Hey! Old member lookin' for help!

[Marco_R]

Hi! I used to post a bit around here when I started working on my fantasy novel, but I had to focus on music and I didn't find the time to approach writing in a serious manner...

Now, tons of things have changed and here I am looking for some advices and experiences!

Here's the thing...
I'm figuring out an interesting concept I don't wanna share right now (motivational reasons, psychotic stuff goin' on here lol), but I'll give you the basics to hopefully help me

1. this is tied to an experimental roleplaying game experience, where they basically play thorugh a textual app (discord) and no one exactly knows who's playing who. Trapped in a cell with a terminal to chat with others, forced to overcome difficult enigmas and stressfull psychological moments in order to save other people's life.
But it's not important for the story...
I'll take tons of inspiration from what they do (I'm already collecting great stuff) and I came up with an intersting idea: an "interactive" world composed by the roleplay, short-movies and the actual books.

2. Knowin' the basics at point 1... I'd like to read your experiences about writing "quick books" with a stong focus on characters and setting, without having to deal too much with details (the actual city where the events take place, i.e. is not relevant at all, or I don't care explaining the exact period in the timeline). I've read tons of articles about short novels, KISS principle and stuff, but I trust a lot what I read in these boards so...

3. One of the main reasons why I want this is simple: short books, many books/stories. I love the concept of pulling out easy to grab/semi-self standing novels. I'm like a volcano, that's my (probably only) talent: I get incredible amounts of immersive ideas (I GM regularly and improvise the hell out of me), but I learnt to keep them as short as possible and close them when it's time to do it.
I don't want my readers to lose focus, nor I want me missing the point. I don't wanna be a billionaire, nor writing the most original novels of all times.
I've some engaging thrillers/Intrigue based plots I can use to give some consistancy to each of the (probably 6-7 small books i planned in a very basic manner), all set into this dystopian/claustrophobic system.

How would you approach this? Should I force myself into a set number of word count? Which are the tricks to avoid redundancy and go straight to the point with a thrilling catch while avoiding the over-writing I'm doing right now (for a good reason, tho xD).

As a "visual reference", assume the speed of the netflix series "Love" or "Greenhouse Academy", where you get some well fleshed out characters, quick paced 20 minutes episode, just to give you a general feel of what's in my mind.

4. Last but not least: how much is a reasonable amount of main POVs, considering points 1-2-3? I have in mind very fast-paced, short chapters, I don't even know if it will ever be acceptable, but that's what I'd like to read if I were a reader of what lurks in my mind...
Considering this, what's your "magic number" for the "long saga with short books of a weird and dystopian urban mystery?"

I thank you in advance for your patience and any moment you'll spend for me.
Cheers!

 

[Yora]

I am very much in favor of shorter works that give you a full experience you can get through in three or four days rather than months or waiting for the conclusion for 20 years. My approach, that has not produced any results yet, is to fairly precisely outline the important plot points and the ending before starting to write any scenes. When you want to be short and to the point, you need to know pretty exactly where your goal is, how the story is supposed to end and what elements will need to be included for the ending to make sense.
I would write such a story with only a single main character. 2 or 3 might still work, but after that I don't see how you could possibly maintain focus.

 

[skip.knox]

Well, first I'd point out that the characters in those shows are not acting on a bare stage under a single light. The camera does all the setting work that a writer must do with words. Rather than look to movies or TV, look to thrillers. There are scads of these, some of them pretty short.

Before you worry about any of the rest of it, write. Get five stories down. Length doesn't matter. Quality doesn't matter. Finishing matters.

Then send those to others. Editors, ideally, but that can get expensive. Beta readers. A crit group. What you are after is responses to the points you raise in the OP. Responses in the abstract won't help at all. You want responses related to what you have actually written.

I wasn't kidding about five. Your first will be too wordy. So will the second one. By the third, you'll start to recognize how to tighten the plot even as you write. It will take number four to develop those skills and number five to confirm that you've actually learned them. Then you'll have to write five more after that. The first five are just spring training.

The basic concept of writing a bunch of shorter works, with focus on excitement, adventure, crash-bang, that's solid.

 

[Marco_R]

Thanks, at first... Your time and patience is priceless!

Let's assume I've already stepped out from the beginning process... What I was asking wasn't obviously the perfect alchemy to write a novel, but it was a concrete advice since I've experimented with different styles, I've faced my issues and trying to solve more.

The first step I took towards the improvement was this little discovery of a concrete style + writing concept, which is the one I talk about. I wanted to know if, based on your experiences/tastes/whatever, the concept of a long story splitted in not-so-huge books is a functional "brand" as I feel it can be.

I will obviously go for self-promotion, but if you think this may have a little bit of future even in terms of marketing-placement, I'd like to know. xD This is just for the records and a general approach., what I'll be able to come up with is a mistery for me too yet.

I'm just finding the idea to develop small and intense thrillers very intriguing (I'm a real life passionate Game Master for tabletop RPGs and I wrote more stories than I can handle with my pencil... That's the way I discovered what is my current and probably ultimate writing style - which is not about perfection obviously, but has a musician too I know that finding the approach is half the work).
I just don't know if it can appeal a publisher too.