A novel was being created. “My Anna bores me like a bitter radish”: How the famous novel by Leo Tolstoy was created. “How much is half a page of text?”

“However,” Koroviev continued to chatter, “I knew people who had no idea not only about the fifth dimension, but who had no idea about anything at all and yet performed the most perfect miracles...”

M.A. Bulgakov, "The Master and Margarita"

Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov is an artist who left a rich literary legacy in almost all genres: he began with a feuilleton, a story, an essay, created a series of original plays and dramatizations that were an audience success, wrote stories, librettos, deep and brilliant novels - “ White Guard”, “The Life of Monsieur de Molière”, “Notes of a Dead Man” and “The Master and Margarita” - the pinnacle of his creativity. This last work of the writer, his “sunset novel”, completes a significant theme for Bulgakov - the artist and power, this is a novel of difficult and sad thoughts about life, where philosophy and fantasy, mysticism are combined and soulful lyrics, gentle humor and apt deep satire.

The history of the creation and publication of this most famous novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, one of the most outstanding works in modern Russian and world literature, is complex and dramatic. This final work, as it were, summarizes the writer’s ideas about the meaning of life, about man, about his mortality and immortality, about the struggle between good and evil principles in history and in the moral world of man. The above helps to understand Bulgakov’s own assessment of his brainchild. “When he was dying, he said,” recalled his widow, Elena Sergeevna Bulgakova: “Maybe this is right... What could I write after the Master?..”

How the novel “The Master and Margarita” was created (11 photos)

Creative history“The Master and Margarita” in the most general outline boils down to the following. Bulgakov attributed the idea of the novel and the beginning of work on it to 1928, but according to other sources it is obvious that the idea of writing a book about the adventures of the devil in Moscow arose several years earlier. at the beginning-middle 1920s.

The first chapters were written in the spring of 1929. On May 8 of this year, Bulgakov submitted to the Nedra publishing house for publication in the almanac of the same name a fragment of the future novel - its separate independent chapter, called “Mania Furibunda,” which translated from Latin means “violent insanity, mania of rage.” This chapter, from which only fragments not destroyed by the author have reached us, in content approximately corresponded to the fifth chapter of the printed text “It was in Griboedov.” In 1929, the main parts of the text of the first edition of the novel were created (and possibly a plot-completed draft version of it about the appearance and tricks of the devil in Moscow).

M. Bulgakov wrote a novel, which he read in a certain society, where they told him that they wouldn’t let him in in this form, since he was extremely harsh with attacks, then he remade it and is thinking of publishing it, but in the original editors to release it as a manuscript into society and at the same time with publication in a truncated censored form.” Probably, in the winter of 1928/29, only individual chapters of the novel were written, which were even more politically acute than the surviving fragments of the early edition. Perhaps, the “Mania Furibunda”, which was given to “Nedra” and has not reached us in full, was an already softened version of the original text. Bulgakov’s intention to put the manuscript into free circulation as “samizdat” is also plausible: after all, lists of “Cabal of Saints”, “Cabal of Saints”, “ Heart of a Dog", story " Fatal eggs” with unprinted in the collection “Nedr” with a different version of the ending. This first edition of the novel had at least 15 chapters, 10 of which had titles, occupying about 160 pages of handwritten text in a thick school-sized notebook (this is how handwritten editions of the novel were preserved).
In the first edition, the author went through several options for the titles of his work: “The Black Magician”, “The Engineer’s Hoof”, “Woland’s Tour”, “Son of Perdition”, “Juggler with a Hoof”, but did not settle on any. This first edition of the novel was destroyed by Bulgakov on March 18, 1930, after receiving news of the ban on the play

Writer and blogger K.M. Weyland (or Uyland? Uyland?.. may the translators forgive me and correct me) offers the following 7 steps that will help you take a raw idea and make candy out of it.

You should approach creating a plan for a work with the understanding that not only will it not constrain you, but, on the contrary, it will help you find exciting and original solutions that would otherwise be almost impossible to think of. A plan is a map of the area. With its help, you can find the shortest route... or wander around to your heart's content, looking at all the interesting places and collecting a collection of refrigerator magnets.

In addition, the plan will help avoid plot dead ends, which means it will save a lot of time. Not to mention the money for treating depression, alcoholism and caffeine addiction (and they sooner or later overtake everyone creative personality, which neglects advance planning). It can take months to revise a novel draft, but revising an outline will take... a few minutes? hour? Depends on your typing speed.

1. Decide on a concept

An idea is what you want to write about, expressed in the most general terms in a few sentences. “A long time ago, in a distant galaxy, a young man saved a girl” is promising, but it won’t work as an idea. Need details. Namely:

Protagonist: who main character?

Situation: why is he interesting? What is his condition at the beginning of the story? What will he be like at the end?

The goal of the main character: what does he want at the beginning, what is he ready to do? What will change by the end?

Antagonist: how and why would someone interfere with the main character?

Tragedy: what troubles are you ready to send to the main character?

Conflict: What will the main character do when faced with trouble? And why does he have to deal with them throughout the entire novel?

For example: a farm boy, Luke Skywalker (protagonist), cannot sit still (situation) - he wants to leave home and become a space pilot like his father (goal). Luke goes in search of the missing droids, and at this time bad characters kill his uncle and aunt (tragedy). Now Luke must return the droids to their owner and prevent the Empire (antagonist) from completely subjugating the galaxy (conflict).

2. Sketch out the episodes you need.

Now that you have a plan, let's start looking for brilliant ideas to implement it. Write down everything you have come up with up to this point. You probably have several episodes, dialogues, scenes spinning in your head - so write them down. Even if you don’t know how they fit together, what happened before, what will happen after, what we’re talking about, etc. The main goal at this stage is to collect as much information about history as possible. We'll decide what to do with it later.

Did you do it? Great. Put down your pen/keyboard for a minute and look over the resulting list with an eagle's eye. What has been written probably raises a lot of questions. Write them down. Yes, yes, if you don’t know something, if some details of the episode are not clear, make a note and write down the question. It’s better to count all the holes in the plot in advance and understand in which directions you need to think next.

Now let's go through each issue separately. Any ideas? Even a few? Let's write it down. It doesn’t matter if the idea is crazy - the orchid of genius can still bloom on its grave. We go through the solution options in search of the least predictable for the reader. Break the mold, turn stereotypes upside down, surprise yourself. Most of what you come up with you may never write down, so let your imagination run wild. Compose, ask new questions, look for unexpected answers - talk to yourself without fear that the orderlies will hear you.

3. Get to know your characters

It's time to take a closer look at all those funny little people (or not little people) that you so cheerfully mocked in the second point. To make all their fluttering seem logical and reasonable, it would be nice to know more about the heroes.

Let's take the protagonist for example. What was he doing before he got into your novel? Start with tragedy. Could something in your protagonist's past be the reason? Why does he react to tragedy this way? Perhaps some unresolved problems from the past will further complicate his life and affect the development of the conflict?

After you decide on the biography of your hero in general terms, conduct an interview with him. Ask questions and let the character answer them: in his own voice, based on his worldview and understanding of the situation. If you happen to know English, then perhaps this questionnaire will help you: 365 questions for your character.

4. Explore the environment

Whether the story takes place in your backyard or on Shelezyak's planet, when you start writing a novel, you need to have a good idea of its geography.

Don't try to make your life too easy. Don't choose places just because you know them or like them. The setting should work for the plot. If you can easily move the action to another location, then it may be worth looking for alternative locations. Find a place that will enrich your story and allow your characters to develop better.

Based on your list of episodes, make a list of required locations. Is it possible to throw out some or combine them without losing anything? It's probably worth doing that way. But it's up to you.

By the way, the same goes for unnecessary characters.

5. Write a plan

I really hope that by this time you are ready to start writing the entire plan. In point 2 you thought about what was going to happen, point 3 gave an idea of characters, in point 4 you have decided on the situation - it’s time to put it all together.

Go in order, episode by episode, trying to assemble the existing scenes into a whole. This is your main task - to give meaning and structure to chaos. The plan can only include brief description(Sasha and Masha met in a cafe), maybe detailed (Sasha was stupid over a cup of tea, at that time Masha decided to try Irish coffee, but got dirty with cream; Sasha noticed this, laughed, Masha was offended, Sasha offered to pay for her order, etc.) etc.) or very detailed (It was getting dark. In mid-January in the provincial town of N. Alexander went to a cafe that Misha had long recommended to him...).

Focus on the key moments for each scene. Think about whose point of view the story will be told from. What are the goals of the characters involved in the episode, what do they want? What can intensify the conflict? How can you demonstrate the main idea more clearly? How will this affect subsequent episodes?

As a result, you should have a continuous sequence. Pay attention to possible illogicalities, sagging, and “pianos”. If something is not going well and you feel stuck, try moving to the next scene you know and slowly rewinding it. For example, you need the characters to get to point A, but you don't know how to do it. Start at point A. What's going on? Why is this happening? Try it, maybe you’ll be able to identify the cause by the consequences.

6. Write an abbreviated outline

For convenience and quick search, try to write an abbreviated outline, episodic. Just list the main plot points without going into detail. This can be useful for several reasons.

Firstly, the episode will help you look at history from a new angle. Due to the abundance of details in the main plan, did you miss or forget something? It's time to fix this. Secondly, an episodic book makes it easier to solve global problems. Do you need to understand how much time has passed? Estimate the number of chapters and parts of a book? See how the resulting plan and the original idea compare? Has the main idea been proven? The episode will help you.

7. Write a novel

The plan is ready. Now you can start drafting. Every time you start writing, check your outline: pay attention to the scene you have to write and the one that follows it. Keep all the problem areas in your head and try to find solutions before you start writing.

And when (note, not “if”, but “when”) you realize that there are other, better solutions, that the original plan can be improved - just do it. Without hesitation. Because the plan is not the rails, and you are not the tram. A plan is just a map. And you are free to leave the beaten path at any time and go into the jungle in search of adventure.

If after all you still think that you don’t need a plan, I have a wonderful one for you.

“I, however,” Koroviev continued to chatter, “knew people who had no idea not only about the fifth dimension, but who had no idea about anything at all and yet performed the most perfect miracles...”

M.A. Bulgakov, "The Master and Margarita"

Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov is an artist who left a rich literary legacy in almost all genres: he began with feuilletons, short stories, essays, created a series of original plays and dramatizations that had audience success, wrote stories, librettos, deep and brilliant novels - “The White Guard” ”, “The Life of Monsieur de Molière”, “Notes of a Dead Man” and “The Master and Margarita” - the pinnacle of his creativity. This last piece writer, his “sunset novel”, completes a significant theme for Bulgakov - the artist and power, this is a novel of difficult and sad thoughts about life, where philosophy and fantasy, mysticism and heartfelt lyrics, soft humor and well-aimed deep satire are combined.
The history of the creation and publication of this most famous novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, one of the most outstanding works in modern Russian and world literature, is complex and dramatic. This final work, as it were, summarizes the writer’s ideas about the meaning of life, about man, about his mortality and immortality, about the struggle between good and evil principles in history and in moral world person. The above helps to understand Bulgakov’s own assessment of his brainchild. “When he was dying, he said,” recalled his widow, Elena Sergeevna Bulgakova: “Maybe this is right... What could I write after the Master?..”

The creative history of “The Master and Margarita” in the most general terms boils down to the following. Bulgakov attributed the idea of the novel and the beginning of work on it to 1928, but according to other sources it is obvious that the idea of writing a book about the adventures of the devil in Moscow arose several years earlier, in the early to mid-1920s.

M. Bulgakov wrote a novel, which he read in a certain society, where they told him that they would not let him in in this form, since he was extremely harsh with attacks, then he rewrote it and is thinking of publishing it, and in the original edition, releasing it as a manuscript to the society and this is simultaneously with publication in a truncated, censored form.” Probably, in the winter of 1928/29, only individual chapters of the novel were written, which were even more politically acute than the surviving fragments of the early edition. Perhaps, the “Mania Furibunda”, which was given to “Nedra” and has not reached us in full, was an already softened version of the original text. It is also plausible that Bulgakov intended to put the manuscript into free circulation as “samizdat”: after all, lists of “The Cabal of Saints”, “Heart of a Dog”, the story “Fatal Eggs” with a different version of the ending, which was not published in the collection “Nedra”, were already circulating among the interested public. This first edition of the novel had at least 15 chapters, 10 of which had titles, occupying about 160 pages of handwritten text in a thick school-sized notebook (this is how handwritten editions of the novel were preserved).
In the first edition, the author went through several options for the titles of his work: “The Black Magician”, “The Engineer’s Hoof”, “Woland’s Tour”, “Son of Perdition”, “Juggler with a Hoof”, but did not settle on any. This first edition of the novel was destroyed by Bulgakov on March 18, 1930, after receiving news of the ban on the play “The Cabal of the Holy One.” The writer reported this in a letter to the government on March 28, 1930: “And I personally, with my own hands, threw a draft of a novel about the devil into the stove...” There is no exact information about the degree of plot completion of this edition, but from the surviving materials it is obvious that the final one is still missing compositional juxtaposition of two novels in a novel (“ancient” and modern), which constitutes genre feature“The Master and Margarita.”

Written by the hero of this book - the master - there is, in fact, no “novel about Pontius Pilate”; “simply” a “strange foreigner” tells Vladimir Mironovich Berlioz and Antosha (Ivanushka) Bezrodny at the Patriarch’s Ponds about Yeshua Ha-Notsri, and all the “New Testament” material is presented in one chapter (“The Gospel of Woland”) in the form of a lively conversation of the “foreigner” and his listeners. There are no future main characters - the master and Margarita. This is still a novel about the devil, and in the interpretation of the image of the devil, Bulgakov is at first more traditional than in the final text: his Woland (or Faland) still acts in the classical role of a tempter and provocateur (he, for example, teaches Ivanushka to trample the image of Christ), but The “super task” of the writer is already clear: both Satan and Christ are necessary for the author of the novel as representatives of absolute (albeit “multipolar”) truth, opposing the moral relativism of the world of Berlioz, Mogarych, Latunsky, Lavrovich... For Bulgakov not only denies, but also affirms.
Work on the novel resumed in 1931. The concept of the work changes significantly and deepens - Margarita and her companion appear - the Poet, who will later be called a master and occupy central place. But for now this place still belongs to Woland, and the novel itself is planned to be called: “Consultant with a Hoof.” Bulgakov is working on one of the last chapters (“Woland’s Flight”) and in the right top corner sheet with outlines of this chapter he writes: “Help, Lord, to finish the novel. 1931.” This edition, the second in a row, was continued by Bulgakov in the fall of 1932 in Leningrad, where the writer arrived without a single draft - not only the idea, but also the text of this work was so thought out and matured by that time. Almost a year later, on August 2, 1933, he informed the writer V.V. Veresaev about the resumption of work on the novel: “I... was possessed by a demon. Already in Leningrad and now here, suffocating in my little rooms, I began to stain page after page of my novel, destroyed three years ago. For what? Don't know. I'm amusing myself! Let it fall into oblivion! However, I’ll probably give it up soon.” However, Bulgakov never abandoned The Master and Margarita, and with interruptions caused by the need to write commissioned plays, dramatizations, scripts and librettos, he continued his work on the novel almost until the end of his life.

By November 1933, 500 pages of handwritten text had been written, divided into 37 chapters. The genre is defined by the author himself as “ fantasy novel” - this is what is written at the top of the sheet with a list of possible titles: “Grand Chancellor. Satan. Here I am. Feather hat. Black theologian. Foreigner's horseshoe. He appeared. Advent. Black magician Hoof of a Consultant (Consultant with a Hoof),” but Bulgakov did not stop at any of them. All these title options still seem to point to Woland as the main person. However, Woland has already been significantly displaced by a new hero, who becomes the author of a novel about Yeshua Ha-Nozri, and this inner romance is broken in two, and between the chapters that form it (chapters 11 and 16), the love and misadventures of the “Poet” (or “Faust”, as he is called in one of the drafts) and Margarita are described. By the end of 1934, this edition was roughly completed. By this time the word “master” had already been used three times in last chapters in addressing the “Poet” of Woland, Azazello and Koroviev (who had already received permanent names). Over the next two years, Bulgakov made numerous additions and compositional changes to the manuscript, including finally crossing the lines of the master and Ivan Bezdomny. In July 1936, the last and final chapter of this edition of the novel, “The Last Flight,” was created, in which the fates of the master, Margarita, and Pontius Pilate were determined.
The third edition of the novel was started at the end of 1936 - beginning of 1937. In the first, unfinished version of this edition, brought to the fifth chapter and occupying 60 pages, Bulgakov, unlike the second edition, again moved the story of Pilate and Yeshua to the beginning of the novel, composing a single second chapter, called “The Golden Spear.” In 1937, a second, also unfinished, version of this edition was written, brought to the thirteenth chapter (299 pages). It dates from 1928-1937 and is entitled “Prince of Darkness.” Finally, the third and only completed version of the third edition of the novel was created in the period from November 1937 to the spring of 1938. This edition takes up 6 thick notebooks; The text is divided into thirty chapters. In the second and third versions of this edition, the Yershalaim scenes were introduced into the novel in the same way as in the published text, and in its third version the famous and final title appeared - “The Master and Margarita”.
From the end of May to June 24, 1938, this edition was retyped on a typewriter under the dictation of the author, who often changed the text along the way. Bulgakov began editing this typescript on September 19, with individual chapters being rewritten. The epilogue was written on May 14, 1939, immediately in the form that we know.

At the same time, the scene of the appearance of Matthew Levi to Woland was written with a decision about the fate of the master. When Bulgakov became mortally ill, his wife Elena Sergeevna continued editing under the dictation of her husband, while this editing was partly made in the typescript, partly in a separate notebook. On January 15, 1940, E. S. Bulgakova wrote in her diary: “Misha, as much as she can, is editing the novel, I’m rewriting it,” and episodes with Professor Kuzmin and the miraculous transfer of Styopa Likhodeev to Yalta were recorded (before that, the director of the Variety Show was Garasey Pedulaev , and Woland sent him to Vladikavkaz). Editing was stopped on February 13, 1940, less than four weeks before Bulgakov’s death, at the phrase: “So this means that the writers are going after the coffin?”, in the middle of the nineteenth chapter of the novel...
The last thoughts and words of the dying writer were addressed to this work, which contained all of his creative life: “When at the end of his illness he almost lost his speech, sometimes only the ends and beginnings of words came out,” recalled E. S. Bulgakova. - There was a case when I was sitting next to him, as always, on a pillow on the floor, near the head of his bed, he made me understand that he needed something, that he wanted something from me. I offered him medicine, a drink - lemon juice, but I clearly understood that this was not the point. Then I guessed and asked: “Your things?” He nodded with an air of “yes” and “no.” I said: “The Master and Margarita?” He, terribly delighted, made a sign with his head that “yes, this is it.” And he squeezed out two words: “So that they know, so that they know...” But it was then very difficult to fulfill this dying will of Bulgakov - to print and convey to people, readers the novel he wrote.
One of Bulgakov’s closest friends and first biographer P. S. Popov (1892-1964), having re-read the novel after the death of its author, wrote to Elena Sergeevna: “Brilliant skill always remains brilliant skill, but now the novel is unacceptable. 50-100 years will have to pass...” Now, he believed, “the less they know about the novel, the better.” Fortunately, the author of these lines was mistaken in the timing, but in the next 20 years after Bulgakov’s death, we do not find any mention in the literature of the existence of this work in the writer’s heritage, although Elena Sergeevna, from 1946 to 1966, made six attempts to break through censorship and publish the novel .
Only in the first edition of Bulgakov’s book “The Life of Monsieur de Molière” (1962) V. A. Kaverin managed to break the conspiracy of silence and mention the existence of the novel “The Master and Margarita” in the manuscript. Kaverin firmly stated that “the inexplicable indifference to the work of Mikhail Bulgakov, which sometimes inspired the deceptive hope that there are many like him and that, therefore, his absence in our literature does not constitute a big disaster, this is a harmful indifference...” Four years later, the magazine “ Moscow” (No. 11 for 1966 and No. 1 for 1967) published the novel in an abridged version with numerous censorship cuts and editing that distort the meaning of the text in comparison with the final, fourth and first posthumous edition of the novel presented by E. S. Bulgakova. Magazine version books with censorship omissions and distortions and cuts made on the initiative of the management of the editorial board of “Moscow” (E. S. Bulgakova was forced to agree to all this, just to keep her word given to the dying author to publish this work), thus amounted to the fifth edition, which was published abroad as a separate book.

The response to this publishing arbitrariness was the appearance in “samizdat” of a typewritten text of all the places that were released or distorted in the magazine publication with an exact indication of where the missing parts should be inserted or the distorted ones should be replaced. The author of this “cut” publication was Elena Sergeevna herself and her friends. This text, which constituted one of the versions of the fourth (1940-1941) edition of the novel, was published in 1969 in Frankfurt am Main by the Posev publishing house. Passages removed or “redacted” from the magazine publication were in italics in the 1969 edition. What was this censorship and voluntaristic “editing” of the novel? What goals did it pursue? Now this is quite clear. 159 bills were made: 21 in the 1st part and 138 in the 2nd; A total of more than 14,000 words were removed (12% of the text!). Bulgakov's text was grossly distorted, phrases from different pages were arbitrarily combined, and sometimes completely meaningless sentences arose. The reasons related to the literary and ideological canons that existed at that time are obvious: the most removed passages were those describing the actions of the Roman secret police and the work of “one of the Moscow institutions,” the similarities between ancient and modern world. Further, the “inadequate” reaction of the “Soviet people” to our reality and some of their very unattractive features were weakened. The role and moral strength of Yeshua was weakened in the spirit of vulgar anti-religious propaganda. Finally, the “censor” in many cases showed a kind of “chastity”: some persistent references to the nudity of Margarita, Natasha and other women at Woland’s ball were removed, the naked fat man, the owner of the brothel in Strasbourg and the enterprising Moscow dressmaker were removed, the witch’s rudeness of Margarita and etc.

In preparing the complete uncensored domestic edition, published in 1973, the edition of the early 1940s was restored, followed by textual revision carried out by the editor of the publishing house “Khudozhestvennaya Literatura” (where the novel was published) A. A. Saakyants. Published after the death of E. S. Bulgakova (in 1970), this, in fact, the sixth edition of the novel was established for a long time as canonical by numerous reprints, and as such was introduced into literary circulation in the 1970-1980s. Finally, for the Kyiv edition of 1989 and for the Moscow collected works of 1989-1990, the seventh and to date final edition of the text of the novel was made with a new reconciliation of all surviving author’s materials, carried out by the literary critic L. M. Yanovskaya. However, it should be remembered that, as in many other cases in the history of literature, when there is no definitive author's text, the novel remains open to clarification and new readings. And the case with “The Master and Margarita” is almost classic in its way: Bulgakov died while working on finishing the text of the novel; he failed to complete his own textual task for this work. Therefore, there were obvious traces of the novel’s shortcomings even in its plot part (Woland limps and does not limp; Berlioz is called either the chairman or the secretary of Massolit; the white bandage with a strap on Yeshua’s head is suddenly replaced by a turban; Margarita and Natasha of “pre-witch status” disappear somewhere; Aloysius appears without explanation; he and Varenukha fly out first from the bedroom window, and then from the staircase window; Gella is absent in the “last flight,” although she leaves the “bad apartment,” etc., and this cannot be explained as “on purpose.” conceived”), some stylistic errors are also noticeable. So the story of the publication of the novel did not end there, especially since all its early editions were published.

Illustrations

By the way, about the Rushevs. Nikolai Konstantinovich Rushev was an artist and the father of the brilliant girl Nadya. Nadya, who inherited the ability to draw from her father, made completely unique series of drawings for various works of art. When the binder of that very “Moscow” with the novel fell into her hands, the girl literally became obsessed with the book and began new series drawings illustrating The Master and Margarita. Over the course of a year, she made more than 160 compositions... But the novel, they say, is cursed... “Once at an exhibition, Nadya and I were approached by an old artist who wished to remain anonymous. He said that he knew Mikhail Bulgakov’s widow, Elena Sergeevna Bulgakova, that Nadya, in order to continue her successful work, needed to get to know her, because she also kept all the bills (cut out pieces - author’s note) issued during the first publication.” (N.K. Rushev “ Last year Hope") Such an exemplary artist, don’t you think? Nikolai Rushev met with Elena Sergeevna Bulgakova, but without Nadya. On March 6, 1969, a completely healthy 16-year-old girl suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. The doctors couldn't save him. When the father brought the drawings to Elena Sergeevna, an amazing thing became clear: the portrait of Margarita, made by Nadya, conveyed a complete resemblance to the writer’s wife, who was the prototype of Margarita. Of course, Nadya had never seen Elena Sergeevna or her photographs.

Film adaptations

In our country, the full version of the novel has not yet been published in print, but in Poland they have already made a film adaptation. Andrzej Wajda was the first to take aim at The Master and Margarita, releasing the film Pilate and Others in 1971. They filmed it without any major tragedies, it was released, everything was great. And the only strange thing is that this film was never shown in Russia.

In 1972, the Italian-Yugoslav version of The Master and Margarita was filmed. Director - Alexander Petrovich. In 1988, another Pole, Maciek Wojtyszko, created an eight-episode television film based on the novel. And in not a single case were there any mystical circumstances interfering with filming, budgets did not disappear without a trace, the only copies did not evaporate, or the screening of films was not prohibited. True, in the 80s, Roman Polanski took on the film adaptation of the novel in Hollywood, and the project was closed, but for completely earthly reasons - the producers found the project simply unprofitable.

Our directors created complete mysticism. They also remembered that Woland couldn’t stand electricity, and I even read someone’s version that Bulgakov didn’t like cinema, and therefore, it means we can’t do anything with film adaptations...

Igor Talankin, Elem Klimov, Eldar Ryazanov and a number of other talented directors dreamed of making a film based on the novel, and not one of them managed to make their dream come true.

Vladimir Naumov wanted to film “The Master and Margarita” together with his friend Alexander Alov. Naumov had known the writer’s widow, Elena Sergeevna Bulgakova, since the days of working on “Running.” She worked as a literary consultant on the set, and she also gave Naumov the full version of the novel to read. When he started working on the film, Elena Sergeevna had already died. And one night Naumov had a dream that the front door rang. The director walked to the door and looked through the peephole. “I look: Elena Sergeevna in a fur coat.” He opened the door and invited the guest to come in. She just said: “I’ll be a minute - Mikhail Afanasyevich is waiting downstairs. I wanted to inform you, Volodya, that there will be no film.” The dream turned out to be prophetic.

Ryazanov was simply forbidden to make the film from above. No explanation. He was never able to get to the bottom of the truth, who exactly banned it and why.

In 1991, the original script for the novel was written by Elem Klimov (co-authored with his brother German Klimov) and, as chairman of the Union of Cinematographers, received the right to shoot. The newspapers were already writing about the future film. But it was never filmed because there was no technology; their development required huge amounts of money, which he never found.

But Yuri Kara found them somewhere. About $15 million was spent on his project. And it is with this film that the most mysteries are associated. The film was filmed in 1994, but was never released. The director himself recalled that during filming there were so many obstacles, as if the novel was resisting with all its might. “At the beginning of autumn we made expensive decorations of ancient Jerusalem in Sudak,” Kara recalled. “But just as we were about to start filming, it snowed.” Filming had to be cancelled, and the scenery had to be redone.” When the film was finally shot, a conflict broke out between the director and the producer, which ended in litigation. Then the film with the film disappeared, and the person to whom it was given for safekeeping suddenly died. Then it seemed like they found the film and came to a compromise with the producer, but Bulgakov’s relatives suddenly appeared and banned the release of the film... In short, it’s some kind of insurmountable hassle, for some reason it seems to me that if they come to an agreement with the relatives, then some other insurmountable problems will appear obstacles.

Vladimir Bortko made the film on his second attempt. The first was undertaken in 2000, but the project was closed. Starting work on the film for the second time, Bortko film set banned all talk about mysticism. Although he admitted that he once met a strange gentleman at the Patriarch’s, who casually said: “You won’t succeed.” However, it worked. Not a masterpiece, of course, but we're not talking about it now artistic value paintings The film was filmed and even shown on television!

Here is a selection of facts from the Internet on the topic of mysticism on set:

People's Artist of Russia Oleg Basilashvili lost his voice on the set of The Master and Margarita. Doctors diagnosed him with ligament hemorrhage. The artist’s colleagues at the St. Petersburg BDT theater unanimously claim that on the eve of the ill-fated filming, Oleg Valeryanovich felt excellent. He rehearsed in the play "Quartet" and in good mood was preparing to work on The Master and Margarita, where he played Satan Woland. Problems with his voice began already on the set, when Basilashvili pronounced Bulgakov’s famous phrases with his inimitable bass. His throat seemed to be convulsing, the actor began to wheeze and lost consciousness for a few seconds. The next day, appearing at the theater, Basilashvili was practically unable to speak. A doctor was urgently called and prescribed him complete rest and absolute silence for at least a month.

Alexander Kalyagin, who was preparing to play Berlioz, had two heart attacks in a row.

Viktor Avilov played at the Woland Theater with two pectoral crosses. But at the same time, on tour in Germany, his heart stopped twice. The young, full of energy actor died of cancer.

The artist Valery Ivakin, who replaced Avilov in the play, had a heart attack during the second performance.

Alexander Abdulov, who played Bassoon, sadly states: “This is the fifth time I’m playing Koroviev with the fifth director, but not one of these films has seen the light of day yet.”

Well... And even if the fate of Alexander Abdulov somehow painfully echoes Woland’s words about lung sarcoma, here is an excerpt from an interview with Abdulov:

Have you seen the film adaptations by Yuri Kara and Andrzej Wajda, which never reached a wide audience? Are they worth the conversations that arise around them year after year?

Saw. They're not worth it. It's not interesting. Vaida, in my feeling, simply did not understand Bulgakov. I have no right to dispute the great director, but it was none of his business. It's none of Kara's business. My fellow producer helped film his film. The film lies under his blanket and he doesn’t show it to anyone. He tried to re-edit it, offered to do it to big directors - everyone refused, even for a lot of money.

So there’s no mysticism in the fact that Kara’s picture didn’t come out, is there?

The mysticism begins when your brother begins to discuss this painting. This is where the Sabbath, Satan's ball, will begin. You will come up with all the mysticism. When we were filming, there was no devilry.

Quotes from “The Master and Margarita”:

Yes, man is mortal, but that would not be so bad. The bad thing is that he is sometimes suddenly mortal, that's the trick! (Woland)

A brick will never fall on anyone’s head for no apparent reason. (Woland)

It is easy and pleasant to speak the truth. (Yeshua Ha-Nozri)

People are like people. They love money, but this has always been the case... Humanity loves money, no matter what it is made of, whether leather, paper, bronze or gold. Well, frivolous... well, well... ordinary people... in general, they resemble the previous ones ... the housing issue only spoiled them ... (Woland)
Congratulations, citizen, having lied! (Bassoon)

For mercy's sake... would I allow myself to pour vodka for the lady? This is pure alcohol! (cat Behemoth)
The most interesting thing about this lie is that it is a lie from the first to the last word. (Woland)

...never ask for anything! Never and nothing, and especially among those who are stronger than you. They will offer and give everything themselves! (Woland)

(Woland to Behemoth: Get out.) I haven’t had coffee yet, how can I leave? (cat Behemoth)

Manuscripts don't burn. (Woland)

It's nice to hear that you treat your cat so politely. For some reason, cats are usually called “you,” although not a single cat has ever drunk brotherhood with anyone. (cat Behemoth)

No document, no person. (Koroviev)

Maestro! Shorten the march! (Cat)

Beg them to leave me as a witch!.. I will not marry an engineer or a technician! (Natasha)
It's sometimes nice to linger on the festive midnight. (Woland)

...he wasn't verbose this time. The only thing he said was that among human vices, he considers cowardice to be one of the most important. (Aphranius, about Yeshua)

I don’t play pranks, I don’t hurt anyone, I fix the primus stove. (cat Behemoth)

Well, the one who loves must share the fate of the one he loves. (Woland)

There is only one freshness - the first, and it is also the last. And if the sturgeon is second freshness, then this means that it is rotten! (Woland)

In a white cloak with bloody lining, a shuffling cavalry gait, early morning On the fourteenth of the spring month of Nisan, the procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, entered the covered colonnade between the two wings of the palace of Herod the Great. (Author)

Everyone will be rewarded according to their faith. (Woland)

History will judge us. (cat Behemoth)

Housekeepers know everything - it is a mistake to think that they are blind. (cat Behemoth)

I will be a silent hallucination. (cat Behemoth)

After all, you think about how you can be dead. (Azazello).

He didn't deserve light, he deserved peace. (Levi about the Master).

Why chase after the footsteps of what is already over. (Woland).

Love jumped out in front of us, like a killer jumps out of the ground in an alley, and struck us both at once! That's how lightning strikes, that's how a Finnish knife strikes! (Master).

Yes, I give up,” said the cat, “but I give up solely because I can’t play in an atmosphere of bullying from envious people!” (cat Behemoth)

The time will come when there will be no power of Caesars or any other power. Man will move into the kingdom of truth and justice, where no power will be needed at all.

All power is violence against people.

The cat turned out to be not only solvent, but also a disciplined animal. At the first shout from the conductor, he stopped advancing, got off the step and sat down at the stop, rubbing his mustache with a ten-kopeck piece. But as soon as the conductress pulled the rope and the tram started moving, the cat acted like anyone who is expelled from the tram, but who still needs to go. Having let all three carriages pass by, the cat jumped onto the rear arch of the last one, grabbed some intestine coming out of the wall with its paw, and drove off, thus saving a dime.

Understood! - Ivan declared decisively, - I ask you to give me paper and a pen.
“Give me some paper and a short pencil,” Stravinsky ordered the fat woman, and told Ivan this: “But today I advise you not to write.”
“No, no, today, certainly today,” Ivan cried out in alarm.
- OK then. Just don't strain your brain. If it doesn’t work out today, it will work out tomorrow... And remember that here we will help you in every possible way, and without this nothing will work out for you. Do you hear?.. You will be helped here... can you hear me?.. You will be helped here... you will be helped here... You will get relief. It’s quiet here, everything is calm... They will help you here...

You know, I can’t stand noise, fuss, violence and all sorts of things like that. I especially hate human screams, be they a scream of suffering, rage, or some other scream.

Love jumped out in front of us, like a killer jumps out of the ground in an alley, and struck us both at once!
That's how lightning strikes, that's how a Finnish knife strikes!

No, no, no! Not another word! Under no circumstances and never! I won’t take anything in your buffet into my mouth! I, most respected one, passed by your stand yesterday and still can’t forget either the sturgeon or the feta cheese. My precious one! Cheese cheese is not green, someone deceived you. She's supposed to be white. Yes, for tea? After all, this is slop! I saw with my own eyes how some unkempt girl poured raw water from a bucket into your huge samovar, while the tea continued to be poured. No, my dear, that’s impossible!
The second freshness is nonsense! There is only one freshness - the first, and it is also the last. And if the sturgeon is second freshness, then this means that it is rotten!

Something evil lurks in men who avoid wine, games, the company of lovely women, and table conversation. Such people are either seriously ill or secretly hate those around them. True, exceptions are possible. Among the people who sat down with me at the banquet table, I sometimes came across amazing scoundrels!

...the darkness that came from the Mediterranean Sea covered the city hated by the procurator. The hanging bridges connecting the temple with the terrible Anthony Tower disappeared, an abyss fell from the sky and flooded the winged gods over the hippodrome, the Hasmonean palace with loopholes, bazaars, caravanserais, alleys, ponds... Yershalaim disappeared - the great city, as if it did not exist in the world...

“A cat is not supposed to have pants, sir,” the cat answered with great dignity, “won’t you order me to put on boots too?” Puss in Boots only happens in fairy tales, sir. But have you ever seen anyone at a ball without a tie? I don't intend to find myself in a comical position and risk being pushed into the neck!

Frankly speaking, I don't like latest news on the radio. They are always reported by some girls who mumble the names of places. in addition, every third of them is tongue-tied, as if such people were deliberately selected.

Why chop wood,” the talkative cat picked up, “I would like to serve as a conductor on a tram, and there’s nothing worse than this job in the world.”

“I am in admiration,” Koroviev sang monotonously, “we are in admiration, the queen is in admiration.”
“The Queen is delighted,” Azazello muttered behind his back.
“I’m delighted,” the cat cried.

Never ask for anything. Never ask for anything, and especially from those who are stronger than you. They will offer and give everything themselves!

I hereby certify that the bearer of this, Nikolai Ivanovich, spent the night mentioned at Satan’s ball, having been brought there as a means of transportation... put a parenthesis, Gella! Write "hog" in brackets. Signed - Behemoth.
- What about the number? - Nikolai Ivanovich squeaked.
“We don’t put numbers, with a number the paper will become invalid,” the cat responded, waved the paper, got a seal from somewhere, breathed on it according to all the rules, stamped the word “paid” on the paper and handed the paper to Nikolai Ivanovich.

Listen to the soundlessness,” Margarita said to the master, and the sand rustled under her bare feet, “listen and enjoy what you were not given in life - silence.” Look, there ahead is your eternal home, which was given to you as a reward. I can already see the Venetian window and the climbing grapes, it rises to the very roof. This is your home, your forever home. I know that in the evening those whom you love, whom you are interested in and who will not alarm you will come to you. They will play for you, they will sing to you, you will see the light in the room when the candles are burning. You will fall asleep, having put on your greasy and eternal cap, you will fall asleep with a smile on your lips. Sleep will strengthen you, you will begin to reason wisely. And you won’t be able to drive me away. I will take care of your sleep...

The novel is a prose narrative literary genre, which reflects fictional reality, revealing deep layers human life. No matter what type of novel you want to write - literary or commercial, romance or science fiction, war epic or family drama - you will need boundless creative energy and the ability to express yourself through your novel, patience to carry out your vision, because writing a novel is This is a painstaking and lengthy process that requires special perseverance and consistency in the process of editing and revision.

Steps

Creating a fictional world

Inspiration. Writing a novel is a creative process, and you never know when a good idea might strike you. Therefore, you should always be fully prepared and carry a notepad and pen with you so that you can write down ideas as they arise. You can feel inspired during your morning commute, or while enjoying a cup of coffee. Inspiration is unpredictable, so listen to your thoughts and try to capture them on paper so you don’t forget.
- To be a writer, you need to be in a state of inspiration for as long as possible. Sometimes, writers have a hard time generating ideas. Almost all writers face this problem, and inspiration is the best way her decisions.
- Inspiration doesn't have to be books. This could be a TV show, a movie, or even visiting an exhibition or art gallery. Inspiration comes in endlessly varied forms!
- Use your laptop to write down everything that comes to mind. These could be notes describing your observations, a few paragraphs, or even just fragmentary sentences that will later form the basis of your novel.
- Try to think about all the stories you've heard from people you know and love, from your great-grandmother's stories to TV news stories and even your childhood memories.
- Try to think about an event that happened in childhood or in the recent past that for some reason stuck in your memory. It could be mysterious death the women in your city, your neighbor's strange affection for his pets, or your trip to London that you keep thinking about. For example, the famous scene when the colonel, before being executed, remembers how his father took him to see the ice from the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude was based on Marquez's childhood memories.
- Some say that “you need to write about what you know well.” Others believe that you should "write about what you don't know." Come up with or think up something from your own life, what does not leave you indifferent, what excites you, awakens your inspiration, interests you, turns you on and try to develop this topic in more detail in the novel.
Select a genre. Not all novels fall neatly into specific categories, but it is very useful to determine from the very beginning which genre your work will fall into and which audience it will be aimed at. Try to read as much as possible classical works selected genre. This will give you an idea of how to construct a novel according to existing standards. And if you have not yet settled on a specific genre or are going to create something new, located at the intersection of different genres, then you will simply need to study all these styles and their characteristic features. Let's consider several possible options:
- The novel is a literary work imbued with a deep understanding of life, symbolism, which uses complex literary devices. Try to read more classic works of great novelists, guided by the list of “The 100 Best Books of World Literature” according to the newspaper “The Guardian”, which includes “100 Greatest Novels of All Time”.
- Commercial (or pulp) novels are created in order to, on the one hand, entertain the audience, and on the other, with the expectation of selling the maximum number of copies widely. genre range, starting from science fiction, mysticism and fantasy, and ending with thrillers, romance or historical novels. Many novels of this type are published in series and have predictable endings.
- There is no clear line between commercial and non-commercial novels. Many science fiction and thriller writers have created complex and profound works, which can rightfully be considered pearls classical literature. The fact that a novel is popular does not mean that it is low-quality and belongs to pop culture.
- You just need to read as much literature as possible in the genre in which you are going to write your novel. This will allow you to get a complete understanding of the traditions, rules and style of the genre in which you intend to self-realize and will help you in your work.
Consider the situation. After choosing a genre, you need to move on to choosing a location, which should not be limited to a city or village. It's all about your imagination, which is limitless and can take characters beyond the boundaries of the universe. The right choice The setting will determine the mood and tone of your novel, and will serve as the environment against which the plot will unfold. Think carefully about the following questions:
- Will the events of the novel unfold in a setting that is familiar to you?
- What time continuum is the plot of your novel based on? In the past, present or future?
- Will your novel take place on Earth or in space?
- Will the events take place in one city or area, or in several places?
- Determine the time frame of your story: month, year, decade, etc.?
- Will the ending be optimistic, or will the novel be full of pessimism?
Come up with character images. The most important and basic will be the main character, who should be as specific as possible, with recognizable features and worldview. The main characters don't have to be positive, but they do have to be connected to each other, and they have to be written in a way that makes them memorable. The reader must somehow associate himself with the main characters and find common ground with them. This is what attracts readers to literature.
- Remember that you don't have to like the characters, but they do have to interest you. For example, Humbert from the novel "Lolita", who may cause contempt, but he is somehow attractive and his personality is interesting to readers.
- A novel must have several main characters. Don't limit yourself to just one. Interest is generated by the same event told from different points of view.
- Secondary characters are designed to reveal and strengthen the personality of the main character, showing the environment in which he exists, in which he was formed as a person. Think about how you want your main characters to be when you surround them with supporting characters.
- At the same time, all the characters in your novel do not necessarily have to be fixed from the very beginning. They may appear as you write your novel, as you create your creation. Sometimes it happens that you start writing about someone whom you consider the main character, but he gradually fades into the background, giving way to another character. It all depends on your inner voice and inspiration. Trust him.
- Many writers write off their heroes from real people, trying to imagine myself in their place, even temporarily mentally turning into their heroes. Your characters should be detailed and exist in your mind as if they were alive. Then the reader will have a similar feeling that they see them in their mind’s eye.
Write down the plot. Most novels, regardless of genre and style, are based on some kind of conflict, which is aggravated, reaching an apogee and climax, and then resolved, moving to a denouement. This, however, does not mean that all novels must end with a happy ending. Rather, conflict helps reveal the characters' personalities more fully, motivating their behavior throughout your novel.
- There are no ready-made formulas for plotting. Although there is one win-win option, according to the scheme: exposition, plot, development, climax, denouement and postposition, prologue and epilogue (optional).
- You can also start with the main conflict and work backwards to show why the conflict arose. For example, you can start with a girl returning home from her father's funeral, and the reader travels in a kind of time machine, gradually plunging into the events that led to her father's death.
- Likewise, conflict does not have to be resolved. You can end the novel with an ellipsis, leaving a certain flair of understatement. This is a very interesting technique.
- The main thing is that the novel is not primitive and predictable. You can start the story in the present, then move to the future, periodically sending readers back to the past, or you can start in the past, then move to the future and end the action in the present. A good such “non-linear” novel is Julio Cortazar’s “Hopscotch” (Hopscotch).
- Re-read some of your favorite novels and try to determine what type of plot they are. Follow how the events in the novel develop and notice how much more interesting it is to read novels with a non-linear plot.
Decide on whose behalf the story will be told. Novels are usually written in the third or first person, although sometimes there are works written in the second person or a combination of them. If you choose first-person narration, you should tell everything as if you were one of the characters, using the pronouns “I” and “We.” Second-person narratives also create the sense that the author is a character, but use the pronouns "You" and "You." A striking example The works of Evgeniy Grishkovets are such a narrative. And finally, third-person narration allows you to be completely free, not limited by linguistic boundaries, use symbols and be, as it were, an outside observer.
- It is not at all necessary to decide from the very beginning on whose behalf the story will be told. You may write the first sentence, even several paragraphs or chapters, before you know what style works best for you.
- There are no strict ties between the style of the novel and the method of storytelling. But if you're writing a long, monumental, panoramic novel with a wide range of numerous characters, then third-person narration can be very useful and allows for the use of symbols lyrical digressions and similar literary devices.
You can start from scratch. Although sometimes it is useful to first come up with a plot, determine for yourself the characters, characters and place where the event unfolds. However, this is not a necessary preparatory procedure. If you start obsessing over preparation, you can get bogged down in details and minutiae without moving forward. Try to follow your inspiration, which may arise from a conversation you accidentally overheard in the grocery store, historical fact, or from my grandmother's story. This may be quite enough to start writing a novel, using this fact as the tip of a thread in a ball that you will gradually unwind, involving readers in a whirlpool of events.
- If you spend too much time in the preparatory stage, trying to think through every detail, then you will simply stifle your inspiration, wasting all your potential before you even start writing your novel.
Drafting a novel
1. First of all, make a plan or outline. Every writer has his own system for writing an outline. Creating a plan will help you define the main ideas and identify a chain of intermediate goals that will lead you to the realization of the final result. But if you prefer to write based solely on inspiration, then you can safely rely on your intuition until you discover that you need to organize your writing in some way. Everything is in your hands.
  - Your plan shouldn't be too straightforward. You can make short character sketches of all the characters, or create so-called Euler-Venn diagrams, which clearly show the common areas where the interests of different characters intersect.
  - Don't try to blindly follow your plan. Its function is to organize creative process, in giving it a gradient that will give a certain acceleration to the process of creating a novel. The plan can be adjusted at any time.
  - Sometimes an outline turns out to be much more useful in the later stages of writing a novel, turning into a kind of second wind if the writing has reached a dead end. Using a plan in this case, you can better understand the structure of the novel, where to move next, what is best to cut and where something needs to be added.
2. Try in the best possible way organize the process of writing a novel. Designate a specific place and time where and when you will work on your novel. It all depends on your priorities and preferences and you can do this at any time convenient for you. The most important thing is to understand that writing a novel is painstaking and difficult work, and that inspiration comes only in the process, and not while idlely waiting for a mythical insight.
  - If possible, organize workplace, where you will feel most comfortable and which will have the most beneficial effect on your creativity, without distractions. Make sure you have a chair and desk that will not cause back pain after working for long hours. Remember that writing a novel is a long process and often takes several months.
  - Some people prefer to snack while working, others drink coffee or tea. Try to determine what exactly your body needs for the most productive work: a hearty breakfast or, on the contrary, a light dinner. Again, everything is purely individual.
3. Do your own research. Try to find out as much as possible about the subject and object of your novel. Study the era you are writing about, the culture of the countries and traditions of the peoples mentioned in the novel, and so on). If you are writing a science fiction novel, then try to understand the essence of scientific concepts, read the works of futurologists. You'll need a little less research effort if you're writing a novel based on real events your life, but in any case, accuracy and plausibility are welcome.
  - Go to the library. There you can find a lot of interesting unique books and, in addition, the library is very convenient for working on writing a book.
  - Communicate with interesting and knowledgeable people on the issue that interests you. If you can't find necessary literature even in the library, then contact knowledgeable people who can advise you. Prepare the necessary questions in advance.
  - Sometimes the research process may include reading other novels similar to the one you are working on. For example, if you are writing a novel about World War II with a main character who is a French army soldier, read other novels written on the topic and from a different point of view. This, on the one hand, will allow you to avoid repetition, and on the other hand, it will enrich you with new information.
  - Studying the material can also influence the length and content of your novel. It is quite possible that in the process of studying you will have new storylines, or even entire chapters that complement the image of the main character.
4. Write the first draft of a novel. When you feel ready to get started, don't put it off and start writing your novel right away. There is no need to worry about the imperfection of the language, since this is just a draft that will later be polished and finalized. Write without self-criticism. The first draft doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be done. Remember that this is a blank, which, however, may well become the most convincing version.
  - Make it a habit to write every single day. More the better. You need to understand what you are undertaking. Many wonderful writers remain unnoticed and unknown only because they did not bother to bring the matter to its logical conclusion and write, as they say, in a drawer.
  - Set intermediate goals for yourself: write a chapter, a few pages, or a certain number of words every day. This will push you to be productive on a regular basis.
  - Additionally, you can set long-term goals for yourself. For example, complete writing the first draft in a year, or in six months. Determine the “End Date” and focus on it.
Editing a novel
1. You can write as many drafts of a novel as you like. If you are lucky, you will be able to achieve the desired result in three passes. Or maybe, to achieve the necessary plausibility, you will need more than a dozen different versions. It is very important to stop in time and first evaluate what you have written yourself, and then consult with others if it is difficult for you to decide whether the novel is ready or whether it makes sense to continue working. But if you rush and show the novel to others too early, you risk losing inspiration. Once you've written enough drafts, you can start editing.
  - When Hemingway was asked what was the most difficult thing about writing A Farewell to Arms (after rewriting it thirty-nine times), he replied, “Getting the words right.”
  - After you've written the first draft, take a break from the novel for a few weeks or even a few months, and try to relax and read your creation as if you were a reader. Which parts require detail and additional explanation? Which parts are too long and cause boredom?
  - Experience shows that if you skip overly long and tedious passages while reading, ordinary readers will do the same. Think about how you can make your novel more appealing to readers by cutting or editing some of the bulkier parts.
  - Each new draft or new revision may be aimed at eliminating one or more specific shortcomings. For example, you can write one completely new option with an emphasis on what will make it more attractive to the reader, and write another option taking into account the development and improvement of the plot line. The third version may be aimed at polishing the central part of the novel.
  - Repeat the process of creating edited versions over and over again until you have written text that you can proudly show to others. This may take a few months or a few years, but it certainly needs to be done. Be patient.
2. Train your editing skills. When you feel that you have achieved perfection, proceed to the next stage - reducing paragraphs or uninteresting sentences, from standard or repetitive phrases, or simply streamlining the lexical structure of the text. It is not necessary to edit and change every phrase - in any case, you will have to change them in later editions. Follow the general editing line until you achieve the desired result.
  - Print out your novel and read it out loud. Delete or revise anything that seems incorrect to you.
  - Do not skimp on removing paragraphs or entire chapters from the text. Mercilessly get rid of everything unnecessary. Remember the proverb: “What is written with a pen cannot be cut out with an ax.” In the sense that you can always use blocks that are unnecessary in a given context in other texts.
3. Show the printed text to other people. Start with a manuscript that you can trust and respect to people who are authorities for you, and only after that proceed to familiarize other readers with the novel. However, you will have to face a situation where your family and friends will not be completely honest with you when leaving their feedback, because they will not want to traumatize you with their criticism. Therefore, it is recommended to resort to one of the options below:
  - Sign up for writing workshops offered by colleges and educational centers. The seminar program includes an introduction to new works written by other writers, as well as discussion and careful analysis of the works read. Here you can get full, healthy criticism of your work.
  - Organize a writers club. If you know other people who also write novels, you can arrange to meet regularly with them to discuss and share experiences.
  - Don't take all criticism at face value. Listen to several critics before making your final decision.
  - If you're thinking about writing novels and feel like it could be your life's work, try to get a professional university degree in your field. fiction. Not only will you receive necessary knowledge from the best specialists in the field of literature and art, but you will also be able to get a detailed overview and analysis of your work.
4. Try to publish your novel. Many aspiring writers perceive their creation as a touchstone, a first pancake that is lumpy, and do not even dare to send it to publishers. However, if you feel confident enough in your abilities, you can contact a traditional book publishing house, an electronic online publishing house, or resort to the services of
  - If you decide to go the traditional route, it can be very helpful to find a literary agent who will represent your novel to various publishers. To do this, you will need to submit an application to a special organization with an annotation of your manuscript.
  - As for samizdat, there are a great many companies providing printing services, and they all have different levels and different specializations. Carefully review the product samples and only then choose what suits you best.
  - And if you don’t want to publish your novel, then you can put aside your work, take a break and, with a sense of accomplishment, begin writing a new work.
- If you don’t know how to continue the work you started, in which direction to develop the plot, imagine one of your characters standing behind you and telling you what they will do next.
- Write about what you like, give free rein to your imagination. For example, if you are a science fiction fan, you might not like the idea of writing a historical novel.
- “It is much better to write for yourself and publish your work than to write for publication and read your novel yourself.” Write as you like, enjoying the process, without thinking about the opinions of critics. Believe me, the readership is vast and diverse, and there is always a chance that if a work is written from the heart, sincerely, with love and interestingly, it will find its niche.
- Read a lot of books (especially those related to your chosen genre or the theme of your novel). Read before you start, during the process and after you finish. It is very useful and effective.
- Don't forget that your characters should be interesting, different and with life positions, different from your own. No one wants another Mary Sue, and while readers may accept some repetition, the author of a new novel should avoid this and strive for variety and originality.
- Don't wait for inspiration. It doesn't come out of nowhere. Writing is like digestion; if you haven't eaten anything, the system doesn't work. For example, you know when a writer suddenly has an idea, seemingly out of nowhere? When he has certain accumulations of observations, rotating and processed in the subconscious, and jumping out in the form of an idea, taking on verbal form. This may seem spontaneous, but in fact it works 100%, since such ideas are always original and interesting.
- There are a ton of different apps (eg Google Keep, Astrid Tasks) for smartphones, tablets, IPODs that can be very useful for recording and documenting those random ideas wherever they happen to you. For some mobile devices, office software packages such as suites or word have even been developed, which make it possible to write on the go.
- Spend some time choosing music that can be a source of inspiration, creating a special atmosphere and emotion that resonates with your story. Listen to your music library, trying to catch the right intonations. Make a list of songs and musical compositions, the sound of which fits into the concept of your novel or story, like a soundtrack to a film. This will help add the necessary emotional notes to the novel. In addition, you can try to write a chapter or part of it, trying to verbalize your feelings and emotions that arise from listening to this music.
- After some time after starting work, you should feel how well you are doing all this, how much writing a novel captures your imagination and captivates you. If you don't feel it right away, keep trying. various options. Sometimes it helps to listen to music not while writing a novel, but during breaks. Good and well-chosen music can become a kind of generator of ideas regarding the storyline, adding new colors and rhythm to your work.
- Start keeping a diary notebook or a notebook in which you can write down all your current thoughts. This is great for developing writing skills. Remember that this is your novel and if you want to radically change its theme, then feel free to do so, change storyline from the war in the Middle East to the conflict in high school. This can be done at any stage of writing a novel. Therefore, before you start a novel, make sure that what you are going to talk about is really interesting to you.
- Adhere to the principle of “not a day without a page,” regardless of inspiration.
- If you're having trouble developing a realistic character in your novel, here's what you can do: Communicate with him in your mind constantly. Wherever you are: in the grocery store, at work, in the mall, or even on the street, imagine that this character is with you and how he would behave in this or that particular situation. At the same time, note to yourself what they would do the same as you and how your behavior would differ.
- Sometimes everything about a character is perfect except for his name, which fits him like a saddle for a cow. Buy a book for expectant parents that contains a wide variety of names. In addition, there are numerous sites on the Internet that can generate names and/or explain their meaning. You can also try using an online translator to create new original names, formed as a translation of a famous word into English. This often gives the character a special charm and flair.
- To become a writer you need to be a reader, a listener of radio programs, and a viewer of TV shows. In addition, you need to travel, communicate a lot, go to parties, wander around the city... That is, you need to live a full life. Inspiration, how love can “unexpectedly appear” at any moment.
- Just because you like your story doesn't mean others will like it. Give the finished work to at least three or four reliable, trusted friends and acquaintances to read before sending the novel to the publishing house. Don't forget to file a copyright for your work, even if it's not finished yet.
- “Avoid clichés like the plague” (ironically, this useful and good advice is used so often that it has become a cliché itself). Using cliched expressions and cliched phrases always causes boredom and irritation.
- If you're a procrastinator, meaning you like to put things off, try taking part in NaNoWriMo, an event that brings together writers across the country to commit to writing 50,000 words over the course of a month. This is a good incentive to finish the novel. And, in general, writers tend to work better when they have a specific deadline for their novel.

“All happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” a famous work begins with this phrase Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy "Anna Karenina". Today this novel occupies a prominent place in the golden fund of world literature, but its creation was not at all easy for the author. He planned to write the book in just two weeks, but it ended up taking four years. In his hearts, the writer exclaimed: “I’m tired of my Anna like a bitter radish!”

According to literary scholars, the idea of creating the novel “Anna Karenina” was born to Tolstoy after reading one of the works of A. S. Pushkin. When the phrase “The guests were going to the dacha...” flashed before Lev Nikolayevich’s eyes, his imagination immediately began to draw the plot. As the writer himself noted: “I involuntarily, accidentally, without knowing why or what would happen, I conceived of people and events, began to continue, then, of course, I changed it, and suddenly it began so beautifully and coolly that a novel came out, which I have now finished in draft, the novel is very lively, hot and finished, with which I am very pleased and which will be ready, God willing, in two weeks.”

However, Tolstoy was unable to write Anna Karenina so quickly. From a family affair, the novel grew into a socio-psychological one. Tolstoy began work in 1873. When several chapters of the work were ready, the writer took them to the Russian Messenger publication. Now he had to write a continuation of the novel in time for the release of each issue.

Contemporaries recalled how difficult it was for Tolstoy. Often he set to work with inspiration, and it also happened that the writer shouted: “My Anna bores me like a bitter radish,” “Unbearably disgusting,” “My God, if only someone would finish Anna Karenina for me!” Only four years later the novel was ready.

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy was about to breathe a sigh of relief, but the editor of the Russian Messenger, Mikhail Katkov, did not like the epilogue, and he did not allow it to be published. Instead of an epilogue, a note appeared in the journal:

“In the previous book, under the novel “Anna Karenina,” “The ending follows.” But with the death of the heroine, the novel actually ended. According to the author’s plan, there would have been a short two-page epilogue, from which readers could learn that Vronsky, in confusion and grief after Anna’s death, goes as a volunteer to Serbia and that everyone else is alive and well, while Levin remains in his village and is angry at the Slavs. committees and volunteers. The author, perhaps, will develop these chapters for a special edition of his novel.”

Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy was more than once reproached for the fact that death main character turned out to be too cruel. The writer answered this quite wisely:
“One day Pushkin said to his friend: “Imagine what kind of thing my Tatyana did. She got married. I didn’t expect this from her.” I can say the same about Anna. My heroes do what they should do in real life, and not what I want.”

Literary scholars are still guessing about who became the prototype for the main character. Describing the appearance of Anna Karenina, Tolstoy imagined the daughter of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin: “Her hairstyle was invisible. Only noticeable, decorating her, were these willful short rings of curly hair, always sticking out at the back of her head and temples. There was a string of pearls on the chiseled strong neck.”

Tolstoy was aware of the family drama of his close friends, in which his wife filed for divorce and remarried. This was an unheard of resonance at that time.

About a year before work on the novel began, not far from Yasnaya Polyana A certain Anna Stepanovna Pirogova threw herself under the train, abandoned by her lover. The mutilated corpse made a strong impression on Tolstoy.

Thousands of readers eagerly awaited each issue of the Russian Messenger, however modern critics wrote dozens of angry reviews of Anna Karenina. Nikolai Nekrasov even sent Tolstoy a scathing epigram:

Tolstoy, you proved with patience and talent,
That a woman should not “walk”
Neither with the chamber cadet, nor with the aide-de-camp,
When she is a wife and mother."

"Anna Karenina" is considered the most filmed work of Russian literature. A