by: Patty Apostolides
If you are reading this article then you probably have asked yourself at some point in your life, "Do I have what it takes to become an author?"
I believe that successful authors, those who actually write and finish that novel, or book of poetry, or even that book of short stories, and see it all the way to publication, have certain characteristics.
Characteristics of Authors
1. They like to sit for hours in front of a computer screen (or with pen and paper), typing (writing) away.
2. They think about their book, even when they're not writing.
3. They are motivated to finish their book.
4. They are motivated to proofread, edit and revise their finished book until it is the best it can be.
5. They are motivated to publish their book.
6. Once they publish the first book, they are already working on the next one.
If you answered yes to anyone of the above, then you have a good chance of attaining your dreams of becoming an author. Don't listen to those people who say it's a competitive market out there. Don't listen to those people who say they've written five books and haven't had one published yet. And don't listen to those people who send you back your manuscripts! Listen to yourself. Listen to that inner voice, the one that is whispering now. But wait until you get started. Once your book is written and published, that inner voice will be roaring! And the whole world will hear about it.
I know, I know. I tend to be the optimist. But we have so many pessimists in the book business, we sure need some more optimists around!
For you, the novice writer who would like to start writing that first book, the best way to begin is to start writing. Yes, just sit down and do it. Stop the other activities, the television, the reading, the shopping, the chatting on the telephone, and find the time to devote at least one hour a day to writing.
What’s one hour a day in the scheme of things? It comes and goes like this, poof! What do you have to show after an hour of television? A lazy yawn? If that same hour were spent on writing, then there would be a product in your hands, something that will be shared, hopefully, one day with others.
So, go ahead, shut the door to the rest of the world for one hour (or more) and make yourself comfortable in front of the computer screen (or pen and paper). Let’s take the first step to becoming an author.
How To Begin
Foundation
Just like a construction company which builds a foundation to a home, you also need to prepare a foundation for your career in writing. Don't skip this step, it's important.
Your "foundation" will consist of basic writing skills. Remember those English courses you took in high school and college? If you don't remember anything from those courses, then it wouldn't be a bad idea if you found your old English textbooks, dusted them off a bit, and looked through their pages to refresh your memory.
If you haven't taken any courses in creative writing, you might consider signing up for one. Check with your local community college. They often offer weekend and evening classes, and sometimes even online classes. If you're on a budget, then visit the public library and sign out books relevant to writing.
In addition, it would be very useful to join a writing group (online or in your local area) that critiques your work and gives you the opportunity to critique also. The group provides wonderful support and an avenue to sharpen your skills as you gain experience in writing, as well as exposure to other people's writing. For example, Writing.com is a good example of an online resource that provides many opportunities to share your writing, and get your work rated and reviewed. If you want to join a critique or review group, it offers that also.
The second step to becoming an author, is to have the right tools.
Tools Needed
Besides a comfortable chair, plenty of lighting, and a quiet room, you will need a computer with a word processing program (e.g., Microsoft Word), a printer, and plenty of paper.
Why a computer? First of all, publishers typically will request a copy of your files sent to them on a floppy disk. More importantly, working with a word processing program will aid you in many ways towards becoming a published author. It will provide the opportunity to save your work as a Word file, without having to use up tons of paper (as with a typewriter). This greatly aids you in keeping your work organized. It also gives you the flexibility to edit and re-edit large sections of your work quickly by allowing you to utilize the copy and paste functions.
Other advantages of using a computer word processing program is that it provides spell check capabilities, and also helps you count the number of words per page. In addition, when you want to spice up your vocabulary (For example, if you like to use the word "walk" often, and are getting tired of that word), place your cursor on the word "walk", hit shift F7. It will give you a list of synonyms you can choose from - like stroll, amble, etc.).
The time saved by using a computer is very valuable. It gives you more time available to write! Of course, if you don’t have the above materials, don’t let that stop you from writing that book! Using a pen and paper is perfectly fine. Books were written with these two basic tools for centuries.
Let’s assume you are using a computer and a Word processing software. First of all, before you begin writing, form a subdirectory that you can add all your chapters to. Maybe you know the title of your book already. Fine, then form a subdirectory using the name of the title. After you finish writing that first chapter (oh joy!), just save it as Chapter 1 under the subdirectory. If you are writing a book of poetry, then you might want to save each poem as a separate file.
When I write my chapters for my novel, I format them in double space mode, with a Times New Roman 11 font. All the margins are at least one inch. This way it will be ready for manuscript submission.
Try not to add your page numbers until the very last revision. Page numbers constantly change when you’re revising, so wait until the end.
Finally, another reason for having a computer is for Internet access. As a writer, you will have opportunities to submit your fiction online, such as http://www.Writing.com, or even your articles online for e-zines, such as http://www.articlecity.com. Any chance you can get to write online, do it. As long as it doesn't take too much time away from your book. It's also a free way of promoting yourself before the book is even published.
So you need to balance your time in writing that book, honing your writing skills, submitting your work along the way for others to critique, and promoting yourself. Can you do it? Of course you can!
The third step to becoming an author is:
What to Write
If you are planning to write a novel, it would help to know what general category your book is going to be in. Will it be in the romance, mystery, or science fiction category? If you don’t know, take some time and think about it. Read some books in those genres. Which books seem to attract you the most? It’s highly likely that you’ll be writing in the category that you like to read. My preference is romance because I read those types of books the most. Once you decide the category, then you are closer to writing that novel!
For poetry, you might start by writing a poem and submitting it to a poetry journal, or a poetry contest. Gain exposure for your poetry. Join a critique group so you can sharpen your poetry skills. A chapbook usually consists of about 25-35 poems. For a poetry book, you'll need at least 60 pages of poetry, if not more.
Types of Novelists
I have found over time, that there are two types of novelists. The first type is the writer who prefers drawing up a proposal or plan of what they will write about. The second type prefers to write whatever comes into their mind at that moment.
You decide which writer you will be.
Type 1 Novelist
They begin by describing the characters, their names, personalities, and sometimes their motives. Then they decide when and where the setting will take place. When will it take place? If it takes place before the 1900’s, then it will be considered historical. Also, will the setting be in the country, in a city (which city?), in a house (whose house), on a cruise ship? That needs to be defined also.
Once those decisions are made, they write brief sketches of each chapter. It could be a page or two long. Once all this is done, then the real writing begins. If this method works for you, then feel free to use it. It may take some time, but you will become more confident about what you’ll write once you go through this initial process.
Type 2 Novelist
What if you’re the type of person who doesn’t want to spend all that time writing proposals and character sketches? What if you’re like me, who prefers to just write whatever comes into your head? Then do it! Sit down and start writing. Write anything.
As the story develops, something wonderful begins brewing in your mind. Something called creativity. I’ve caught myself hours after I finished writing a chapter, and I’ll be preparing dinner, or walking somewhere, and a scene from my novel will begin to unfold. It’s called creative problem solving. My mind is working to solve the problem that the writing presents it, even though I’m not actively writing. When I get those urges, I immediately stop what I’m doing and jot down my thoughts. It’s helped me many times, particularly when everything clicks together.
How Long Will It Take?
It took me almost two years to write and find a publisher for my first novel, Lipsi’s Daughter. For other people, it may take longer or shorter, depending on the amount of time they allow for writing and how many pages they are writing. I know of authors that took six, seven, up to twelve years to write their first book. I also know of a famous author who writes two novels a year!
So unless you begin writing that first page of your book, you'll never know how long it'll take you to write it. Go ahead, make that first step, and good luck!
About The Author
Patty Apostolides is an author and poet. She has written several articles as well as published the novel "Lipsi's Daughter." More information can be found on her website: http://www.geocities.com/10500bc/index.html Liendou@Writing.com
Sunday, 2 December 2007
***Writing Is Fun!***
by: Michael Harrison
When I was establishing my consultants practice in 1990 I set about creating a book. The book was aimed at helping people to progress in their careers and shows how to assess yourself, prepare an interview winning resume’, market yourself and win the job at interviews, plus other real life tips.
Anyway I enjoyed the writing process, thought the book was good and sold a few copies. The effort of writing the book was not rewarded by the number of copies sold. I did not really have a low cost route to market.
In building my web site and writing a weekly newsletter I have realised that I do enjoy writing and drawing on my experiences. So recently I have been thinking of writing another book for sale on the internet.
Guess what? I got my original book out, re-read it and I am editing it as my next internet publication. The point of this article is to tell you what I realised when I read my ‘masterpiece’.
I had been living in the corporate world and the book was written in corporate style. Formal, the grammar was convoluted, too many long words. It was not easy to read and I did not like the style. The content is excellent but I did not like how the book was written.
Bearing in mind when I originally wrote it 15 years ago I read and re-read it in an effort to do a good job. That I now do not like the writing style came as a shock. Which shows that our skills and perceptions are changing all of the time and no matter how good we think we are at any one thing we can always do better.
If you’ve got anything that you created a while back it may be worth having another look at it. Your style may have changed and you may be able to improve it.
My son writes for his living and he has experienced the same with some of his early writing.
By writing for the web my style has changed, hopefully to a more readable form because I still like writing.
Tip: learn from the mistakes of others, you can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.
About The Author
Michael Harrison is an author, publisher and business consultant specialising in helping business owners and individuals to realise and release the full potential of their situation. He has helped many people to improve their business situations and advised and supported individuals to embark on new directions in their careers.
Resource Box:
Article by Michael Harrison, Author, Publisher and Business Consultant. Learn from an expert: Go to: http://www.be-your-own-business-expert.com/
Subscribe for your Free weekly newsletter. Information for career and business minded people. Subscribe today http://www.be-your-own-business-expert.com/Bulletin.html Access our archives when you subscribe.
**Attn: Ezine Editors / Site Owners / Webmasters / everyone**
Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site as long as you leave all links in place, do not modify the content and include our resource box as listed above.
You can use other articles similarly from http://www.be-your-own-business-expert.com/Articles.html
OR subscribe to our FREE newsletter issued weekly. Each issue is packed with motivational, business and personal development material. Subscribe now at http://www.be-your-own-business-expert.com/Bulletin.html
When you subscribe you will access our archives – no matter what your interest/specialisation there will be information there to help you.
Subscribe today to receive the very next issue of ‘byobe Bulletin’ – Do you get it
When I was establishing my consultants practice in 1990 I set about creating a book. The book was aimed at helping people to progress in their careers and shows how to assess yourself, prepare an interview winning resume’, market yourself and win the job at interviews, plus other real life tips.
Anyway I enjoyed the writing process, thought the book was good and sold a few copies. The effort of writing the book was not rewarded by the number of copies sold. I did not really have a low cost route to market.
In building my web site and writing a weekly newsletter I have realised that I do enjoy writing and drawing on my experiences. So recently I have been thinking of writing another book for sale on the internet.
Guess what? I got my original book out, re-read it and I am editing it as my next internet publication. The point of this article is to tell you what I realised when I read my ‘masterpiece’.
I had been living in the corporate world and the book was written in corporate style. Formal, the grammar was convoluted, too many long words. It was not easy to read and I did not like the style. The content is excellent but I did not like how the book was written.
Bearing in mind when I originally wrote it 15 years ago I read and re-read it in an effort to do a good job. That I now do not like the writing style came as a shock. Which shows that our skills and perceptions are changing all of the time and no matter how good we think we are at any one thing we can always do better.
If you’ve got anything that you created a while back it may be worth having another look at it. Your style may have changed and you may be able to improve it.
My son writes for his living and he has experienced the same with some of his early writing.
By writing for the web my style has changed, hopefully to a more readable form because I still like writing.
Tip: learn from the mistakes of others, you can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.
About The Author
Michael Harrison is an author, publisher and business consultant specialising in helping business owners and individuals to realise and release the full potential of their situation. He has helped many people to improve their business situations and advised and supported individuals to embark on new directions in their careers.
Resource Box:
Article by Michael Harrison, Author, Publisher and Business Consultant. Learn from an expert: Go to: http://www.be-your-own-business-expert.com/
Subscribe for your Free weekly newsletter. Information for career and business minded people. Subscribe today http://www.be-your-own-business-expert.com/Bulletin.html Access our archives when you subscribe.
**Attn: Ezine Editors / Site Owners / Webmasters / everyone**
Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site as long as you leave all links in place, do not modify the content and include our resource box as listed above.
You can use other articles similarly from http://www.be-your-own-business-expert.com/Articles.html
OR subscribe to our FREE newsletter issued weekly. Each issue is packed with motivational, business and personal development material. Subscribe now at http://www.be-your-own-business-expert.com/Bulletin.html
When you subscribe you will access our archives – no matter what your interest/specialisation there will be information there to help you.
Subscribe today to receive the very next issue of ‘byobe Bulletin’ – Do you get it
Have You Completed A Character Questionnaire?
by: Nick Vernon
Creative Writing Tips –
Complete a character questionnaire for each of your main characters or even secondary characters that play a vital role in your story. This way you will know your character(s) well before you start writing about them.
Fill in as much information about them as possible. Don’t only answer what you will need in your story. The objective here is to get to know your character till he becomes a ‘live’ person in your mind.
So let’s begin…
In a few sentences write down a summary of the plot
Character’s personal details
First name
Surname
Age
In a few sentences write down the character’s back story (a bit about his background)
The role of the character in your story
What are character’s goals?
What are character’s motivations?
What is the character’s conflict?
How will the conflict stop the character from reaching his goal?
What is he going to do to overcome the conflict?
What problems will crop up during the story?
How will those problems get worse?
What will the character do to overcome those problems?
How will he resolve the conflict?
How will your character’s background influence how he behaves in your story?
What is the relationship with other characters, if any, in your story?
Physical Descriptions
Height
Eye colour
Hair colour
Hairstyle
Hair length
Complexion
Shape of face
Body type
Weight
How does his expression change when…
He’s with a loved one
He’s with someone he dislikes
He’s with his boss
He’s with a colleague
Personality
Type? (shy, outgoing, insecure, dominant etc)
Distinguishable traits?
Mental scars? (Complexes etc)
Ambitions?
Sense of humour?
Fears?
Anxieties?
Phobias?
Overall personality?
How does his personality change when he’s experiencing different emotions?
How does he act when he feels confident?
How does he act when he feels inadequate?
What gestures does he use when he talks and thinks?
How does he walk? With confidence? Does he slouch or stride?
What mannerisms does he have? (Does he fold his arms? Does he flick his hair?)
How does he speak? (Clearly, mumble, confidently, drawl etc.)
His voice? (Rich, loud, soft, etc)
His vocabulary? (Casual, formal, illiterate etc)
What does he think when he’s alone?
Does he have any secrets he hasn’t disclosed to anyone?
His prejudices?
Dominant motives?
Values most?
Desires most?
How does he treat those around him? (children, superiors, etc)
Any vices or virtues?
Likes and dislikes
Favourite colour, food, etc
Favourite music?
Taste in clothing?
Does character like something in particular?
Does character dislike something in particular?
Lifestyle
Where does the character live (country, city)?
Does character live in a house, apartment etc
Does character like where he lives?
Does where he lives reflect what kind of person he is?
Does he have a favourite room? (Or a piece of furniture or other object etc)
Does he have a car? What type? Does the car reflect the person he is?
Any hobbies? Personal habits (neat, sloppy etc)
Background
Parents names
Parents occupations
Describe relationship with parents
Any siblings?
Describe relationship with siblings
What kind of childhood did the character have?
What kind of adolescence did the character have?
What kind of schooling did character undergo? (Private or public? Has this shaped who he is?)
What was the highest-level achieved in school?
Citizenship/Ethnic Origin?
In which country does he currently live?
If the country he lives in is not where he was born, why does he live there?
Character’s current position
Any friends?
Any enemies?
Acquaintances?
Has character been married before?
Has the character been engaged before?
Any children?
Most meaningful experience?
Any disappointments?
What is the character’s goal in life?
Attitude towards the opposite sex?
Attitude towards life?
Employment
What kind of job does character currently have?
What kind of jobs has the character had previously?
Is character content in current employment?
If not, what would be their dream job?
What do you feel for this character?
Admire
Love
Hate
Dislike
Like
Pity
Envy
Whatever you feel for this character, your emotions must be strong. If they are not, either build on this further or begin building another character altogether.
About The Author
Besides his passion for writing, Nick Vernon runs an online gift site where you will find gift information, articles and readers’ funny stories. Visit http://www.we-recommend.com
Creative Writing Tips –
Complete a character questionnaire for each of your main characters or even secondary characters that play a vital role in your story. This way you will know your character(s) well before you start writing about them.
Fill in as much information about them as possible. Don’t only answer what you will need in your story. The objective here is to get to know your character till he becomes a ‘live’ person in your mind.
So let’s begin…
In a few sentences write down a summary of the plot
Character’s personal details
First name
Surname
Age
In a few sentences write down the character’s back story (a bit about his background)
The role of the character in your story
What are character’s goals?
What are character’s motivations?
What is the character’s conflict?
How will the conflict stop the character from reaching his goal?
What is he going to do to overcome the conflict?
What problems will crop up during the story?
How will those problems get worse?
What will the character do to overcome those problems?
How will he resolve the conflict?
How will your character’s background influence how he behaves in your story?
What is the relationship with other characters, if any, in your story?
Physical Descriptions
Height
Eye colour
Hair colour
Hairstyle
Hair length
Complexion
Shape of face
Body type
Weight
How does his expression change when…
He’s with a loved one
He’s with someone he dislikes
He’s with his boss
He’s with a colleague
Personality
Type? (shy, outgoing, insecure, dominant etc)
Distinguishable traits?
Mental scars? (Complexes etc)
Ambitions?
Sense of humour?
Fears?
Anxieties?
Phobias?
Overall personality?
How does his personality change when he’s experiencing different emotions?
How does he act when he feels confident?
How does he act when he feels inadequate?
What gestures does he use when he talks and thinks?
How does he walk? With confidence? Does he slouch or stride?
What mannerisms does he have? (Does he fold his arms? Does he flick his hair?)
How does he speak? (Clearly, mumble, confidently, drawl etc.)
His voice? (Rich, loud, soft, etc)
His vocabulary? (Casual, formal, illiterate etc)
What does he think when he’s alone?
Does he have any secrets he hasn’t disclosed to anyone?
His prejudices?
Dominant motives?
Values most?
Desires most?
How does he treat those around him? (children, superiors, etc)
Any vices or virtues?
Likes and dislikes
Favourite colour, food, etc
Favourite music?
Taste in clothing?
Does character like something in particular?
Does character dislike something in particular?
Lifestyle
Where does the character live (country, city)?
Does character live in a house, apartment etc
Does character like where he lives?
Does where he lives reflect what kind of person he is?
Does he have a favourite room? (Or a piece of furniture or other object etc)
Does he have a car? What type? Does the car reflect the person he is?
Any hobbies? Personal habits (neat, sloppy etc)
Background
Parents names
Parents occupations
Describe relationship with parents
Any siblings?
Describe relationship with siblings
What kind of childhood did the character have?
What kind of adolescence did the character have?
What kind of schooling did character undergo? (Private or public? Has this shaped who he is?)
What was the highest-level achieved in school?
Citizenship/Ethnic Origin?
In which country does he currently live?
If the country he lives in is not where he was born, why does he live there?
Character’s current position
Any friends?
Any enemies?
Acquaintances?
Has character been married before?
Has the character been engaged before?
Any children?
Most meaningful experience?
Any disappointments?
What is the character’s goal in life?
Attitude towards the opposite sex?
Attitude towards life?
Employment
What kind of job does character currently have?
What kind of jobs has the character had previously?
Is character content in current employment?
If not, what would be their dream job?
What do you feel for this character?
Admire
Love
Hate
Dislike
Like
Pity
Envy
Whatever you feel for this character, your emotions must be strong. If they are not, either build on this further or begin building another character altogether.
About The Author
Besides his passion for writing, Nick Vernon runs an online gift site where you will find gift information, articles and readers’ funny stories. Visit http://www.we-recommend.com
The Golden Hour
by: Steven Barnes
During a conversation earlier today, a formerly svelt young lady said that she had given up on the idea of exercise, because to have a body worth the trouble, it would take three or four hours a day.
Novice writers complain that in order to build their careers, it would take six or seven hours a day…so what is the point!
And more times than I could count, stressed-out acquaintances have said that they would love to meditate, but “don’t have the time.”
It is time we explode these falsehoods. The truth is that misconceptions like the above can completely steal your chances for health, happiness and success.
The truth is that you can get started on a fantastic fitness regimen in only an hour a week. Further, a focused writer can create a novel in a year in only an hour a day. And gigantic strides can be made toward stress relief in only five minutes a day. THAT is the playing field: give yourself five minutes, and you can cut your stress in half. Give yourself an hour a week, and you can have health and fitness. An hour a day can jump-start a career.
1) Five Minutes a day. Five times a day, for just sixty seconds, stop and breathe slowly and deeply from your belly. Go to a local yoga or Tai Chi school and ask to learn a relaxation breathing technique. If you can’t find one, then slow down, get quiet, and feel your heartbeat for sixty seconds. Do this every three hours for sixty seconds, and you will halve your stress levels.
2) An hour a week. Three times a week, perform twenty minutes of the right body-weight or weight exercises. Hindu Squats and Hindu Pushups are wonderful whole-body exercises. Do a Google search for them, and you’ll find multiple sites on the Internet selling or giving away the information for free. For faster results, use “Kettlebell” style whole-body weight exercises. These exercise tools look like little cannon-balls with handles, and they are used in a variety of swinging and yoga-like moves that are unbelievably efficient for developing strength, endurance, flexibility, power and athleticism, all at the same time. You can even use an ordinary dumbbell in the beginning. Again, do a Google search, and you’ll find the information, often for free!
3) An Hour a day. This is what I call the “Golden Hour.” You need to accept the idea that one hour out of every day belongs to you. Not your job, not your husband or wife, or your kids—it belongs to you. During this time, if you plan it properly, you can exercise, practice your art, meditate, read—whatever. If you are a writer, I’d suggest that Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, you “flow”—just create rough draft, with no attempt to edit it. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday you do your editing, polishing the work you did the previous day. If you learn to focus properly, there is no reason in the world you can’t learn to produce 1000 words of rough draft in an hour. That’s enough to produce a novel a year, in just an hour a day.
The “Golden Hour” is a goal, one that might take you a year or two to work toward. But if you will just start with five minutes a day, and a commitment to an hour a week…working TOWARD an hour a day, you have placed your feet on the road toward peace of mind, a healthy body, and a happy heart: a tiny investment for a gigantic reward.
About The Author
NY Times Bestselling Writer Steven Barnes has published over three million words, and is the creator of Lifewriting, the first high-performance system for writers. Learn more at http://www.lifewriting.biz and http://www.lifewrite.com.
During a conversation earlier today, a formerly svelt young lady said that she had given up on the idea of exercise, because to have a body worth the trouble, it would take three or four hours a day.
Novice writers complain that in order to build their careers, it would take six or seven hours a day…so what is the point!
And more times than I could count, stressed-out acquaintances have said that they would love to meditate, but “don’t have the time.”
It is time we explode these falsehoods. The truth is that misconceptions like the above can completely steal your chances for health, happiness and success.
The truth is that you can get started on a fantastic fitness regimen in only an hour a week. Further, a focused writer can create a novel in a year in only an hour a day. And gigantic strides can be made toward stress relief in only five minutes a day. THAT is the playing field: give yourself five minutes, and you can cut your stress in half. Give yourself an hour a week, and you can have health and fitness. An hour a day can jump-start a career.
1) Five Minutes a day. Five times a day, for just sixty seconds, stop and breathe slowly and deeply from your belly. Go to a local yoga or Tai Chi school and ask to learn a relaxation breathing technique. If you can’t find one, then slow down, get quiet, and feel your heartbeat for sixty seconds. Do this every three hours for sixty seconds, and you will halve your stress levels.
2) An hour a week. Three times a week, perform twenty minutes of the right body-weight or weight exercises. Hindu Squats and Hindu Pushups are wonderful whole-body exercises. Do a Google search for them, and you’ll find multiple sites on the Internet selling or giving away the information for free. For faster results, use “Kettlebell” style whole-body weight exercises. These exercise tools look like little cannon-balls with handles, and they are used in a variety of swinging and yoga-like moves that are unbelievably efficient for developing strength, endurance, flexibility, power and athleticism, all at the same time. You can even use an ordinary dumbbell in the beginning. Again, do a Google search, and you’ll find the information, often for free!
3) An Hour a day. This is what I call the “Golden Hour.” You need to accept the idea that one hour out of every day belongs to you. Not your job, not your husband or wife, or your kids—it belongs to you. During this time, if you plan it properly, you can exercise, practice your art, meditate, read—whatever. If you are a writer, I’d suggest that Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, you “flow”—just create rough draft, with no attempt to edit it. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday you do your editing, polishing the work you did the previous day. If you learn to focus properly, there is no reason in the world you can’t learn to produce 1000 words of rough draft in an hour. That’s enough to produce a novel a year, in just an hour a day.
The “Golden Hour” is a goal, one that might take you a year or two to work toward. But if you will just start with five minutes a day, and a commitment to an hour a week…working TOWARD an hour a day, you have placed your feet on the road toward peace of mind, a healthy body, and a happy heart: a tiny investment for a gigantic reward.
About The Author
NY Times Bestselling Writer Steven Barnes has published over three million words, and is the creator of Lifewriting, the first high-performance system for writers. Learn more at http://www.lifewriting.biz and http://www.lifewrite.com.
Top 10 Tips to Complete a Creative Writing Project Without Losing Your Creativity
by: Ginger Blanchette
Have you ever started a creative writing project with great excitement, only to have your interest dwindle as the process, itself, interfere with your creativity? How do you keep the momentum going and continue to enjoy the creative process? Follow these tips for high creativity, fun and success!
1. Create a writing environment that inspires you.
Create a place in your home or outdoors that calls you to write. Consider light, color, sound, scent, taste, writing materials.
2. Follow The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron.
I highly recommend this book. It keeps you focused, observant, playful, and creative - and it keeps you believing in yourself as a writer!
3. Choose your writing project in a joyful way.
When choosing a writing project, come from your heart - not your head. Be playful. Be creative about how you choose your project.
4. Make a creative representation of the project’s ideal end.
Draw, paint - use a creative medium other than writing to represent the completed project. Consider, especially, how you will feel when it’s done. Put your model in a prominent place. Use this to trigger the desired feeling, before the completion - every day!
5. Make a timeline with celebration points.
Make it visually appealing. Have a step-by-step outline and celebrate creatively as you complete each step.
6. Create an R&D Team for your project.
Contact a number of your friends, colleagues, and readers. Invite them to join your R&D Team. Send them snippets of what you write, questions you have about the process, or anything else you want input on - on a regular basis. Their input will keep you going.
7. Keep Creating & Editing times separate.
If you edit while you write, the process can become boring. Clearly block a specific amount of time for editing into your schedule. Don’t let it interfere with your creative writing time!
8. If blocked, shake things up!
Do something fun, unusual, active! Get your mind somewhere else and move your body. Your creative side will work in your subconscious while you’re at play. Read the tips in The Artist’s Way. There are also many resources on the internet for handling writers’ block. Check some of these links: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_block.html
http://www.sff.net/people/LisaRC/
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/block.html
9. Have a Fan Club.
Critics and editors are fine, but have a few friends or family members who you can ask to cheer you on or cheer you up, no matter what you write. Hire a Creativity Coach to keep you focused and to be an unbiased supporter of your creative success!
10. Celebrate in a big way!
When you reach the big finish, give it a big finish! Do something you’ve always wanted to do, but have never done before. Make the finish so memorable that you’ll be eager to begin your next creative writing project!
About The Author
Ginger Blanchette is a Life and Business Coach who supports her clients to share their creativity. She works with professionals and business people who are ready to complete big projects involving writing and/or public speaking and to be recognized for what they do! Contact her at www.lanterncoach.com or by email to ginger@lanterncoach.com for a free sample coaching session.
Have you ever started a creative writing project with great excitement, only to have your interest dwindle as the process, itself, interfere with your creativity? How do you keep the momentum going and continue to enjoy the creative process? Follow these tips for high creativity, fun and success!
1. Create a writing environment that inspires you.
Create a place in your home or outdoors that calls you to write. Consider light, color, sound, scent, taste, writing materials.
2. Follow The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron.
I highly recommend this book. It keeps you focused, observant, playful, and creative - and it keeps you believing in yourself as a writer!
3. Choose your writing project in a joyful way.
When choosing a writing project, come from your heart - not your head. Be playful. Be creative about how you choose your project.
4. Make a creative representation of the project’s ideal end.
Draw, paint - use a creative medium other than writing to represent the completed project. Consider, especially, how you will feel when it’s done. Put your model in a prominent place. Use this to trigger the desired feeling, before the completion - every day!
5. Make a timeline with celebration points.
Make it visually appealing. Have a step-by-step outline and celebrate creatively as you complete each step.
6. Create an R&D Team for your project.
Contact a number of your friends, colleagues, and readers. Invite them to join your R&D Team. Send them snippets of what you write, questions you have about the process, or anything else you want input on - on a regular basis. Their input will keep you going.
7. Keep Creating & Editing times separate.
If you edit while you write, the process can become boring. Clearly block a specific amount of time for editing into your schedule. Don’t let it interfere with your creative writing time!
8. If blocked, shake things up!
Do something fun, unusual, active! Get your mind somewhere else and move your body. Your creative side will work in your subconscious while you’re at play. Read the tips in The Artist’s Way. There are also many resources on the internet for handling writers’ block. Check some of these links: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_block.html
http://www.sff.net/people/LisaRC/
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/block.html
9. Have a Fan Club.
Critics and editors are fine, but have a few friends or family members who you can ask to cheer you on or cheer you up, no matter what you write. Hire a Creativity Coach to keep you focused and to be an unbiased supporter of your creative success!
10. Celebrate in a big way!
When you reach the big finish, give it a big finish! Do something you’ve always wanted to do, but have never done before. Make the finish so memorable that you’ll be eager to begin your next creative writing project!
About The Author
Ginger Blanchette is a Life and Business Coach who supports her clients to share their creativity. She works with professionals and business people who are ready to complete big projects involving writing and/or public speaking and to be recognized for what they do! Contact her at www.lanterncoach.com or by email to ginger@lanterncoach.com for a free sample coaching session.
Four Useful Lies About Writing
by: Steven Barnes
Most writing “experts” favor a particular way of looking at plot, and will adhere to it for years or an entire career. That’s all well and good, but its important to realize that any way of modeling story is just that—a model, not the depths and living essence of story itself.
Problems arise when young (or experienced!) writers mistake a simplified structure for some deep and eternal truth. It’s much better to examine several structures, see what their strengths and weaknesses are, and try to glimpse the truth they are trying to convey.
The actual “truth” of story is beyond any structure, but they all point in the same direction, toward that misty, hidden metaphorical mountain all storytellers have been climbing since the beginning of time. As long as we don’t mistake the finger for the mountain, the structures can be quite useful indeed.
The worst story model that is at all useful might be” “It has a beginning, middle, and an end.” Well, yes, but so does a piece of string.
More helpfully, try: Objective, Obstacle, Outcome. In other words, a character wants something, and something stands in her way. She tries various things to resolve the difficulty, leading to an eventual climax.
This one is even more useful:
Situation, Character, Objective, Opponent, Disaster. Using the classic James Bond film “Goldfinger” as an model (action films are good for this, because their structure is usually crystal clear):
Situation: When gold is being smuggled from England in large quantities,
Character: Secret Agent 007 James Bond
Objective: Is assigned to find out how it is being done. But little does he know that
Opponent: Industrialist billionaire Auric Goldfinger
Disaster: Is smuggling gold to finance his real operation, the destruction of Fort Knox with an atom bomb!
Can you see how this model helps to clarify the different basic aspects of your story? The hero must have a goal, and there must be forces in opposition. Moreover, the hero’s initial goal and his ultimate goal may well change over the course of the story, as they grow to understand the situation more fully. A story structure like this one implies both internal and external motivations, and sets up a dynamic structure that almost writes itself!
The very best writing structure would be what is known as the “Hero’s Journey” created by Joseph Campbell, and explored by anthropologists and writing mavens around the world. There are numerous interpretations of it, but in essence, it can be represented as:
1)Hero Confronted With A Challenge. 2)The Hero rejects the challenge 3)The Hero accepts the challenge 4)Road of Trials 5)Meeting allies and gaining powers 6) Confront evil and defeat. 7) Dark Night of the Soul 8) Leap of Faith 9) Confront Evil and victory 10) Student Becomes The Teacher
This pattern automatically implies the yearnings, fears, obstacles, efforts, deep depression and exultation of actual human lives. This is the reason that this pattern, more than any other, is useful to writers both new and experienced. Because it mirrors our lives, a writer can most easily adapt her own understandings of life and the universe into her work. If you organize your work into this pattern, readers or viewers all over the world will instantly recognize your efforts as “story.” Whether it is a “good” story will depend entirely on the skill and creativity that you bring to the task—the unquantifiable quality of “art” that is beyond direct description.
There are, of course, many other patterns, and an ambitious writer or student would do well to list several of them side by side, and analyze what they are saying. None of them are “truth,” but all are useful fingers pointing toward that mountain.
About The Author
NY Times bestselling novelist Steven Barnes has lectured on story and creativity from UCLA to the Smithsonian. He created the Lifewriting high-performance system for writers. Get a FREE daily writing tip at: http://www.lifewriting.biz and http://www.lifewrite.com.
Most writing “experts” favor a particular way of looking at plot, and will adhere to it for years or an entire career. That’s all well and good, but its important to realize that any way of modeling story is just that—a model, not the depths and living essence of story itself.
Problems arise when young (or experienced!) writers mistake a simplified structure for some deep and eternal truth. It’s much better to examine several structures, see what their strengths and weaknesses are, and try to glimpse the truth they are trying to convey.
The actual “truth” of story is beyond any structure, but they all point in the same direction, toward that misty, hidden metaphorical mountain all storytellers have been climbing since the beginning of time. As long as we don’t mistake the finger for the mountain, the structures can be quite useful indeed.
The worst story model that is at all useful might be” “It has a beginning, middle, and an end.” Well, yes, but so does a piece of string.
More helpfully, try: Objective, Obstacle, Outcome. In other words, a character wants something, and something stands in her way. She tries various things to resolve the difficulty, leading to an eventual climax.
This one is even more useful:
Situation, Character, Objective, Opponent, Disaster. Using the classic James Bond film “Goldfinger” as an model (action films are good for this, because their structure is usually crystal clear):
Situation: When gold is being smuggled from England in large quantities,
Character: Secret Agent 007 James Bond
Objective: Is assigned to find out how it is being done. But little does he know that
Opponent: Industrialist billionaire Auric Goldfinger
Disaster: Is smuggling gold to finance his real operation, the destruction of Fort Knox with an atom bomb!
Can you see how this model helps to clarify the different basic aspects of your story? The hero must have a goal, and there must be forces in opposition. Moreover, the hero’s initial goal and his ultimate goal may well change over the course of the story, as they grow to understand the situation more fully. A story structure like this one implies both internal and external motivations, and sets up a dynamic structure that almost writes itself!
The very best writing structure would be what is known as the “Hero’s Journey” created by Joseph Campbell, and explored by anthropologists and writing mavens around the world. There are numerous interpretations of it, but in essence, it can be represented as:
1)Hero Confronted With A Challenge. 2)The Hero rejects the challenge 3)The Hero accepts the challenge 4)Road of Trials 5)Meeting allies and gaining powers 6) Confront evil and defeat. 7) Dark Night of the Soul 8) Leap of Faith 9) Confront Evil and victory 10) Student Becomes The Teacher
This pattern automatically implies the yearnings, fears, obstacles, efforts, deep depression and exultation of actual human lives. This is the reason that this pattern, more than any other, is useful to writers both new and experienced. Because it mirrors our lives, a writer can most easily adapt her own understandings of life and the universe into her work. If you organize your work into this pattern, readers or viewers all over the world will instantly recognize your efforts as “story.” Whether it is a “good” story will depend entirely on the skill and creativity that you bring to the task—the unquantifiable quality of “art” that is beyond direct description.
There are, of course, many other patterns, and an ambitious writer or student would do well to list several of them side by side, and analyze what they are saying. None of them are “truth,” but all are useful fingers pointing toward that mountain.
About The Author
NY Times bestselling novelist Steven Barnes has lectured on story and creativity from UCLA to the Smithsonian. He created the Lifewriting high-performance system for writers. Get a FREE daily writing tip at: http://www.lifewriting.biz and http://www.lifewrite.com.
Ten Tips For Budding Authors
by: Kevin Hart
1. For me the most important tip is to write, write every day, 365 days a year. Remember practice makes perfect.
2. Very few authors are published on their first attempt; it’s a hard slog and you’ll often want to pact the whole writing business in. It’s then you’ve got to remember patience and perseverance.
3. If you are serious about writing as a career then treat it as such. If you wanted to be a doctor, lawyer, plumber, chef then you’d expect to have to learn the trade. Why should writing be any different? It will pay you to visit workshops and listen to what successful authors have to say. Learn from the masters.
4. I’m a member of a writers group and for me it is essential it helps feed me. Also visit sites like www.abcwritersnetwork.co.uk where you will learn about current creative writing contests. Use these contests to help hone your skills. If you are involved in promoting creative writing locally let them know they will advertise the event for you free of charge.
5. In my early days of writing one of my main faults was my failure to accept criticism. This was one of the problems my writers group helped me overcome.
6. Be cautious of loved ones who tell you that your writing is ‘marvelous,’ quite often they don’t want to offend. I’ve found it best to avoid showing my work to close family until I’ve had it tested elsewhere.
7. Don’t become a writer because you think it is an easy option. It is not. It is hard work. To become successful you have to work 365 days a year. There are very few other jobs that demand that sort of commitment. Maybe after you’ve hit the big time you can drop that down to six months in the year – maybe.
8 Carry a note book. If you get a sudden idea write it down. Ideas are like dreams they are very soon forgotten, but ideas are also like oak trees they can grow mighty big.
9. Believe in yourself, if you have what it takes to be successful then you will succeed. If you haven’t then you’ll soon know.
10. Finally Maeve Binchy gives this advice ‘write as you talk.’ Also write about what you know. I know that’s old hat but its true nevertheless.
Good luck
Kevin Hart Copyright © 2005
About The Author
Kevin Hart is a published author and chair of Armagh Creative Writers. He created and maintains the hightly successful web site http://www.abcwritersnetwork.co.uk
The website offers invaluable information to creative writing. In particular it holds a large data base of creative writing contests and competitions.
1. For me the most important tip is to write, write every day, 365 days a year. Remember practice makes perfect.
2. Very few authors are published on their first attempt; it’s a hard slog and you’ll often want to pact the whole writing business in. It’s then you’ve got to remember patience and perseverance.
3. If you are serious about writing as a career then treat it as such. If you wanted to be a doctor, lawyer, plumber, chef then you’d expect to have to learn the trade. Why should writing be any different? It will pay you to visit workshops and listen to what successful authors have to say. Learn from the masters.
4. I’m a member of a writers group and for me it is essential it helps feed me. Also visit sites like www.abcwritersnetwork.co.uk where you will learn about current creative writing contests. Use these contests to help hone your skills. If you are involved in promoting creative writing locally let them know they will advertise the event for you free of charge.
5. In my early days of writing one of my main faults was my failure to accept criticism. This was one of the problems my writers group helped me overcome.
6. Be cautious of loved ones who tell you that your writing is ‘marvelous,’ quite often they don’t want to offend. I’ve found it best to avoid showing my work to close family until I’ve had it tested elsewhere.
7. Don’t become a writer because you think it is an easy option. It is not. It is hard work. To become successful you have to work 365 days a year. There are very few other jobs that demand that sort of commitment. Maybe after you’ve hit the big time you can drop that down to six months in the year – maybe.
8 Carry a note book. If you get a sudden idea write it down. Ideas are like dreams they are very soon forgotten, but ideas are also like oak trees they can grow mighty big.
9. Believe in yourself, if you have what it takes to be successful then you will succeed. If you haven’t then you’ll soon know.
10. Finally Maeve Binchy gives this advice ‘write as you talk.’ Also write about what you know. I know that’s old hat but its true nevertheless.
Good luck
Kevin Hart Copyright © 2005
About The Author
Kevin Hart is a published author and chair of Armagh Creative Writers. He created and maintains the hightly successful web site http://www.abcwritersnetwork.co.uk
The website offers invaluable information to creative writing. In particular it holds a large data base of creative writing contests and competitions.
Does Your Theme Contain Character, Conflict, Resolution?
by: Nick Vernon
Creative Writing Tips –
For a theme to work and the story, which will revolve around the theme, it has to contain three things…
Character
Conflict
Resolution
What’s the reason for this?
If your theme doesn’t contain these three essential elements, then you won’t be writing a proper short story. It might turn out to be an essay instead.
Because without…
1) Characters
You can’t achieve emotional depth. Readers become engrossed in stories because of the characters in them. They either become the character (sympathize), or read about an interesting person (empathize).
Emotional depth is achieved when readers use their imagination and senses and/or experiences to live the story through the characters.
2) Conflict
Your story will be boring. Why? Without conflict, something to stir things up, nothing happens. And a story, in which nothing happens, is one not worth writing about.
Your characters don’t lead carefree lives. Well, not in the instance you are writing about them. In that part of their lives they are faced with a problem. They want something and can’t get it because of the conflict, which is preventing them to do so.
And it’s that conflict and the struggle the characters has to undergo that keeps us readers interested and in suspense. Will the character succeed or won’t he? And when is this all going to happen? And how is it all going to happen?
3) Resolution
Something that starts has to finish, one way or another.
Once you have created great characters, which the reader will come to care about, and you have placed them in conflict, that conflict at the end of your story has to be resolved. The characters will achieve their goals or they won’t.
That doesn’t matter.
You can end your story as you please and as it suits your story – but you have to end it. Ending the story means resolving the conflict.
Does your theme contain character, conflict, resolution?
About The Author
Besides his passion for writing, Nick Vernon runs an online gift site where you will find gift information, articles and readers’ funny stories. Visit http://www.we-recommend.com
Creative Writing Tips –
For a theme to work and the story, which will revolve around the theme, it has to contain three things…
Character
Conflict
Resolution
What’s the reason for this?
If your theme doesn’t contain these three essential elements, then you won’t be writing a proper short story. It might turn out to be an essay instead.
Because without…
1) Characters
You can’t achieve emotional depth. Readers become engrossed in stories because of the characters in them. They either become the character (sympathize), or read about an interesting person (empathize).
Emotional depth is achieved when readers use their imagination and senses and/or experiences to live the story through the characters.
2) Conflict
Your story will be boring. Why? Without conflict, something to stir things up, nothing happens. And a story, in which nothing happens, is one not worth writing about.
Your characters don’t lead carefree lives. Well, not in the instance you are writing about them. In that part of their lives they are faced with a problem. They want something and can’t get it because of the conflict, which is preventing them to do so.
And it’s that conflict and the struggle the characters has to undergo that keeps us readers interested and in suspense. Will the character succeed or won’t he? And when is this all going to happen? And how is it all going to happen?
3) Resolution
Something that starts has to finish, one way or another.
Once you have created great characters, which the reader will come to care about, and you have placed them in conflict, that conflict at the end of your story has to be resolved. The characters will achieve their goals or they won’t.
That doesn’t matter.
You can end your story as you please and as it suits your story – but you have to end it. Ending the story means resolving the conflict.
Does your theme contain character, conflict, resolution?
About The Author
Besides his passion for writing, Nick Vernon runs an online gift site where you will find gift information, articles and readers’ funny stories. Visit http://www.we-recommend.com
How Are You Plotting?
by: Nick Vernon
Creative Writing Tips –
Writing is a creative process and how every writer chooses to create, is individual to them. Likewise, with plotting, every writer plots at a level they are comfortable with.
Some just plot the bare essentials. They have a firm idea of the story they want to write and have a good memory to be able to memorize everything.
Others go into more detail. These writers prefer to figure everything out before they write the story.
How you plot will also depend on your level of experience. For the beginner, it’s recommended to plot thoroughly.
Before writing, think of every possible situation. Plot events thoroughly, plot scenes to the last detail and generally leave no questions unasked or unanswered. This way you will always know where you’re going.
_____________
Are You Using The ‘What If’ Technique When Plotting?
Your short story of 500, 2.000, 10.000 words or whatever word length you choose to write, will spring from a single idea - Perhaps a one-sentence idea.
So when you are still in that one sentence stage, using the ‘What If,’ technique is a good way of generating ideas to build on that initial story idea.
While you are in the plotting stage, experiment. Your aim should be to write the best story you can. Experiment to see what bits and pieces you can put together to write the best story ever.
So using ‘What If,’ ask yourself questions then answer them…
What if the character was like this?
What if this happened to him?
What if I placed him in this situation? How would he react?
What if I took this away from him?
What if his worst fear came true?
What if he doesn’t get what he wants? What will he do?
What if I placed this obstacle in his path? What will he do?
You’ll be surprised what you come up with, if you take the time to experiment.
Creative Writing Tips –
Writing is a creative process and how every writer chooses to create, is individual to them. Likewise, with plotting, every writer plots at a level they are comfortable with.
Some just plot the bare essentials. They have a firm idea of the story they want to write and have a good memory to be able to memorize everything.
Others go into more detail. These writers prefer to figure everything out before they write the story.
How you plot will also depend on your level of experience. For the beginner, it’s recommended to plot thoroughly.
Before writing, think of every possible situation. Plot events thoroughly, plot scenes to the last detail and generally leave no questions unasked or unanswered. This way you will always know where you’re going.
_____________
Are You Using The ‘What If’ Technique When Plotting?
Your short story of 500, 2.000, 10.000 words or whatever word length you choose to write, will spring from a single idea - Perhaps a one-sentence idea.
So when you are still in that one sentence stage, using the ‘What If,’ technique is a good way of generating ideas to build on that initial story idea.
While you are in the plotting stage, experiment. Your aim should be to write the best story you can. Experiment to see what bits and pieces you can put together to write the best story ever.
So using ‘What If,’ ask yourself questions then answer them…
What if the character was like this?
What if this happened to him?
What if I placed him in this situation? How would he react?
What if I took this away from him?
What if his worst fear came true?
What if he doesn’t get what he wants? What will he do?
What if I placed this obstacle in his path? What will he do?
You’ll be surprised what you come up with, if you take the time to experiment.
Have You Plotted Your Story Before Writing It?
by: Nick Vernon
Creative Writing Tips –
The writer, who doesn’t have the time to plot, always finds the time to rewrite.
Sound familiar?
I’ve been guilty of this too, back in the early days of my writing apprenticeship. I was so eager to get stuck into writing my story that I wouldn’t bother with plotting.
Plotting gives you a sense of direction. It’s your map, which will lead you to write your story. Leaping into the unknown rarely works. Without a plot several things can happen….
Our stories aren’t focused
We lose our way
Our characters don’t come to life because we don’t take the time to develop them
We get stuck
The story strays from us
And all this happens when we haven’t figured everything out first.
Your plot is the foundation of your story. It’s the skeleton, which will hold your story together. Your plot is there to work everything out first – to see if it can be worked out, and then flesh out that skeleton with other elements that make a story.
Plotting is the difference between writing a story for yourself and writing one for an audience. Writing for ourselves doesn’t require too much strain because we only have ourselves to please. It’s when we have to please our readers that the hard work begins.
If you are aiming to sell your stories, plotting is a must.
Have you plotted your story before writing it?
About The Author
Besides his passion for writing, Nick Vernon runs an online gift site where you will find gift information, articles and readers’ funny stories. Visit http://www.we-recommend.com
Creative Writing Tips –
The writer, who doesn’t have the time to plot, always finds the time to rewrite.
Sound familiar?
I’ve been guilty of this too, back in the early days of my writing apprenticeship. I was so eager to get stuck into writing my story that I wouldn’t bother with plotting.
Plotting gives you a sense of direction. It’s your map, which will lead you to write your story. Leaping into the unknown rarely works. Without a plot several things can happen….
Our stories aren’t focused
We lose our way
Our characters don’t come to life because we don’t take the time to develop them
We get stuck
The story strays from us
And all this happens when we haven’t figured everything out first.
Your plot is the foundation of your story. It’s the skeleton, which will hold your story together. Your plot is there to work everything out first – to see if it can be worked out, and then flesh out that skeleton with other elements that make a story.
Plotting is the difference between writing a story for yourself and writing one for an audience. Writing for ourselves doesn’t require too much strain because we only have ourselves to please. It’s when we have to please our readers that the hard work begins.
If you are aiming to sell your stories, plotting is a must.
Have you plotted your story before writing it?
About The Author
Besides his passion for writing, Nick Vernon runs an online gift site where you will find gift information, articles and readers’ funny stories. Visit http://www.we-recommend.com
Do You Know What A Plot Is?
by: Nick Vernon
Creative Writing Tips –
What a plot is and what a story is can be sometimes confusing. If you think they are the same… They are not. A plot is the outline of your story. The story is everything included.
I will illustrate the difference by asking you to visualize two pictures…
1. Visualize a skeleton.
Then
2. Visualize a body.
The skeleton is your plot. It’s the outline of your story. It won’t be visible when we flesh it out but it will still be there, holding your story together.
The body is your story. It’s everything, which our story will contain, including the plot. The story is the plot fleshed out.
What does it mean to ‘flesh it out?’
Let me show you.
I’ll take a brief plot…
A man meets a woman and they fall in love. They encounter great difficulties because their family are against the relationship.
This is the outline of the story.
Now we are going to flesh it out and make it into a story. Fleshing it out means adding things to make this basic plot into a story. To do this we will add the rest of the ingredients such as…
Setting – Where will our story take place
Dialogue – What will be said and by whom
Characters – How many characters will our story contain? Who are they? What is their role?
Problems – What and how many problems will the couple encounter
Goal – What is the couple’s goal?
Conflict – What is the conflict?
Climax – How is the conflict going to come to its peak?
Ending – Will their love win in the end?
And anything else I’ll need in my story
Once we have written up all these ingredients, this will be our plot fleshed out into a story.
About The Author
Besides his passion for writing, Nick Vernon runs an online gift site where you will find gift information, articles and readers’ funny stories. Visit http://www.we-recommend.c
Creative Writing Tips –
What a plot is and what a story is can be sometimes confusing. If you think they are the same… They are not. A plot is the outline of your story. The story is everything included.
I will illustrate the difference by asking you to visualize two pictures…
1. Visualize a skeleton.
Then
2. Visualize a body.
The skeleton is your plot. It’s the outline of your story. It won’t be visible when we flesh it out but it will still be there, holding your story together.
The body is your story. It’s everything, which our story will contain, including the plot. The story is the plot fleshed out.
What does it mean to ‘flesh it out?’
Let me show you.
I’ll take a brief plot…
A man meets a woman and they fall in love. They encounter great difficulties because their family are against the relationship.
This is the outline of the story.
Now we are going to flesh it out and make it into a story. Fleshing it out means adding things to make this basic plot into a story. To do this we will add the rest of the ingredients such as…
Setting – Where will our story take place
Dialogue – What will be said and by whom
Characters – How many characters will our story contain? Who are they? What is their role?
Problems – What and how many problems will the couple encounter
Goal – What is the couple’s goal?
Conflict – What is the conflict?
Climax – How is the conflict going to come to its peak?
Ending – Will their love win in the end?
And anything else I’ll need in my story
Once we have written up all these ingredients, this will be our plot fleshed out into a story.
About The Author
Besides his passion for writing, Nick Vernon runs an online gift site where you will find gift information, articles and readers’ funny stories. Visit http://www.we-recommend.c
Beginnings
by: Rita Marie Keller
Just about everyone is familiar with this beginning: “In the beginning God created the heavens and earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep . . .” (Genesis 1: 1-2 RSV) In a sense we’re playing God when we write a story. We create the characters, plot, and setting, turning a blank page—nothingness—into a compelling story.
Not only is your first scene the first impression of a story, it is the doorway that invites your reader on a journey. First scenes are what determine whether or not your reader is going to follow your characters to the end.
Your beginning must accomplish several things:
Introduce your characters
Establish the place and time the story occurs
Introduce the conflict or point at which change begins.
Your opening sets the tone, mood, situation or problem. It actually begins in the middle of things.
Looking at the first lines of Genesis from a purely literary standpoint, the first lines introduce God as the protagonist. The time and setting (simply) is the moment of Creation, same as the point of change. Before God created the world there was nothing. For the purpose of this illustration from a literary standpoint, Nothing was what happened before the story begins. It starts in medius res—in the middle of things.
Let’s look at a few opening lines of other stories.
I could tell the minute I got in the door and dropped my bag, I wasn’t staying. “Medley” by Toni Cade Bambara
This blind man, an old friend of my wife’s, he was on his way to spend the night. “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver
She told him with a little gesture he had never seen her use before. “Gesturing” by John Updike
Something has already happened before the opening line. The first line is actually the middle of the story. Each story has its own history. The plot is affected by something that happened before the first sentence on the first page. In Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter’s book, What If? They describe story beginnings: “ . . . think of the story as a straight line with sentence one appearing somewhere beyond the start of the line—ideally near the middle. At some point, most stories or novels dip back into the past, to the beginning of the straight line and catch the reader up on the situation—how and why X has gotten himself into such a pickle with character Y.”
Take out an old story, or one you’ve been working on. Look at the opening scene. As yourself: Does the story have a past? Is the current conflict grounded in the history of the story? If you answer no, then you don’t know your story’s past well enough.
John Irving said: “Know the story—as much of the story as you can possibly know, if not the whole story—before you commit yourself to the first paragraph. Know the story—the whole story, if possible—before you fall in love with your first sentence, not to mention your first chapter.”
About The Author
Rita Marie Keller has written and published numerous short stories, articles, and essays. Her novel, Living in the City was released September 2002 by Booklocker.com, Inc. She founded the Cacoethes Scribendi Creative Writing Workshop in 1999.
Just about everyone is familiar with this beginning: “In the beginning God created the heavens and earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep . . .” (Genesis 1: 1-2 RSV) In a sense we’re playing God when we write a story. We create the characters, plot, and setting, turning a blank page—nothingness—into a compelling story.
Not only is your first scene the first impression of a story, it is the doorway that invites your reader on a journey. First scenes are what determine whether or not your reader is going to follow your characters to the end.
Your beginning must accomplish several things:
Introduce your characters
Establish the place and time the story occurs
Introduce the conflict or point at which change begins.
Your opening sets the tone, mood, situation or problem. It actually begins in the middle of things.
Looking at the first lines of Genesis from a purely literary standpoint, the first lines introduce God as the protagonist. The time and setting (simply) is the moment of Creation, same as the point of change. Before God created the world there was nothing. For the purpose of this illustration from a literary standpoint, Nothing was what happened before the story begins. It starts in medius res—in the middle of things.
Let’s look at a few opening lines of other stories.
I could tell the minute I got in the door and dropped my bag, I wasn’t staying. “Medley” by Toni Cade Bambara
This blind man, an old friend of my wife’s, he was on his way to spend the night. “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver
She told him with a little gesture he had never seen her use before. “Gesturing” by John Updike
Something has already happened before the opening line. The first line is actually the middle of the story. Each story has its own history. The plot is affected by something that happened before the first sentence on the first page. In Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter’s book, What If? They describe story beginnings: “ . . . think of the story as a straight line with sentence one appearing somewhere beyond the start of the line—ideally near the middle. At some point, most stories or novels dip back into the past, to the beginning of the straight line and catch the reader up on the situation—how and why X has gotten himself into such a pickle with character Y.”
Take out an old story, or one you’ve been working on. Look at the opening scene. As yourself: Does the story have a past? Is the current conflict grounded in the history of the story? If you answer no, then you don’t know your story’s past well enough.
John Irving said: “Know the story—as much of the story as you can possibly know, if not the whole story—before you commit yourself to the first paragraph. Know the story—the whole story, if possible—before you fall in love with your first sentence, not to mention your first chapter.”
About The Author
Rita Marie Keller has written and published numerous short stories, articles, and essays. Her novel, Living in the City was released September 2002 by Booklocker.com, Inc. She founded the Cacoethes Scribendi Creative Writing Workshop in 1999.
Discover What Good Writing Is All About
by: Linda Correli
Writing is a form of preserved talk, talk that has been pinned down on paper so the words can be heard again. The basic principles of good writing, apart, from grammatical correctness, might be presented as follows:
1) written sentences should sound like natural speech;
2) the words we use must be exact, fresh, full of strength and vitality. Picture making words are better than vague, general words;
3) fresh point of view will give flavor to the style;
4) humor will lighten it.
Though, it is true that written sentences should sound like natural speech, they fully present an image of the natural speech. The reasons for this are fairly obvious: natural speech is a great deal more than words; it is also tone of voice, facial expression, gestures, and even the speaker’s appearance.
The whole point of writing is to create something better than we really talk – something more interesting, more thoughtful, and more effective in every way, for “effectiveness is what matters, and if an expression is confusing, ambiguous or unintentionally vague, it can hardly be an effective use of the language.” (C.R.E.Parker).
The only thing we must borrow from the natural speech to achieve an air of naturalness is the rhythm of speech. Now before we speak of sentence rhythm at more length, we shall consider one of the major qualities of writing – sentence length.
To begin with, fashions in sentence length constantly change. Past generation were more hospitable to the long sentences than we are, and prose writers sometimes created sentences 200-300 words long. They are often well-arranged sentences too; after all, the thought they convey is complex and can be hardly skimmed through. Indeed, some of them present the works of art.
In the twentieth century, the tendency in writing has been toward shorter, easier-to-grasp-at-one glance sentences.
- This tendency can be easily explained by the spread of the literacy among masses of people.
- Consequently, the style of writing should be clear and comprehensive for everybody, and aimed at satisfying the demand in easy and interesting reading.
- The increase in the tempo of living and absence of leisure-reading matter must be fitted to the needs of those who read only in the odd moments of their lives, between household chores and television programs, business meetings and social duties.
Hence, what can be inferred from the length of the sentences the writer uses?
Indeed, sentence length and grammatical complexity vary from writer to writer, from idea to idea, from sentence to sentence. There can’t be any general rules, which every person, who starts writing should strictly stick to. However, there are a handful of good ideas that can be applied by the writers.
Sentence length depends greatly on the complexity of the idea to be expressed. In our time, the average length of sentences is somewhere between 20-30 words. Now the simplicity and naturalness of the written and spoken language is deemphasized. So, the usage of short sentences became the custom of the day.
Short sentences can infuse a fresh spirit into the way you write and speak. Get to know why?
* The writer, who wants to persuade the audience, should remember that he will succeed best when the argument is couched in brief, even staccato sentences.
* In most readers’ mind, the short sentence carries an unmistakable sense of wisdom, because down through the ages it has acted as the setting for all the familiar gems of “truth”.
* Since there is no room in a very short sentence for anything but one elaborated thought, it follows that an idea to set forth in such a sentence will receive a large degree of emphasis.
* The short sentences can be used to express the feeling of suspense, excitement, or even horror. What would be a crime thriller be like without the terse, clipped sentences that portend a tense episode? The concentration upon a few bare facts adds a peculiar sense of horror or vice verse excitement to the narrative.
* The very absence of elaboration gives a writer a great opportunity to deliver the message to the reader in a simple and comprehensive way.
* The short sentences give unity to the expressed ideas, relieve monotony of too many clauses, and in general, make the expression more exact and accurate.
Undoubtedly, every writer should pay special attention to the length of the sentences he uses. Thus, the primary concern in writing and speaking must always be that our sentences fit the thoughts they are communicating.
About The Author
Linda Correli is a staff writer of http://www.CustomResearchPapers.us/ and an author of the popular online tutorial for students "What Teachers Want: Master the Art of Essay Writing in 10 Days", available at http://www.Go2Essay.com/.
Writing is a form of preserved talk, talk that has been pinned down on paper so the words can be heard again. The basic principles of good writing, apart, from grammatical correctness, might be presented as follows:
1) written sentences should sound like natural speech;
2) the words we use must be exact, fresh, full of strength and vitality. Picture making words are better than vague, general words;
3) fresh point of view will give flavor to the style;
4) humor will lighten it.
Though, it is true that written sentences should sound like natural speech, they fully present an image of the natural speech. The reasons for this are fairly obvious: natural speech is a great deal more than words; it is also tone of voice, facial expression, gestures, and even the speaker’s appearance.
The whole point of writing is to create something better than we really talk – something more interesting, more thoughtful, and more effective in every way, for “effectiveness is what matters, and if an expression is confusing, ambiguous or unintentionally vague, it can hardly be an effective use of the language.” (C.R.E.Parker).
The only thing we must borrow from the natural speech to achieve an air of naturalness is the rhythm of speech. Now before we speak of sentence rhythm at more length, we shall consider one of the major qualities of writing – sentence length.
To begin with, fashions in sentence length constantly change. Past generation were more hospitable to the long sentences than we are, and prose writers sometimes created sentences 200-300 words long. They are often well-arranged sentences too; after all, the thought they convey is complex and can be hardly skimmed through. Indeed, some of them present the works of art.
In the twentieth century, the tendency in writing has been toward shorter, easier-to-grasp-at-one glance sentences.
- This tendency can be easily explained by the spread of the literacy among masses of people.
- Consequently, the style of writing should be clear and comprehensive for everybody, and aimed at satisfying the demand in easy and interesting reading.
- The increase in the tempo of living and absence of leisure-reading matter must be fitted to the needs of those who read only in the odd moments of their lives, between household chores and television programs, business meetings and social duties.
Hence, what can be inferred from the length of the sentences the writer uses?
Indeed, sentence length and grammatical complexity vary from writer to writer, from idea to idea, from sentence to sentence. There can’t be any general rules, which every person, who starts writing should strictly stick to. However, there are a handful of good ideas that can be applied by the writers.
Sentence length depends greatly on the complexity of the idea to be expressed. In our time, the average length of sentences is somewhere between 20-30 words. Now the simplicity and naturalness of the written and spoken language is deemphasized. So, the usage of short sentences became the custom of the day.
Short sentences can infuse a fresh spirit into the way you write and speak. Get to know why?
* The writer, who wants to persuade the audience, should remember that he will succeed best when the argument is couched in brief, even staccato sentences.
* In most readers’ mind, the short sentence carries an unmistakable sense of wisdom, because down through the ages it has acted as the setting for all the familiar gems of “truth”.
* Since there is no room in a very short sentence for anything but one elaborated thought, it follows that an idea to set forth in such a sentence will receive a large degree of emphasis.
* The short sentences can be used to express the feeling of suspense, excitement, or even horror. What would be a crime thriller be like without the terse, clipped sentences that portend a tense episode? The concentration upon a few bare facts adds a peculiar sense of horror or vice verse excitement to the narrative.
* The very absence of elaboration gives a writer a great opportunity to deliver the message to the reader in a simple and comprehensive way.
* The short sentences give unity to the expressed ideas, relieve monotony of too many clauses, and in general, make the expression more exact and accurate.
Undoubtedly, every writer should pay special attention to the length of the sentences he uses. Thus, the primary concern in writing and speaking must always be that our sentences fit the thoughts they are communicating.
About The Author
Linda Correli is a staff writer of http://www.CustomResearchPapers.us/ and an author of the popular online tutorial for students "What Teachers Want: Master the Art of Essay Writing in 10 Days", available at http://www.Go2Essay.com/.
How to Jumpstart your Next Writing Session
by: David Parton
I have always enjoyed writing. Sometimes it’s a problem for me to just sit down and write something. There are days when I choose “procrastinating” over “proactive.” Putting things off is common with everyone. I am very gifted in this area. ;)
Here are 4 areas to focus on to jumpstart your next writing session.
Concentration
Preparation
The First Word
Use your notebook
Concentration:
There are way too many distractions. Cell phones ringing, blaring car alarms and unexpected visitors are just a few things that can disrupt your concentration. It then becomes easier to justify not writing today.
The best thing to do to encourage creative writing is to make it a ritual. Find a nice spot to write, maybe, in a quiet room in your home where you will be left undisturbed for a period of time. Set a time to work; a scheduled time to write. Stick to it.
Keep reference books and materials close to hand.
Focus on one idea at a time.
View your next writing session as an opportunity; an opportunity to do something you enjoy. It can be fun. And when you are having fun nobody ever has to tell you to “concentrate!”
Preparation
Once you have your topic: Google it. Read everything you can online and offline related to your idea. Search the net for testimonials, reviews and articles about your topic. Brainstorm related sub-topics.
Give it a rest. Let your subconscious mind percolate and play with the information you provided. Get some exercise. Some of my best ideas come to me while I am out walking around in the evening.
Getting Started
Where to begin? That blank page staring back can be intimidating.
Just dive right in there!
Type the word “The.”
Type the next word (the first thing that pops into your mind) and the next word.
At this point, quality is not important. You just want to create a “flow” where the words come easily.
Don’t stop to edit. Save all your corrections for the second draft. Resist the impulse to rewrite. That will only interrupt the flow and is another way to avoid the task at hand.
If you are like me you will have a 2nd, third and fourth draft. You have to get your first draft completed before your have anything to rewrite! Stay focused.
Carry a Notebook
As a creative writer, you will be “hit” by odd ideas and notions in the oddest of places.
Maybe you are stuck in traffic or brushing your teeth when inspiration strikes.
You could wake from a dream and have a killer idea.
“ I’ll remember that.” We say to ourselves, but when next we write there is no access to that memory file.
Just use a notebook. Jot those things down as they come to you. It only takes a moment.
Capture all your of your ideas as they transpire. Who knows? One of them may be the “Next Big Thing!”
- David Parton
About The Author
David Parton Now You can Expand your Opportunities with FREE Tips & Resources about Affiliate Marketing, Making Money from Home, Website Development & Self-improvement for Both Sides of Your Brain! Discover... http://ExpandingMind.com
david@expandingmind.com
I have always enjoyed writing. Sometimes it’s a problem for me to just sit down and write something. There are days when I choose “procrastinating” over “proactive.” Putting things off is common with everyone. I am very gifted in this area. ;)
Here are 4 areas to focus on to jumpstart your next writing session.
Concentration
Preparation
The First Word
Use your notebook
Concentration:
There are way too many distractions. Cell phones ringing, blaring car alarms and unexpected visitors are just a few things that can disrupt your concentration. It then becomes easier to justify not writing today.
The best thing to do to encourage creative writing is to make it a ritual. Find a nice spot to write, maybe, in a quiet room in your home where you will be left undisturbed for a period of time. Set a time to work; a scheduled time to write. Stick to it.
Keep reference books and materials close to hand.
Focus on one idea at a time.
View your next writing session as an opportunity; an opportunity to do something you enjoy. It can be fun. And when you are having fun nobody ever has to tell you to “concentrate!”
Preparation
Once you have your topic: Google it. Read everything you can online and offline related to your idea. Search the net for testimonials, reviews and articles about your topic. Brainstorm related sub-topics.
Give it a rest. Let your subconscious mind percolate and play with the information you provided. Get some exercise. Some of my best ideas come to me while I am out walking around in the evening.
Getting Started
Where to begin? That blank page staring back can be intimidating.
Just dive right in there!
Type the word “The.”
Type the next word (the first thing that pops into your mind) and the next word.
At this point, quality is not important. You just want to create a “flow” where the words come easily.
Don’t stop to edit. Save all your corrections for the second draft. Resist the impulse to rewrite. That will only interrupt the flow and is another way to avoid the task at hand.
If you are like me you will have a 2nd, third and fourth draft. You have to get your first draft completed before your have anything to rewrite! Stay focused.
Carry a Notebook
As a creative writer, you will be “hit” by odd ideas and notions in the oddest of places.
Maybe you are stuck in traffic or brushing your teeth when inspiration strikes.
You could wake from a dream and have a killer idea.
“ I’ll remember that.” We say to ourselves, but when next we write there is no access to that memory file.
Just use a notebook. Jot those things down as they come to you. It only takes a moment.
Capture all your of your ideas as they transpire. Who knows? One of them may be the “Next Big Thing!”
- David Parton
About The Author
David Parton Now You can Expand your Opportunities with FREE Tips & Resources about Affiliate Marketing, Making Money from Home, Website Development & Self-improvement for Both Sides of Your Brain! Discover... http://ExpandingMind.com
david@expandingmind.com
Ten Tips For Budding Authors
by: Kevin Hart
1. For me the most important tip is to write, write every day, 365 days a year. Remember practice makes perfect.
2. Very few authors are published on their first attempt; it’s a hard slog and you’ll often want to pact the whole writing business in. It’s then you’ve got to remember patience and perseverance.
3. If you are serious about writing as a career then treat it as such. If you wanted to be a doctor, lawyer, plumber, chef then you’d expect to have to learn the trade. Why should writing be any different? It will pay you to visit workshops and listen to what successful authors have to say. Learn from the masters.
4. I’m a member of a writers group and for me it is essential it helps feed me. Also visit sites like www.abcwritersnetwork.co.uk where you will learn about current creative writing contests. Use these contests to help hone your skills. If you are involved in promoting creative writing locally let them know they will advertise the event for you free of charge.
5. In my early days of writing one of my main faults was my failure to accept criticism. This was one of the problems my writers group helped me overcome.
6. Be cautious of loved ones who tell you that your writing is ‘marvelous,’ quite often they don’t want to offend. I’ve found it best to avoid showing my work to close family until I’ve had it tested elsewhere.
7. Don’t become a writer because you think it is an easy option. It is not. It is hard work. To become successful you have to work 365 days a year. There are very few other jobs that demand that sort of commitment. Maybe after you’ve hit the big time you can drop that down to six months in the year – maybe.
8 Carry a note book. If you get a sudden idea write it down. Ideas are like dreams they are very soon forgotten, but ideas are also like oak trees they can grow mighty big.
9. Believe in yourself, if you have what it takes to be successful then you will succeed. If you haven’t then you’ll soon know.
10. Finally Maeve Binchy gives this advice ‘write as you talk.’ Also write about what you know. I know that’s old hat but its true nevertheless.
Good luck
Kevin Hart Copyright © 2005
About The Author
Kevin Hart is a published author and chair of Armagh Creative Writers. He created and maintains the hightly successful web site http://www.abcwritersnetwork.co.uk
The website offers invaluable information to creative writing. In particular it holds a large data base of creative writing contests and competitions.
1. For me the most important tip is to write, write every day, 365 days a year. Remember practice makes perfect.
2. Very few authors are published on their first attempt; it’s a hard slog and you’ll often want to pact the whole writing business in. It’s then you’ve got to remember patience and perseverance.
3. If you are serious about writing as a career then treat it as such. If you wanted to be a doctor, lawyer, plumber, chef then you’d expect to have to learn the trade. Why should writing be any different? It will pay you to visit workshops and listen to what successful authors have to say. Learn from the masters.
4. I’m a member of a writers group and for me it is essential it helps feed me. Also visit sites like www.abcwritersnetwork.co.uk where you will learn about current creative writing contests. Use these contests to help hone your skills. If you are involved in promoting creative writing locally let them know they will advertise the event for you free of charge.
5. In my early days of writing one of my main faults was my failure to accept criticism. This was one of the problems my writers group helped me overcome.
6. Be cautious of loved ones who tell you that your writing is ‘marvelous,’ quite often they don’t want to offend. I’ve found it best to avoid showing my work to close family until I’ve had it tested elsewhere.
7. Don’t become a writer because you think it is an easy option. It is not. It is hard work. To become successful you have to work 365 days a year. There are very few other jobs that demand that sort of commitment. Maybe after you’ve hit the big time you can drop that down to six months in the year – maybe.
8 Carry a note book. If you get a sudden idea write it down. Ideas are like dreams they are very soon forgotten, but ideas are also like oak trees they can grow mighty big.
9. Believe in yourself, if you have what it takes to be successful then you will succeed. If you haven’t then you’ll soon know.
10. Finally Maeve Binchy gives this advice ‘write as you talk.’ Also write about what you know. I know that’s old hat but its true nevertheless.
Good luck
Kevin Hart Copyright © 2005
About The Author
Kevin Hart is a published author and chair of Armagh Creative Writers. He created and maintains the hightly successful web site http://www.abcwritersnetwork.co.uk
The website offers invaluable information to creative writing. In particular it holds a large data base of creative writing contests and competitions.
All About Creative Writing...
I have gathered together a collection of resources that are all concerned with creative writing.
Just dip in if you want to or start at the beginning and work through.
Enjoy!
Just dip in if you want to or start at the beginning and work through.
Enjoy!
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