For over 2000 years, dramatic writers have relied on Aristotelian principles to write their stories for the screen and stage.
But now for the first time ever, these same timeless principles from Aristotle’s esteemed Poetics have been adapted for novelists.
With succinct clarity, novelist Douglas Vigliotti shows you exactly how to write a novel using tried-and-true principles that have been used since antiquity to tell great stories. These timeless principles are the foundation on which any story can be written. Whether you are writing your first or tenth novel, Aristotle for Novelists has something to offer any serious writer of fiction. It is both a challenge to writers to simplify their craft and a no-frills, impassioned outcry for novelists everywhere.
My Review
Reading this book, I felt like I was revising for my Open University Humanities degree again, part of which was a Diploma in Literature with Creative Writing. I needed this! I graduated in 2009 and had forgotten so much about the principles. ‘Less is more’, ‘murder your darlings’, relevance. How it all came back! Basically, stop waffling to reach your word count. Note the use of italics. I use it for titles of things – for me it’s just my editorial style.
But that’s only one of the principles. It all came from Aristotle apparently, who never actually wrote a novel. But the principles remain true today. In general a novel should have a beginning, a middle and an end. And be a certain length depending on the genre (a lot of historical fiction can be VERY long). Break the rules if you want, but do so at your peril. You need a good reason, do it well, but be prepared to take the flak.
Vigliotti tells us that films pack everything into a couple of hours or less, but that the rules still apply. Novels (and films) can be tragedy or comedy. The main difference is that a tragedy will end in…well…tragedy, while a comedy should have a happy ending. Hamlet is my favourite Shakespeare play even though everyone dies at the end (tragedy), while in A Midsummer Night’s Dream everyone ends up happy (comedy).
My husband is always coming up with ideas for a novel. I rarely do – I wish I did – because I admit I am more ‘style over substance’. On that basis, he says we could write one together. My answer is always the same. Go away and read as many books as you can that were written later than the 1970s. Your ideas are great, but they’ve been done a million times already. You would know this if you tried reading more – it’s fine, we’ve been married 42 years.
Stephen King said famously, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.”
So where are we? Having a good idea is only the beginning. You have an amazing protagonist. He/she will be the stuff of dreams (after they have overcome the usual problems and journeys and found themselves – think Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy). Spoiler alert – you know they will get together in the end. The villain can be handsome and charming like Christopher Lee’s Dracula, or look obviously evil with one eye, a limp and a scar across his face. The reader will be awaiting his downfall with baited breath. Or maybe they won’t, but it depends on the reader.
As usual, I’m in danger of waffling. Just read the book – it’s only short – and take from it what you need. It’s well worth it.
Many thanks to @lovebookstours for inviting me to be part of the #AristotleForNovelists readalong and review tour.
About the Author
Douglas Vigliotti is the author of three books, including his first work of fiction, Tom Collins: A ‘Slightly Crooked’ Novel, which is available to listen to (gratis) on the podcast, Slightly Crooked: Good Stories, Told Well. He is also the host of Books for Men, a podcast to inspire (more) men to read and bring together men who do. He currently lives in New Haven, Connecticut.
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