Writing The Perfect Scene 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

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?

How to Write a Character Sketch: Learning More About Your Characters’ Motivations and Personalities Regardless of the type of writing you are doing, knowing who your characters are and knowing them well will add greatly to your work. Understanding your characters’ personalities through a character sketch helps you to understand where they are coming from and what motivates them. This, in turn, helps you understand what drives all of the action in your work, and the clearer this is, the easier your audiences will be able to connect with your writing. But how do you go about writing a character sketch? There are numerous ways to go about it. What follows is a look at a few different methods for exploring your characters. Interview Your Characters Perhaps the most straightforward way of getting to know who your characters are and what drives them is by asking them outright in an interview. It may seem like a very obvious or banal exercise, but even minor details will help you understand who your character is. Write a Character Monologue Write a Day-in-the-Life Character Sketch

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

Fiction Writer's Character Chart - EpiGuide.com If you're a fiction writer -- whether you're working on a novel, short story, screenplay, television series, play, web series, webserial, or blog-based fiction -- your characters should come alive for your reader or audience. The highly detailed chart below will help writers develop fictional characters who are believable, captivating, and unique. Print this page to complete the form for each main character you create. IMPORTANT: Note that all fields are optional and should be used simply as a guide; character charts should inspire you to think about your character in new ways, rather than constrain your writing. If this character chart is helpful, please let us know! Looking for more character questionnaires / charts?

Omniscient Person Point of View — The Writer’s Craft Basically, omniscient point of view means that the story is told from an all-seeing God-like, omnipotent viewpoint. You would use third person pronouns in the writing, but you can choose to dip into the head of any of the characters and reveal things that have occurred in the past or will happen in the future. This was once a very popular method of storytelling. It is less so now, especially in the North American market. Still there are some cases where this can add extra dimension to your writing when done well. The trouble is that each character must have a distinctive voice so that the reader is never at a loss as to whose head he is in at the moment. Limited Omniscient Viewpoint As I mentioned, true omniscient viewpoint is very rare, but limited omniscient is often useful for modern writers. Limited omniscient basically means that while you have a God-like perspective of the story, you limit yourself to being in one character’s head at a time. Considerations

Plotting Made Easy - The Complications Worksheet Want to create a book readers can't put down? A book you'll itch to write? A protagonist you'll love? An antagonist who will give you shivers? And (simultaneously) the first draft of a synopsis you can send to literary agents? Like many writers struggling with the question of how to create a good book, I've spun my mental wheels researching and experimenting with different methods of plotting: outlining versus free writing versus turning points versus notecards versus snowflake method etc. It works equally well in developing a first draft and in checking that the draft you've written has enough story behind it to hold together. Try the Complications Worksheet as a thinking tool. ACT ONE – Separation (Adult, Long YA: 30 to 35K Words/YA: 20K Words/MG: 6.5K to 13K) 1. What is the opening image that will stick in the reader’s mind? ACT TWO - Descent (Adult, Long YA: 25 to 30K Words/YA: Words 16K Words/MG: 5.5K to 11K) 1. Who are the following characters:Additional Allies? 1. 1. Martina

Setting of a story — The Writer’s Craft The following exercises will allow you to create a rich, vibrant setting of a story, giving the reader the full vicarious experience. 1. Use the setting worksheet we have provided. Sit in a quiet place, close your eyes and imagine a particular setting for your scene. 2. You can do this in any setting-—the mall, the grocery store, a bar, a city street. 3. 4. 5. 6. Character ExercisesCreative Writing Exercises

Third Person Point of View — The Writer’s Craft Enrollment Limited Sherry Wilson's step-by-step method helped me organize my thoughts and transform a simple idea into a full-fledged plot. Without her help and guidance, I'd still be walking around with just another "great idea for a story." Thanks to Sherry, though, I've published three novels and know there are more on the way! ~ Debi Faulkner, Summoning, LilyPad Princess and Murphy's Law "Sherry is extremely professional and knowledgeable in this field. As well as being technically proficient in many styles, she also possesses a rich imagination, offering suggestions and alternatives in a way that doesn't impose on the writer's own style. Her observations are honest and valuable, beyond what many others can give. A. "WOW! I really appreciate the work you've done so far. --Lena Jones "Sherry Wilson has a deep understanding of the craft of writing and a natural gift for the art of writing. Being an editor myself, there are not too many people I would trust with my own work.

Book Manuscript Format – The Writer’s Craft Book manuscript format is too frequently overlooked by many beginning writers. Of course, story is king. Nothing will help in your search for an editor or an agent if your story is weak. There must be something about the story which stands out—an essence which makes it memorable and unique. But there are some universal conventions in how you format your manuscript for submission. These book manuscript format conventions are what make your work acceptable to an editor and presentable to the writing world, much like your personal manners and style of dress influence the opinion of the public or your peers. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. After writing and rewriting your novel, you may think that book manuscript format is a small concern.

First Person Point of View — The Writer’s Craft When you tell a story through a viewpoint character using I or we, you are using first person point of view. Example: The banging on my door reverberated within my skull like a giant church bell in an empty hall. I groaned and rolled onto my stomach, pulling the pillow over my head. Every detail of your story must be filtered through the storyteller. This impacts your choice of narrator—it may be, and most often is, your main character. If your main character cannot see, hear, touch, smell, taste, think, know or feel it, you can’t include it. First person point of view is the most reader friendly. This can be a comfortable point of view as it allows the writer to get right into the character’s head; however, beginners often find first person challenging because you really need to understand your character and his role. The most common problem when using first person POV is that it is difficult to resist the urge to tell the reader everything rather than show it. Considerations:

Second Person Point of View — The Writer’s Craft Enrollment Limited Sherry Wilson's step-by-step method helped me organize my thoughts and transform a simple idea into a full-fledged plot. Without her help and guidance, I'd still be walking around with just another "great idea for a story." Thanks to Sherry, though, I've published three novels and know there are more on the way! ~ Debi Faulkner, Summoning, LilyPad Princess and Murphy's Law "Sherry is extremely professional and knowledgeable in this field. As well as being technically proficient in many styles, she also possesses a rich imagination, offering suggestions and alternatives in a way that doesn't impose on the writer's own style. Her observations are honest and valuable, beyond what many others can give. A. "WOW! I really appreciate the work you've done so far. --Lena Jones "Sherry Wilson has a deep understanding of the craft of writing and a natural gift for the art of writing. Being an editor myself, there are not too many people I would trust with my own work.

Creative Writing Starters Enter your e-mail to get the e-book for FREE. We'll also keep you informed about interesting website news. "I have searched the web and used different worksheets, but none have come close to your worksheets and descriptions of (what to do and what not to do). Both courses I have taken have with Creative Writing Now have been amazing. "As usual - I already love the course on Irresistible Fiction, rewriting a lot and improving greatly even after the first lesson. “Essentials of Fiction proved that I could indeed write and I wrote every day, much to my boyfriend's dismay (waa sniff).” - Jill Gardner "I am loving the course and the peer interaction on the blog is fantastic!!!" "I'm enjoying the weekly email course, Essentials of Poetry Writing. "Thank you for all the material in this course. "I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the lessons and feel they were very helpful in introducing new ideas and perspectives to my writing. "Thanks very much for this course. "Thank you so much!!

Rhyming Dictionary