Archive for the ‘Fiction Writing’ Category

I have to do a project for my AP English class where we give the definition of a word and then give non-fiction examples.

My term just so happens to be “Apostrophe”.
I have found several examples in literature, but it has to be NON-Fiction, and I’m not really sure what some would be.

Defintion of Apostrophe: a digression in the form of an address to someone not present, or to a personified object or idea.

In a short report, tell me something in a science fiction book or movie that is real now or could be real in the next 5 years?

The research you have conducted has been exhausting, yet the first draft of your non-fiction work is complete and you are in the midst of revisions and personal editing. Your plan is to send it on to a publisher soon.

Are you really finished with the work at that point?

You can take satisfaction in the fact that one of the harder elements of your experience in writing is over, but there are many details yet to attend to. You will need to write a cover letter and provide a synopsis or outline of the work, but you may have forgotten a key bit of research.

Market Research

In order to convince a potential publisher your work will make a needed contribution to the non-fiction subject matter you have chosen it is imperative to conduct some market research. This information is not only useful to the potential publisher it is key to their continued assessment of your manuscript. If you cannot provide a reason for the publisher to consider this work unique and marketable they will likely stop the review process at that point leaving the manuscript you worked so hard on untouched.

Every potential business conducts market research to find out if there is a need for the type of business they are seeking to establish. If a business decides they need to establish a hamburger fast food establishment, but the town already has enough ‘hamburger joints’ then the entrepreneur needs to establish research that indicates the hamburgers he will be selling are far superior than what is currently offered – or he might go back to the drawing board and determine if there is another specialty food item that might be more marketable (even if it’s a niche market).

For the writer this lesson indicates that your best market research should be conducted prior to investing creative energy in the crafting of your book. If you have already completed your manuscript without market research you might go back through your manuscript and find the many unique characteristics about your book and the content covered. This information should provide adequate material to move forward with the market research you need.

It may be hard to view yourself as a salesperson, but in the context of writing you must be able to present a clear case as to why the publisher should consider your work for publishing and in turn providing you with royalty checks for your efforts.

I am not asking what you like or want. I am looking for a real number for the average number of pages in new author’s first published works – say for the past 3 – 5 years.

IS Charlie and the Chocolate Factory a fiction book? Or a Non-Fiction Book. Forgive me I am only 10

I heard that it’s like Ossm (oklahoma school of science and math) That it’s a boarding school and It’s being built in Oklahoma city right now! If you say it’s fact or fiction, could you please give me some links and info? Im an excellent vocalist and it would be nice if it’s true, thanks to all who answer!

I was looking into some of the Wilbur Smith books. What other books can I read that will corresond to what we are learning about Ancient Egypt?

I need some answers for book list. PLZ HELP!
A young adult novel plz.

Why do people buy non-fiction books? Most readers buy books to solve problems or help with fulfilling a need. For example, when I started speaking for a fee I went out and bought a couple of popular books about speaking. Browsing in the bookstore, I was attracted to Lilyan Wilder’s book “7 Steps to Fearless Speaking” I read the back cover. I noticed she could help with 7 easy steps. I skimmed the table of contents, read a few lines and immediately liked her easy to read style. It went in my purchase basket.

Because I wanted to hear from several authorities on the subject, I picked up another book by Nido R. Qubein, “How to Be a Great Communicator: In Person on Paper, and on the Podium.” His cover design was white with clean lines and a personable picture of him on the front. His style of writing was not as easy to read but it still went in my purchase basket as well. Which brings us back to my original point; people buy non-fiction books to solve problems. To identify your targeted market, pinpoint a problem they have and the solution of course.

Problems come in all shapes and sizes. Usually a general category problem applies to all types of markets.

HOBBIES. Is your tennis game, golf game, bridge game as good as you’d like? Are you considering taking up horse-back riding? Want to improve your computer skills? What ever the case may be, your desire to improve or change your level of performance is considered the problem.

HEALTH. The first thing you do when your doctor diagnose your cholesterol is high and you need to lose 20 pounds. You go look for a book that will walk you through step by step to lose weight or lower cholesterol. You turn to someone that has solved the problem to learn from their experience.

MENTAL STATE. Are you feeling stressful about the economy? Are you noticing unexplained physical symptoms possibly related to stress? Once again, you have a problem and you are looking for a solution in book form. Someone who has outlined easy steps or ways to de-stress in our society.

PERSONAL FINANCE. Worried about lay-offs, down-sizing, retirement? Books that offer financial solutions to economic problems during shaky times are guaranteed to succeed.

MARKETING. We live in a competitive society. Small business owners and managers everywhere need a growing database of customers and clients. Therefore, they seek out how to books that offers solutions on improving their advertising copy, improving their business image or their website.

Each of the problem categories describes a problem and a need for a solution. The main goal of your marketing plan is to identify the problem your book solves and then present the solution. The more intense the problem and the easier you can make your solution, the more readers will seek out your book.

Your task becomes to re-structure your knowledge into bite-size reader solutions. Appeal to the masses, by letting them know what’s in it for them and how easy the solution is with your book. For example, let’s consider the book title I mentioned earlier about speaking. The title could have been: “How to Overcome Your Fear of Speaking” instead of “7 Steps to Fearless Speaking” The latter is more appealing because it alludes to only 7 steps to my solution.

Don’t put it off any longer. If you wait, you can be this time next year without fulfilling your dream of writing a successful book. You have the solution. Now write it down. While you’re at use the tips above and write a book that sells well. Make it different. Make it count. Make it yours.

Your story, be it novel, short story or novelette, is finished. Or is it? Before you send it to a publisher, check firstly that your story makes sense!

Maybe you read my article about The Final Draft. Well, before you reach that stage there’s this one to go through. It can be hard and you need to be tough with yourself, castings an editor’s eye – not that of a writer – over your work. So what is there to look for when editing and how do you go about it?

The first thing to do is to print your story out onto paper. Don’t ask me why but editing just doesn’t seem to work the same if you do it on your computer or word-processor. Then read your story. You might think this a waste of time – after all, you wrote it! – but I assure you that you’ll find mistakes, typos and a host of other little mistakes.

They’re easy to correct. Mark them in pencil as you go along. When you have finished your read through it’s time to begin editing in earnest. You will have almost certainly noticed plotting errors and the usual howlers present in every first draft (I speak from experience!) but here’s a rundown of vital points to check off during the editing process.

1. Do your characters behave as they should? Remember that, in fiction, people seldom if ever act ‘out of character’ – if your character has changed, this needs attention.

2. Do your characters react to each other as they should? Events in your story may well change the feelings and emotions your characters display towards each other. Do they mention events that have happened to them within the story? Real people would – your characters should follow suit.

3. Will it be obvious to the reader what the characters are doing – and why they are doing it? This needs to be made clear to the reader otherwise the ‘thread’ of the story may be lost altogether, your reader will become confused – and the story, for them, is over.

4. Do your characters react believably to circumstances? Again, this goes back to character action – don’t have a character brush off a situation if their character sheet says they would go berserk with rage at a given event – if this is evident, your plotting needs to be looked at. Don’t change your character’s reactions to paper over cracks in the plot!

5. Does your story timeline run true? It’s very easy to have someone in two places at once if you’re not in control of this critical thread. If you have a sub-plot, or, worse still, several sub-plots running, this can rapidly spiral out of control. Use a timeline record to help you control event timing, i.e. ‘10 pm Monday – Jake and Sally at Harry’s bar. Big Mike robbing bank.’ This ensures that Jake and Big Mike don’t ‘meet up’ somewhere at that hour!

Checking the above points will take time, effort and dedication. However, if you do not ensure that your story makes sense according to the points above, the only time you waste will be your own. Why? Simple. Editors today do not expect – and indeed will not tolerate – stories that simply don’t ‘hang together’. The days of droves of sub-editors making good your sloppy work are well and truly gone.

So – edit and re-edit. Be brutal. Be honest with yourself and your work and you will be streets ahead of those who do not take the time and effort that you do. Writing fiction is hard work – it’s up to you to make certain your work is the best it can be. I look forward to seeing you in print!