Ten Obvious 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. If you don’t relay that stuff up-front, as quickly and efficiently as possible (and please don’t be fancy), then your story becomes a game of three-card-monty, with you hiding information under this or that shell, trying to keep everything moving fast enough that nobody knows what’s going on. 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. 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.
Creative Writing Prompts Write a scene that includes a character speaking a different language, speaking in a thick accent, or otherwise speaking in a way that is unintelligibe to the other characters. (Note: You don't necessarily need to know the language the character is speaking—be creative with it!) Describe a character's reaction to something without explaining what it is. See if your fellow prompt responders can guess what it is. Write a story or a scene about one character playing a prank on another. Describe the scene from both characters' points of view. Writing Prompt: Write a story that involves confusion over homonyms (words that have the same spelling but different meanings) or homophones (words that sound the same but are spelled differently). For World Storytelling Day, share the best story you've ever heard or told by word of mouth, or have a fictional character recount their favorite story. You're making your way down a cobbled street when a stocky, red-bearded man beckons you into an alley.
Tension Hook Your Readers With Tension By Laura Backes, Write4Kids.com Tension. Without it, life would be—let's face it—boring. So would fiction. Tension works with conflict to raise the emotional level of the text to a boiling point. "Tension" is a loaded word, and can be misleading. Tension is what hooks readers of any age and keeps them turning the pages. * The ticking clock. * Dialogue. * Pacing. * Sentence structure. Each story requires a different kind of tension. Laura Backes is the author of Best Books for Kids Who (Think They) Hate to Read from Prima/Random House. Copyright © 2002, Children's Book Insider, LLC 6 Key Things to Consider When Developing Characters By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund I have to admit, I don’t write (or often read) character driven stories. My books are full of action and drama and are primarily plot-driven. In fact, I'm currently in the pre-planning stage for a couple different books. I find this time of getting to know my characters one of the most delightful aspects of the entire writing process. I thought I'd share a few of the things I consider when I'm developing my characters in the pre-writing stage. 1. Obviously I consider their physical appearance. But I always go much deeper than physical appearance. 2. Not only do I try to understand their skills, abilities, and talents, but I also attempt to determine their personality type (are they dominant, passive, loyal, outgoing, etc.). 3. I may not need to know when they had their first scraped knee or lost tooth. 4. I try to narrow down the qualities that will help my readers care about the characters. 5. 6. What about you?
Creative Writing Ideas, Courses Online, Free Classes for Writers 102 Resources for Fiction Writing « Here to Create UPDATE 1/10: Dead links removed, new links added, as well as Revision and Tools and Software sections. Are you still stuck for ideas for National Novel Writing Month? Or are you working on a novel at a more leisurely pace? Here are 102 resources on Character, Point of View, Dialogue, Plot, Conflict, Structure, Outlining, Setting, and World Building, plus some links to generate Ideas and Inspiration. Also, I recommend some resources for Revision and some online Tools and Software. 10 Days of Character Building Name Generators Name Playground The Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test Priming the idea pump (A character checklist shamlessly lifted from acting) How to Create a Character Seven Common Character Types Handling a Cast of Thousands – Part I: Getting to Know Your Characters It’s Not What They Say . . . Establishing the Right Point of View: How to Avoid “Stepping Out of Character” How to Start Writing in the Third Person Web Resources for Developing Characters What are the Sixteen Master Archetypes?
How to Stop Procrastinating and Start Writing Procrastination has to be one of the top enemies of productivity. Steven Pressfield, author of “War of Art” would call it one form of resistance. Today, author and blogger Ali Luke from Aliventures provides some strategies. My personal tools include Write Or Die for first draft writing and diarizing like a crazy person, blocking chunks out for each part of my life. Admit it, you procrastinate. Too much procrastination, though, can be incredibly frustrating. And if you’re not sure you have a procrastination problem at all … well, just read on. Recognising Procrastination Procrastination doesn’t just mean playing your umpteenth game of Angry Birds. Reading blogs about writingBuying more books about writingTidying your desk so that you’ll be ready to write … really soon …Hanging out with other writers (offline or online) and talking about writing If a lot of your time revolves around thinking about writing or learning about writing without actually writing, chances are, you’re procrastinating.
Creative Writing Prompts…Real Life to Characters For many writers (like me!) the beginning of a story is character. Something about a character intrigues me and I find myself wanting to follow them to see what makes them tick. Being a pantser (writing by the seat of my pants) as opposed to a plotter, I meet a character, write to figure out who they are, then keep writing until I discover a character’s story. Many times someone I know inspires me with a quirk or trait, or an idea emerges from a chance meeting with a stranger and my first impression of them. When someone is rude to me, I use that in my writing. Here are some creative writing exercises for you to use to discover some new characters through people you may know. Write about the head of the PTA, or Library Board. Write about a frightening or mysterious person in a neighborhood. Write about a person who makes a lot of enemies. Write about a person who has no enemies. Write about a person you admire. Write about a person you dislike/detest. Write about someone going nowhere.
Character Questionnaires - Get to Know Your Characters Receive more writing tips and advice (along with special offers and other Gotham news). One of the best ways to get to know your characters is to ask questions about them. Many writers do this as a kind of homework before they actually start writing a story. The more you know your characters, the fuller they will be. This might also make your story easier to write. Character Questionnaire 1 This questionnaire is found in Gotham Writers Workshops Writing Fiction. You might start with questions that address the basics about a character: What is your characters name? What is your characters hair color? What kind of distinguishing facial features does your character have? Does your character have a birthmark? Who are your characters friends and family? Where was your character born? Where does your character go when hes angry? What is her biggest fear? Does she have a secret? What makes your character laugh out loud? When has your character been in love? Look at your characters feet.
Writing & Blogging Prompts, Story Topic Generators, Photo Inspiration Writing : Creative Writing & Blogging Prompts Topic Starters, Picture Prompts, and Thought-Provoking Questions for You to Answer "The best learning comes in the doing, and writing from prompts engenders doing."— Judy Reeves Many writers and bloggers seek out articles, prompts, and story starters to get their creative juices flowing. We've also listed recommended resources outside of our domain featuring more free writing prompts, story starters, daily writing exercises, visual art prompts, and writing topic generators. Writing & Photo Prompts, Tools, & Generators on Creativity Portal "Novels, short stories, flash fictions, memoirs, personal narrative and creative nonfiction, even poetry — all have found publication from their start as writing prompts." — Judy Reeves Take Ten for Writers Exercises Get creative with these exercises from Bonnie Neubauer's Take Ten for Writers! Brickstorming Your Legacy Brick What would you write on your legacy brick in 3 lines with 14 characters each?
How to Start a Novel Time to confess: I’m a closet novelist. For the last six years, I’ve been sitting on a great plot, but I find the idea of writing a novel daunting. A few days ago, my best friend said to me, “You should write your novel this year. You know, the one where the young woman is in a bus in Rio de Janeiro, and she suddenly hears…” “You remember the story? “Of course I remember! I’m still uncertain whether to start writing the novel or not. What about you? Are you a closet novelist? Maybe you have great ideas but you wonder how to start. To make things easier, I asked five experts how to start a novel. 1. The first step I take after being struck with an idea for a novel will seem like a non-step, but it’s critical—just as important as the second step, which is research, research, research. The first step doesn’t involve any books or paper or pencils. It doesn’t require speaking with another living soul, either. I consider: Does the idea have the legs required to last the length of a novel? 2. Why? By C.
Assemble a Quality Portfolio | Pan-European MFA - Creative Writing Whether you’re assembling writings to submit to an MFA program or to share with a local writers’ group, it’s important for you to select work that shows your full range of talents. Sometimes it can be difficult to find the objectivity necessary to evaluate our own work. If you’re unsure of which pieces to choose, consider these tips from award-winning writer Fred Leebron. Select your strongest work. Learn more about Fred Leebron »