LSE Literary Festival – How to Write a Novel: An Introduction for Beginners
Speaker: Justine Mann
Host: LSE Film and Audio Team
Podcast: LSE Public Lectures and Events
Date: February 13, 2010
Episode Overview
In this lively and practical workshop, Justine Mann draws from her own journey as an emerging novelist and creative writing tutor to introduce aspiring writers to the essentials of completing a first draft. The session focuses on understanding why many writers get stuck, conquering procrastination, and delves into the fundamental technical aspects of novel-writing: characterisation, structure, plot, and finding your voice. Mann combines her advice with interactive exercises and audience participation to debunk the myths around inspiration, creativity, and the daunting prospect of writing a novel.
Key Points and Insights
1. Understanding Your Motivation and the Writing Impulse
- Why do people write novels?
- Voices or lines that "break through the unconscious into the conscious" can serve as the starting point (02:30).
- For some, it's about processing or recording world events, for others relieving stifled creativity from daily life.
- Importance of Reading:
- Mann stresses reading widely, including contemporary fiction, not just classics or your preferred genre (07:00).
- “Some people want to write but don’t read any fiction. And I think this is quite dangerous.” (08:00)
2. Addressing Procrastination and Writer’s Block
- The Myth of ‘Finding Time’:
- Waiting for large, uninterrupted stretches of time is futile; regular, even brief, intervals are essential (15:30).
- “That time is never going to arrive, even when you’re retired. I’m sorry, it’s just not going to happen. You have to crowbar the time in.” (16:00)
- Tricks: Carry a notebook, reread the last page you wrote to keep your story world alive, write in short snatches (commutes, lunch breaks).
- Balance and Stamina:
- Intensive, isolated writing is unsustainable; balance with life is necessary.
- “If you suddenly start devoting all your time... that’s not a good thing.” (21:00)
- Perfectionism vs. Progress:
- Allow for a “lumpen” or “shitty first draft”; don’t compare early work to published novels (28:00).
- Quote: “No novel would ever get written if you didn’t allow yourself to write a shitty first draft.” (30:00)
- The difference between those who finish and those who don’t is stamina and commitment, not just talent.
3. Writing Exercises and Overcoming the Fear of the Page
- In-class Exercise:
- Mann encourages starting with any line, even from the middle of a book, to prove you can always begin somewhere (24:00).
- Tips: Stop while still inspired; leave yourself a hint or note so you never face a blank page.
4. Key Components of a Successful First Draft
- Character and Characterisation:
- Strong, compelling, and three-dimensional characters—“they don’t need to be heroic or conventionally likeable” (37:00).
- Political or ‘big concept’ novels still need to be grounded in human experience, as in J.M. Coetzee’s Disgrace.
- Mann shares the tip of keeping individual notebooks for each character (41:00).
- Plot and Structure:
- Plot: Sequence of events; Structure: Order and layering of those events (narrative time, flashbacks).
- Narrative tension (“like strings on an instrument – finely tuned”) involves withholding information to pique curiosity (44:30).
- Don’t overthink structural perfection in the first draft; experiment and sort it out in subsequent drafts.
- ‘Write What You Know’ – Pros and Cons:
- Advantages: Authentic detail, originality, less research.
- Disadvantages: Risk of self-indulgence or lack of universality; conversely, writing outside experience can lead to fresh discoveries (53:30).
5. Handling Research
- Pitfalls:
- Over-researching as a form of procrastination; risk of creating a turgid, overloaded novel (57:00).
- Mann notes some writers do research last, focusing first on the “human condition.”
6. Point of View and Voice
- Choosing a Narrator:
- First-person offers immediacy; third-person can be just as intimate.
- Some novels use multiple viewpoints (referencing Andrea Levy’s Small Island), though this is technically demanding (01:02:00).
- Show vs. Tell:
- Show: Unfold events in real time to make scenes vivid.
- Tell: Summarize less important action for economy (01:08:30).
- “The key events… those are the ones that should be shown.”
7. Dialogue, Description, and Language
- Dialogue:
- Fictional dialogue is tighter than real speech.
- Description:
- Offer just enough to orient the reader without bogging down the narrative (01:10:30).
- Language and Prose:
- Beware overuse of adjectives and adverbs.
- “Treat it as a craft—you learn technical aspects and then later subvert them if you wish.” (01:23:00)
8. Reader Expectations, Genre, and Feedback
- Genre Conventions:
- Understand conventions of your target genre—even if you plan to subvert them (01:13:00).
- Getting Feedback:
- Avoid sharing rough drafts too soon; first feedback is best from other writers, not always friends/family.
- Writing groups can help maintain discipline but may not be useful at the earliest stages (01:16:30).
9. On Creative Writing Courses
- To Take or Not to Take:
- Some gain from formal training; others learn by reading widely. Writing is a craft—technical skills are learned as in any other art (01:21:00).
Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments
-
On carving out time:
“You have to crowbar the time in… Even a very, very short amount of writing time each day is better than waiting for this day to open up at the weekend.” (16:00) -
On first drafts:
“‘Shitty first drafts’—No novel would ever get written if you didn’t allow yourself to write a shitty first draft.” (30:00) -
On the difference between finishing and not finishing:
“It’s not because they’re more talented. It’s because they’ve got stamina, commitment. So, yes, talent is important, but actually, the people who get to the end of a first draft just put in the hours.” (32:50) -
On balancing research:
“Another way of procrastinating, by the way, is to do the research and not actually get on with the writing.” (58:00) -
On ‘write what you know’:
“You can create a world and a setting that is familiar to you… but there’s a danger that you might need yourself to kind of offload a particular situation that occurred. It might not necessarily have … the narrative drive and tension or objectivity…” (54:00) -
On reading in your genre:
“Reading in the area that you’re interested in publishing in [is] really important.” (01:12:00) -
On the technical craft:
“Treat it as a craft. As you all know, you’re probably struggling with your novel, that there are certain technical aspects to grapple with.” (01:23:00)
Suggested Resources (from Mann’s Presentation)
- How Novels Work by John Mullan
- Various creative writing textbooks (unspecified, but referenced in-table slides).
Timeline: Key Segments
- 00:00-10:00: Introduction; discovering the impulse to write; importance of reading
- 10:00-20:00: Procrastination and the myth of ‘the right time’; carrying a notebook; writing routines
- 20:00-30:00: Writing exercise; issues with beginnings and middles; the “lumpen draft”
- 30:00-40:00: Self-doubt, perfectionism; ‘shitty first drafts’; what separates finishers from non-finishers
- 40:00-55:00: Core technical elements: characterisation, plot vs. structure, tension, voice
- 55:00-01:10:00: Research—pros and cons; choosing point of view; showing vs. telling; managing dialogue and description
- 01:10:00-01:25:00: Reader expectations; genre considerations; feedback and workshops; creative writing courses; technical craft
- 01:25:00-end: Q&A; more on language, plot structures, and Mann’s personal journey
Conclusion
Justine Mann’s session is a refreshingly honest, practical guide to getting a first novel draft underway. Her core advice is to embrace imperfection and commit to routine, regardless of inspiration or confidence. Technical proficiency is important but evolves over time, and writers are encouraged to read widely, persevere, and treat writing as both an art and a learned craft. The lecture closes with recommended resources and encourages a hands-on approach, balancing ambition with realism and craft.