Last week we started by looking at what a novel is then who the novelist is. Today we ask: Where did the novel come from?

It’s hard to say exactly where the novel came from although it is said to have been invented several times. According to Jane Smiley, “The tradition of the novel is a living legacy from older authors to younger ones.”

There is something wonderful and inspiring in the idea that every novel was created upon the foundation of those that came before it. What company we keep as novelists!

“This is the essential process and power of the novel – to make one cohesive work of art out of many disparate elements… There is a characteristic and hypnotic rhythm to the realistic novel – action, reflection, action, reflection, action, reflection.”

“In any novel, what is most original is always what is most intimate.”

And here’s what I found to be one of the greatest reasons for the novel to exist:
“Only author and reader know the truth.”


All quotes are from Jane Smiley’s 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel.


lara
My Story Writer
writing software
www.mywritingsoftware.com


Miss a post from the 13 Ways series? Find it here:
Kickoff: The 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel | The 13 Ways | I Hate Introductions | What is the Novel? | Who is the Novelist?