only span so far.
 

bookmasta

Dreamer
I actually got to post it at the bottom. While I have been typing up a storm, I have parts of long dialogue through out my book like this.
"I like hair." james said.
"Thanks," Amy said blushing
"do you have any plans later?" james asked.
"perhaps, why do you want to know?" Amy said

It goes on like that and I feel like Im lacking description about whats going on between the characters in their feelings and their suttle actions, i.e. like posture changes. Im debating whether or not I should add more detail if I can.
 

Spider

Sage
For one thing, you should cut the majority of your dialogue tags. Having "he said," "he asked," etc. after everything ruins the flow. I actually made a post asking how to make dialogue more interesting, which you can find here.

BWFoster78 also wrote a blog post on this: Dialogue That Drives the Story | Brian W. Foster

I think that will help improve your dialogue.
 
Hi,

I write quickly too. But then I rewrite and rewrite, and then comes the editing. No matter how fast you write it's still a slow going business.

Cheers, Greg.
 

TWErvin2

Auror
Yes, the tags need some work, as does the punctuation.

Here's an article I wrote on the topic some time back: Dialogue Basics

As far as improving the writing, if that is an example of the content you've hammered out at your 3000-5000 words a day, you have a lot of editing and revision ahead of you. If you'd send that to a publisher, they wouldn't read past the first page, if that far, before rejecting it. If you self-published that, nobody would read it. Okay, virtually nobody, even if you offered it for free. Why? There are plenty of free ebooks out there, and reading something also costs and individual time--and that is an important commodity.

How much description and other content beyond basic dialogue to add? Find a few novels/authors that you really enjoy reading. Re-read those novels, but instead of reading, study the work. See how they used dialogue and description, action, thoughts, setting, etc. to tell the story. Take notes and then apply what you learned, modifying it to your style and the story you're telling.

Good luck moving forward.
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
Another thing to keep in mind is word counts and labels. Setting aside the differences in literary theory relating to novels v. novellas, if you call the work a novel but it comes in at only 30,000 words, you could get a negative reaction from some readers based on their expectations of how long a novel will be (I've even seen some criticism on Amazon about short length when the author actually does specify that it is a novella, which makes no sense).

There's no bright line between the novel and novella in terms of word count, but for the SFWA, for example, I think you have to be over 40,000 words to be in the novel category. Just something to consider.
 

Aosto

Sage
I can see writing 3-5k words a day, but only if you are regurgitating the story from your head to the page. Editing and such will take much much longer. Also, the dialogue is a little off-putting. That just doesn't seem like a conversation I would read in a novel, unless the novel was about dating or hair styles...I probably would read that either.
If it doesn't lend to the story, if it doesn't advance the plot then consider removing it.
 

bookmasta

Dreamer
My sequel is a novella, the first book was like 45,000 words but this next one just isn't that much content wise. I'm aware of the quality issues with the dialogue. Besides that, most of the imagery and the developing plot I feel is on pace. I have always struggled in longer spurts of dialogue with capturing emotions and describing the actions of the characters in between the he said and she said. And yes I plan to edit was a crazy mofo when I finish the rough draft tomorrow.
 
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