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Jul 3, 2017 · Writing a novel as a series of diary entries is great in a lot of ways. As Bethany pointed out to me, it can help you fully realize your main character’s voice. It’s also a good way to explore the protagonist’s emotions AND to keep the story in the present moment – both of which are important in YA and Middle Grade books.
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- What Is An Epistolary Novel?
- Down Salem Way Is An Epistolary Novel
- Tip #1: Read Examples of Epistolary Novels
- Tip #2: Read A Few Posts About Writing Epistolary Novels
- Tip #3: Be Aware of Showing Versus Telling
- Tip #4: You Still Need to Move Your Plot Forward
- Tip #5: Write in Deep Point of View
- Digging in and Beginning My Epistolary Novel
As I said in this post, I like to give myself a new challenge with every novel I write. For Down Salem Way, the challenge was writing my first epistolary novel.
If you’re unfamiliar with the term, an epistolary novel is simply a fancy-pants way of describing a novel written as documents such as journals, diaries, letters, newspaper clippings, even emails, blog posts, and post-it notes. I used elements of an epistolary novel in the Loving Husband Trilogy. Sarah documents her dreams in a journal in Her Dear ...
I decided to write Down Salem Way as James’ journal after rereading Marilynne K. Roach’s The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege. This was one of the books I read for research when writing Her Dear & Loving Husband, but I felt a reread was necessary for Down Salem Way. Once I decided that Down Salem Waywould be Jam...
The first thing I did (which is the first thing I do whenever I’m tackling something new) is find examples from other writers. The Color Purple by Alice Walker is written as letters to God. Dracula is written as diaries, letters, newspaper clippings, and ships’ logs to tell the story of the aristocratic vampire. Bridget Jones’s Diaryby Helen Fieldi...
After I read a few epistolary novels (or reread, since I read most of them before), I found a few posts about how to write epistolary novels. I’m always wary of how-to posts. My intention when I write posts like this is never to say this is how you must write or you will die, which is how a lot of how-to articles come across. Over the years I’ve le...
Then there’s the problem with showing versus telling in an epistolary novel. Most people have heard the old saying, “Show, don’t tell.” Some argue that there’s no room for showing in an epistolary novel, again, because people don’t write that way in their journals. If you read primary sources such as historical letters and diaries, you’ll see that ...
The plot can be problematic in a novel written as a diary or journal. I discovered that in an epistolary novel, there’s some wiggle room as far as moving the plot forward. Normally, I’d say the plot needs to move at a steady pace—fast enough to keep the readers interested but not so fast that it’s hard to keep track of what’s happening. In an epist...
One piece of advice I found helpful was this article about writing in deep point of view from Well-Storied. Writing in deep point of view isn’t so different than writing in first-person point of view, but it intensifies the experience for both writer and reader. In deep POV, you need to limit your character’s knowledge. James only knows what’s in h...
Rather than worrying about what James would or would not write in his journal, and rather than worrying about how to move the plot forward, I focused on getting deeply into James’ head. Fortunately, that part was easy for me since I know James pretty well at this point (we have lived through the Loving Husband Trilogytogether, after all). Of all th...
There are a few books I really enjoyed which used journal entries. Go Ask Alice and The Diary of Laura Palmer (for fans of the Twin Peaks TV show). If you can make the overall story interesting to readers, the format might not matter.
In an epistolary book, you’ll find a unique narrative style of storytelling through letters, emails, diary entries or any other type of written correspondence. Essentially, this type of novel focuses on more telling and less showing to place more emphasis on the character’s thoughts and emotions.
Sep 1, 2016 · It could be an immensely effective tool in a certain kind of story, but difficult to wield well and consistently across an entire novel. Without the reflective tone, however, there is little to distinguish a diary entry from ordinary first person narration. And without that distinction, the diary format is likely to just be a distraction.
Apr 8, 2024 · An epistolary novel is a literary work consisting typically of letters, but sometimes including documents, newspaper articles, diary entries, and other forms of written communication. The plot of an epistolary novel unfolds through written exchanges between the characters, giving readers a uniquely intimate and authentic perspective.
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Nov 25, 2010 · A novel in the form of a diary tends to concentrate attention on the narrator's PoV, even more than a more usual first-person narrative. It also tends to focus things more on the passage of tiem, because each entry must be made without knowledge of future events, while a non-diary first-person work can include intentional foreshadowing by the ...
