Plotting Your Novel. By Lee Masterson "By failing to plan, you are planning to fail. " A good story is made up of a logical beginning, a bumpy middle and a satisfying end. But a good plot is made up of more than just these three basics. Plotting an entire novel is a complex task, best summed up by saying it is the author's way of showing the reader the events as they are unfolding. A successful plot depends largely on how the author chooses to display those events as they unfold. A carefully crafted plot-line, interwoven with clever characterizations, tightly written dialogue and enough action to hold a reader's attention are only some of the factors which determine whether a book is a memorable journey, or merely a story moving through the motions from start to finish. Let's look at some of the ingredients you will need to include into a successful plot-line. The Hook You must lure the reader into wanting to continue deeper into your fictional world by introducing some form of action at the outset.
Characters. Top Questions for Fictional Characters -- Questions to Help in Creating Characters. Creating the more complex round characters takes time -- time spent thinking about how your characters look, where they're from, and what motivates them, for instance. The questions below provide structure to this all-important thought process. While the reader will not need to know all the details, it's important that you do. The better you know your characters, the more realistic your story or novel will end up being. 1. Where does your character live?
Michael Adams ("Anniversaries in the Blood"), the novelist and writing professor, believes that setting is the most important element of any story. 2. In a similar vein, where did your character's life begin? 3. Though this might seem like an obvious question, it's important to make a clear decision about this before you begin writing -- otherwise, it's impossible to get the details right. 4. Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Relationships -- how people interact with others -- reveal character. 10. Creating an Original Character. By Maisha Foster-O'Neal You've heard the old maxim before... 'a character can make or break your story.' Okay, okay, so you want to write an interesting character.
You've got some plot ideas, you know a little bit about your world, but now you need your characters. And not just any old characters - no, these have got to be the most original, most interesting characters your reader will ever come across. Ah yes, such is the desire of all writers. Enough already! Before we dive into Creating Original Characters, I'd like to offer a disclaimer. Disclaimer: I don't claim to know everything about writing.
Note: There is already an excellent tutorial about writing the Villain, so I won't make specific references to writing an antagonist. The Basics of Characters The first thing about characters - They are just one facet of a good story. Character Creation: Little Exercises Open up a phonebook and pick out a name, and write a description of that person based only on their name. A note on Romance. Creating a character profile. When you get an idea for a short story or a novel you probably get the basic idea of the characters with it. But in order to build believable characters you need more than just a basic idea of them. You need to really them. The easiest way to flesh out a character is with a character profile, so get out a blank sheet of paper and follow the sample profile below. NAME: Put your characters full name - first, last, and any nicknames that he goes by.
BIOGRAPHY: Write a description of your character's life; past and present. AGE: If you don't know the exact age of your character then you can put it's approximation, such as late thirties, mid-twenties etc. HEIGHT: How tall is your character? WEIGHT: You probably won't know your character's exact weight, but I'm sure you can guess its approximate one. BODY TYPE: Is he wiry and agile, or does he work out and his body is the proof? FACE TYPE: Is your character baby faced, or does he have a sharp, chiseled bone structure? Editor's Blog. Synonym Finder » Find synonyms, antonyms & definition for (almost) any word. 50 Free Resources That Will Improve Your Writing Skills - Smashing Magazine.
Advertisement Today, too many websites are still inaccessible. In our new book Inclusive Design Patterns, we explore how to craft flexible front-end design patterns and make future-proof and accessible interfaces without extra effort. Hardcover, 312 pages. Get the book now! Effective writing skills are to a writer what petrol is to a car. Of course, effective writing requires a good command of the language in which you write or want to write. Further Reading on SmashingMag: Link We collected over 50 useful and practical tools and resources that will help you to improve your writing skills. 1.
Use English Punctuation Correctly6 A quick and useful crash course in English punctuation. HyperGrammar7 An extensive electronic grammar course at the University of Ottawa’s Writing Centre. Grammar Girl8 Mignon Fogarty’s quick and dirty tips for better writing. English Style Guide – Economist16 This guide is based on the style book which is given to all journalists at The Economist. 2. Dr. 3. 4. 5. 6. Amy Redwood. Over time, I came across quite a few websites for aspiring writers. Some of them I bookmarked, so I thought I’d share my collection (all external links).
Introduction to Fiction Writing and Reading Short Stories Advanced Essay Workshop MIT OpenCourseWare: free undergraduate writing courses online. Course topics include everything from writing fiction, poems and essays to analyzing all forms of literature. No registration is required. Start writing Fiction This unit will give you an insight into how writers create characters and settings. Poetry (podcast) to introductions of elements of poetry through reading, analysis and discussion.
Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy: Free online course from an author for aspiring writers. I Should Be Writing — The podcast covers writing’s daily challenges, from brainstorming to outlining, self-publishing, or writing queries. Creative Writing Podcast — The Podcast at AmericanWriters.com is designed to help writers of all levels create better fiction. Conflict. 10 New Ideas for Getting Inspired to Write.