Girl with the golden earring

Ever wondered how to write a novel and make a fortune? I have no idea if the author Tracy Chevalier did, sometime before she wrote Girl with a Pearl Earring and had it published in 1999. I am pretty certain she doesn't wonder about it now, though.

Girl with a Pearl Earring is a 1999 historical novel written by Tracy Chevalier. Set in 17th-century Delft, Holland, the novel was inspired by local painter Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring. Chevalier presents a fictional account of Vermeer, the model and the painting. The novel was adapted into a 2003 film of the same name and a 2008 play. In May 2020, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a new dramatisation of the novel (Wikipedia).

According to our good friends at Wikipedia, Tracey had a poster copy of the eponymous painting of a young woman dressed in opulent blues and golds (not to mention that pearl) hanging in her various homes for sixteen years. Not surprisingly, this (says Wiki) was the inspiration for her novel. The novel sold almost 2 million copies in the first two or three years of publication. It then found further fame as the 2003 movie and, subsequently, a play in 2008. I don't know for sure, but I suspect that little pearl earring that Tracy spent 16 years with, probably made her fortune.

Write a novel, sell millions, make a fortune, start by entering the challenge with a single chapter, introduction or prologue

Want to emulate Ms Chevalier's success? Yes? It's simple! Forget about wizards and dragons and all that fantasy stuff based on the classics of J.K., J.R.R., and all the other movieified sword and sorcery stories of yesteryear. That approach has been done to death. Think art! Think earrings! Think enigmatic smiles, arcadian landscapes, seascapes, or just those blobs of paint thrown at the wall that some people rave about. Write a story inspired by a well-known work of art. You don't need to spend 16 years trying to work out what your favorite painting (sculpture, architecture, tea set) is all about. You can find instant inspiration just by going to visit an art museum and spending ten minutes musing on any of the works that attract your attention - whether you 'like' them or not.

If you can't be bothered to do that, look at some art online or go look a the Vocal Art community and check out some or the great stories about art listed there.

Here are a few of mine if it helps:

Taylor on Art

Do that, write the story, and you are GUARANTEED to make a fortune when your novel is published.... well okay, you may not make a fortune, you may not even find a publisher (although there is always the self-publishing route) but you gotta start somewhere. And you can't publish a novel without first writing it. If you already have loads of ideas for your next successful articles, go ahead and write it. This challenge is designed to help you find inspiration if, like me, you are not entirely sure where to start. To help you along the way, I have added the incentive of a modest cash prize to the person who can come up with the best first chapter, prologue or other taster for that future best-selling novel. What could be fairer than that?

Here's the deal

So here's the deal. Write a chapter of your new book, 600-1800 words (you do the counting please) and publish it on Vocal in the usual way. Usual Vocal Media publication rules and terms apply. Please include a footnote at the end of your story (or publish a separate story, linking the two) that explains a bit more about the book you have in mind and how the story might develop. The reason for including this is that it will help you to think about the book, hopefully encouraging you to continue to write it.

Include a footnote at the end of your story, or publish a separate linked story, that explains more about the book you have in mind and how the story might develop.

Who knows, you might even get a publisher contacting you to discuss a deal. Equally, of course, someone might steal your idea but that's life in the big world of social media. Think of it as an incentive to get on and complete that novel as soon as you can, before someone pips you to the post. Perhaps this could also be your new project for that November novel writing challenge thingy. Whatever it ends up being, your work of course remains your property.

The purpose of this challenge is to encourage you to start writing your next novel by publishing the first, or any sample, chapter.

To enter, simply post your story on Vocal and let us all know when you have done so by providing a link in comments below and/or mentioning in the Vocal+ Assist FB Group. To be in with a chance to win, you must provide a link to your story/chapter. You must also include a summary of how your novel might develop. Although your submission can be a complete short story (great if it is) the intention is that you write an introductory chapter to your next novel. We need to know how the sample chapter might develop into a full novel. No need to give away all of your secrets, and please don't spoil the story and the suspence, just give us a flavor of the book to come.

Click here to go to the Vocal+ Assist page

To help, I may also post some additional articles, and/or links to articles, about how to find inspiration in art, or how to come up with ideas for your new novel. Please bear in my I have only published one novel, which has yet to hit the best-seller list (or for that matter, break the 100-copies-sold barrier). Pesonally, I find how-to-write stuff hard to understand so you could always do what I do when writing a story: make it up as you go along!

Entries are being showcased here

Any other ideas about how to get started, please feel free to add them in comments below, on the yet-to-be-posted Vocal+ Assist post, or link your and/our your favorite how-to article.

You might also find this article helpful:

As I say, further details on the FB group Vocal+ Assist. Or if you need to know more, just ask in comments and I will try to keep this page up to date.

Deadline: Saturday August 31 @23:59 UTC (EST=20:00).

Oh, the prizes! Winner: $25 tip, 2nd place: $10, 3 x $5 runner up. Prizes will be paid as a tip to Vocal+ members. No other alternative offered. If a non-Vocal+ member wins any of the top 5 positions, they may be offered an alternative at my sole discretion, otherwise will forfeit any prize.

More resources to help

• Ten ideas about how to find inspiration from art
• Write chapter one and win
• Can you write a novel with help from AI?

If you need some inspiration why not check out some art on the web, in an art book from your local library, or go visit an art gallery?

You can also take a look at my arty stuff by clicking: Taylor on Art

Happy writing folks!

Here is where you will find all of the entries showcased:

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