Structure of novels vs. manuals

[geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA]

 Alessandro Bottoni wrote that <<...writing novels is not
 just a matter to let your thoughts flow down to the paper.
 A real novel (or a short story) requires a carefull design
 and has to be written keeping in mind the final result you
 want to get, chapter by chapter and sentence by sentence.>>

 Very well put, Alessandro. And in that sense, novels are
 very much like technical manuals. The main differences are
 that: (1) the structure of a novel should be imperceptible
 to the reader, except for highly stylized works, whereas
 the structure of a manual must be readily perceptible
 (e.g., levels of heading, organisation), and (2) novels are
 almost always linear, whereas manuals are almost always
 nonlinear. I find that working with one type of structure
 helps me with the other type because it stretches different
 mental muscles and provides a different perspective on the
 communication task. For example, novel-writing helps me
 learn how to make a structure helpful without being
 obtrusive, whereas writing documentation helps me learn to
 impose discipline on my style.

 David Dvorkin expressed strong disagreement: <<Writing
 novels with their overall structure always in mind is
 something that generally comes a bit later in a novelist's
 career.  With the first novel, often with the first few,
 it's best for most writers to simply write, to enjoy the
 act of creation and the putting of words on paper (or
 monitor).>>

 While there's some good points there, I don't agree with
 the overall conclusion. Every writer has a different
 approach that works best for them, and though this approach
 may change over the course of the career, the direction of
 change may surprise you. I talked about this with two
 novelists I'm rather fond of and discovered radically
 different approaches; Tim Powers plots everything out in
 detail before he starts writing, and never strays an inch
 from the path, whereas Steven Brust starts with a known
 direction and lets his characters pick their own path to a
 conclusion. So far as I know, neither has changed their
 approach over the course of their careers. I started out by
 writing to a carefully predefined structure and have
 evolved towards understanding the characters well enough to
 let them find their own way through my story.

 <<Books and courses on creative writing techniques are to
 be avoided like the plague.>>

 Not at all. Take them with a grain of salt, by all means,
 but don't neglect the benefits that come from gaining
 another person's insight into the act of creation. I've
 learned an awful lot about writing from reviewing the
 opinions and philosophies of other authors; some opinions I
 disagreed with vehemently, others I agreed with equally
 rabidly, but every one taught me something new about my
 craft. The same applies to books on technical writing, BTW.

 --Geoff Hart     @8^{)}     geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
 Disclaimer: Speaking for myself, not FERIC.

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