From the daily archives: Saturday, January 16, 2010
How to write a novel the easy way? Can it be done?
Absolutely. Learning how to write a novel doesnt have to be complicated. When you follow a step by step process, you can take the complexity of how to write a novel and dumb it down to such a simple system that it becomes almost like paint by numbers.
Easy novel writing is a series of connections. You know, like the foot bones connected to the ankle bone.
In the case of novel writing, your connections tie one part of novel preparation and writing with the next. It works like this. You start with your
1. IDEA. This is the basic concept for your story. For example, the idea for my novel, Alternate Beauty, was that an obese woman finds herself in an alternate universe where fat is beautiful. This is kind of intriguing, but its certainly not enough for a novel. So you have to start asking
2. QUESTIONS. To flesh out your idea, you need to start asking questions. Your seed question needs to be What if. For instance, what if the woman who was in the alternate universe began losing weight. You throw out a bunch of answers to the what if question, and then you pick one that tickles your fancy and ask another what if question. It goes like this: Once the woman begins losing weight, she ends up as unhappy in the new universe as she was in the old. So what if she got fed up with being unhappy. Etc. etc.
As you work through what if questions, you throw in Why questions. Why does the woman lose weight? Why is she unhappy?
Keep stringing these questions together and youll begin to find your
3. CONFLICT. Conflict comes from a character wanting to get something and being blocked in some way from getting what he or she wants. A good novel makes characters lives miserable before everything turns out in the end (either good or bad). You weave your questions together in a way that reveals your characters desires and what obstacles preventing him or her from achieving those desires. Its the conflict that keeps your reader guessing when you keep creating
4. STORY QUESTIONS. Story questions are the secrets you keep from the reader so the reader has questions in his or her mind. You layer the conflict, one upon the other, so the reader has to keep reading to satisfy his or her curiosity. All the story questions, when answered at the end of the novel reflect the
5. THEME. The theme is the central message of the novelthe statement you want to make about the human condition. The theme is the unifying element of everything you put in your
6. PLOT. Plot is the storythe culmination of conflict and story question. Its not just what happens in the novel but why what happens is compelling. Plot is compelling when its driven by life-like
7. CHARACTERS. Characters are the people in your story. Think of them as the train that carries your plot along. Characters only carry along a plot in a compelling way when they have clear
8. MOTIVATION. Motivation is the psychological and experiential explanation for why your characters do what they do. Once you have a central motivation for each main character, they are ready to be placed in
9. SETTINGS. Settings are the place of your novel. You can create great settings and fill your novel with other compelling facts when you do your
10. RESEARCH. Research will answer all the detail questions, and if you do it right youll have a good balance of enough information and not too much to bog down the story. Once youve done your research you can create
11. SCENES. A scene is a specific chunk of the story, one that is its own closed loop. Every good scene has a purpose and it leads to the next good scene. When you put scenes together well, you create great
12. PACING. Pacing is the rhythm of the novel. You take the reader for a thrill-ride, and then you slow things down. Speed up, slow down. The story questions you created when you plotted is what helps create the speed flow. When you have your novel paced well, youre ready to write a
13. QUERY. The query is the one to two page letter needed to submit to an agent or editor. When you write it before you draft your book, it embeds your theme and central plot in your mind. It also helps you write the
14. SYNOPSIS. A synopsis is a narrative outline of the novel, told in a compelling way but placing all essential information in a concise package of only 10 to 30 pages or so. If you can put your story in this space, youll find it incredibly easy to then take the skeleton of the story, fill it in with the meat of your scene cards and write a magnificent first
15. DRAFT. The draft of your story is the natural result of all the connections that have come before. Its simply sitting at the computer and using all the elements youve created to spill the story onto the page. Once its there, you can
16. REWRITE to polish the words to pristine perfection. Then youre ready for
17. SUBMISSION. Submission is easy when youve done all the other work. You already have a query, synopsis, and polished manuscript. So you just need to hit Writers Market and find a list of agents or editors to whom to send your query. When the agent or editor asks for more, youll send the synopsis and eventually the draft, and one day youll get the call telling you that youve made a
18. SALE. This is when you scream and jump around and go out and buy your favorite meal and then be annoyingly perky for weeks on end.
And just like that, youve created a novel readers will love. All because you followed a paint-by-numbers system for how to write a novel.
Author: Andrea Waggener
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital Camera News
If you want to make it as a professional writer, you will eventually need to be branch out into the world of magazines. While many new writers are intimidated by the major magazines and editors, it is important to realize that they are not so different from any other publication. Aside from the fact that they print monthly, most magazines are just looking for knowledgeable writers who have a passion for their subject. If you want to write for magazines, or any other publication, simply write what you know and the rest will fall into place. As you progress through your career, you may want to experiment with subjects that require research.
The best approach to writing for magazines is to scour the supermarket for a few magazines that cover a favorite sport, hobby or subject that you are most knowledgeable about. Pick up a few copies and browse through the table of contents page. There is generally a tab featuring the names of editors, along with a mailing address for the magazine, a website and perhaps an e-mail address. Contact the editors directly and inquire about writing for their publication. If requested, send samples of your work and several ideas for a column that you would like to write. It isnt necessary to have previously published work samples, but it may help to show the editor that other publications, including local newspapers, have published your work.
When speaking to magazine editors, always remember to be yourself. If you try to sound a certain way that you think editors want to hear, they will see right through the disguise. Magazines naturally invoke intimidation, but editors are just people too. Be personable and friendly, laugh if something is funny and speak to them as you would an old friend. If they like who you are, they will like your writing. The people who read magazines are people just like you and they want to read something written by a genuine person.
If you have trouble launching your career in the world of magazines, or cannot quite convince the editor to give you a try, dont give up. Start with smaller magazines and work your way up to the top. In some cases, it may even help to write several free articles just to get your foot in the door. This will provide you with previously published work samples and a background in writing.
A final thought when writing for magazines relates to dealing with rejection. There are some editors who are as nice as your next door neighbor and others who are not. Just as with any career, there are good and bad jobs and bosses. The trick is to accept rejection, whether put nicely or not, and move on. In the world of magazines, there is a lot of competition and it takes work to get noticed. Learn from criticism, grow from it and allow it to make you a better writer. At the same time, dont be afraid to stand up for your work. Know that there is always room for improvement, but be proud of what you have done thus far.
Author: Aurel Radulescu
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital Camera Times
Writing an exemplification essay entails illustrating your arguments by use of clear examples. These types of essays can be very effective at passing the message to the readers, if the correct examples are used. Before you embark on writing your essay, you have to put several factors into consideration to produce an excellent essay. Planning is very important for it will make or break how you organize your sentences, paragraphs and general flow of the essay.
When writing an exemplification essay, you should consider how you start writing, very seriously. The introduction of the essay should be very powerful for it will determine if your essay will be get substantial readership or not. The introduction part should be in such a way that it grabs the attention of the readers and urges them to read on. If possible, you should include a thesis statement that acts as an indicator of the main topic of the essay. The thesis statement is actually a short answer to the essay question. You should consider introducing the essay with surprising but not alarmist statements, to grab the attention of prospective readers.
In writing formal exemplification essays, the introduction should begin with an information summary. It is important that the sentences used are specific, leading to the thesis. This will ultimately lead the reader towards the core of the essay, conveying the essential points that the essay contains. If you prepare well and write a strong introduction, chances are that the entire essay will have a natural logical flow. You should ensure that you do not jump from one idea to the other without observing the logical connection of facts.
After introducing the essay, the next step involves working on the individual sections of the essay. When writing an exemplification essay, you should use clear and concise examples to illustrate you points or arguments. The examples must have weight in the sense that they are rich in meaning and the readers can easily relate to the illustrations. Moreover, you should use down to earth language for better understanding.
The body of the essay encompasses illustrating the main topics, using clear examples. You must ensure that the examples that you use are from a reliable source. It would be better to illustrate using real life examples for the often carry a lot of weight when it comes to justification. The body is the heart of the exemplification essay. You should be creative enough to ensure that the reader follows every sentence, without losing concentration. The chain of sentences should create a natural flow and you should put all effort to avoid a chaotic flow of ideas.
The conclusion of an exemplification essay should be just as powerful as the introduction. If written properly, the conclusion is a tool that can leave a strong and lasting impression on the readers. It sums up the important points of the essay and wraps up the main topic of discussion. Although the conclusion should be powerful, it is advisable that you use a few sentences rather than long paragraphs that may bring confusion. An ideal conclusion should not be more than four sentences. New information should not be included in the conclusion for this will divert all the attention from the previously discussed topics.
A good exemplification essay should not be too long lest you lose the entire gist. You may end up over exemplifying the essay to the extent that it becomes trashy and uninteresting. Readers like to get the information that they need in the shortest time possible. It would be of no use for you to keep on dwelling on one topic repeatedly, for it will eventually destroy the grandeur of the essay. The standard word count for a good exemplification essay stands at around 350 words. However, you may break this unwritten rule if the topic you are discussing needs more explanation.
Author: Sid R Poudyal
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Beading Necklace
About
The Writers' Corner is dedicated to providing the tips and resources required for developing a career as a professional writer.Stuff We Like