August 2011
25 posts
Seven Rules for Writing Historical Fiction →
writingadvice:
By Elizabeth Crook
We grow up being told to “write” what we “know”, but history is the unknown. You have to learn almost everything about a period and the social customs just to get your characters out of their beds, (or off of their skins,) and feed them breakfast.
Rule #1: Sweat the Small…
“You should always look at your main character’s fatal flaw as the major building...”
– Lara Sterling (via writingadvice)
“In order to change the character’s sex, I first search-and-replaced the male...”
– Paolo Bacigalupi (via writingadvice)
“You can’t learn to write in college. It’s a very bad place for writers because...”
– Ray Bradbury (via writingadvice)
Quick Jungian Personality Test →
writingadvice:
Take this quick personality test on behalf of your protagonist and secondary characters. You’ll probably get some interesting insights.
(You can find more info on Jungian Types HERE.)
“Do you want to be a writer?
Read that sentence again. I didn’t ask if you’d...”
– Tommy Donbavand (via writingadvice)
“As I see it, a story of almost any kind should be like hypnosis. You fascinate...”
– Alan Moore (via writingadvice)
“Writers need to focus on the one thing that they do have control over:...”
– J.A. Konrath (via writingadvice)
“Advice? I don’t have advice. Stop aspiring and start writing. If you’re writing,...”
– Alan Watts (via writingadvice)
Mystery Novel - The Classic 12-Chapter Formula →
writingadvice:
The Classic Approach:
The classic mystery is popular fiction which follows a specific formula. Clever writers may try to change the formula, but the most clever will cling to it for a very good reason. They work within the bounds of the formula because it works!
The following outline serves…
“The beautiful part of writing is that you don’t have to get it right the first...”
– Robert Cormier (via writingadvice)
“Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely necessary.”
– Jessamyn West (via writingadvice)
“Short stories are designed to deliver their impact in as few pages as possible....”
– Orson Scott Card (via writingadvice)
Structuring Your Story: The Hero’s Quest structure →
writingadvice:
1. The hero in his (or her) ordinary world. This stage is important because it provides a contrast to what happens next. Also, it is important to remember that what is ordinary (or usual) for the hero, is not necessarily ordinary (or usual) for the reader or viewer.
2. The call to adventure: a…
“One of the vital things for a writer who’s writing a book, which is a lengthy...”
– Roald Dahl (via writingadvice)
“The primary difference between the short story and the novel is not word length....”
– Greg Hollingshead (via writingadvice)
“On the whole, anything that gets you writing and keeps you writing is a good...”
– Neil Gaiman (via writingadvice)
Elements Of A Successful Story →
writingadvice:
By Crawford Kilian
If your novel or short story is going to work, it’s going to need all the right components. Used without imagination or sensitivity, those elements may produce only formula fiction. But, like a good cook with the right materials and a good recipe, you can also create some…
Suspense in Writing →
writingadvice:
By Vivian Gilbert Zabel
Mystery, action/adventure, crime, and detective stories require components which build, add, and/or continue the suspense needed to keep the reader’s attention.
The first place to build suspense needed in any writing is the first few sentences. According to Bill…
“You have to resign yourself to the fact that you waste a lot of trees before you...”
– J. K. Rowling | Vancouver 2000 writers’ festival (via writingadvice)
“All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened...”
– Ernest Hemingway (via writingadvice)
“Every one who has done any kind of creative work has experienced, in a greater...”
– Bertrand Russell (via writingadvice)
“You can’t say, I won’t write today because that excuse will extend into several...”
– Dorothy C. Fontana (via writingadvice)
“I like to think of what happens to characters in good novels and stories as...”
– Terry Mc Millan (via writingadvice) 