Ask the Novelist #2

Dear Bill,
What's the one rule I have to follow if I really want to be a novelist?
--Rebel with a Laptop

Dear RWAL:
Write a novel. (And you might want to ease up on the italics.)
--Bill

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Dear Bill,
Should I just start writing my novel or should I make a detailed outline including coming up with back stories for all my major characters?
--Chapter One

Dear CO,
Either way or a combination of both or something completely different. Whatever works best for you. At some point you have to leave the outlining and--eek!--actually write the book. Unless you want to be an outliner, not a novelist.
--Bill

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Dear Bill,
What are your thoughts on all the vampire/dystopian novels these days?
Zombie Fan

Dear ZF,
I'm going to assume you mean you're a fan of zombies, not a fan of mine who is a zombie. I have no problem with vampire novels and such. I don't read them or write them because they just don't appeal to me. But neither does Jane Austen or Philip Roth or J.R.R. Tolkien or many, many others. Read what you like to read and write what you like to write! God has given you free will. Well, maybe not so much if you are a zombie.
--Bill