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10 Ways to Start Your Story Better

10 Ways to Start Your Story Better
The sentence you are currently reading has the potential to brand itself indelibly upon our cultural consciousness and to alter the course of Western Civilization. OK, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But what author doesn’t dream of crafting an opening line that will achieve the iconic recognition of “Call me Ishmael,” or the staying power of “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth …”? In writing, as in dating and business, initial reactions matter. You don’t get a second chance, as mouthwash commercials often remind us, to make a first impression. This post is by Jacob M. So it’s unfortunate that opening sentences frequently receive short shrift in writing workshops. Think of every opening line you write as a pebble tossed down a mountainside: The stone may jolt back and forth within a limited path, building up force, but the trajectory of its initial release largely determines its subsequent route. Here are 10 ways to do it. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Related:  dianemarycowan2

7 Essential Elements of Character Creation Last week Nikki Jefford requested a post on developing characters. There are many different approaches toward developing characters for a story. Last year I wrote a post on different ways to get to know your characters which might help anyone getting started. The techniques I included were the use of visual aids, character questionnaires and family trees. Each author needs to find the technique that works for them. No matter what method an author chooses to adopt, there are a number of elements that are essential to include in the creation of every character: The name: Many writers will start with a name and build on the character from there. The appearance: There are a lot of factors to consider for the appearance of a character: their height and build, how they project themselves, if they have any scars or tattoos, and so much more. The motivation: The easiest way I get to know my characters is to find out what drives them. --I was recently tagged by Tiffany Garner.

Six Ways to Start the Writing Process Whether it’s for a school assignment or for a novel manuscript, everybody writes. For many people, however, writing often becomes a chore: time-consuming, demanding, and unsatisfactory. The problem is that most people don’t stop to think how to write. Just as there are steps to solving an algebraic equation, there are several steps that can be followed to produce a more satisfactory essay or story, some more obvious than others. Perhaps the most tricky part of writing is figuring out how to begin. First, decide what you actually want to write. Make sure you’re interested in what you’re writing. Outline the basics of what you’re trying to get done. Outlining also helps with creative writing: even though creativity can’t be forced, it helps immensely to have a general idea of what’s going on in your story. Stop everything else and concentrate on writing. If your piece is a long one, this might not be entirely possible. Lower your standards. Take your time before revising.

How Much of My World Do I Build? First, let me say that worldbuilding is an essential skill for every writer, regardless of genre. Not all writers need to concentrate on all areas of worldbuilding, but every writer must do some worldbuilding if he hopes to have a novel that is coherent, consistent, and real. Second, writers seem to come in three varieties — those who really have no idea what worldbuilding is or why they should bother with it; those who do know, but figure they’ll wing the details as they go; and those obsessive folks who secretly believe that they really can’t start the book until the whole planet is in place. I’ve spent time in all three camps — most of my time in the last one. The system works. Build only what you need; imply the rest. What do you need? A — Special physics It used to be that the only places where you might run into special physics were in SF and fantasy novels. If you require special physics, however, you must now answer the following questions. Special Physics — Matrin Magic On to step F.

02 Know How to Write a Short Story I LOVED your golfing story. Read every word. You're a wonderful writer. (Peter Bowerman, the Well-Fed Writer) Big Things rule! ... and the video of the Airbus is great. Having enjoyed reading your biographical, They can't take that away from me... Writers' Resources Vocabulary Resource Centre Travel Writing Test Your Skills Help for Writers Help for Students Help for Parents Help for Businesses Help with Resumes About Write101 About Australia Make Music Just for Fun Privacy Policy The French language has always appealed to me ... so I enjoyed Lavinia's experiences en France! I am an American and an expat here since 1990. Who said Aussies would bet on two flies crawling up a wall? I enjoy reading your page every week, Jennifer, it's never boring and there's always something to bring a smile to my face! Thanks for pitching in to help clarify the English Language for and with us. Your story about the evil glasses made my day :) (Edith, Derbyshire, UK) Aah! Read more testimonials ... by Jennifer Stewart

How To Write a Death Scene | Writerly Life People often visit Creative Writing Corner searching for answers about how to write a death scene, so it’s about time that I gave my thoughts about it. I was first given the assignment to write a death scene as a stand-alone piece when I was a freshman in college, in my very first creative writing class. I chose to write a creative non-fiction piece about a relative of mine. For someone witnessing the death of a beloved person, the scene is not just about the way the person is going. After the jump: more things to do in a death scene. It’s very easy to get cheesy in a death scene, instantly robbing your story of its tenderness and emotion. What made people respond to my written piece and call it poignant weren’t the heavy-handed bits or the sweeping generalizations, but the details. These are a few tips for writing a death scene in your own story or novel.

Fiction-Writing Tips from Novel & Short Story Writer's Market The 2015 Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market, now in its 34th year, is hot off the presses, and today I’m sharing ten pieces of advice from the contributors to this year’s edition. NSSWM features articles on fiction craft, getting published, and marketing and promotion, as well as more than 400 pages of listings for novel and short story writers, including literary agents, book publishers, magazines, and contests that are interested in your work. This year’s edition also features access to an exclusive webinar from best-selling author Cheryl St.John, on exploring emotional high points in fiction. To celebrate the release of the 2015 NSSWM, I’m giving away two copies to two lucky winners who comment in the post below! 1. “Outline, even if it’s the most rudimentary way. 2. “Rich dialogue can animate and drive a scene. 3. “Ever since I began writing, I’ve been a collector. 4. “A mid-draft slump is a symptom, which calls for a diagnosis before you can effectively treat it. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Creating a Realistic Fantasy World by Penny Ehrenkranz Did you ever wonder how David Eddings, Terry Brooks, Orson Scott Card, Stephen King, Piers Anthony, or J. R. R. Tolkien created their worlds? Creating your fantasy world means building a world based upon reality and making sure that your reader knows the rules of that world. J. How do you go about creating a reality that readers will accept as readily? Defining the Physical World Defining your locale can be a good place to start. Orson Scott Card began his fantasy novel, Hart's Hope, by designing a map. Instead of a map (or in addition to it), you may prefer to jot down descriptions of places you will need to use in your story. Defining the Rules of Magic Magic is often the key in fantasy. In Terry Brooks' Magic Kingdom of Landover series, wizards and witches have innate power. Your society will be structured around the question of who has magic and who doesn't. Piers Anthony's Apprentice Adept series offers are two parallel worlds. Defining a Consistent Reality

Short Story Ideas and Creative Writing Prompts Here are lots of short story ideas that you can use as writing prompts. Use these story starters on their own or to get ideas for the CWN online writing courses. You'll also find links to more creative writing prompts at the bottom of the page. Any of these ideas can be used either humorously or dramatically... or you can try both. Have fun! Do you like this page? Story ideas - three elements Choose a set of three elements and write a story that contains all three of them! Extreme challenge: combine three of the elements with one of the other short story ideas on this page. A stolen ring, fear of spiders, and a sinister stranger. More short story ideas Challenge: 4 stories in 4 weeks using these short story ideas. Extreme challenge: Why not write a book of short stories? A babysitter is snooping around her employer's house and finds a disturbing photograph... Even more short story ideas Your character starts receiving flowers and anonymous gifts. And still more short story ideas

How to Plot a Character Driven Book in 3 Easy Steps | Historical Romance Author Robyn DeHart, Legend Hunters , Ladies Amateur Sleuth Society Theme & Premise: Or How to Plot a Character Driven Book in 3 Easy Steps It is said that there are two types of writers: plotters and seat of the pants writers (or fly into the mist writers). Obviously the majority of us fall somewhere in between. I’m a serious plotter, one of those scene-by-scene plotters who knows primarily everything that will happen in the rough draft. Step 1 – THEME. To define your theme, you need to know what theme is, so what is theme? But how do you come up with a theme out of thin air, especially if you’re doing this with a book you haven’t even written yet? So now you have your theme, let’s move on to Step 2 – PREMISE/CHARACTER LESSON. This is the biggie for me when I’m doing my prewriting. Character lesson or premise is just what it sounds like: what does your character need to learn? Which brings me right into Step 3 – CHARACTER ARC. Now comes the plotting. That’s it. As for you plotters out there, I recommend using this from the very beginning.

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