Your Ideal Novel

[Philip Overby]

Nothing can ever be perfect, I suppose. I can get as close to that as possible, but yeah, there will always be something that just doesn't seem right.

Take your favorite chair for instance. Maybe it's comfortable, but it squeaks when you lean back in it. It's the one thing that annoys you about it. No matter how much time you spend trying to fix it, the squeaking won't go away.

Sometimes this is the issue with writing.

When I think about my ideal novel, if I could pull it off, these are the things I'd like to include:

1. Characters who are appealing and a little off-kilter
2. A rich, vibrant world that is just weird enough to not be inaccessible
3. Dark humor with the occasional slapstick comedy thrown in
4. A simple, yet rewarding plot
5. A couple of "WTH?" moments
6. Dialogue that is both engaging and interesting (and doesn't drone on and on)

I think it's good for me to consider these my goals as I sit down to write. Will I achieve all of these goals? I would hope so, but it may not neccessarily come across the way I want. That's a problem we all have as writers as I suppose. Even if our vision is fully realized, there are always going to be people who "don't get it" or "don't want to get it." It's out job to make it as clear as possible so our perceived audience at least says, "I loved this and will buy the next book he or she puts out."

So what would your goals be for your ideal novel? How would you go about trying to achieve these goals?

 

[Taro]

I agree, I have these goals myself when I write. I think the only real way you can say for example the appealing character Is to write it like someone you want to know or if you write them off yourself then how you want to see yourself. Well that is what I do. as for the others all I can really do is trust what people say when I put my writing out there for people to look at. but then again it Is also what you want to see in it and how you can accomplish that. hope it kind of went with what you meant.

 

[kayd_mon]

Gaiman's Neverwhere has all of your points, and it's a great book. I really like your points, and that sort of thing would really draw me in as a reader.

I love a sense of mystery, too. I don't know if I can think of all the things that would make up my ideal novel, but an air of mystery would be one.

 

[Trick]

The only thing I would add to your list is an impression of 'Cool.' I mean this in the most immature and childlike way possible. When I read Mistborn I felt it. "Whoa, that would be cool. What happens next?" That's what I want my readers to feel about the characters but also about the magic and the action. I love that feeling, so I want to share it.

 

[Michael J. Tobias]

For me, and I stress this is only personal taste, a perfect novel would also include breathtaking poetic prose, like The Handmaid's Tale. That book is stunningly beautiful while being incredibly dark and depressing. That is hard to pull off.

 

[WeilderOfTheMonkeyBlade]

Malazan Book of the Fallen. 'nough said

 

[Trick]

Malazan Book of the Fallen. 'nough said

Got to disagree with you there. Of course, listening to it on audiobook may have added to my dislike, I just plain didn't like his style. The world building was the only thing I was impressed by.

 

[Philip Overby]

I was "converted" on Erikson's work after having trouble with this first book at the beginning. However, I would agree with WielderoftheMonkeyBlade and say that it fits a lot of criteria I like in my novels. It did take me a long time to get through the second book, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I put Erikson in the same camp with Gene Wolfe and Jack Vance: a bit difficult to get into at first, but ultimately rewarding (in my belief anyway).

 

[Trick]

I hold nothing against anyone who enjoys Erikson. I think listening to it on audio made a big difference and I've considered the old fashioned way but I don't know. I feel like he made a point of leaving the book unstructured to increase it's complication. If I did that, readers would say I was being lazy. When he does it he gets published though, so... I just expect an author to do as much work as possible to make it a good experience for readers. If I have to work to get through it, he did something I don't like and I get sick of it quite quickly.

 

[Steerpike]

I hold nothing against anyone who enjoys Erikson. I think listening to it on audio made a big difference and I've considered the old fashioned way but I don't know. I feel like he made a point of leaving the book unstructured to increase it's complication. If I did that, readers would say I was being lazy. When he does it he gets published though, so... I just expect an author to do as much work as possible to make it a good experience for readers. If I have to work to get through it, he did something I don't like and I get sick of it quite quickly.

He was able to pull off that approach. Not everyone can. Literature has a long history of making readers work as part of their reading of the story, and I'm glad there are authors who do that (and also glad there are authors who don't).

 

[Trick]

He was able to pull off that approach. Not everyone can. Literature has a long history of making readers work as part of their reading of the story, and I'm glad there are authors who do that (and also glad there are authors who don't).

From his following, I can see that you are right. I think I poorly phrased my previous post. I don't mind working to understand a story or to follow clues that are far more subtle than usual; I literally meant I don't want to work to get through it. As in, "Oh crap, there's still 20 more hours left in this audiobook. I wish it was over." If I feel like that, it's time to move on. I prefer to feel like the book ended too soon. For anyone who didn't feel that way about Erikson, I could see really getting into his work.

 

[Aspasia]

1. Characters who are appealing and a little off-kilter
2. A rich, vibrant world that is just weird enough to not be inaccessible
3. Dark humor with the occasional slapstick comedy thrown in
4. A simple, yet rewarding plot
5. A couple of "WTH?" moments
6. Dialogue that is both engaging and interesting (and doesn't drone on and on)

I love twisty, complicated plots. Plots that make you, the reader, think and solve WTH is going on along with the characters. I love mysteries and political intrigue. Brust's Vlad Taltos novels are among my favorite for this reason. And Sanderson's plot twists -- so good. I never see them coming (Thinking of his Mistborn books right now). Yet they make sense when he reveals them. Wish I could write like that -- sadly I still have a long way to go.

 

[Ophiucha]

If I had six criteria.

1. A diverse cast of characters. Both in terms of what you'd consider 'diversity' and in terms of personality and background.
2. Older characters, at least the main character. I just don't empathize with teenagers as well.
3. A world full of rich detail that is immersive and original, but does not need to be explained in tedious detail in order to appreciate that fact. Ideally, a little strange compared to ours.
4. A story that adequately keeps me guessing without obfuscating facts the protagonist should, logically, be aware of. Particularly, a protagonist who is not ignorant to the world. Which basically rules out any 'portal fantasy', and I am perfectly okay with that for my 'ideal novel'.
5. A general sense of hope and goodness without necessarily avoiding dark themes or tragedy.
6. At least one race of smaller people. Hobbits, dwarves, whatever.

 

[Devor]

Here we go:

- Characters who act instead of react, and who take advantage of their resources in doing so. Sure, they can (and should) mess up, but at least their try/fail cycles include, y'know, actual trying. And this goes for the villain as well.

- Instead of journeying forever and ever through random exotic places that don't matter two chapters later, I want the world to change around the characters. I take umbrage with the idea that Hogwarts should always feel safe, pun intended.

- I want to be horrified by the stuff the villain says. I mean, like a serious horror plot. Dan Wells, in the seven-point-plot videos that Penpilot has posted a few times, talks about Poe's story, The Tell-Tale Heart, and Wells describes the progression of the horror plot as ending with "The readers realize he's insane." I want to see that kind of plot for Mr. or Ms. Badguy. "The readers realize that the character is horrifyingly evil." But "evil horror," I think, comes from the readers' fear over the temptation to agree with the villain. Take me through a progression that shows me that piece of evil in me.

- I want to see the occasional relationship arc that isn't boy-meets-girl, or some gender swap thereof. A real life relationship arc doesn't end when two people get together, but continues for the long years of their life together. Let's see that once in a while. Let's see that the world isn't just Ted and Barney and Robin, but that there's also Marshall and Lily, too.

- Write and deliver, damnit. I can't count the passages I've read which couldn't deliver on the events of the story, even in my favorites. Rowlings' "Death Mark" was like little emeralds sparkling in the sky. I love Harry Potter, but seriously? That wasn't the the moment to remind me of jewelry.

- I want the awesome. Do something that can only be done with your characters, your plot, your setting. Tie it all together. Do something that only you, Dear Author, would ever do. Surprise me. Make me go "wow!"

 

[Bruce McKnight]

I like stories (regardless of media) that make me say wow, whether it is subtle (like Cloud Atlas) or overt (GoT - Red Wedding). It doesn't have to be plot, either, it could also be character development arc (like Arthas in WC), but I just want something to make me say wow (like the end of Hamlet).