: Re: Where to go next in the writing process? I'm a new writer, have been working on a novel length piece of work for the past couple of years, and I have always been the kind of person to

@Kevin153

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You should go next where you should have gone to begin with:
What does your story have to say?
Many authors appear to be of the opinion that a series of pointless anecdotes vaguely connected by some plotline and told about some random characters that they like will somehow make a good story.
A good story starts with the author knowing what concepts, ideas, and ideals the story will express. Tension and interest derive from those elements. Without them, you (as the author) will be constantly looking for a source of tension and things to keep your readers interested.

You need something to say.
You need characters to say (or rather, portray) the things your story is trying to communicate.
You need a place for your characters to stand that puts them in a position to express (through word or deed) the important elements of your story.

Figure out what it is you want your story to say. The rest follows from that.

That's not some academic BS. Those are the things that I, as a reader, expect. I'm not any kind of author, and all I know about literature is what I've observed about the books I enjoy most.
A good book has some thing, some concept, that the author is trying to explore. Something about people or society or the nature of good and bad. Something.
A book may have all of the proper elements (good plot, good narrative, good characters, etc.) and still not be worth reading because it has nothing to stay.
Way too many books and stories say nothing other than "I wanna be a famous author with lotsa dough, looka me!" Almost as bad are the "I got lotsa imagination, looka this world I dreamed up!" "authors."
Any way, that's the opinion of a reader. You know, the clowns who pay out money to buy books.

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