This month's topic is:
“What are your thoughts on reading or writing books in non-novel formats? Are there any you’ve particularly enjoyed?”
I’ve always enjoyed reading books in non-conventional formats, but since I’ve recently attempted to write a book in a non-conventional format, I’m going to focus on the writing part of the prompt.
From a series of trial and many, many errors, I believe that writing in unconventional formats can end in one of two ways: brilliantly, or on its face. The novelty of such formats can be refreshing and really add to a story if it’s done right. But there are a lot of humps you have to get past. First, you have to make sure the format fits with the story. If your story is about being lost in the woods, there’s no point in writing it in IM’s, and so on. And then you have to make sure that you have the patience for trying something new. I often don’t.
I once tried to write a story about a teenage girl named Saoirse entirely through her tape recorder. She used the tape recorder because her joints were so damaged from arthritis that she had a hard time doing the required journal entries for English, so instead she used the tape recorder to complete the assignments. But as I wrote on, I realized that the story had many flaws, one of which was the poorly planned out idea of the tape recorder narration. It’s hard to catch certain visual details with this form of narration, for one, especially facial expressions, which I use in abundance in most of my writing. So whenever Saoirse was rolling her eyes or scrunching her nose or whatever, I found myself using clunky dialogue to fill in the gaps (“Stop rolling your eyes at me, Saoirse!”) or skipping it, which drove me insane.
Also, there was the problem of the type and style of discussions permitted. The recorder was for a school assignment, after all, and though it was a very informal one, I didn’t think that she completely be herself while recording her entries. Saoirse’s very brash, for one, and isn’t afraid to use a few four-letter words to make her point, but bold as she is, she wouldn’t turn in something littered with swear words. Plus, she couldn’t talk as honestly as she felt about certain matters, like how she felt her principal behaved around her, without sounding impudent and insolent. Maybe some people would do speak harshly and disrespectfully in an assignment, but as a good student in real life, I couldn’t get past that hurdle. And I don’t think Saoirse would do that, either-as loud as she is, she doesn’t mess around with her schoolwork. So I made the tape recorder a diary that she started for fun, but then some of the entries seemed random, whereas if they were part of a school journal prompt, they made sense. These issues, mixed with a few other problems like under-research and some bizarre characterization in some side characters, led me to lose patience and decide to shelve the project.
I think most of problems in writing the book in this format came from under-planning, which brings me to my next point: If you’re going to tell a story in a movie script or IM’s or anything, I strongly advise that you do some advance planning, especially if it’s your first time out in that format. If you’re creating the story at the same as you’re trying to figure out exactly how you’re going to tell the story, you may end up lost in the shuffle like I was. It’s a balancing act, and you don’t want one thing to outweigh the other.
But just because I had one negative experience doesn’t mean that you will. If you’re thinking about it, go for it! :) I think that with the way young adult is evolving, these new formats are important and needed in the genre, and I think that they’ll inspire us all to be better, more original writers. :)
What do you think? Comment below!
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