Developing a novel consists of hours spent with your imagination churning, connecting dots in a cloud of fiction. It's an exciting time, working out our first book idea. We're like the clichéd, obsessed character in movies with long strands of string connecting photos, maps, and notes all pinned to a corkboard. And that is how it has to be, at least in your mind, if you're serious about completing the book.

I like a clean workspace and tend to write almost exclusively from my imagination and memory. I am not a note taker. To begin a novel, I start an outline in Notepad and hash out the first ten scenes or so. That is usually the extent of my notes. And with both of my novels, I have deviated from this short outline, preferring to work off-the-cuff.

Some writers outline their entire book, thinking things out in advance. I’ve tried that, but usually come up with a better idea in the midst of composition. It is difficult to really get to know my characters until I have put them through the paces. I think outlining a novel is a great way to keep it organized, and helps the writer retain a larger element of control. It simply isn’t for me.

Whether you are an outliner/note taker or not, the tricky part is knowing if your story idea can support an entire novel. We're talking upwards of 50K-60K words, at minimum. If that sounds daunting, do not fret, it is easier than you think. I've written two novels (about to begin work on the third), and I assure you the length of your story hinges more on your idea and how many directions you can take the story.

For example, in my first novel, I wanted to write a ghost story about a teenage boy, with a troubled past, who was living in a haunted hotel. There were so many options between describing events happening at the hotel, the boy's past, the history of the hotel, and building relationships between characters, that I felt the story could endure. The final version came out to around 70K words.

The same held true for my second novel. I filled it with so many characters, all of whom have an agenda, that the story couldn't help but spill over the 60K mark.

By contrast, I've always wanted to write a novel with just two characters trapped somewhere. It would be heavy on dialogue (which I love to write) and be character-focused, instead of plot-focused. Unfortunately, at this time, I do not have the necessary skills to pull a story like off. Not if I want it to be novel-length. I could milk it for 10K words, if I'm lucky, but that is about it.

At this point in my writing career, I need to have a lot going on to sustain a novel. The focus of the story is what determines whether the book is popular fiction or literary fiction. Popular fiction is plot focused and for me is the easier of the two types to write. Literary fiction is character focused and requires a little for finesse to move the story along. It is a skill I work on every time I write.

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Look for the complete article by returning guest blogger Kendall Bailey (@KBaileyWriter) later today on The Official Prose. Blog at: blog.theprose.com.

in a room in Manhattan

up off 34th Street

writing away the desperation

and hustle I heard

from the window

I hardly used my radio

the sounds from down there

were plenty

the litanies of anger, hurry,

frustration, gridlock

and after the first week I started

wearing headphones when I wrote

but I was always aware

of the window

I was young and

I had never seen so many assholes

trying to be important

-walking quickly

black clothes

gripping briefcases

or paintings

or portfolios

or black umbrellas

I watched the urchins move

and I wanted to pick

them off

one by one

from the window

I didn’t work anywhere at the time

I didn’t want to

sometimes I would

take the train to Brooklyn

and walk around the Jews

and I would anger one here

and there

by asking where the nearest

bar was

or where I could score

a bag of

good shit

or where I could find

a cheap homosexual

or the nearest

strip club

the look of hatred satisfied me

and when I wasn’t doing

that

I would take a taxi around the

city for a few miles

and jump out and run

but the best was

when I would drive

my smoking engine

downtown in the traffic

doing 15 miles an hour

in the left lane, cutting off

taxi cabs and long

black limousines

and SUVs.

The truth was I hated New York City

that so-called energy

and lack of courtesy

of basic convenience

I pulled some alright

pages out of that place

Dostoevsky wrote that a city can be intentional

I felt

no intent from Manhattan

it didn’t have me trapped

there like so many others

and for that the city just gave me

a hard stare

it was tolerant

with me

it could not break me

because

I knew it was

only

joking.

It's okay if you want to sit by yourself at lunch.

It's okay if you're not part of the popular clique.

It's okay if you're not the skinniest.

It's okay to make mistakes.

It's okay if not everyone likes you.

It's okay to be yourself, in fact, that's the only true way to get by.

Be yourself and don't let anyone tell you that that's not good enough. If you're a girl and you want to cut your hair short, go ahead. If you're a boy who likes the color pink, so what. Love who you can but fend for yourself.

Dear Mr. President:

First and foremost, please know that I deeply respect the responsibility that you've chosen to undertake. I can only imagine how stressful and challenging your job is. With that in mind, allow me to list several pieces of advice that might serve as inspiration for future executive decisions.

1) EDUCATION

Public teachers need to be paid higher salary and need to be hired more carefully. We need to make the profession of being a teacher as culturally and economically prestigious and rewarding as being a doctor or lawyer.

2) CRIME

We need to transition from a punitive justice system into one that serves to heal and transform citizens who fall victim to criminal activity. Ultimately, it isn't their fault, it's the system's fault, and it's in your power to optimize this system. We shouldn't punish criminals. We should give them the opportunity to heal.

3) MILITARY

We need to cut military spending significantly...period.

4) CLIMATE

We need to free ourselves from fossil fuel dependence entirely within the next 20 years. Share that vision with the world and inspire humanity to make it real. We have plenty of sun, electricity, and other, cleaner means of utility than oil.

5) ECONOMY

Invest several billions of dollars annually into social entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship. It's by definition the greatest possible economic win-win.

I appreciate your taking the time to read and consider this message.

Yours,

---A

Who are they? Who are we?

Is it better sugar free?

All these experts seem to say

We ruin ourselves day to day.

Is it even practical,

In the realm of possible--

To act and eat and talk and say

What all of 'them' want, every day?

Our beloved community members,

This may come up as a question on Jeopardy! someday, so listen closely: "Festivus" is a parody holiday involving feats of strength, airing grievances, and rejecting commercialism. It occurs on the 23rd of December, just before Christmas, and was made popular by the American hit television series "Seinfeld."

Since inception of Prose, we've had the distinct privilege of being a part of many of your holiday traditions and frustrations, your lyrical highs and lows, from Halloween to Thanksgiving and everything in between. Your collective challenge creations are better than any we could have ever imagined, and they're always on the cultural cutting-edge.

(More information on challenges will be released soon.)

BY PROSE FOR PROSE.

It is you, our readers and writers, that bring out the best in Prose. So if you're on other social media applications please let us know. It's important that you be credited (or "tagged") for your work here. We'd like to further extend our support by featuring the talent you bring to this bountiful table as we encourage others to gather round it.

There are more of us out there in the vast, fast-paced, every-man-for-himself world of clicking and crawling across keyboards and touchscreens. People looking for inspiration, something meaningful and encouraging, with the potential to change their literary lives... Right?

As always, it's free to give your friends and colleagues the gift of Prose. By 'liking' us on Facebook (FB.com/TheProseApp) following our quips on Twitter (@TheProseApp) and sharing in the love for writing-infused imagery on Instagram (@theproseapp), you'll be helping to bring our community to the world in full-circle fashion.

FROM THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM.

Did you know that the current version of Prose for iOS allows you to share posts directly from the mobile app to your Facebook timeline? We'll keep working on additional share features, privacy and editing preferences, as well as more informed descriptions of the Prose structure. Look for related updates here and, periodically, by email.

Thank you for playing an integral role in building this community. We're excited to see more of your work and look forward to hearing from you.

Some say I'm not old enough to understand

others know I am

Some say I'm still naïve

maybe I am

I don't know who I am or what I believe exactly

I'm not sure I even believe in me

I get this comment a lot 'you seem older than that'

I see no offense in that

I'm discovering life's different from what people say

and that there are times when things seem like they're never ok

I still occasionally get seen as a child, but hey, it is what it is

I still have a lot of my life to live

How did the Cold War end without a shot being fired? Over forty thousand nukes were online to be launched. Millions of troops were facing each other. But it all ended with a guy using a sledgehammer in Berlin. How did this happen?

I know....would you like to know? It's not what you think. The names will be changed to protect the stupid and inept.