Participant!
MediaJobsDaily featured this week a Wall Street Journal article about how famous novelists get their work done (WSJ, via MediaJobsDaily). The post also references National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).
I started out as a creative writer. My first writing award in high school was for a collection of short stories, and I never touched an AP stylebook until my sophomore year of college. I decided to participate in this year’s NaNoWriMo to brush up on my fiction, but I’m already thousands of words behind. But there are people out there who not only finish, but finish year after year.
Although novelists work with fiction while journalists work with facts (ideally, at least), novelists and journalists have more in common than their writing abilities. If you’re a journalist thinking about trying novel writing or if you’re a novelist thinking about breaking into journalism (although really, why would you?), then here are some reasons why your skills will suit you better than you think.
Why a Journalist Would Make a Good Novelist
- They have access to unique inspiration for characters – Journalists come into contact with strange individuals and crazy stories a little more than the average person. And that’s just the stuff that’s on the record. Yes, it’s fiction, but that doesn’t mean you can’t inject your novel with characters and plot lines inspired by the things you encounter in real life.
- They are prolific writers — Journalists — especially those working in a web environment or for a daily — are pros at churning out copy, and they do so every single day. 50,000 words sounds like a lot, but think about that as sixty two 800-word articles (the average length of my articles for Metroland). If you are a journalist writing just one article a day for a daily newspaper, you’d have a novel’s worth of words within two months.
- They are used to working under deadline — Very, very, very few writers get away with writing one novel every 5 or 10 years. Most novelists who are able to live off their writing do so because they meet the deadlines of their publisher. Journalists are used to editors breathing down their neck for copy, and as a novelist, if you meet deadlines, publishers are more willing to work with you in the future.
Why a Novelist Would Make A Good Journalist
- They have a strong sense of narrative — Just because you’re writing a news story doesn’t mean you can’t have descriptive passages, interesting word choice, and an attention to the small details that bring a story to life. Sometimes journalists can forget that writing is a work of art, and that while getting the facts is crucial, getting people to read the story is important as well.
- They have a particular insight with people — When a novelist creates a character, they are designing a person from scratch. They are keenly aware of that character’s history, motivations, and personality quirks. A good novelist has a keen understanding of why and how people will react in a certain situation. This ability can be helpful when you’re working a reluctant source or trying to determine why a politician suddenly resigned.
- They are used to having to work to get their writing published — Completing a novel is only half the work. Novelists have to write query letters, develop relationships with publishers, and network the hell out of themselves. As more journalists become freelance instead of staff, these skills will be crucial to making sure a journalist stays working.
