Book Club Connection Read an Exclusive Intro to Stephenie Meyer's 'The Host' Listen up, Twilight fans: There's a new obsession-worthy movie coming to theaters near you! Stephenie Meyer, the famed author behind the uber-successfulTwilight books, is taking another of her novels to the big screen.The film adaptation of her 2008 bestseller The Host -- which starsThe Lovely Bones actress Saoirse Ronan -- will hit theaters in March 2013. And while the film's release is still months away, we have a special treat to tide you over. Celeb Authors: Coming to a Kids' Bookstore Near You Your favorite actor, singer or chef may be moonlighting as a children's book author! What We're Reading Now Overwhelmed by your bookstore's shelves? Our 21 Best Thanksgiving Appetizers: Chat and Chew on These! Thanksgiving appetizers should help buy the cook some extra time in the kitchen, but without filling everyone up before the big feast. Worried Cinderella Will Eat Your Daughter? Sponsored: ONE FOR THE MONEY - A Reader's Guide
A Simple Novel Outline – 9 questions for 25 chapters « H.E. Roulo Just as every tree is different but still recognizably a tree, every story is different but contains elements that make it a story. By defining those before you begin you clarify the scope of your work, identify your themes, and create the story you meant to write. At Norwescon 2011 I sat in on a session called Outline Your Novel in 90-minutes led by Mark Teppo. Here are the 9 questions to create a novel: 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.) 8.) 9.) Now, with those 9 questions answered to your satisfaction, try to fill in a 25 chapter, 75,000 word outline. Chapters 7-18 are the middle of your book. Chapters 19-25 depict the heroic act to victory. Wasn’t that easy? Okay, sure, the work isn’t done yet. Using the idea that there are 25 chapters, I outlined my current work in progress. I hope that was helpful. Tell me what works for you. Related 6 Steps to Masterful Writing Critiques June 7, 2013 In "Writing Tips" 8 Novel Editing Steps - The Basic Overview Writers love to write. December 2, 2011 In "News"
Novel Outlining 101 Concept: To create a weblog post that presents a simple method of outlining a novel. Plan: Demonstrate the method by using it to outline the post, then use the outline to write the post itself. Prologue: Outlining DemoPart One: Introduction to Novel Outlining, Definitions, PurposePart Two: Examples of Outlined Scenes, Chapters and PartsPart Three: Common problems, Suggested Resolutions, FinaleEpilogue: Links to other posts and articles on novel outlining at PBW and elsewhere I. Novel Outlining A novel outline is a story plan, written in the abbreviated form of a traditional outline with headings and subheadings. An outline is valuable in a couple of ways: it creates a map of your novel, so you know where you're going when you write. An outline need not be lengthy or contain all the details of your story. II. The beginning of this post is the outline I wrote of it. Angel's Darkness by Temperance Rising -- Section Outline I. A. B. C. D. E. I. A. B. C. D. I. A. B. C. D. 1. a. III.
Lightning Bug Charles Bukowski "Hank Chinaski" - An introduction to Los Angeles' Grittiest, Greatest Writer Easy Novel Outline – Free Writing Lessons and Worksheets Here you'll find easy novel outline techniques to plan your book step by step, along with worksheets for planning characters and scenes. This is just one of many pages on this website with creative writing worksheets and advice. At the bottom, you'll find links to related pages on how to write a novel. An outline for your novel A novel outline is a plan for a novel. If you are doing this for yourself and not for an editor, then the good news is there are no rights or wrongs. Why outline your novel? It can make it less intimidating to start writing. Advertisement: Dangers of a novel outline A reason some writers prefer not to work with a detailed outline is that they feel that the outline stifles their creativity and makes them less spontaneous. Top tips for your novel outline Know yourself, and figure out the method that works best for you. A simple way to outline Here is an easy system you can use to outline your novel if you find it helpful. Who will be your main character? Examples:
Writing The Perfect Scene: Advanced Fiction Writing Tips Having trouble making the scenes in your novel work their magic? In this article, I’ll show you how to write the “perfect” scene. Maybe you think it’s impossible to write the perfect scene. After all, who can choose every word perfectly, every thought, every sentence, every paragraph? What does perfection mean, anyway? Honestly, I don’t know. But structure is pretty well understood. The Two Levels of Scene Structure A scene has two levels of structure, and only two. The large-scale structure of the sceneThe small-scale structure of the scene This may seem obvious, but by the end of this article, I hope to convince you that it’s terribly profound. Before we begin, we need to understand how we keep score. Your reader is reading your fiction because you provide him or her with a powerful emotional experience. If you fail to create these emotions in your reader, then you have failed. Large-Scale Structure of a Scene The large-scale structure of a scene is extremely simple. GoalConflictDisaster
Write or Die by Dr Wicked Book Club Buddy - Where book readers and authors connect and book clubs thrive! Fleshing Out Your Plot Have you asked yourself "What is a plot?" or "Why is a plot important for my story?" a carefully crafted plot will make your story impossible to put down. There are many ways to put the meat on the bones of your plot skeleton, also known as a plot outline. What is a plot? A "plot," in simple terms, is a complication and the complication's resolution. Don't lose the focus of your manuscript The most important thing in fleshing out your plot is that you maintain focus. Detective X arrives at the scene of a crime and is charged with catching the killer (this is the complication). For example, let's say the rookie has botched something up in the past and now Detective X doesn't trust his partner's abilities or insights. Don't be general! In this vein, the plot of "the story of Character X's life" is never a good plot because it lacks the focus that keeps the story and interest going. Know when to stop One of the most common issues that we encounter is plot overkill. Permalink
One-Page Plotting One of my writer friends (you know who you are) dared me to simplify a plot worksheet down to one page that would work for all story lengths and genres. Of course I couldn't resist the challenge, so here it is (I plotted John & Marcia's story to demonstrate how to use it): Plot Worksheet Title: Angel’s Darkness Main Conflict: John, a half-demon cop, and Marcia, a half-angel librarian, must stop a demon from using a mystical diamond that has the power to open the gates of Hell. Subplots: John must accept or reject his demonic side. Marcia must accept or reject her human side. The demon falls in love with Marcia, and must choose to destroy the world or rule over it with Marcia at his side. Main Story Events: John and Marcia meet on the night the demon steals the diamond; the demon uses Marcia to smuggle the diamond away from its guardian. The demon forces John and Marcia to go on the run in order to protect the diamond and evade his attacks.