6 Ways to Create Riveting Conflict in Your Story Who says conflict is a bad thing? Who says world peace is the most important goal of humanity? Who says arguing with your little brother when you’re a kid means you’ll grow up to be an ill-mannered ruffian? Not a writer, that’s for sure! Arguably, the single most important tenet of fiction can be summed up in the saw “no conflict, no story.” The simple fact is: fiction has its very basis in conflict. So how does one go about manufacturing this most precious of story ingredients? 1. This is the easiest (and, often, the best) way to throw a little conflict in your story. 2. Many stories base their entire premise on this idea (think of the Pevensie siblings tumbling through the wardrobe into Narnia in C.S. 3. For a long while, I had tacked on my bulletin board a note which read, “Think of the ten worst things that could happen to your character.” 4. Nancy Kress, in her fantastic book Beginnings, Middles & Ends spoke about the necessity of including both inner and outer battles: 5. 6.
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. Too many links? 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 Speaking of Dialogue
How Much of My World Do I Build? First, let me say that worldbuilding is an essential skill for every writer, regardless of genre. Not all writers need to concentrate on all areas of worldbuilding, but every writer must do some worldbuilding if he hopes to have a novel that is coherent, consistent, and real. Second, writers seem to come in three varieties — those who really have no idea what worldbuilding is or why they should bother with it; those who do know, but figure they’ll wing the details as they go; and those obsessive folks who secretly believe that they really can’t start the book until the whole planet is in place. I’ve spent time in all three camps — most of my time in the last one. The system works. Build only what you need; imply the rest. What do you need? A — Special physics It used to be that the only places where you might run into special physics were in SF and fantasy novels. If you require special physics, however, you must now answer the following questions. Special Physics — Matrin Magic On to step F.
Short Story Shortcuts: 4 Techniques For Making A Big Impact In Few Words To successfully write short fiction, you need to make a big impact in as few words as possible. So every choice you make as an author needs to be deliberate, every character needs to act with purpose, and every word needs to pack a punch. When less is definitely more, focusing on certain details can help imbue your short story with lots of color, meaning, and subtext—without superfluous words. Four Small Ways To Pack Big Meaning Into Short Stories 1. 2. 3. 4. How Can You Implement These Techniques In Your Writing? To understand how well these techniques work, read some short fiction! As an exercise, give yourself a short word limit and try to tell your story. Check out these articles for more about keeping short stories short: 5 Ways To Shorten Your Short Stories 5 Surprising Short Story Mistakes QUESTION: What tricks do you use to make an impact in few words?
21 Writing Prompts for Setting a Scene in Your Novel When you’re writing (or rewriting) a scene, do you ever get the feeling you just don’t have enough to say? Sure, there’s the action–but what about all the extra bits meant to flesh out your story? While I don’t encourage overwriting for the sake of word count, meaningful details can help you establish setting and atmosphere. Last week, I sat down with John Banville’s Booker Prize winning novel, The Sea–a book that features prose I admire–and took careful notes about how the author managed to effectively set certain scenes. Here’s just one of its many beautiful passages : I would not swim again, after that day. From this passage, I know the narrator is remembering something unpleasant from his past, and the imagery foreshadows what happens later in the story. Based on my reading, the following are 21 writing prompts for creating depth in your prose: Where does the scene take place? What other prompts can you share to help us set the scene?
Using Pictures as Writing Prompts -- Photos Make Great Writing Prompts Choose one of these images to use as a writing prompt for a freewriting session. Ideally, you'll develop one of the ideas generated by your freewriting session into a short story. A reader named Adam C. described how this played out for him in a creative writing class in which each student was given a different photo to write about. Adam writes, "The picture I was given portrayed an elderly couple, holding hands, looking off to the left of the camera lens. There was a large boat in the background. (More instructions for this creative writing exercise are also outlined in a how-to.)
100 Useful Web Tools for Writers All kinds of writers, including poets, biographers, journalists, biz tech writers, students, bloggers and technical writers, take a unique approach to their jobs, mixing creativity with sustainability. Whether you’re a freelance writer just scraping by or someone with a solid job and more regular hours, the Internet can provide you with unending support for your practical duties like billing, scheduling appointments, and of course getting paid; as well as for your more creative pursuits, like developing a plot, finding inspiration and playing around with words. Turn to this list for 100 useful Web tools that will help you with your career, your sanity and your creativity whenever your write. Getting Organized Thanks to the Internet, disorganized writers are no longer a cliche. Finding Inspiration Beat down writer’s block by using these online idea prompts and inspirational tools. Getting Gigs For many writers, finding a gig is the hardest part of their career. Networking and Marketing
descriptive words Active Voice Versus Passive Voice Today's topic is active voice versus passive voice. Here's a question from Brian in Iowa. He writes, “It drives me crazy when people write in passive voice. How can I teach people how to tell the difference between passive and active voice and to stay away from passive voice?” Well, Brian is right, the first step is to help people understand the difference between active and passive voice, because many people believe they should avoid the passive voice, but fewer people can define it or recognize it. What Is Active Voice? I'll start with active voice because it's simpler. Another example is the title of the Marvin Gaye song “I Heard It through the Grapevine.” What Is Passive Voice? In passive voice, the target of the action gets promoted to the subject position. If you wanted to make the title of the Marvin Gaye song passive, you would say “It was heard by me through the grapevine,” not such a catchy title anymore. Next: Is "To Be" a Sign of Passive Voice? Is Passive Voice Always Wrong? 1.
8 Tips for Awesome Dialogue Dialogue is one of the most important and also one of the most difficult aspects of a story. That is because dialogue is such a common occurrence in readers’ lives. Just as badly done animation of people is creepy, badly written dialogue comes off as fake and vaguely menacing. There is nothing worse to read than a cliché-ridden, stilted, and obviously forced line of dialogue. From the dime store novels of the past to Harlequin romances of today, you can find examples of bad dialogue everywhere. 1. The first thing a writer should do if they want to write realistic dialogue is to listen to real people talk. 2. No one blathers on for pages about the past or their history unless they have a really good reason. 3. Slang is a part of our everyday conversations. 4. Accents should not be overused either. 5. A pet peeve of mine is dialogue that switches between characters with little to no indication of who is saying what. 6. Another thing I find super annoying is improperly formatted dialogue.
Free Software for Writers Dozens of software applications are available and marketed to writers, yet many of these programs can be both expensive and difficult to use. While standard word processors serve the needs of many writers, some writers require more adaptable and agile solutions. For writers unwilling or unable to spend hundreds of dollars to invest in the multitude of purchasable programs, there is a plethora of free, user-friendly programs available for download. Q10 is a free, highly customizable, full screen word processor. yWriter yWriter is a word processor alternative that allows users to organize their projects in a completely new way. Celtx According to Celtx’s website, “Celtx is the world's first all-in-one media pre-production system.” OpenOffice OpenOffice is an open source alternative to Microsoft Office. Textblock Writer Textblock writer is a free virtual index card writer that runs on Windows and the .NET framework. Sonar FreeMind FreeMind is a free, downloadable mind mapping software. Bubbl.us
How to Cite Sources & Not Steal People's Content on the Internet The best content marketers aren't afraid to share. Share content. Share links. Share ideas. Share data. The thing is, sometimes marketers get a little protective of their stuff because there are less-than-scrupulous people out there who take content and then try to pass it off as their own. But sometimes it isn't a matter of people being jerks -- they might just not know how the internet "works." Bonus: Download our collection of royalty-free stock photos here -- no attribution required. So to clear up any confusion and ensure you (and anyone you do business with) is following generally accepted internet sharing etiquette, this post will outline how to cite internet sources. How to Cite Sources in Blog Posts & Long-Form Content Assets Blogs are hotbeds of source attribution issues, probably just due to the sheer volume of content the format offers. Citation Scenario #1: Citation Scenario #2: Now let's say you have data you'd like to cite in a blog post. Citation Scenario #3: Make sense?
Adjectives Describing People & Personal Qualities Advertisement. EnchantedLearning.com is a user-supported site. As a bonus, site members have access to a banner-ad-free version of the site, with print-friendly pages.Click here to learn more. (Already a member? More Word Lists