Can you write novels in a different way?

[Freemints30]

It seems more akin to script or how VN games are usually written. In those medium the audience knows how they play out and expect said formating. But it wouldn't be a novel by ite very defination. So not really a good idea for said audience. When people read novels they expect a novel

[RiidDisBuk3]

Screenplays aren't typically written like that, but there are some.

[RiidDisBuk3]

I imagine that is the case.

[RiidDisBuk3]

I understand your opinion. In my opinion, it's just a novel, but without the quotation marks, making it so that it's easy to understand what the characters are saying all the more seperating the action or scene from the quotes.

[Kelheor]

It's more of a script format and while you can write it like this (obviously, no one will sue you), it's not the best kind of narration for a novel.

[RiidDisBuk3]

I understand. But when it comes to narration, it's just novel narration only seperate from the dialogue. That way, a character's words do not need to be found in the midst of narrating words and it would make reading a whole lot easier.

[Flios]

I really have no opinion here, but it's very interesting and seems unique to read if I was a reader. It's strange to most people if you present this to them, but I would enjoy to give it a try at least.

[RiidDisBuk3]

Unique is not the word I'd give it, but in the case of novels, it might be. It is in play format, though.

[Kelheor]

No? Why would it. If you write a proper novel following the norms of the language (in this case, English), no one will have problems with that.
For example this is how you write a dialogue in Russian (the dialogue is put between two dashes), but that's just not how you do it in English. And even in Russian you don't put a line of dialogue on a separate line, it's still blended with the other text.

[Flios]

Ah, I get it, but still, there's really no limit to how you write and what you write about, and as someone who enjoys reading almost anything, it's still appealing to me personally.

[RiidDisBuk3]

What I am trying to say is that it is easier to skim through the dialogue all the more understanding it. Narration is the same, though.

[RiidDisBuk3]

Glad to know. My novel is coming out soon. So I was hoping to make sure it works before I release it.

[AxemanRifflord]

I have a few questions.

What other novels/books have you been reading? Have you been able to finish them? If you had the means to tell the story you want to tell through a different medium instead, would you?

[RiidDisBuk3]

I mainly read comics. At least not for a few months now, but I have a good idea on how novels are written. Especially since I was writing a novel last year. However, I was too busy with work and all that I was starting to forget the plot and everything I have written thus far. Forcing me to cancel the series.

But with this novel, I can freely write with confidence.

As for your other question, I would definitely write it through other means. Especially if I can write it in the way I would want to write it.

[Surihpas]

Like most people here mentioned, I think that you definitely can, it's just a question of how it reads.

I personally find that this format (which resembles a screenplay or, a bit more distantly, a script) to be far less immersive than a traditional novel. As in, when I read something written in this format or a similar one I'm constantly being reminded of the fact I'm reading, which doesn't allow me to get fully engaged and immersed in the story. It somehow creates another degree of separation or a barrier, if that makes sense.

That being said, this is your story, and you should go with the format you think would work best for it. I genuinely believe there's no point in writing something we're not happy with - so at the end of the day, the decision is yours. Regardless of what it is, wishing you the best of luck with it.

[RiidDisBuk3]

I appreciate you. I hope to gain your thoughts about it should you be interested. Criticisms are very imporant to allow a great story take place.

[HGohwell]

The only place I've seen this sort of writing for a novel really work is in visiual novels, which as basically all formatted like that if you transcribe them to paper, and they work really well like that because you have everything else setting the scene and doing the heavy lifting. You certainly can write a novel like that, but I think you should ask yourself why are you doing it and what are the pros and cons. For instance, going "Kate: this is what Kate said" really doesn't leave much room for extra descriptions compared to "Kate yelled". You've given an example of basic action, but how would you handle description and scene setting and more detailed action. But this style is also not the norm to read so might put people off, even if it's a good story, not being formatted typically might make people look at it and go nope. Even in amateur sectors like fanfiction, this kind of script style story telling is generally consider unprofessional and skipped over (outside of chat fics which swing between a mess of unfunny memes and actually amazing some of the best stories ever and nothing in between). As yourself are you doing this to be not like other novels, are you doing it to skip the step of working on your grammar and descriptive skills (which I totally would get, dialogue is my strong point and it took me a long while to not use excessive dialogue as a crutch) or is it vital to your novel that it has to be written like this? Is being written like that so important to the novel that it outweighs the drawbacks of using an usual style or is it just easier for you? Are you taking the easy way out? Also, just look up HP Cursed Child reviews to see how well people take to reading stage play styles books. It's not great.

That's not to say novels can't be written unusually, but do you think House of Leaves looks like this:

because it was a cool look? Or because it's important to the plot?

And as for being easier, things that are usual aren't always easier. For instance "it would be easier if things were just spelled how they sound" right? Iain M Banks does this, several chapters are written how they sound in Feersum Endjinn (Fearsome Engine) for plot/character purposes because it's important, but damn is it so hard to read because nothing is how it's supposed to be and that was such a headache I had to put it down several times. And while I'll pick a book back up because I spent money on it, 9/10 times I won't come back to a webnovel if I click off before finishing.

[rajillustration]

I have seen quite a few novels written like this around the internet, and a lot on Tapas and Tumblr, but it does come off as a rough draft. Like scriptwriting isn't really "easier," because generally you're writing in that script format so it can be viewed in a different way than strictly reading it straight. You're thinking about how to make it work for actors and stagehands. I write in script format just like this for my comic actually, but I also have to be aware that I write like this because I already hold in my head valuable information that doesn't need to be written down on the page. I know what my characters look like, I know the subtle changes they're doing to their faces, what the smells are, what the feelings are. I don't need to write them in the script.

But, for your audience, who will not be watching this as a performance or as a comic, you may want to be aware that you'll have to put in more stage direction than you'd typically do for a play or a comic, just so your audience doesn't have gaps.

[EncryptedWriting]

I mean, you can absolutely write it that way. But, personally, I wouldn't find something like that necessarily easy to read. I feel it would be simple, but it wouldn't be immersive for me. When I want to read a novel, I really want to find myself completely enwrapped. I feel like this type of style is just not as exciting as a commonly written novel. Again this is for me personally.

[YS_og]

Why ask if you can do something when you're that dead set on doing it? Just write it how you want, publish it, then see how it does. It'll let you write how you want without having to defend yourself and it'll save everyone else time instead of needlessly trying to persuade you away from it.