Novel Writing, My True Story
Novel Writing, My True Story
By Arthur L Burton III
Novel writing begins with a thought, a vision, something that you see everyday like a sign or a person. In general, you need to have an idea for a Novel before you can begin to say that you are going to write a bestseller. It has been the dreams of writers for years to write a book that everyone will love and praise. I remember on my way Upstate New York I saw a sign that said The Town of Monroe. I was on my way to a party and when I arrived and sat down at the table my mind was running through scenarios so that I could begin writing. I went into the bathroom, removed some tissue and wrote the title down along with some character ideas. This was the birth of my first novel titled The Savior of the Woods. I made one mistake, I took the easy way and self-published the novel without first researching what I would need to do to prepare for a successful novel. I wrote the novel paid the fee and two days later sent in a badly edited copy of m Novel. I began searching Google and people were reading the novel and making statements that it was a great novel but the editing took away from a book that was a great story. I was on my way completing my second novel I began sending out 50 query letters a day and every one of them came back with an excuse why the Agent would not pick me up. I was discouraged but I knew that I did not have the financial stability to self-publish and market another novel. I held on to the novel for almost a year before I became encouraged again and started once again attempting to solicit an Agent. I came across the same problems as the first time. No one was interested in picking up my project to represent me. I refused to give up trying to find a way to publish my novel so I went on yahoo and began searching for independent publishers who were looking for a fiction novel. The first one I came across was Publish America. I read some reviews and people were saying that Publish America was a POD (purchase on demand) Publisher. I called and asked them and they informed me that they were not so I sent in my best query letter and after two day’s they requested to read A Brand New Night for Murder and then published it.
If you know that you have written a great novel then you have to get it published. The thing new writers do not know is that most writing groups do not consider a self-published Author a published Author and they will not accept your submission for membership. Remember in your quest to become an Author do not accept any contract just because you are in a hurry to get your book on the market, because the quick route is usually never the right route. You have to take your time, do it right by your novel and research the company or publisher before you agree to any terms. There have been several complaints about Agents who post on the web their agencies because they are not legit. I would suggest that you join a yahoo group for writers and this way you have access to writers who will be familiar with Agents and Publishers.
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www.arthurlburton.com
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Arthur L Burton III
http://www.articlesbase.com/fiction-articles/novel-writing-my-true-story-87201.html
Writing A True Story Novel…Could I Get Sued?
So I plan to write a novel about my life…well one part anyway. Long story short, it will be part fiction part true story. Problem is, I’m going to be using characters that actually exist. For example, I’ll be using some things my friend "Bob" told me. If I use Bob as a character and the things he told me, somewhat word for word, that happened years ago…can he sue me if I publish the book for using his words (out of a conversation) and for using him as a character EVEN if I change the name, but still keep the chracter looking like him.
Is there any way he CAN’T sue me??
I live in Canada, but plan to use American publishers.
Bob and I do not speak anymore. At all. We are not in touch. At all. I plan to be truthfull about Bob…like I may be using some of the same way he looked (same hair colour, eye colour, etc), and things he said to me…like for exmaple, "purple looks very good on you" (poor example, but you get the idea)
Get his permission.
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i take it you and bob arent friends anymore.
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well if he doesnt have prove i dont think there is much that he can do
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You know what they call a novel that’s part fiction, part true story? fiction
Just change the names, that way you can claim it is all fiction instead of having to argue you didn’t mean to libel people later.
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I don’t know. If I was writing someone into a book, I would be a little careful about writing exactly what they told me. I would only apply what they told me if (and only if) what they were telling me had directly to do with me. If they were telling me something about themselves, an intimate detail of their past perhaps, I would leave it out of the book–that’s they’re story, not mine. But as far as using context out of a conversation, I dig that. I think all writers have plucked a line or two from their own real life dialogue. As far as writing anything personally pejorative, I woulld steer clear of that as well. However, if it was necessary than I would put as much distance between my character and the person in question. Most of all, a writer should not write with fear of getting sued. It happens to ALL published and sucessful writers from time to time. Trust me. Our job is basically to take out as much legitimacy from the claim as we can.
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I once had lunch with a writer.
i dont think you he could sue you as loing as you change his name but just in case you might want to get his consent .
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It’s ok.
Just what Jane Austen done to her Pride and Prejudice. She use her won name in one of her characters.
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xxmachine—actually, it’s called "realistic fiction."
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