When it comes to writing fiction, plotting can be really tricky. Angela Booth has a simple - but effective - tip: Start with a Character!
The basic idea is to think of a character that you want to write about. Then, think of one major trait that that character possesses. As the story progresses, your character undergoes revelations and/or changes. And, at the end of the story, that initial trait turns in to an opposite trait.
Angela has given some examples of this type of plotting. Here are some more ideas that you might want to work with:
- A shy little boy becomes a hero.
- A lonely housewife finds her happiness from an unexpected source.
- A man who’s been trying to hide most of his life becomes a celebrity.
- A confused character suddenly realises what he/she wants from life.
Can you think of other characters and ideas?
When you have your character in mind, then you can create your plot based on how the changes may happen. Try it and let me know how you go.
Suggested Book on Novel Writing:
‘Just want to say a quick thank you to all who are linking to eWriteLife.com:
- Inkygirl - for the great endorsement.
- Writer Momma Chic - for adding this blog to her blogroll.
- Tara’s Rambles - also for making this blog part of her blogroll.
- Writing in Wax - for another blogroll addition.
- And She Writes - for being a ‘recommended reading’.
So, if you’re linking here and I haven’t mentioned you - please leave a comment so I can thank you too.
A quick search on Google with the question: Can Writing Be Taught? brings back several articles and posts about this topic. Obviously, there is much debate about whether or not writing is something one can learn or if it’s innate.
Some interesting articles on the subject include:
- Can Writing Be Taught? by Diana Chang
Excerpt: “Writers are often perceived as egocentric. Perhaps some are, but so are some shoe manufacturers. The pursuit of writing is no way to distinguish oneself from the crowd. Hordes of people are writing, and talent of every variety is as widespread as weeds. The other ingredients - vision, voice, tenacity, a lasting urge to write, a capacity for grinding work - are essential, too.
But, I tell them, if it is indeed writing a person wants most to do, nothing can stop him or her, not even the leg irons of repressive governments around the world.
I believe most good writers - in relation to their art and craft - are selfless. Not their egos, but writing, is what is foremost in their hearts and on their desks. Writing is what they are in the service of, what they are enthralled by. Art usually has its way with the men and the women engaged in it. They wrestle with it but, paradoxically, feel victorious, triumphant, when they lose themselves to its power.”
- Reader Request 2004 #3: Can Writing Be Taught?
Excerpt: “I’m on record as being ambivalent to the value of writing workshops, but I will say that of all the “teaching writing” methods, in which a student goes to learn at the feet of whomever, this seems to me the best way to do it, since it’s short (a few weeks at most), it’s immersive, it’s intense and at the end of it you still have to go back to your life — you can’t just add another year of grad school (unless you go to one while you’re in grad school for writing. In which case: What the hell is wrong with you?). You have to be focused in a workshop environment, and I think that’s probably a good thing.
But again, I think the best way to learn writing is simply to do it, send it out, and see what the editors of the various literary outlets you’ve been reading have to say. You’ll learn what they want, what you need to work on, and you’ll be getting the practical benefit of actually writing. And ultimately, that’s how one learns to write: By writing.”
- Can Good Writing Be Taught? by Wendy Woudstra - This one just has several snippets from various authors. One favourite is by Lew Wallace:
“Modes of expression in writing, like modes of expression in speech, are referable purely to feeling, not studied, but of the moment.”
- Can Writing Be Taught? by Kate Willhelm
Excerpt: “The answer we arrived at was a qualified yes; some things about writing can be taught. Possibly there were shortcuts, methods to reduce that long learning period. Anyone with fair talent, a great deal of determination and perseverance, and some luck, can become a publishable writer, and what we could do was teach technique. We believed we could help emerging writers become better writers sooner.
Anyone who is literate can write, after all, and if all one wants to do is keep a diary without planning to share it with anyone else, that person does not need help, and studying technique would be wasted effort. Why bother? Write the diary, and be done with it. But as soon as publication is the goal, then technique becomes necessary.”
Last time, I asked if you have any favourite writing tools. So, I thought I’d slowly start sharing some of my own.
One of my favourite writing tools online is Dictionary.com. It’s a great reference tool that provides not just an online dictionary, but also links to a thesaurus, word-of-the-day, encyclopedia, and other references.
It’s handy for looking up meanings of words, synonyms, antonyms, and other things that are related to words.
Is it true that Creative Writing Students Are Wise Beyond Their Years? It’s an interesting thought, but I’m not sure if it simply applies to people who study creative writing formally. Or, if it includes people who study creative writing even outside the school setting.
Writing tools come in different forms: From pens and laptops to online resources like the Wikipedia.
Do you have a favourite writing tool? What are they? Share them here!
How to Write Amazing Descriptions for Stories, Essays, Poems, and More.
Have you ever wondered why some stories, essays, poems, and other types of literature seem more interesting than others? Apart from following the rules of grammar, spelling, and other technical aspects of writing, one factor that makes a piece worth reading is the use of amazing descriptions.
Amazing descriptions make any topic you write about more interesting, colourful, and alive. So, how do you try and achieve this?
The most important tip to remember is: make use of your senses. Using our different senses, try the writing exercises as follows:
Sense of Sight
What do you see around you right now? Don’t limit yourself to simply writing down: “I see a computer in front of me.” Describe exactly what you see. For example, “Red borders surround the language arts for kids web site. The colorful titles, logos, and tables resemble a rainbow.”
Other than colors, you can take note of things like shapes, sizes, and patterns (among others) when describing something, someone, or some place.
Sense of Smell
When you read, “The aroma of coffee, freshly baked bread, and cinnamon wafting in the air,” it is easy to picture a sense of homely calmness. Describing scents gives the feeling of familiarity - whether you’re describing a flower garden, a stinking alley, or a hospital. You can set the stage for your essay, story or poem, with scents of lilies and roses, garbage dump stench, or the smell of anesthesia.
Other words about smell: perfume, smoke, rot, moldy
Sense of Taste
How do you describe taste? Other than writing the usual words associated with taste (bitter, sweet, dry), you can also try to liken something with another thing. For example, instead of simply writing “The apple is sour,” you can write something like, “At first bite of the apple, I grimace in disgust. It’s like eating a tropical green mango.”
More words associated with taste: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, hot
It was great to spend a day at the Adelaide Writers’ Week during the Arts Festival. I’ve been looking forward to attending this event for a long time, and I’m glad to have finally managed to go. Not only did I get to attend a few great talks from authors like - Ben Rice (UK), Andrew Taylor (UK), Mark Danner (USA), and Marele Day (Australia) — I also managed to bring home some good books to read. 
A couple of things that kept coming up during the talks are the concepts of “writing voice” and the process of completing a manuscript. While “voice” may be a bit more complicated to explain, it was good to hear different sides of the writing process, where majority of the writers advocated just getting through the first draft as fast as you can - without editing, researching, and getting bogged down with the little details. It’s more important to finish first then shape it all up later.
Marele Day, on the other hand, also gave the audience an insight in to creating a book with the aid of research, by sharing her experiences while writing Mrs. Cook. I love what she said about the role of artefacts in telling a story.
Mark Danner read his piece that talked about politics, journalism and fiction writing. Something he said about putting art in to truth through journalism and affixing the truth in art through fiction struck a chord in me.
I was definitely inspired to start reading and writing more. So yes, I’m definitely booking myself in for the next Writers’ Week.
“Write the bad things
that are done to you in sand,
but write the good things
that happen to you
on a piece of marble.”
- Arabic saying
Robin Jones Gunn, author of over 30 books, uses verses from the book of Psalms in many of her books. A couple of favourites are:
“And they who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe if Thy signs;
Thou dost make the dawn and sunset shout for joy.”
- Psalm 65:8 (NASB), in her book titled SUNSETS.
“The voice of the Lord echoes from the clouds.
The God of glory thunders through the skies.”
- Psalms 29:3, in her book titled ECHOES.
Both books are romances and had little to do with being preachy. Many other writers draw ideas and inspiration from this book and you can do it too. So, why don’t you grab your bible, sit in a comfy place, and whisper a prayer. Then, open the book to Psalms and wander about.
One good way to be undaunted by the verse is to pick a verse or two that you like best and simply meditate on why you think the verse/s appear special to you. Then, pick only one or two essential words and do a freewrite using the word/s you chose.
You need not come up with a novel-length book the way Ms. Gunn did. Your special verse (or verses) from Psalms may be woven into a vignette, short story, or poem.
