Tag: author
Rehearse Your Writing
[found on dailywritingtips.com; by Mark Nichol]
“Rehearse your writing by explaining the feel of a room, a street, or a park. Is it expansive, or economical? Friendly, or foreboding? Clean, or chaotic? What do your other senses tell you? What is the noise level? How does it smell? What are the textures like? Is it easy to walk through or along, or to otherwise navigate, or do obstacles interfere?
If your story takes place in a natural landscape, describe the terrain and what associations it has based on whether it conjures a sense of grace, harmony, and peace or whether it is full of bleak, harsh, jagged features. How does the presence of vegetation, or bodies of water, contribute to the feel of the terrain? What effect does the weather produce?
Place your characters in the context of their locations by showing, without telling, whether they are at home in their setting or whether the environment is alien to them, and how they respond to their feelings.”
For more great tips from Mark Nichol, click here.
[found on http://www.dailywritingtips.com/physical-descriptions-put-readers-in-your-place]
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A Writer’s Aesthetic
“The writer has little control over personal temperament, none over historical moment, and is only partly in charge of his or her own aesthetic.”
― Julian Barnes, Nothing to Be Frightened Of
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How to Make a Who-Dun-It
[found on blog.karenwoodward.org; by Karen Woodward]
“1. Know who your murderer is and why they did it.
– What was their goal?
– What are the stakes?
– What motivates the killer?
By the end of the story make sure you’ve answered these questions in your manuscript.
2. Leave clues
The clues “do not have to be obvious or even fully explained. You’ll want to leave some “mystery in your mystery.”
3. After you finish the first draft add in clues where needed
Price’s tip: Red herrings are much easier to add in after the book is written as long as you don’t write yourself into a corner with your characters, such as explaining everything they do and why.
4. Don’t fully explain everything
Price writes: “Let your characters retain some mystery.”
People aren’t fully explained any more than they are wholly good or bad, your characters should reflect this.
5. Your protagonist doesn’t have to know everything, at least not right away
Like you and me, it’s okay if your sleuth doesn’t have all the answers and is unsure about what happened … as long as she gets there in the end.”
[found on http://blog.karenwoodward.org/2013/04/5-rules-for-writing-murder-mystery.html]
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Not All Is Vice Versa
“There is bad in all good authors: what a pity the converse isn’t true!”
― Philip Larkin, Philip Larkin: Letters to Monica
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Name That Face
[found on writersdigest.com; by Elizabeth Sims]
There are many different styles of naming your characters, one is the ironic choice.
“Ironic Names
Large chunks of Alexander McCall Smith’s bestselling 44 Scotland Street series concern the difficult life of Bertie Pollock, an Edinburgh schoolboy. Two of his schoolmates are lads named Larch and Tofu. Though minor characters, they’re there for a distinct purpose.
The names interact with a savory irony. Tofu and Larch’s names obviously have been bestowed by parents with finely tuned ideals. Political correctness abounds: One boy’s name is a legume paste, the other a tree. Yet the characters, we learn from their actions and words, are as shallow and phony-hearted as their names are sophisticated.
Smith gives us, by contrast, the simple, direct, honest Bertie. He is worth more than both Tofu and Larch put together. His is an ordinary, unpretentious name; his surname, Pollock, is a common fish. Bertie, then, is the humble everyman who must endure everybody else’s idiotic, self-serving vanities.
But for pure triumphal irony, can anything top the Veneering family, of Dickens’ classic Our Mutual Friend? Such a vaguely grand-seeming name for a vaguely grand family. Simultaneously, of course, their name clues us in that they are nothing but surface. And we enjoy watching them try—and fail—to live up to their banal aspirations.
Ironic names are easy to create: Just think of your character’s opposite qualities and brainstorm liberally. Let’s say you’ve got a clumsy guy who lives with his parents and aspires merely to avoid work and download porn. You could give him an ironic name like Thor or Victor or Christian or even Pilgrim. Or you could give him a first name that’s a family surname, like Powers or Strong.
Authors who want to use ironic character names should strictly limit themselves to one per story or novel.”
To see other options of name choice from Writer’s Digest, click here.
[found on http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-goal/improve-my-writing/namedropping-finding-solid-names-for-your-unique-characters]
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Control the Voices
“Writers are nothing more than borderline schizophrenics who are able to control the voices.”
― Jennifer Salaiz
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Plot Now, It’s Time
[found on fictionwriting.about.com; by Ginny Wiehardt]
“Give Some Thought to Plot.
Writing a novel can be a messy undertaking. The editing process will go easier if you devote time to plot in the beginning. For some writers, this means an outline; others work with index cards, putting a different scene on each one. Still others only have a conflict and a general idea of where they plan to end up before diving in. If you’ve been writing for a while, you already know how your brain works and what kind of structure it needs in order to complete big projects. If you’re just starting out, then this may be something you’ll learn about your writing process as you revise your first novel.”
To read more tips from Ginny Wiehardt, click here.
[found on http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/novelwriting/tp/noveladvice.htm]
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Leave Them Asking
“One kind of good book should leave you asking: how did the author know that about me?”
― Alain de Botton
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Fiction Writing Tips
[found on writingforward.com; by Melissa Donovan]
“The writing tips below focus on the technical and creative writing process rather than the business end of things….
- Read more fiction than you write.
- Don’t lock yourself into one genre (in reading or writing). Even if you have a favorite genre, step outside of it occasionally so you don’t get too weighed down by trying to fit your work into a particular category.
- Dissect and analyze stories you love from books, movies, and television to find out what works in storytelling and what doesn’t.
- Remember the credence of all writers: butt in chair, hands on keyboard.
- Don’t write for the market. Tell the story that’s in your heart.
- You can make an outline before, during, or after you finish your rough draft. An outline is not necessary, nor is it written in stone, but it can provide you with a roadmap, and that is a mighty powerful tool to have at your disposal.
- You don’t always need an outline. Give discovery writing a try.
- Some of the best fiction comes from real life. Jot down stories that interest you whether you hear them from a friend or read them in a news article.
- Real life is also a great source of inspiration for characters. Look around at your friends, family, and coworkers. Magnify the strongest aspects of their personalities and you’re on your way to crafting a cast of believable characters.
- Make your characters real through details. A girl who bites her nails or a guy with a limp will be far more memorable than characters who are presented with lengthy head-to-toe physical descriptions.”
For more tips from Melissa Donovan, click here.
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