A Simple Novel Outline – 9 questions for 25 chapters « H.E. Roulo Just as every tree is different but still recognizably a tree, every story is different but contains elements that make it a story. By defining those before you begin you clarify the scope of your work, identify your themes, and create the story you meant to write. At Norwescon 2011 I sat in on a session called Outline Your Novel in 90-minutes led by Mark Teppo. I’ll give you the brief, readable, synthesized version. Answer 9 questions and create 25 chapter titles and you’re there. Here are the 9 questions to create a novel: 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.) 8.) 9.) Now, with those 9 questions answered to your satisfaction, try to fill in a 25 chapter, 75,000 word outline. Chapters 7-18 are the middle of your book. Chapters 19-25 depict the heroic act to victory. Wasn’t that easy? Okay, sure, the work isn’t done yet. Using the idea that there are 25 chapters, I outlined my current work in progress. I hope that was helpful. Tell me what works for you. Related 6 Steps to Masterful Writing Critiques
25 Ways To Fight Your Story’s Mushy Middle For me, the middle is the hardest part of writing. It’s easy to get the stallions moving in the beginning — a stun gun up their asses gets them stampeding right quick. I don’t have much of a problem with endings, either; you get to a certain point and the horses are worked up into a mighty lather and run wildly and ineluctably toward the cliff’s edge. But the middle, man, the motherfucking middle. It’s like being lost in a fog, wandering the wasteland tracts. Seems like it’s time for another “list of 25″ to the rescue, then. Hiyaa! 1. Fuck the three-act structure right in its crusty corn-cave. 2. Hey, when you fake an orgasm, you gotta commit. 3. The shape of a story — especially the shape of a story’s middle — is a lot of soft rises and doughy plateaus and zoftig falls. 4. When I was a kid, Christmas Eve was the most interminable time because, y’know, Christmas morning is everything. 5. Sometimes, a story needs a bit of new blood in the form of a new character — someone interesting.
10 Reading Exercises for Fiction Writers I always find it exciting when I discover a book that in some way echoes whatever I happen to be writing at the time. It might share a similarity of style, story, or structure, or any combination of the three. Whatever the similarity, I find it helpful to delve into the writing to see what lessons I can glean. After reading several duds recently, I finally came across such a book–The China Garden by Kristina Olsson. While the story isn’t similar to my current work, the prose captured me from the very first page. All I could think was,”That is exactly what I imagine for my finished manuscript.” When I find a book like this, there are several things I do while reading it. Analyze the story’s structure. These activities really help me focus on what makes an book outstanding, as opposed to simply reading it and saying, “Ooh, good read.” What books have you found helpful to analyze?
Write & Get Paid Get Paid $100 Do you want to earn money online? Listverse was built on the efforts of readers just like you. Readers who didn’t have any experience as writers but decided to put a list together and send it in. So here is the deal: We will pay you $100 for your efforts. It works like this: You write your list (10 items per list minimum), you send it in, we reply and say “Great—we’ll publish it” and send you $100 by PayPal (don’t have an account? Either way you win—your list will be read by us and reviewed, and if it’s amazing it will appear on the front page of Listverse to be read by millions of people a month! We can not accept lists from writers who do not have a PayPal account; this is non-negotiable. The Rules The rules are really pretty simple. Oh—and there’s one more thing: If you have a blog, a Twitter account, or a book you want to promote, mention it in the submissions form and we will stick it at the bottom of your list. Pictures and Video Ready to start?
Your Top Reading Recommendations from 2010 I read more than 30 books in 2010. Last year was the first time I made a concerted effort to record the titles and authors of the books I read. In hindsight, I’m so glad I did. I’d love to recommend some of my favourite books from last year (that is, books I read, not necessarily ones that were published in that year), and ask you to chime in with your own favourites. My top five favourites of 2010 are: 1. Buy Crow Lake from Amazon What I loved about it: Crow Lake takes place in northern Ontario, which is where I was born and raised. 2. Buy The Sea from Amazon What I loved about it: The Sea is one of those books where not a whole lot happens, but Banville’s prose is amazing. 3. Buy Amy and Isabelle from Amazon In most ways, Isabelle and Amy are like any mother and her 16-year-old daughter, a fierce mix of love and loathing exchanged in their every glance. (Quoted from: Elizabeth Strout’s website) 4. Buy Rush Home Road from Amazon (Quoted from Product Description, Amazon) 5.
5 Timeless Books of Insight on Fear and the Creative Process by Maria Popova From Monet to Tiger Woods, or why creating rituals and breaking routines don’t have to be conflicting notions. “Creativity is like chasing chickens,” Christoph Niemann once said. But sometimes it can feel like being chased by chickens — giant, angry, menacing chickens. Despite our best-argued cases for incremental innovation and creativity via hard work, the myth of the genius and the muse perseveres in how we think about great artists. In the ideal — that is to say, real — artist, fears not only continue to exist, they exist side by side with the desires that complement them, perhaps drive them, certainly feed them. Steven Pressfield is a prolific champion of the creative process, with all its trials and tribulations. Are you paralyzed with fear? There’s hardly a creative bibliophile who hasn’t read, or at least heard of, Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life. Athletes know the power of triggering a ritual. Donating = Loving Share on Tumblr
How to Recover Your Writing Confidence (Even if You Think You Never Had Any) (Image from Flickr by hans s) No writer I know ever feels totally confident about their writing. A lack of confidence is absolutely normal (or at least, as normal as writers get…) In fact, a little bit of self-doubt can be a very positive thing. Revise and edit your work thoroughlySeek a second option before publishing your writingContinue learning and practicing as you develop your craft However … a real lack of confidence can be a huge stumbling-block for would-be writers. If you find yourself constantly revising and tweaking, or if you cringe every time you show a piece of writing to a friend or publish a blog post, or if you work always sounds stilted and guarded … then this post is for you. When You Were Young… I titled this post how to recover your writing confidence. You might have felt pretty unconvinced by that – perhaps you’re sure that you never had any confidence at all. Perhaps it was when you were very small. Perhaps you were in primary school. Perhaps you were a teenager.
Famous Advice on Writing: The Collected Wisdom of Great Writers By Maria Popova By popular demand, I’ve put together a periodically updated reading list of all the famous advice on writing presented here over the years, featuring words of wisdom from such masters of the craft as Kurt Vonnegut, Susan Sontag, Henry Miller, Stephen King, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Susan Orlean, Ernest Hemingway, Zadie Smith, and more. Please enjoy. Jennifer Egan on Writing, the Trap of Approval, and the Most Important Discipline for Aspiring Writers “You can only write regularly if you’re willing to write badly… Accept bad writing as a way of priming the pump, a warm-up exercise that allows you to write well.”
75 Books Every Writer Should Read Whether you want to make writing your career or just want to know how to improve your writing so that you can pass your college courses, there is plenty of reading material out there to help you get inspired and hone your skills. Here’s a collection of titles that will instruct you on just about every aspect of writing, from the basics of grammar to marketing your completed novel, with some incredibly helpful tips from well-known writers themselves as well. Writing Basics These books address things like structure, plot, descriptions and other basic elements of any story. The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers: You can improve the quality of your writing by adding a mythical quality to them with advice and insight from this book. Advice from Authors Who better to give advice on writing than those who have made a name for themselves doing it? On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King: This is widely regarded as one of the best books for any aspiring author to read.
50 Books That Will Make You a Better Writer Literary genius — or at least competence — never blossoms in a vacuum. As much as many creative types like to pose as a mysterious lone wolves skulking through the fringes of society without ever becoming a cog in the machine, man, even their works have been shaped by their external experiences up to that point. Even a whole rejection of society still involves relation to it, albeit one defined by absence than presence. So despite what that "free spirit" in composition class claims, reaching out to fellow writers can still prove beneficial to those hoping to pursue the art as either a career or a hobby. Obviously, one must not take this article’s title too literally. Classics The Elements of Style by William F. Composition and Rhetoric The Office of Assertion by Scott F. Genre and Medium Literary Criticism, Reading and Analysis Notable Writers
201 Ways to Arouse Your Creativity Arouse your creativity Electric flesh-arrows … traversing the body. A rainbow of color strikes the eyelids. A foam of music falls over the ears. It is the gong of the orgasm. ~ Anais Nin Creativity is like sex. I know, I know. The people I speak of are writers. Below, I’ve exposed some of their secret tips, methods, and techniques. Now, lie back, relax and take pleasure in these 201 provocative ways to arouse your creativity. Great hacks from Merlin Mann of 43 Folders