Ten Obvious Truths About Fiction The following essay was previewed in the class that Stephen Graham Jones taught for LitReactor, Your Life Story Is Five Pages Long. 1. The reader should never have to work to figure out the basics of your story. Who’s whose wife or husband, what the time period is if that matters, why these people have broken into this house, and on and on, just the basic, ground-level facts about your story. If you don’t relay that stuff up-front, as quickly and efficiently as possible (and please don’t be fancy), then your story becomes a game of three-card-monty, with you hiding information under this or that shell, trying to keep everything moving fast enough that nobody knows what’s going on. 2. Meaning you don’t have to lay every last detail of every last thing out. The best writers are the ones who can cover the most distance with the fewest words. 3. 4. You open with a hook, of course—the title—then you hook with the first line, then, usually at the end of the first paragraph, you set that hook.
6 Key Things to Consider When Developing Characters By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund I have to admit, I don’t write (or often read) character driven stories. My books are full of action and drama and are primarily plot-driven. In fact, I'm currently in the pre-planning stage for a couple different books. I find this time of getting to know my characters one of the most delightful aspects of the entire writing process. I thought I'd share a few of the things I consider when I'm developing my characters in the pre-writing stage. 1. Obviously I consider their physical appearance. But I always go much deeper than physical appearance. 2. Not only do I try to understand their skills, abilities, and talents, but I also attempt to determine their personality type (are they dominant, passive, loyal, outgoing, etc.). 3. I may not need to know when they had their first scraped knee or lost tooth. 4. I try to narrow down the qualities that will help my readers care about the characters. 5. 6. What about you?
Story Wars - Writing stories together 102 Resources for Fiction Writing « Here to Create UPDATE 1/10: Dead links removed, new links added, as well as Revision and Tools and Software sections. Are you still stuck for ideas for National Novel Writing Month? Or are you working on a novel at a more leisurely pace? Here are 102 resources on Character, Point of View, Dialogue, Plot, Conflict, Structure, Outlining, Setting, and World Building, plus some links to generate Ideas and Inspiration. Also, I recommend some resources for Revision and some online Tools and Software. 10 Days of Character Building Name Generators Name Playground The Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test Priming the idea pump (A character checklist shamlessly lifted from acting) How to Create a Character Seven Common Character Types Handling a Cast of Thousands – Part I: Getting to Know Your Characters It’s Not What They Say . . . Establishing the Right Point of View: How to Avoid “Stepping Out of Character” How to Start Writing in the Third Person Web Resources for Developing Characters What are the Sixteen Master Archetypes?
Character Questionnaires - Get to Know Your Characters Receive more writing tips and advice (along with special offers and other Gotham news). One of the best ways to get to know your characters is to ask questions about them. Many writers do this as a kind of homework before they actually start writing a story. The more you know your characters, the fuller they will be. This might also make your story easier to write. Character Questionnaire 1 This questionnaire is found in Gotham Writers Workshops Writing Fiction. You might start with questions that address the basics about a character: What is your characters name? What is your characters hair color? What kind of distinguishing facial features does your character have? Does your character have a birthmark? Who are your characters friends and family? Where was your character born? Where does your character go when hes angry? What is her biggest fear? Does she have a secret? What makes your character laugh out loud? When has your character been in love? Look at your characters feet.
FREELANCE WRITING . COM : Helping Freelance Writers to Succeed since 1997 How to Start a Novel Time to confess: I’m a closet novelist. For the last six years, I’ve been sitting on a great plot, but I find the idea of writing a novel daunting. A few days ago, my best friend said to me, “You should write your novel this year. You know, the one where the young woman is in a bus in Rio de Janeiro, and she suddenly hears…” “You remember the story? “Of course I remember! I’m still uncertain whether to start writing the novel or not. What about you? Are you a closet novelist? Maybe you have great ideas but you wonder how to start. To make things easier, I asked five experts how to start a novel. 1. The first step I take after being struck with an idea for a novel will seem like a non-step, but it’s critical—just as important as the second step, which is research, research, research. The first step doesn’t involve any books or paper or pencils. It doesn’t require speaking with another living soul, either. I consider: Does the idea have the legs required to last the length of a novel? 2. Why? By C.
Questionnaires for Writing Character Profiles - Creative Writing Help Enter your e-mail to get the e-book for FREE. We'll also keep you informed about interesting website news. "I have searched the web and used different worksheets, but none have come close to your worksheets and descriptions of (what to do and what not to do). Both courses I have taken have with Creative Writing Now have been amazing. "As usual - I already love the course on Irresistible Fiction, rewriting a lot and improving greatly even after the first lesson. “Essentials of Fiction proved that I could indeed write and I wrote every day, much to my boyfriend's dismay (waa sniff).” - Jill Gardner "I am loving the course and the peer interaction on the blog is fantastic!!!" "I'm enjoying the weekly email course, Essentials of Poetry Writing. "Thank you for all the material in this course. "I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the lessons and feel they were very helpful in introducing new ideas and perspectives to my writing. "Thanks very much for this course. "Thank you so much!!
Researching what a novel truly is first It took me loads of research (years) to discover all that it is for me to come up with my first ever novel. I first needed to have a good idea of what my topic and or sub-topics were going to be, as discussed in the very first group of blog posts here. I was certain I wanted to write a non-fiction novel rather then a fiction one, and so if your looking to write yours, you will definitely need to make a decision as to what type of novel you would like to begin working on. Doing this before you get your writings placed into action is imperative, and changing your mind at the very last minute wouldn't be bad if you made sure to do so before getting to far into the book. Many people may be the types to quickly change their mind from one extreme to the next, and that's why I chose to state such a fact up above, and this reality does indeed exist for us writers that are overloaded with a great deal of thoughts and creativity to unleash. Things to take major league notice of:
60 Historical Photos Worth 1000 Words posted by Katharine J. Tobal The American newspaper editor Arthur Brisbane said that “a picture is worth a thousand words” in 1911. Over 100 years later, this still rings true. Each photograph tells a story, a special event or moment, and helps us witness the past. 1. 2. 3. 106-year-old Armenian Woman Guards Her Home, 1990 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55.Nagasaki, 20 Minutes after the Atomic Bombing in 1945 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. About Author Katharine J. I'm Syrian activist, reporter, photographer, and graphic designer.
Free books: 100 legal sites to download literature The Classics Browse works by Mark Twain, Joseph Conrad and other famous authors here. Classic Bookshelf: This site has put classic novels online, from Charles Dickens to Charlotte Bronte.The Online Books Page: The University of Pennsylvania hosts this book search and database.Project Gutenberg: This famous site has over 27,000 free books online.Page by Page Books: Find books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and H.G. Wells, as well as speeches from George W. Textbooks If you don’t absolutely need to pay for your textbooks, save yourself a few hundred dollars by reviewing these sites. Math and Science Turn to this list to find books about math, science, engineering and technology. Children’s Books Even children’s books are now available online. Philosophy and Religion For books about philosophy and religion, check out these websites. Plays From Shakespeare to George Bernard Shaw to more contemporary playwrights, visit these sites. Modern Fiction, Fantasy and Romance Foreign Language History and Culture
The 25 Best Websites for Literature Lovers | Flavorwire | Page 6 It’s an interesting relationship that book lovers have with the Internet: most would rather read a physical book than something on an iPad or Kindle, and even though an Amazon purchase is just two or three clicks away, dedicated readers would rather take a trip to their local indie bookstore. Yet the literary world occupies a decent-sized space on the web. Readers, writers, publishers, editors, and everybody in between are tweeting, Tumbling, blogging, and probably even Vine-ing about their favorite books. In case the demise of Google Reader threw your literary Internet browsing into a dark void, here’s a list of 25 book sites to bookmark. The Millions Ten years is a mighty long time in terms of Internet life, but that’s how long The Millions has been kicking out a steady stream of reviews, essays, and links.