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.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Can Your Theme Be Proved In Your Story?
Your theme has to be something you can prove in your story - It doesn’t have to be a universal truth. This means that your theme doesn’t have to be something that happens in real life all the time (providing our logic can accept it, in order for us to believe it).
Whatever story you choose to write, be it a contemporary or a story which requires elements of fantasy such as in horror, science fiction etc… the events of that story have to appear logical.
What is not logical and consequently not believable is…
A character that has no knowledge of computers and overnight becomes a computer whiz
A car that goes over a cliff, bursts into flames and the character manages to escape unscratched
Etc
These are not believable because they can’t and don’t happen in real life and our logic doesn’t accept them.
Your theme will be believed when you prove it (providing of course you can.) Let’s see how you can do that.
We’ll start with a theme…
“Hard work leads to success.’
Our story is about a character whose goal is to reach a managerial position within the company that he works. For the reader to see how the character will reach his goal I will show him…
Working hard
Working long hours
Using his initiative
Being responsible
And all those qualities, in the end, will secure him the promotion he has been aiming for.
So my theme here will be proved that ‘Hard work leads to success’ because my character succeeds in the end.
>From the examples I have given so far, you may have noticed that my stories end on a happy note. Yours don’t have to. The ending will depend on the story you are writing and how you, the writer, prefers to end it.
I could have done the reverse with this theme. I could have said,
“Hard work doesn’t lead to success.”
My story will be the same but in the end I will have the character missing out on the promotion. Both themes will be proved because I have proved them in my story.
Any theme can work in a story providing you can prove it.
Have you proved your theme?
Whatever story you choose to write, be it a contemporary or a story which requires elements of fantasy such as in horror, science fiction etc… the events of that story have to appear logical.
What is not logical and consequently not believable is…
A character that has no knowledge of computers and overnight becomes a computer whiz
A car that goes over a cliff, bursts into flames and the character manages to escape unscratched
Etc
These are not believable because they can’t and don’t happen in real life and our logic doesn’t accept them.
Your theme will be believed when you prove it (providing of course you can.) Let’s see how you can do that.
We’ll start with a theme…
“Hard work leads to success.’
Our story is about a character whose goal is to reach a managerial position within the company that he works. For the reader to see how the character will reach his goal I will show him…
Working hard
Working long hours
Using his initiative
Being responsible
And all those qualities, in the end, will secure him the promotion he has been aiming for.
So my theme here will be proved that ‘Hard work leads to success’ because my character succeeds in the end.
>From the examples I have given so far, you may have noticed that my stories end on a happy note. Yours don’t have to. The ending will depend on the story you are writing and how you, the writer, prefers to end it.
I could have done the reverse with this theme. I could have said,
“Hard work doesn’t lead to success.”
My story will be the same but in the end I will have the character missing out on the promotion. Both themes will be proved because I have proved them in my story.
Any theme can work in a story providing you can prove it.
Have you proved your theme?
Documenting Everything: Your Journal is Your Logbook
Sailors had it for years. Great explorers had it as well. If you go on an expedition to an ancient Aztec mound, more than likely the archaeologist will have one too - so, why shouldn't you own one?
No, I'm not speaking of the scurvy that plagued the sailors! No, I'm not speaking of the Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot, whom explorers claimed to have seen in snowy Manitoba winters. Nor am I speaking of a lost city, which was never truly lost, but simply buried under mounds of earth and recently dug up by an archaeologist.
I'm speaking of journals. Journals? Yes! Keeping a journal can be just as much of an adventure as sailing the high seas, exploring unknown Canadian wilderness or digging in the dirt to find buried treasure.
Journals have been a source of reflection for centuries. My suggestion is to look at your writing career as if you're an explorer analyzing new-found land; an archaeologist digging up new artifacts and renaming them and so on...
How can you do this? Well, view your journal as a logbook and document your daily happenings. Here is a suggested format for keeping your captain's log.
Divide your journal entries into sections: Date, Weather, Mood, Events and Freewrite
1. Date: This is the obvious one (for some people). Write the month, day and the year. Also write which day of the week it is (i.e., December 17, 2001; Monday).
2. Weather: Make note of the temperature outside. Is it 100 degrees? Or perhaps it's only 20 degrees? Is it raining and 35 degrees? Snowing and 110 degrees? Raining cats and dogs? (Don't step in a poodle....)
3. Mood: What's going on in your head? Did you just get off the phone with your ex-lover who ruined your day and sank you into the depths of depression? Write about it. Did you manage to pull off some wondrous passive-aggressive revenge against said ex-lover? Write about that too and how it made you feel.
4. Events: Here's where things get a bit complicated - for some. You have to do your homework. Watch television, read the newspaper and write a few lines about what's going on in your city, state, country or the world in general.
5. Freewrite: Here's your chance to shine. Since we're all writers, we should leave a section for freewriting. Allow yourself some space to simply write aimlessly without direction. But, here's the challenge - try to limit yourself to a certain number of lines.
When you keep these entries for a week, two weeks or a longer period of time, it can be extremely beneficial. Comparing and contrasting the Mondays or Tuesdays could be a surprising learning experience.
Many times I've written stories and wanted to "know" what 78 degrees felt like, so I went to my journal and found an entry, read my mood descriptions and weather descriptions and was easily informed from my own documentation.
Keep in mind, a good writer documents everything - whether it be on paper or just in the mind's filing cabinet. But, to keep things in order, try to keep your documentation on paper - or at least saved to disk.
No, I'm not speaking of the scurvy that plagued the sailors! No, I'm not speaking of the Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot, whom explorers claimed to have seen in snowy Manitoba winters. Nor am I speaking of a lost city, which was never truly lost, but simply buried under mounds of earth and recently dug up by an archaeologist.
I'm speaking of journals. Journals? Yes! Keeping a journal can be just as much of an adventure as sailing the high seas, exploring unknown Canadian wilderness or digging in the dirt to find buried treasure.
Journals have been a source of reflection for centuries. My suggestion is to look at your writing career as if you're an explorer analyzing new-found land; an archaeologist digging up new artifacts and renaming them and so on...
How can you do this? Well, view your journal as a logbook and document your daily happenings. Here is a suggested format for keeping your captain's log.
Divide your journal entries into sections: Date, Weather, Mood, Events and Freewrite
1. Date: This is the obvious one (for some people). Write the month, day and the year. Also write which day of the week it is (i.e., December 17, 2001; Monday).
2. Weather: Make note of the temperature outside. Is it 100 degrees? Or perhaps it's only 20 degrees? Is it raining and 35 degrees? Snowing and 110 degrees? Raining cats and dogs? (Don't step in a poodle....)
3. Mood: What's going on in your head? Did you just get off the phone with your ex-lover who ruined your day and sank you into the depths of depression? Write about it. Did you manage to pull off some wondrous passive-aggressive revenge against said ex-lover? Write about that too and how it made you feel.
4. Events: Here's where things get a bit complicated - for some. You have to do your homework. Watch television, read the newspaper and write a few lines about what's going on in your city, state, country or the world in general.
5. Freewrite: Here's your chance to shine. Since we're all writers, we should leave a section for freewriting. Allow yourself some space to simply write aimlessly without direction. But, here's the challenge - try to limit yourself to a certain number of lines.
When you keep these entries for a week, two weeks or a longer period of time, it can be extremely beneficial. Comparing and contrasting the Mondays or Tuesdays could be a surprising learning experience.
Many times I've written stories and wanted to "know" what 78 degrees felt like, so I went to my journal and found an entry, read my mood descriptions and weather descriptions and was easily informed from my own documentation.
Keep in mind, a good writer documents everything - whether it be on paper or just in the mind's filing cabinet. But, to keep things in order, try to keep your documentation on paper - or at least saved to disk.
Learning to Question your Elephant Child: Who, What, Where, When and Why
Having problems writing? I don't know why. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Jon Carroll writes up to five columns a week. After all, if he can write five columns, you should be able to write a five-lined poem-but that does not seem to be the case.
How does he do it? Carroll claimed to recite lines from Rudyard Kipling's "The Elephant Child":
"I have six humble serving men
They taught me all I knew
Their names are what
And where and when
And why and how and who."
I'm more than sure that two incentives for Jon Carroll are 1.) Creating deadlines and 2.) His salary! Yes, we writers DO get paid every now and then!
Basing my philosophies on those few lines of Kipling's "The Elephant Child", my advice is to "Simply Ask Questions". Rummage through some old work (whether it be poetry, nonfiction, or fiction) that you've written and use the following techniques to enhance your skills. And, then, ask yourself the follow questions.
WHAT is the underlying theme?
Try to come up with a single-word or phrase to describe your story. Perhaps one reason your story has not been effective in the past is that you have too many intertwining stories. This, in turn, can cause confusion for the reader. So, ask yourself, "What is my story about?" And, give yourself answers such as: Desolation, Lost Hope, Self-Confidence, Racism, Attained Dreams, etc. If you can KISS (keep it simple stupid), then your readers won't MISS your point.
As practice, read some of the great contemporary writers and ask yourself the same question-"What is the underlying theme?" Describe the book in one word or one phrase, instead of using a high school book-report technique.
WHERE does your story or poem take place?Knowing the setting can allow you to be a bit more descriptive with your work. Does your poem or prose take place in Alaska? Florida? China? Yugoslavia? Hawaii? Kentucky? Each of these places is, perhaps, equal opposites of the next. To know your setting you have two choices-- 1.) Be a good researcher; collect pictures and read as much as you can about the location, or 2.) Take a road trip! Nothing can be grander than to spend your weekend visiting unknown territories.
WHEN did the events take place in which you are writing?If you're doing factual reporting-this is especially a MUST-DO. For instance, if you read a news article a reader wants to know when Ms. Johnson's house was burglarized. Did it happen June 20, 2001? June 20, 1984? Did the events take place when it was winter with ten inches of snow? Or, better still, did the events take place at Virginia Beach mid-August?
WHY did the events take place?Is there a conflict within your character? A lot of times character's (and real people too) have problems only because their conscious is "eating them away". Is this the case? If so, why does your character feel so guilty that he made such decisions? Perhaps the events that take place are only cause-effect. Most always people cause their own mental downfall and breakdown. Always know why your characters complete every task and why the events take place.
How did the events happen?Too often people will say, "I had a car wreck today…" But, do they leave it at that? No, no, no. You must always tell how the events happened. Were you driving in the incorrect lane, but still feel it's not your fault? Did you skid uncontrollably on a patch of ice? Maybe, you wanted to avoid the slow-moving tortoise that crossed your lane? If other characters are involved, it's important to get their perspective in dialogue. Maybe they feel the events happened differently.
Who did the events happen to?Who your events happen to is one of the main focuses. You have to choose your characters carefully. Why? Well, it would change a story completely if you wrote of a 68-year old cheerleader. Your work would be a different story if the character were an autistic adult. How would the events change if, let's say, the main character was indeed the Elephant Child, child of the deceased Elephant Man? Be creative with your characters and allow their personalities to work well for you when creating your piece.
Sometimes writers can use techniques that allow them to disregard some of these steps. Oh, Really? -You question. Yes. For instance, a writer may know the intentions of a character, a location-but you may not want to put it in print. My suggestion is that you KNOW all the answers to the above questions to make the work have more substance. By knowing all the answers you can create images, people, and scenarios by using symbols and customs of a particular area.
How does he do it? Carroll claimed to recite lines from Rudyard Kipling's "The Elephant Child":
"I have six humble serving men
They taught me all I knew
Their names are what
And where and when
And why and how and who."
I'm more than sure that two incentives for Jon Carroll are 1.) Creating deadlines and 2.) His salary! Yes, we writers DO get paid every now and then!
Basing my philosophies on those few lines of Kipling's "The Elephant Child", my advice is to "Simply Ask Questions". Rummage through some old work (whether it be poetry, nonfiction, or fiction) that you've written and use the following techniques to enhance your skills. And, then, ask yourself the follow questions.
WHAT is the underlying theme?
Try to come up with a single-word or phrase to describe your story. Perhaps one reason your story has not been effective in the past is that you have too many intertwining stories. This, in turn, can cause confusion for the reader. So, ask yourself, "What is my story about?" And, give yourself answers such as: Desolation, Lost Hope, Self-Confidence, Racism, Attained Dreams, etc. If you can KISS (keep it simple stupid), then your readers won't MISS your point.
As practice, read some of the great contemporary writers and ask yourself the same question-"What is the underlying theme?" Describe the book in one word or one phrase, instead of using a high school book-report technique.
WHERE does your story or poem take place?Knowing the setting can allow you to be a bit more descriptive with your work. Does your poem or prose take place in Alaska? Florida? China? Yugoslavia? Hawaii? Kentucky? Each of these places is, perhaps, equal opposites of the next. To know your setting you have two choices-- 1.) Be a good researcher; collect pictures and read as much as you can about the location, or 2.) Take a road trip! Nothing can be grander than to spend your weekend visiting unknown territories.
WHEN did the events take place in which you are writing?If you're doing factual reporting-this is especially a MUST-DO. For instance, if you read a news article a reader wants to know when Ms. Johnson's house was burglarized. Did it happen June 20, 2001? June 20, 1984? Did the events take place when it was winter with ten inches of snow? Or, better still, did the events take place at Virginia Beach mid-August?
WHY did the events take place?Is there a conflict within your character? A lot of times character's (and real people too) have problems only because their conscious is "eating them away". Is this the case? If so, why does your character feel so guilty that he made such decisions? Perhaps the events that take place are only cause-effect. Most always people cause their own mental downfall and breakdown. Always know why your characters complete every task and why the events take place.
How did the events happen?Too often people will say, "I had a car wreck today…" But, do they leave it at that? No, no, no. You must always tell how the events happened. Were you driving in the incorrect lane, but still feel it's not your fault? Did you skid uncontrollably on a patch of ice? Maybe, you wanted to avoid the slow-moving tortoise that crossed your lane? If other characters are involved, it's important to get their perspective in dialogue. Maybe they feel the events happened differently.
Who did the events happen to?Who your events happen to is one of the main focuses. You have to choose your characters carefully. Why? Well, it would change a story completely if you wrote of a 68-year old cheerleader. Your work would be a different story if the character were an autistic adult. How would the events change if, let's say, the main character was indeed the Elephant Child, child of the deceased Elephant Man? Be creative with your characters and allow their personalities to work well for you when creating your piece.
Sometimes writers can use techniques that allow them to disregard some of these steps. Oh, Really? -You question. Yes. For instance, a writer may know the intentions of a character, a location-but you may not want to put it in print. My suggestion is that you KNOW all the answers to the above questions to make the work have more substance. By knowing all the answers you can create images, people, and scenarios by using symbols and customs of a particular area.
Can Your Theme Be Proved In Your Story?
Your theme has to be something you can prove in your story - It doesn’t have to be a universal truth. This means that your theme doesn’t have to be something that happens in real life all the time (providing our logic can accept it, in order for us to believe it).
Whatever story you choose to write, be it a contemporary or a story which requires elements of fantasy such as in horror, science fiction etc… the events of that story have to appear logical.
What is not logical and consequently not believable is…
A character that has no knowledge of computers and overnight becomes a computer whiz
A car that goes over a cliff, bursts into flames and the character manages to escape unscratched
Etc
These are not believable because they can’t and don’t happen in real life and our logic doesn’t accept them.
Your theme will be believed when you prove it (providing of course you can.) Let’s see how you can do that.
We’ll start with a theme…
“Hard work leads to success.’
Our story is about a character whose goal is to reach a managerial position within the company that he works. For the reader to see how the character will reach his goal I will show him…
Working hard
Working long hours
Using his initiative
Being responsible
And all those qualities, in the end, will secure him the promotion he has been aiming for.
So my theme here will be proved that ‘Hard work leads to success’ because my character succeeds in the end.
>From the examples I have given so far, you may have noticed that my stories end on a happy note. Yours don’t have to. The ending will depend on the story you are writing and how you, the writer, prefers to end it.
I could have done the reverse with this theme. I could have said,
“Hard work doesn’t lead to success.”
My story will be the same but in the end I will have the character missing out on the promotion. Both themes will be proved because I have proved them in my story.
Any theme can work in a story providing you can prove it.
Have you proved your theme?
Whatever story you choose to write, be it a contemporary or a story which requires elements of fantasy such as in horror, science fiction etc… the events of that story have to appear logical.
What is not logical and consequently not believable is…
A character that has no knowledge of computers and overnight becomes a computer whiz
A car that goes over a cliff, bursts into flames and the character manages to escape unscratched
Etc
These are not believable because they can’t and don’t happen in real life and our logic doesn’t accept them.
Your theme will be believed when you prove it (providing of course you can.) Let’s see how you can do that.
We’ll start with a theme…
“Hard work leads to success.’
Our story is about a character whose goal is to reach a managerial position within the company that he works. For the reader to see how the character will reach his goal I will show him…
Working hard
Working long hours
Using his initiative
Being responsible
And all those qualities, in the end, will secure him the promotion he has been aiming for.
So my theme here will be proved that ‘Hard work leads to success’ because my character succeeds in the end.
>From the examples I have given so far, you may have noticed that my stories end on a happy note. Yours don’t have to. The ending will depend on the story you are writing and how you, the writer, prefers to end it.
I could have done the reverse with this theme. I could have said,
“Hard work doesn’t lead to success.”
My story will be the same but in the end I will have the character missing out on the promotion. Both themes will be proved because I have proved them in my story.
Any theme can work in a story providing you can prove it.
Have you proved your theme?
Does Your Theme Contain Character, Conflict, Resolution?
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?
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?
Have You Tested Your Plot?
Creative Writing Tips –
Our plotting stage is our testing area.
Everything in the plot should be tested for its effectiveness before we put in into our stories. If you believe something in your plot could be better, make it better.
Figuring everything out in your plot will save you time rewriting later.
So how do you test your plot?
Start with everything that has gone into it.
For example...
Are the events interesting?
Does your plot contain problems for the character to solve?
Have you given your character a goal?
Is the conflict strong?
Is the resolution of the conflict interesting?
Is the character interesting?
Is the setting of the story interesting?
Will the incident or situation be interesting to your readers?
Etc
Make a list of what your plot contains. Comb through it carefully and tick off each item. If you find that some things need to be worked on some more, work on them.
I know to some this might be tedious work, but…
“Every one-minute you spend in planning will save you at least three minutes in execution.” Crawford Greenwald
Our plotting stage is our testing area.
Everything in the plot should be tested for its effectiveness before we put in into our stories. If you believe something in your plot could be better, make it better.
Figuring everything out in your plot will save you time rewriting later.
So how do you test your plot?
Start with everything that has gone into it.
For example...
Are the events interesting?
Does your plot contain problems for the character to solve?
Have you given your character a goal?
Is the conflict strong?
Is the resolution of the conflict interesting?
Is the character interesting?
Is the setting of the story interesting?
Will the incident or situation be interesting to your readers?
Etc
Make a list of what your plot contains. Comb through it carefully and tick off each item. If you find that some things need to be worked on some more, work on them.
I know to some this might be tedious work, but…
“Every one-minute you spend in planning will save you at least three minutes in execution.” Crawford Greenwald
Top 10 Tips to Complete a Creative Writing Project Without Losing Your Creativity
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!
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!
Writing Tips For Novice Authors
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!
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!
Creative Writing Tips - Have You Established Your Main Character At The Start?
In the beginning of your story you have to grab your readers’ interest and sustain it till the end. Our hook is our character. Readers keep on reading to find out more about the character. To see what he’ll do in the story; how he’ll solve his problems. What his goals are and whether he’ll achieve them.
And because our character is the reason readers become hooked on our stories, establishing him at the start is a must in a short story. And it is essential to establish him at the start because we don’t have the capacity in our limited word length to introduce him at our leisure.
The bond between readers and character has to be developed almost immediately.
You might have a few characters though. How do you decide who your main character will be? A main character is one that drives the story.
Think of it this way… If we were to take him away, there will be no story because it’s his story we are telling. The story will unfold by what is happening or what has happened to him.
When you establish who your main character will be, the next thing to do is to find which of your characters is in the best position to tell the story. Will your main character tell his story or will you give that role to another character?
This is what we call Viewpoint and what we’ll see in more detail in proceeding chapters.
Your main character isn’t necessarily the one who is telling the story; he might not even appear in our story ‘physically’ but will be there through the thoughts of others. So the viewpoint character might be a secondary character.
Whoever is telling the story is the viewpoint character.
The viewpoint character gives the coloring of the story. Whatever this characters says, we will believe. It may or may not be true, according to the main character, but because he isn’t there ‘physically’ to voice his opinions, we will have to take the viewpoint character’s word for it.
In a novel you can play around with viewpoint. You can have several viewpoint characters. In a short story it works best with one.
So your main character, whether he’ll be telling his own story or someone else will be doing it for him, has to be established at the start of your story.
Having said that, let’s see the reasons why the main character may not be telling his own story...
Perhaps our main character is one that readers won’t sympathize or empathize with.
Or the main character will not view highly with our readers
Or the viewpoint character knows all the facts and can tell the story better
Etc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Let me give you an example of a secondary character telling the story of a main character…
Let’s say your secondary character is a psychiatrist and the main character is the patient. Depending on what’s going to go on in the story, we’ll have to choose who’s in a better position to tell it. In this case, I will choose the psychiatrist.
I’ve done this because the patient is confused, being the one with the problems. The psychiatrist knows all the facts and his opinions will make things clearer to readers.
So, as the secondary character (the psychiatrist) unravels the story, we’ll become involved in the main character because it’s the main character’s story that is been told.
This may get a little confusing to the beginner writer. As they write they will have to keep in mind that the secondary character, although he’s telling the story, is NOT our main character.
The secondary character is there to do perform a task. He’s only the voice. It’s the main character we’ll become involved with.
A secondary character doesn’t play such an important role as a main character does. Therefore, information about secondary characters should be kept to a minimum. It’s not his story – it’s the main character’s story and the spotlight must, most times, be kept on the main character.
Take the above example for instance. It’s no relevance to the story how the psychiatrist started his career or where he received his diploma – what’s important, is what he has to say about the main character, his patie
And because our character is the reason readers become hooked on our stories, establishing him at the start is a must in a short story. And it is essential to establish him at the start because we don’t have the capacity in our limited word length to introduce him at our leisure.
The bond between readers and character has to be developed almost immediately.
You might have a few characters though. How do you decide who your main character will be? A main character is one that drives the story.
Think of it this way… If we were to take him away, there will be no story because it’s his story we are telling. The story will unfold by what is happening or what has happened to him.
When you establish who your main character will be, the next thing to do is to find which of your characters is in the best position to tell the story. Will your main character tell his story or will you give that role to another character?
This is what we call Viewpoint and what we’ll see in more detail in proceeding chapters.
Your main character isn’t necessarily the one who is telling the story; he might not even appear in our story ‘physically’ but will be there through the thoughts of others. So the viewpoint character might be a secondary character.
Whoever is telling the story is the viewpoint character.
The viewpoint character gives the coloring of the story. Whatever this characters says, we will believe. It may or may not be true, according to the main character, but because he isn’t there ‘physically’ to voice his opinions, we will have to take the viewpoint character’s word for it.
In a novel you can play around with viewpoint. You can have several viewpoint characters. In a short story it works best with one.
So your main character, whether he’ll be telling his own story or someone else will be doing it for him, has to be established at the start of your story.
Having said that, let’s see the reasons why the main character may not be telling his own story...
Perhaps our main character is one that readers won’t sympathize or empathize with.
Or the main character will not view highly with our readers
Or the viewpoint character knows all the facts and can tell the story better
Etc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Let me give you an example of a secondary character telling the story of a main character…
Let’s say your secondary character is a psychiatrist and the main character is the patient. Depending on what’s going to go on in the story, we’ll have to choose who’s in a better position to tell it. In this case, I will choose the psychiatrist.
I’ve done this because the patient is confused, being the one with the problems. The psychiatrist knows all the facts and his opinions will make things clearer to readers.
So, as the secondary character (the psychiatrist) unravels the story, we’ll become involved in the main character because it’s the main character’s story that is been told.
This may get a little confusing to the beginner writer. As they write they will have to keep in mind that the secondary character, although he’s telling the story, is NOT our main character.
The secondary character is there to do perform a task. He’s only the voice. It’s the main character we’ll become involved with.
A secondary character doesn’t play such an important role as a main character does. Therefore, information about secondary characters should be kept to a minimum. It’s not his story – it’s the main character’s story and the spotlight must, most times, be kept on the main character.
Take the above example for instance. It’s no relevance to the story how the psychiatrist started his career or where he received his diploma – what’s important, is what he has to say about the main character, his patie
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