How I Went From Writing 2,000 Words a Day to 10,000 Words a Day When I started writing The Spirit War (Eli novel #4), I had a bit of a problem. I had a brand new baby and my life (like every new mother's life) was constantly on the verge of shambles. I paid for a sitter four times a week so I could get some writing time, and I guarded these hours like a mama bear guards her cubs - with ferocity and hiker-mauling violence. To keep my schedule and make my deadlines, I needed to write 4000 words during each of these carefully arranged sessions. But (of course), things didn't work out like that. Needless to say, I felt like a failure. When I told people at ConCarolinas that I'd gone from writing 2k to 10k per day, I got a huge response. So, once and for all, here's the story of how I went from writing 500 words an hour to over 1500, and (hopefully) how you can too: A quick note: There are many fine, successful writers out there who equate writing quickly with being a hack. Update! Side 1: Knowledge, or Know What You're Writing Before You Write It
20 Tips For Writing a Captivating Short Story (Part 1) by Mindy Halleck Today, as I edit, trim, cut, and otherwise obliterate a short story I wrote that ended up to be 8,000 words, but needs to be 5,000 words, I am reminded of this quote: “Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short.” -Henry David Thoreau Wise man. I thought I’d share some editing tips this morning, not so much for you as for me. I will share these tips in three concurring post over the next two weeks. Anyway . . . drum roll . . . . Writing short stories is a great way to investigate diverse genres, characters, settings, and voices. Here are some editing tips that hopefully will keep you from banging your head on the editing desk. Watch your word count. Check out part 2 for the rest of the tips! Mindy Halleck is an award winning author who lives in the Pacific Northwest. Like this: Like Loading...
Truths About Fiction The following essay was previewed in the class that Stephen Graham Jones taught for LitReactor, Your Life Story Is Five Pages Long. 1. The reader should never have to work to figure out the basics of your story. Who’s whose wife or husband, what the time period is if that matters, why these people have broken into this house, and on and on, just the basic, ground-level facts about your story. 2. Meaning you don’t have to lay every last detail of every last thing out. The best writers are the ones who can cover the most distance with the fewest words. 3. It can be as simple as if the story opens with what feels like a dramatic frame—two people sitting by a fireplace, talking over brandy—then we already expect the story to circle back to that fireplace. 4. You open with a hook, of course—the title—then you hook with the first line, then, usually at the end of the first paragraph, you set that hook. 5. They’re not reading so you can render for them their already quotidian lives. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Fictional Culture The way I build worlds is by collecting cool stuff from the history, myth and people around me. I blend these details with my own imagination, and create my own cultures. Culture is a vital part to realistic worldbuilding. Normally there are a few particular cultures that interest me at a given time. I read whatever I can find about them, their environment, their traditions and their myths. The interesting details filter into the new world I’m creating (example: at one time, Venetian widows could only remarry on the stroke of midnight). In the long term, there is nothing more inspiring and challenging than visiting foreign cultures yourself (especially if you can get far beyond your comfort zone to do it). But reading (non-fiction, myth/legend/fairytales, as well as the classics like Dune and Lord of the Rings) and watching documentaries/films can get you a long way toward filling up on your inspiration tank. What is the most important ideal to this culture as a whole? Like this:
MASTER LIST of Physical Descriptions! | Bryn Donovan Sometimes it can be hard to find the right words to describe individual facial features, faces in general, bodies, and even hair. I’m hoping this post will be a good resource for describing the looks of characters in your story. Before I get to the long list, I have a couple of notes and words of advice: When you’re in a character’s POV, their attitude toward another character’s appearance may change over the course of the story as their relationship to that character changes. A classic case in point: Mr. Don’t rely too much on attractiveness or ugliness to make me as a reader like or dislike a character. Some of these phrases are more expected than others, and whether you care is up to you. Okay, here we go! Eyes – General I’m focusing here on physical descriptions rather than emotional expressions, though there’s a little crossover. large small narrow sharp squinty round wide-set close-set deep-set sunken bulging protruding wide hooded heavy-lidded bedroom bright sparkling glittering flecked dull bleary rheumy
Practical Creative Writing for inspiration, tips and information The Subplot - Not Second Place, but Side by Side There is one element in plotting our story that we sometimes forget or neglect—the subplot. The subplot is what rounds out a novel or screenplay, informing it with another shade of emotional colour to deliver a satisfying and entertaining experience. It is the parallel narrative that allows the writer to explore theme, deepen characterisation, add tension or allow some relief. The subplot helps us understand the characters a bit better and gives a better sense of pace. Love and other pursuits. In a thriller, the love story is often the subplot. A great subplot should help you sustain your plot and illuminate the central characters. Start writing your book with our Writers Write - how to write a book - course. by Anthony Ehlers Anthony has facilitated courses for Writers Write since 2007.
the basic plots in literature Example Questions That Can Be Answered Using This FAQ I’ve heard there are only 7 (or 5, 20, 36…) basic plots (or themes) in all of literature. What are they? People often say that there are only a certain number of basic plots in all of literature, and that any story is really just a variation on these plots. 1 Plot | 3 Plots | 7 Plots | 20 Plots | 36 Plots 1 Plot: Attempts to find the number of basic plots in literature cannot be resolved any more tightly than to describe a single basic plot. 3 Plots: Foster-Harris. "’Type A, happy ending’"; Foster-Harris argues that the "Type A" pattern results when the central character (which he calls the "I-nitial" character) makes a sacrifice (a decision that seems logically "wrong") for the sake of another 7 Plots 7 basic plots as remembered from second grade by IPL volunteer librarian Jessamyn West: [wo]man vs. nature [wo]man vs. 20 Plots: Tobias, Ronald B. 20 Master Plots. 36 Plots Polti, Georges.
33 Ways to Write Stronger Characters (and why they should be your #1 concern) — She's Novel 21. Find their gender. In most cases, your character's gender matters less than you would think. Just because you had a male protagonist in mind doesn't mean that they would be the best choice for your novel, or vice versa. Take the time to consider everything your character will go through. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. Who were they in the beginning? That is your character's story. Not 32 individual statements, but one incredible story of was and is and will become. Feeling inspired to strengthen your own characters? How a Scene List Can Change Your Novel-Writing Life By the end of this post you will have a nagging urge to use an excel spreadsheet. Don’t make that face—I know you’re a writer and not a data analyst. Or if you are a data analyst—I get that you’re on this blog to get away from your day job. But guess what? Creating a scene list changed my novel-writing life, and doing the same will change yours too. Scene Lists Help You Plan I tried to write a novel once before without planning in advance. I used the Snowflake Method, which consists of several steps to designing a novel that we can discuss at a later date. Today we’re focusing on a particular step: the creation of a scene list. What is a scene list? It’s literally a list of the scenes in your novel in an excel spreadsheet. Column 1: POV. The particulars can be revised at your convenience, but that’s how I set it up. For me, this step was incredibly helpful. 3 Examples of Scene Lists from Famous Authors Want a better idea of what your scene list might look like? 1. 2. 3. What did I do?
21 Writing Prompts for Setting a Scene in Your Novel When you’re writing (or rewriting) a scene, do you ever get the feeling you just don’t have enough to say? Sure, there’s the action–but what about all the extra bits meant to flesh out your story? While I don’t encourage overwriting for the sake of word count, meaningful details can help you establish setting and atmosphere. Last week, I sat down with John Banville’s Booker Prize winning novel, The Sea–a book that features prose I admire–and took careful notes about how the author managed to effectively set certain scenes. I would not swim again, after that day. From this passage, I know the narrator is remembering something unpleasant from his past, and the imagery foreshadows what happens later in the story. Based on my reading, the following are 21 writing prompts for creating depth in your prose: Where does the scene take place? Obviously, you don’t want to incorporate all 21 of these ideas into each and every scene, or your reader would become exhausted, quickly.
How to Write a Plot Outline: Infographic Learning how to write a plot outline is an essential skill if you want to become a prolific author. Whether you find the distant target of reaching a substantial word length or the creation of a satisfying, forward-moving plot daunting, if you write a plot outline for your novel in advance you will have a blueprint that you can alter if necessary as you go. Our previous post on the subject suggested 7 ways you can outline your novel. Click image to view full size Once you have your outline written, the matter of writing your first draft remains. The Hero’s Journey Kansas University’s Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction has a useful page featuring a number of infographics that expand on the mythologist Joseph Campbell’s plot structure theory, ‘The Hero’s Journey’. 10 Rules for Writing First Drafts Over at Copyblogger, Demian Farnworth put together this poster that gives the 10 cardinal rules for getting the first rough draft of your manuscript finished.