Give Your Idea A Voice
So we’ve been referring to this voice inside of us, where we all silently talk to ourselves in our head. This is the phenomenon that psychologists call ‘inner speech’, and some in the scientific community believe it is the internalisation of external, ‘expressed’ speech - that when we talk to ourselves in our head, we actually move certain muscles as if we were talking aloud.
So why waste all that energy, why not just read out loud?
Speaking out your novel helps spell out the errors. All the things you might not consider when internalising your voice, come to light, such as where you need punctuation to allow the reader to take breath or create pauses for effect. If you aren't comfortable reading your own book aloud, it's unlikely others will be, so get past any cringing and become the narrator of your own story.
I am of course very happy to have been published, but publication hasn’t given me as much satisfaction as writing. I don’t plan the structure of my novels in great detail although of course many writers do, and in my classes I give examples of how everyone is different.
- Miranda Miller
Don't Let Genre Define You
A lot of people hit a roadblock right at the start because they're terrified of wasting time on releasing a novel that will pigeonhole them, but genre doesn't have to define you as an author. Miranda explains how she's spent most of her writing life trying to escape the "straitjacket of genre," the boundaries of which have generally become more blurred in the publishing world:
"My novels are very much character led. After publishing three realistic novels I published a dystopian one (Smiles and the Millennium, Virago 1987). I then wrote a book of short stories about Saudi Arabia (A Thousand and One Coffee Mornings, Peter Owen 1989) and a book of interviews with homeless women and politicians (Bed and Breakfast: Women and Homelessness Today, The Women's Press 1990). I then felt that I wanted to write a more imaginative kind of novel, so I wrote a variation on the Faust story, about a woman who trades her soul for eternal youth (Loving Mephistopheles, Peter Owen 2007).
My next three novels dealt with the connections between art and madness and in each novel the main character travels from 19th century London to our 21st century city (The Bedlam Trilogy, published individually by Peter Owen in 2010, 2013 and the last one I finished a few months ago - all three books will be published in one volume next year). However, the novel I have just started is not fantasy - it is about artists and is set mainly in Rome in the 18th and early 19th century. So, as you see, I have a complicated relationship with genre and tend to feel that it chooses me, rather than my choosing it."
Most people have eclectic taste as readers and enjoy most kinds of fiction, so there's no reason you can't do the same as a writer.
BONUS TIP: Move forward with caution when you are ready for the next step. For your first novel you will need to find an agent. This is not easy but you can find a list in the Artists' & Writers' Yearbook 2017. Before handing over any money to an agent or self-publishing company, you should check with the Society of Authors that they are genuine.
Miranda is passionate about novel writing and loves sharing that enthusiasm. Her classes offer students the opportunity to explore writing in a fun and friendly group environment, but also receive plenty of individual attention and tailored advice.
For other writing courses, check out our department page here >>>
