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The nine circles of writing hell

November 23, 2010 by Nathan Bransford 94 Comments

With apologies to Dante Alighieri…

We have all probably started ill-fated novels that, shall we say, did not go where we wanted them to go. For one reason or another, either our will or our preparation or the idea failed us, and sure enough, they ended up in novel hell.

Based on the Nine Circles of Hell in Dante’s Divine Comedy, here are the nine circles of writing hell.

Save your novel from these sins, my fellow writers! Repent before it is too late!

First Circle: Limbo

Hello shiny idea for a novel! Should I write you? Should I not write you? Maybe I’ll write a few pages and see how you go. Should I… oohhh Farmville.

Second Circle: Lust

Novel, you are so brilliant, you shine like a beautiful bright beacon, nay, like filigree sparkling in the darkest of unlit nights. Everything you do is wonderful, to change but one of your words would be a sin unto mankind. Whatever you want novel, whether it’s second person stream of consciousness or an illogical plot twist or overwrought prose that makes people blush, you can have it, please take it, it’s yours. I LOVE YOU, NOVEL.

Third Circle: Gluttony

No time to eat. No time to work. No time for breaks. No time to attend to essential hygiene. Twenty-six-hours straight. MUST. WRITE. NOVEL. I. WILL. NOT. BURN. OUT.

Okay, I’m starting to get burned out…

Fourth Circle: Greed

Dude, Stephenie Meyer wrote that vampire book in like six weeks or something and now she’s a gagillionaire. How hard can it be?!

Fifth Circle: Anger

I hate agents, I hate query letters, I hate rejection letters, I hate editors, I hate published authors, I hate unpublished authors, I hate periods, I hate exclamation points, I hate semi-colons, I hate paper, I hate words, I hate the space between words, and most of all, I HATE THIS FREAKING NOVEL!!!

Sixth Circle: Heresy

You know what novel I don’t like? The Great Gatsby. I mean, what’s the big deal?! Green lights and drunks and parties and blah blah blah? What a bunch of trash. I threw that book across the room. That Scott person needs to get a clue, I can’t believe anyone published him. And DON’T GET ME STARTED on how much editing he needed.

Seventh Circle: Violence

Oh, you think you’re reeeeallll clever, don’t you, Manuscript. You think you’re smart and witty and amazing and your characters are funny and you’re going to make people cry. Well, how about I introduce you to my friend MR. SHREDDER!!! Mwa ha ha ha ha ha…..

Eighth Circle: Fraud

Oprah won’t REALLY care if I make up this memoir…

Ninth Circle: Treachery

This novel doesn’t need revisions. I don’t need to write a good query letter. Who needs to take the time to research agents? This novel is gold, baby, gold!!

What could possibly go wrong?

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Art: El Coloso by Francisco de Goya

Filed Under: The Writing Life Tagged With: F. Scott Fitzgerald, How to Write a Novel, Staying Sane While Writing

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Deni Krueger says

    November 23, 2010 at 3:16 pm

    So…ummm…did Dante happen to offer redemption in the form of:

    10.) Stick in it the drawer. Lock. Throw away key.

    Reply
  2. Terri Tiffany says

    November 23, 2010 at 3:16 pm

    LOL Loved this post but sadly I've been to most of those places:(( Trying hard not to with this novel.

    Reply
  3. lexcade says

    November 23, 2010 at 3:17 pm

    how true is that… i'm trapped in circles 1, 6, and 7 (one for each project i'm "working on"). fun times had by all.

    Reply
  4. Donna G. Cooper says

    November 23, 2010 at 3:17 pm

    I'm pretty sure, with the exception of Violence, I've been through every circle of hell….Somehow I can't stand to shred scraped novels or pages. They sit in a box in my spare bedroom…creating a fire hazard no doubt.

    Reply
  5. C says

    November 23, 2010 at 3:18 pm

    You're brilliant, and I love you and I want your babies.
    Serious.

    Reply
  6. Janalyn Voigt says

    November 23, 2010 at 3:19 pm

    Thanks for this post. It's great to start the day with a laugh at myself!

    Reply
  7. Leah Petersen says

    November 23, 2010 at 3:21 pm

    So not a traditional ninth's circle but I'd add infidelity.

    Oh, hello shiny new idea. Want to go to the laptop with me tonight? The WIP doesn't have to know. We need a little break from each other. Time alone is healthy for a relationship. I'll just write a little of you, shiny new idea. We both know this isn't serious. Just a little fun.

    Holy… that's not really 5k words, is it? But the WIP… But THIS!

    Reply
  8. Raj says

    November 23, 2010 at 3:27 pm

    LOL..Brilliant. Been through 1,2 and 4. And hoping never to go through some others. The gold, baby line reminded me of Jerry Seinfeld and Kenny Bania, "It's gold, Jerry! Gold!" πŸ˜€

    Reply
  9. Tracy says

    November 23, 2010 at 3:28 pm

    You had me at … oh Farmville!

    The 8th Circle was just the icing on the cake.

    Reply
  10. Bryan Russell (Ink) says

    November 23, 2010 at 3:31 pm

    I'm etching the current manuscript on plates of solid gold. Just to be sure.

    Reply
  11. Dana Rose Bailey says

    November 23, 2010 at 3:35 pm

    Hysterical… and sadly true.

    Reply
  12. traceybaptiste says

    November 23, 2010 at 3:39 pm

    Um, fabulous. Really.

    Reply
  13. Porter Anderson says

    November 23, 2010 at 3:39 pm

    Don't stop there, Nathan. Let's get right on to Savonarola's INFELIX EGO, or "Alas, wretch that I am," 1498.

    What WAS in the water in Florence?

    Reply
  14. Ike says

    November 23, 2010 at 3:46 pm

    Wow, I remember a variation of these days at age fourteen probably up to eighteen. This is why we plan our writing. Fantastic humor, though.

    Reply
  15. Kristi Helvig says

    November 23, 2010 at 3:46 pm

    You make hell sound fun–these are awesome (and true). πŸ™‚

    Reply
  16. Nate Wilson says

    November 23, 2010 at 3:48 pm

    It appears my circles have formed into a hellish Venn diagram from which my novels can never hope to escape. That's not good, right?

    Reply
  17. Rachel Morgan says

    November 23, 2010 at 3:52 pm

    So. Freakin'. FUNNY!

    Reply
  18. Roberta Walker says

    November 23, 2010 at 4:05 pm

    This could be a pie chart for me! Seriously, a good laugh after a(nother) rejection letter start to the day.

    Reply
  19. AngelB35 says

    November 23, 2010 at 4:08 pm

    I hang out in the fifth level a LOT…

    Reply
  20. Mike Koch says

    November 23, 2010 at 4:09 pm

    Hmm, circles of hell. I like it, but I'm going to squash them all into tiny squares and use them as foundations for my next book. Thanks.

    Reply
  21. Daryl Sedore says

    November 23, 2010 at 4:09 pm

    Nathan:

    A descriptive look at the ego and its various degrees of self-righteousness.

    To understand this list and the places the human mind will take us on our internal journey through the written word onward can be as terrifying in its veracity.

    Daryl

    Reply
  22. Carol Riggs says

    November 23, 2010 at 4:11 pm

    Informative as well as painfully obvious why you're a writer, Nathan! Good stuff. ;o) Have you started on a new novel, huh, huh?

    Reply
  23. See Elle Oh says

    November 23, 2010 at 4:11 pm

    Love, love, love this post! Hilarious and so true.

    I feel like the Second Circle is really common for novice writers, especially poets. There's a tendency to believe things are perfect just as they pour out of you, and that revision is blasphemy. I know I've been there.

    Reply
  24. Chuck H. says

    November 23, 2010 at 4:16 pm

    Been there, done that . . . and that. . . and that . . . and that . . . and that . . . and that . . . and that . . . and that . . . wait wasn't there supposed to be a frozen lake around here somewhere?

    Reply
  25. Mister Fweem says

    November 23, 2010 at 4:18 pm

    The secret, I hear, is to have as many novels going as there are levels, so if you're stuck on one, you move to another.

    Reply
  26. Amanda Borenstadt says

    November 23, 2010 at 4:20 pm

    Oh, yes, I've visited the seventh many times! Bwa-ha-ha

    Reply
  27. Elaine AM Smith says

    November 23, 2010 at 4:25 pm

    OK I so I laughed out loud – I'm still not descending into the land of initialisation.

    Ninth Circle – Treachery
    I, the flowery novel, covered in clichΓ©s and bejewelled in adverbial everythings, know I need to be nip-tucked crisp and ironed out smooth but neither I (nor you mother) will tell you. HA!HA!HA!

    WV: psyndio – HP/Voldemort spell for sending people into psychosis?
    Got it! πŸ˜‰

    Reply
  28. Sandra Ulbrich Almazan says

    November 23, 2010 at 4:29 pm

    What happened to the Circle of Despair?

    Well, no wonder you got rejected, no-longer-shiny novel. Your plot stinks, your characters stink, and I couldn't write my way out of a paper bag with a sharp knife. I'll never be a published writer, so I might as well play Farmville all night.

    Reply
  29. Rebecca Nazar says

    November 23, 2010 at 4:32 pm

    Yupx9

    Reply
  30. khanes says

    November 23, 2010 at 4:33 pm

    I just think you are brilliant. That was great. I think I'm in the "anger" phase where I stopped sending out query letters. They all suck. Time to buy the Sell Your Novel Toolkit, I think!

    Reply
  31. Joann Buchanan says

    November 23, 2010 at 4:45 pm

    This was funny, and yet oh sooo true…he he he

    I believe when I wrote the bones to I AM WOLF, I was sitting there thinking wow, it's finished!! Then my editor got ahold of it.. When he was finished, it was a bloody mess. I listened to him though, and it turned out to be a wonderful experience.

    Reply
  32. A Tale of Many Reviews says

    November 23, 2010 at 5:13 pm

    Great post and did illicit some giggles this morning. πŸ˜€

    Reply
  33. Stephanie McGee says

    November 23, 2010 at 5:28 pm

    Oh my heavens! I needed this laugh today! Thank you!

    My favorite would have to be "Heresy." I just didn't get that book. We read it in 11th grade English and it was my least favorite. (Followed closely by Huck Finn.)

    Though I do love "Violence" because I used to shred copies of my manuscript after I'd finished editing those sections.

    Reply
  34. Matthew Rush says

    November 23, 2010 at 5:40 pm

    Geez Nathan! That was depressing. I kept hoping for some kind of happy ending there …

    Oh. It was the Nine Circles of Hell you say? Okay, I get it.

    Really it was pretty hilarious. Next time you should do the 12 step program for getting published.

    Reply
  35. gabi says

    November 23, 2010 at 5:49 pm

    So funny, I laughed out loud!

    Dante is fantasic and your interpretation… brilliant. "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate" pretty much sums up the writing process perfectly.

    I think Dante would be pleased to see his words being put to good use. Bravo!

    Reply
  36. lindsey lane says

    November 23, 2010 at 5:49 pm

    Hmmm…I wonder if Winston Churchill was channeling Dante when he wrote the following: "Writing a book is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement; then it becomes a mistress, and then it becomes a master, and then a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster, and fling him out to the public."

    Reply
  37. Hannah Jenny says

    November 23, 2010 at 5:56 pm

    lol!!

    Mine has been stuck somewhere in Limbo for awhile–but my favorite stage is Gluttony. I'm planning to indulge in this over the holidays, oh sweet novel thou awaitest me patiently! (don't worry, my family will pull me away to eat and interact with them)

    Reply
  38. arlenewritesromance says

    November 23, 2010 at 6:00 pm

    Another great post. I laughed … I cried … I saw myself running through the stages with my current WIP.

    Reply
  39. Kristi says

    November 23, 2010 at 6:01 pm

    Fifth circle here. Angry and bitter.

    Reply
  40. Sharideth Smith says

    November 23, 2010 at 6:04 pm

    i'll give you an uh huh, a yep and a pretty much for good measure.

    Reply
  41. Sheila Lamb says

    November 23, 2010 at 6:04 pm

    With @Deni – the tenth circle of being shoved in a dark cabinet. It's resting until the tempestuous circles of writing hell have calmed.

    Reply
  42. Anne R. Allen says

    November 23, 2010 at 6:14 pm

    So funny and true. I bask in your brilliance.

    Reply
  43. Ishta Mercurio says

    November 23, 2010 at 6:16 pm

    LOL!!!

    Awesomeness. This post is pure awesomeness.

    Reply
  44. Julia Rachel Barrett says

    November 23, 2010 at 6:24 pm

    Pretty hilarious! Thank you! I passed through these stages long ago – now I'm much more philosophic, %#@&^%@!

    Reply
  45. raine says

    November 23, 2010 at 6:26 pm

    This is priceless, lol. πŸ˜€

    Reply
  46. D.G. Hudson says

    November 23, 2010 at 6:28 pm

    There are many kinds of hell. Sometimes we let ourselves fall into one of those 9 levels through lack of passion and commitment. Have confidence in your idea, but listen to the revision angels.

    To remove yourself from any of those levels, simply impose discipline and get an enforcer (Ideal reader, crit group,or spouse) to ensure you write, write, and write some more. Then you must revise, shop the book around, etc.

    Perhaps Nano is one of those hells? (you write until you drop or else) I'm just saying it could be.

    Interesting post, Nathan, with thanks to Dante for stimulating your imagination.

    Reply
  47. Rebecca Stroud says

    November 23, 2010 at 6:29 pm

    There's only nine circles? Uh-oh…

    Have a great Thanksgiving, Nathan.

    Reply
  48. Rane Anderson says

    November 23, 2010 at 6:37 pm

    LMAO!
    Very clever.

    Reply
  49. Ada says

    November 23, 2010 at 6:48 pm

    I love this post so much. I was about to go all #7 on my manuscript.

    Does this mean all writers are crazy people?

    Reply
  50. Diana says

    November 23, 2010 at 6:52 pm

    LOL

    I can't wait to see what you come up with for purgatory. πŸ™‚

    Reply
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Hi, I’m Nathan. I’m the author of How to Write a Novel and the Jacob Wonderbar series, which was published by Penguin. I used to be a literary agent at Curtis Brown Ltd. and I’m dedicated to helping authors achieve their dreams. Let me help you with your book!

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