Articles On Writing

I have said above that if a secondary character tells the story of the main character, then the spotlight should be kept on the main character.
This shouldn’t be taken to the extreme though.
In other words, you don’t just write the story of the main character without telling your readers a bit about your secondary character.
Unless the reader understands the reason a secondary character is telling the story, it will seem peculiar that the main character isn’t telling it himself. It is, after all, the main character’s story.
So, the following have to be answered…
• Who is this secondary character?
• Why is he telling the story instead of the main character?
• What is his connection with the main character?
Weave in some information about the secondary character so we can gain a better understanding of his role in the story.

© Nick Vernon
Source: ArticlesFactory.com

The writer, who doesn’t have the time to plot, always finds the time to rewrite.
Sound familiar?
I’ve been guilty of this too, back in the early days of my writing apprenticeship. I was so eager to get stuck into writing my story that I wouldn’t bother with plotting.
Plotting gives you a sense of direction. It’s your map, which will lead you to write your story. Leaping into the unknown rarely works. Without a plot several things can happen….
 Our stories aren’t focused
 We lose our way
 Our characters don’t come to life because we don’t take the time to develop them
 We get stuck
 The story strays from us
And all this happens when we haven’t figured everything out first.
Your plot is the foundation of your story. It’s the skeleton, which will hold your story together. Your plot is there to work everything out first – to see if it can be worked out, and then flesh out that skeleton with other elements that make a story.
Plotting is the difference between writing a story for yourself and writing one for an audience. Writing for ourselves doesn’t require too much strain because we only have ourselves to please. It’s when we have to please our readers that the hard work begins.
If you are aiming to sell your stories, plotting is a must.
Have you plotted your story before writing it?

© Nick Vernon
Source: ArticlesFactory.com

It should.
A theme is a one-line explanation of your story.. Every story should have one because our stories are about something.
When I say should, I mean that this isn’t always the case. Especially so for beginner writers, who may not know, that the theme carries the story. Or even those who’ve been writing for years may not be aware of the importance of a theme.
And a theme is important.
A theme is what will keep you on track as you write the story.
What happens if you write without a theme in mind? Two things…
1. You stray from the subject
or
2. You write more than one story.
Let me give you an example of a story written with a theme in mind…
The theme to a story I once wrote was, ‘Vanity Leads To Destruction.’
Very briefly, this story is about a female character that believed herself to be so beautiful, in the end she lost everything.
Writing this theme on a post-it note and sticking it on my computer, I was always reminded that my story had to revolve around this theme. Having a theme helped me stick to the story I had intended on writing and not stray from it – not even a little. It also helped me to focus only on what was essential to my story.
So according to my theme, ‘Vanity Leads To Destruction’…
• Every action my character performed was to show her vanity
• Her goals sprung from her vanity
• What motivated her was her vanity
• Her words (dialogue) showed her vanity
• How she handled situations showed her vanity
• The interaction with other characters showed her vanity
• The conflict was a result of her vanity
• The highest peak in my story, the climax, showed an intense moment of whether her goal would be met (whether her vanity would work for, or against her)
• And the ending? The ending showed how she was led to destruction because of her vanity
By following my theme, everything in my story was precise.
If I showed my character not being vain in any instance, then I would’ve strayed from my theme.
Does your story have a theme?
If you didn’t consciously write with a theme in mind, then your story won’t have one. Chances are, your story isn’t focused. But then again there is the other possibility… At times we fluke things.
Perhaps without consciously knowing, a theme is running through your story.
Check your story to see if this is the case. If it is, are you sticking to the theme?
If you find that some parts of your story are straying from the theme, those parts will need to be changed to accommodate the theme.
Now the other possibility…
You don’t have a theme and none is running through your story. That’s okay. We can still save it. Read through your story and see what it’s about. Then come up with the most appropriate theme to it - A theme that makes sense yet won’t mean too much work to change the story.
Rewrite those parts that don’t accommodate the theme.
It is easier if we come up with a theme while we are at the plotting stage. It saves all that rewriting but not to worry… You won’t make the same error again in your next story!

© Nick Vernon
Source: Free Guest Posting Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

You are plotting the story. You write down what will happen, what problems will arise, what obstacles you will place so the character won’t reach his goals immediately, what he’s going to do to overcome these problems etc…
So all these things will be happening to your character since it’s his story we are telling.
Does it make sense then to have your character in mind as you plot these things?
It does. Because it will depend, based on the type of person he is, how he will face these problems, what he will feel, what he will think, what he will do.
Different types of personalities make up our world. Some people worry too much, so whatever problems come along, they will worry with the same intensity. Other people view the lighter side of life. Minor problems do not affect them as largely as major problems. To some challengers are welcome - they thrive on them. To others, challengers are viewed with fear and uncertainty.
As you’re plotting the events of your story they have to correspond with the type of personality your character possesses.
What happens when you plot without thinking of your character?
He will act ‘out of character.’ He will do, say, think, feel things that don’t suit his personality.
For instance…
If your character is a worrier and you place him in a situation where he doesn’t worry, then that’s making him act according to how you want him to act in your plot.
You’re manipulating him to suit your plot - You’re not writing with his personality in mind.
As you plot the events in the story, simultaneously build your character.
Cross-reference what you have written about your character and the situation he is in. Do they correspond?
© Nick Vernon
Source: Free Guest Posting Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

When an idea comes to us for a short story, we either think of a story line first or a character first. Whichever we think of first, and later on build, we have to make sure the plot and the character suit each other.

Example one – We think of a story line first.

Your story is set in a rural area. A company opens a factory and employs workers from that small town. The residents welcome this, as there aren’t many jobs going around. The management takes advantage of that fact and exploit the workers.

Using a technicality in the system, perhaps listing them under different job titles in their books, they pay them less than they are entitled. Your main character sees this injustice and leads the workers to rebel against the management.

Now in a plot like this you will need your main character to posses certain qualities. Like…

Leadership
To be able to lead the people to rebel.

Convincing
The workers are from a rural area. Some might be uneducated and not aware of their rights. The main character has to convince them that what the management is doing, is wrong.

Persuader
Living in a rural area, jobs are hard to find. Most of the workers will view the company as their saviour. Their thinking will be that receiving little money is better than none at all. The main character has to persuade them that being in a rural area the company needs them as much as the workers need the company.

Strong Personality & Confident
We need a strong character that will see things through to the end. We don’t want someone giving up when things get tough. He will also need to be confident that he is doing the right thing (not to make things worse for the workers) and believes in himself (knowing what he’s doing is right).

Strong people skills
To be able to speak and relate to people on all levels.

Negotiator
To negotiate a solution with management and workers.

Public speaker skills
To be able to address this mass group of workers, in a voice that is confident, persuading, authoritative etc.

So these are the qualities we will need our character to have.

Now let’s see if we can make him believable. Remember he lives in the same rural area, so what makes him different from the rest of the workers who are willing to settle for less?

I could say he recently move to that rural area from the city. He used to work as a union leader and wanted to get out of the rat race. But having fought for workers rights his entire career, he can’t stand now to see injustices and comes to the decision to fight for them and himself.

So this character would suit our plot because we need someone like him for our story.

Example two – Thinking of a character first

We notice a man on the street. Something about him triggers our interest so we decide to write about him in a short story. So at this point we will build the character first and then work a story around him.

Let’s go back to where we saw him…

He’s walking briskly along a busy street. He’s in a hurry. He’s dressed in a three-piece suit, which indicates he might be a businessman. He’s got a stack of documents under his arm; a briefcase in his left hand and his right hand is occupied by holding the phone to his ear, which he’s shouting into.

Let’s observe him closer…

He’s in his mid thirties. He looks authoritative. Perhaps he has his own business. Why is he shouting into the phone? Perhaps one of his employees made a mistake, which has cost the character a lot of money.

What if this employee made the mistake on purpose? What if he’s secretly working for the opposition, planted to destroy the main character’s company? What if the owner of that opposing company is the main character’s own brother? Etc…

So as we analyze this character and ask questions about him, our plot begins to unfold.

Plots and characters have to suit each other.

When we have finished plotting and are ready to write the story, they shouldn’t be ill-fitting pieces of a puzzle – They should be a perfect match.

Does your plot suit your characters and vice-versa?

© Nick Vernon

Source: Free Guest Posting Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

All writing is creative! Whether you have to write business email, a memo, an academic paper, a story or poem, it has to have all the necessary ingredients to create a lasting impact on the readers so they take the action that you want them to take, and that in essence is the purpose of all writing. Creative writing courses help you develop and master the skills and techniques required to deliver such content.
Most writing, especially nonfiction writing, uses data adopting a journalistic or an academic style of writing. However, this style may sound dull, monotonous. Creative writing can help you give away the same data by making up a story, creating imaginary characters mixing a bit of humor, etc., so you make the entire story exciting for your readers. Creative writing classes help you bring to life any dull, boring subject and create the kind of buzz and engagement for your advantage.
When you infuse creativity into your writing, you try to stoke the emotions of your readers by narrating a story, which you paint with your words, a story that they can relate to easily. With creative writing classes, you learn to weave such exciting stories for your readers. You will learn to weave stories around any boring topic, so it evokes interest and response from your audience.
Creative writing classes help you develop such interesting stories, offer you the tools of vocabulary and style so you include metaphors that your audience can connect to, write catchy headlines, titles that hit upon the readers’ emotions. Writing is creative and requires brainstorming, observation, for ideation, etc. The writing courses help you with the right environment that helps sharpen your writing with the help of debates, discussions, readings, support, critique, regular writing exercises and evaluation.
What you learn from Creative writing classes:
Creative writing is both an art and science; as such, you need sound knowledge of the principles, and regular practice so you master the skill. Joining professional writing classes helps you gain confidence in your writing. You learn the various elements of storytelling and the right techniques to attract your reader’s attention.
• Reasons for writing: Professional writing courses help you analyze and understand the reasons for writing the story or the content, to developing the plot, the style, etc.
• Introduction of Characters: Introducing characters and creating relationships between them is crucial to the development of the story. You will learn how to create memorable characters and learn to create conflicts depicting real world scenarios.
• The language: Language is a powerful tool, the choice of words and the style of saying those words affects your audience very much. You need to understand the psychology of your readers and use the power words at the right time.
Creative writing classes help you improve your vocabulary, style and technique of storytelling and using different narratives that will mesmerize your readers and will help you attract their complete attention and convince them to take a certain action.

© Bruce Markey
Source: ArticlesFactory.com

More than half the battle when you're trying to write is remaining focused enough to complete a project.
It used to be that most writers complained about lack of time to finish their novels, even their short stories, and articles.
Life has always had a way of distracting us from our goals - and that was before the Internet.
Yes, there was such a time.
It reminds me of that old joke. "How did we ever look busy at work before computers?"
Now it's like, "How did we ever fill our time before the Net?"
A hundred years ago – in the evenings before TV - we sat in candlelight, singing songs around a piano. Or we got pissed on gin in a tavern.
Then came TV and we sat around watching black and white drama and variety shows on the BBC, who (my mum says) told you when to go to bed when they stopped broadcasting.
Now it's all gone crazy.
24/7 entertainment by the yard, distractions by the bucket load, total information overload - how is a writer supposed to think, let alone write!
And none of this includes dealing with our jobs, the shopping, the chores, our families and having real off-line friends to socialize with.
In Japan, they sell clean air - because it's such a rare commodity.
I reckon the person who can package and sell FOCUS will be the next billionaire.
We recently upgraded our broadband - from crap to vaguely acceptable - because these are the only two options Australia offers its customers.
Now, everything electronic in our house is permanently connected, not only to the Net but to each other. Things ding and ping randomly and we have designated charging points for all our mobile clutter.
It's all great and wonderful - until I need to write!
The afternoon has recently become my "technology free" zone. It's hard - actually really hard - but I switch off my connection so I'm free to write articles, blogs and sometimes, my fiction.
It's absurd that I often have to go offline to answer emails - otherwise, they'd never get done!
And if I find it tough, what about those people who tweet every hour of every day? How do they find the time to do anything else?
Maybe they don't.
I guess that's it - tweeting IS what they do - maybe in between their novels?
I don't know.
It's hard not to be online, isn't it?
Just a quick peek that turns into an hour or two?
I've started editing manuscripts in bed - on my tablet - which of course is only a screen-flip away from the entire web. It's a wonder we get anything done these days...
And yet there are still thousands of authors out there who do get things done!
My hat is off to them.
Personally, I will continue to try and find that elusive balance.
I call myself a writer - because that's what I do (mostly). I would hate to get so distracted I lose sight of that imperative.
Which does happen sometimes - and I loathe myself for being so unproductive...
I hope you too find your balance, with the help of The Writing Academy.
And that we continually remind ourselves to FOCUS when necessary.
The best to you,
Keep Writing!

© Rob Parnell
Writing Academy

Humans don't consider something to exist until it has a name. Or at least some kind of descriptor.
Words bring things to life.
Emotions, experiences and activities become concrete when they're explored and documented.
More than this: reality is essentially defined by words.
In the same way that – at the quantum level of things - perhaps even within the entire universe – matter is said not to exist until it is observed.
This is great for writers.
Invention makes us mini gods, co-creating the world around us by recording it.
For whatever reason: our own pleasure or from a need to share or communicate.
Because that's the great part: words take on much more solidity when they are shared.
Mere words become concepts, art forms, even entire other worlds.
In fiction, an author's view of reality can take on concrete substance and to some of us, actually become more real than the world around us.
Personally, I’m more attached to some fictional characters than some members of my own family.
Recently I've been working on a kids’ book - actually more of a graphic novel - where I'm having to imagine what the protagonist's home planet looks like - and base his superpowers on some sort of believable science.
Pencil drawing his home planet made me think about this issue of invention. How the imaginative process constructs something from nothing. Substance actually created from thought alone.
It happens all of the time, but we often take the process for granted. It's something we humans do.
A writer sits down, scribbles a few words that become the basis for a novel. Later that story may become a screenplay with actors and sets and props and before you know it, legions of fans believe the reality of the movie to be more compelling than their own workaday lives...
Seriously, I believe you can't underestimate what you're doing when you sit down to write.
You're not just transferring thoughts to paper, you're re-imaging the world, often replacing reality with something more powerful, meaningful and satisfying.
Well, that's the idea anyway...
Does this mean we can't write about violence, cruelty and horror? Of course not. It's just as important to document the dark side of ourselves, the savagery, the self-interest, all the bad things we do to each other. Ignoring those things won't make them go away - even if Wallace Wattles (the original inventor of "The Secret") might have disagreed!
Inhumanity is the flip side of ourselves. And just like the idea that without dark there is no light, we cannot know how to be human without an awareness of what to avoid and know what to make positive moves away from
So, in our fiction writing it's okay to dwell on evil, misfortune and the obstacles that humans might face - but eventually there should be balance. Our stories need to resolve in such a way that hope is suggested.
Not in any crass way. Merely in an objective way.
We should be mindful that our darkest existential obsessions may be harmful to our work – perhaps as much as an over-developed sense of optimism.
Balance is the key.
You need to show your writing is real, purposeful and relevant, even important
After all, if there's no point to what you’re doing or “being” - why are you writing?
Even dark writers like Jean Paul Sartre and Albert Camus privately reveled in the idea that their own brand of misery was being widely read!
Writing well is about cultivating a sense of responsibility. You have a duty to report the world without bias. To remain objective.
The world is a beautiful place, even though bad things happen all the time.
Readers enjoy drama and tension, but they also like to know there's hope. Even if you write for yourself and never get your work out there, you have a duty to yourself to see the upside too!
When you're reading your own work, hopefully you will see the positive in the world - and by extension, experience the humanity in yourself.

Keep writing!
© Rob Parnell
Writing Academy

Your title is your selling tool. 
It’s the first thing readers will scan and contemplate whether to read your story. What your title's job is, it has to lure the readers into your story – it has to be so compelling that they won’t even have a chance to ask themselves, ‘Will this story interest me?’
Their eyes will glide over the title and into the story before they realize it. The action will be instant.
What’s a compelling title? It’s one that instantly grabs our attention because it’s…
 Intriguing
 Interesting
 Catchy
 Provocative
 Amusing
Your title may not be all these things but it will have to be at least one. There should be something about it that grabs your readers.
So how do you write compelling titles?
Start by learning from the masters.
Learn from those whose articles and stories are published in newspapers, magazines and, in particular, pay close attention how the writers of Readers Digest go about it. They have been luring readers into their written material for years. They know their stuff.
Here are a few examples of titles taken from Readers Digest….
• Did I really need to know that?
• Who is Jack Kevorkian, Really?
• Against the flames
• Who Killed Margaret Wilson?
Do you have any newspapers or magazines handy, or even better, a Readers Digest magazine? If you do, note down a few titles, then analyze why those particular titles grabbed you.
If you don’t have any magazines handy, take a look at: www.amazon.com (in the books section.) See what titles are listed there. Or look at your bookshelf.
Compare them to your title.
Is your title compelling?
If you find that it could be better, here’s an effective way that will ensure you find the best title for your story…
Read through your story and on a piece of paper jot down sentences and/or words that appealed to you as you read. Jot down as many as you come across – Don’t worry about editing them for now. Just note down all that grabbed you.
Then look at your characters. Is there something special about them, a word you could use in a title that will grab readers’ attention?
Now with the list you have gathered, think about what you are saying in your story. Start crossing out the words and sentences that aren’t directly relevant to it.
Select a few words and look through a thesaurus for a nicer sounding synonym.
Choose the most appropriate group of words for the title.
Remember… your title has to be one or a combination of the below…
 Intriguing
 Interesting
 Catchy
 Provocative
 Amusing

© Nick Vernon
Source: Free Guest Posting Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

When it comes to writing everybody is different. Personally, before I had been given an opportunity to write a short story, or even had any desire to write one, had anyone asked me what my perception was of this type of writing, I would respond that I thought it was probably quite easy - that it was certainly an easier mode of writing to pursue. But in a couple years that changed and I now find myself eating my words. Having initially tried and failed to write a number of short stories, I then found myself attending various workshops and reading tips online to try to understand why I was failing so miserably at grasping this art. And so, through a lot of study and practice I slowly learnt that there is indeed a large amount of skill required when it comes to this genre of writing, and that patience with both the story and the pace at which the story is born are crucial to your success.
There are lots of reasons why short stories are hard to write:
Thinking it is easy- There is often an under-estimation of just how hard short stories are to write. Because of that most individuals approach it as an easy task and leads them to take on this art under-prepared. Just because it is a short story and not a novel does not mean it is an easier; in fact some might find writing short stories a harder task.
Lack of preparation- Writing well is an art; it requires study and practice. Many people find it difficult to write a short story because they haven't spent sufficient time reading short works by other writers, or looking into the skills and techniques needed to grasp the crucial techniques. It just like doing a research paper in college, you aren’t going to start writing without any knowledge about your subject. If you are serious about writing then you need to spend time researching the art of writing before you dive headfirst into the action.
Jump into Action- Short stories are by default...short!! This means that you are limited in the number of words that you have available for setting the scene at the beginning of the piece, and so you must be brave and leap right into the action. For writers who are used to writing longer novellas or novels, this can be challenging. It takes some practice to condense your writing and clearly get the message across.
Use of Diction- Some short stories don't use any diction, but rely solely on the narrator to guide the reader through the story. Others use diction as the focus of the text, and this helps set the pace, action and tone of the piece. But with only a few hundred or thousand words at your disposal, the use of diction must to be perfect if it is going to work as the driving force throughout the story.
Use of Language- If you are writing a story that does not use diction as the driving force then you need to rely on descriptive language. But as with diction, the use of words and thus the use of time are limited significantly in a short story. Often individuals find it very difficult to write a short piece because they find it very hard to make every word of language count.
In conclusion this form of writing is not as simple as you may think but don’t give up hope. It is going to take research and practice but if you have a true love for writing then the outcome will be worth it.

© Heather Kraus
Source: Free Guest Posting Articles from ArticlesFactory.com