The liter ary market is flooded with wannabe authors. Some are very good and some are very bad. While everyone has a story to tell, not many know how to tell their story.
When I sit down to write, I have to have an idea before words ever appear on the page. It seems once that idea festers in my mind for a few days, the characters that are coming to life in my head won't keep quiet! I begin with an outline. A very simple outline. Remember, in my last post, we went over the 5 W's of writing. I implement those...who, what, when, where, why (and we can't forget the how, either) The easiest place to start is the beginning. I find if I have a title, the rest comes easy. Next, it is all about the characters--who they are, what they do, when they are introduced into the story line, where they are in relationship to the other characters and why. Sometimes, in the case of a series or trilogy, you may want to draw a map of the community you are writing about--be it fiction or fact. It gels in your mind exactly where things are, not to mention, when you have it in writing (or drawing, in this case) you have an easy reference. Many times details are overlooked by using generalizing words...some, really, buildings, rooms, Your manuscript will come to life when you describe the situation or surroundings. Instead of saying "John wanted his fiance to meet some people from work," you might try "John wanted to introduce Mary to his secretary and manager." Instead of saying "The building down the street," try "The two story brick storefront on the corner of Main and 2nd." The most important part of all...remember this is your story. You control the content. I can't stress enough that you read, re-read, read again, read aloud, read silently--if it doesn't make sense to you, chances are it won't make sense to your readers. When we read out loud and we hear our words, it gives a different perspective on our writing. We can change and mold our sentences, paragraphs, stories into the brilliant manuscript we want to world to embrace. I don't know about you, but I want my work to be the best it can be. I don't want to cut corners or set unrealistic deadlines that force me to be shoddy in my writing. If I put out a rushed product, chances are readers will not pick up another thing I write. In this day and age of anyone can put a book out there, please, be prideful in your work. Make your work the best. Settle for nothing less than perfection. I guarantee those extra days you spend reading and editing will pay off.
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Happy September, everyone. It seems this year is flying right by at warp speed.
Last month we visited the parts of a sentence, the words, how to use them. This month, I'm going to share with you some wonderful tips. I recently read an article pertaining to the art world. The further I read, the more I thought these words could pertain to our art as well...our writing. Here is my paraphrase of To Improve Your Art, Ignore The Subplots by John P. Weiss "Nature does not capriciously scatter her secrets as golden gifts to lazy poets and luxurious darlings, but imposes tasks when she presents opportunities." ...Edgar Payne In essence what this is saying...you must have a well rounded knowledge of nature in order to create stand-out work. I'm taking that a step farther...if we have an exceptional knowledge of words, how they fit together, how to plot, outline, and use proper grammer and punctuation, our project will stand in its own excellence. Too many times we cut corners because of deadlines, when if we took those extra steps...describing colors, textures, characteristics...our completed project would have other layers of dimension. It wouldn't fall flat. We're all guilty of adding too much information, as well. Sometimes we need to simplify not magnify our characters or plot. By honing in on one aspect instead of several, we could set the scenes better for what we try to convey. Lately, I've found with my own writing that bunny trails happen. Other characters scream in my head to put them into the story. Soon, the story takes on a whole different meaning than the one I'd originally plotted. I write those screaming characters down anyway, hoping they will add to the theme not detract. Once an idea hits your mind, you may as well go with it and play it out. You can always delete or sharpen up the chapters when you do your initial edits. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& If you remember in last month's blog, I mentioned we were going to learn 6 very important words... those words are Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. HOW refers to the basics, to honing your writing. It also speaks to the values of your writing...the plot, the outline, the style, the word count. grammar, composition, punctuation. We cannot move forward in our stories if we don't have the basic skills to write the story. **How will you engage your readers? **How will you keep them reading, coming back for more? **How will you evaluate the progress of your project? **How will you market your product? WHY deals with your reasons to write this particular book. It's your emotional response. Give your project a title right at the beginning. It will allow you to see the whole picture of the why. Make an outline, even if it is only one sentence, of your reason for what you are about to create. Your book, story, and/or article needs to have purpose behind it. **Why have you chosen this subject matter...this genre? **Why do you want to bring your story to the masses? WHO in this instance takes on many jobs. **Who is the target of your writing? **Who are your characters? **Who are YOU? (for the author blurb) **Will you dedicate your book to someone? Who? **Will you acknowledge anyone? Who? WHAT is where you get to the meat of your story. This is where you shine as a writer, as a storyteller. **What issues are you writing about? **What scenes will best portray your characters' qualities? **What can you do to make your characters multi-dimensional? **What needs to be done to assure a quality product? WHERE takes on the meaning of different things as well. **Where is your story set? (location, room, etc.) **Where will you market your finished product? **Where will you write? (when you are comfortable, you are most productive. For some it is propped up in bed. For others it is in the recliner. Still others must sit at a desk, or outside on the deck. Wherever it is, make sure you are comfortable...that you have everything you need by you. I urge you to take frequent breaks...get up every 90 minutes and stretch, get something to drink, walk around, go outside. You'll find just those five or ten minutes will clear your mind and you'll be ready to get back to writing.) WHEN...pretty self-explanatory. **When in time is the setting of my book? **When do I want to set my completion goal? (Publishers sometimes set that goal for us, but it is good for us to set a goal of completion as well.) **When do I begin marketing? **When do I do a cover reveal? The general public has no idea what goes on in the process of writing. Some authors don't either, and it shows in the poor quality of the products they publish. I've only touched the surface of what we authors go through to write and complete a quality product we are proud of...one that we feel will touch the lives of others. That, if it isn't already, is our goal. Until October, Happy Writing!!!! My gosh! I cannot believe August is half over, schools are beginning their annual classes, and summer activities are making way for Autumn's glory.
Late July/early August have been busy for me in the editing realm. I was fortunate to edit 3 novellas and a full length novel. I've found my second love! (The first, of course, is writing my stories.) I mentioned that I wanted to give authors tips for writing. Each month I will touch on a different aspect of our crazy literary world. For September (yes, I know it is only August) I want to focus on that dreaded word...G R A M M A R! As I reflect on my years of grammar and composition in junior high and high school, one thing stands out above all others...sentence diagramming. If you do not know the components of your sentence and their specific use, it's impossible to construct a string of words that make sense. My wish is for it to be taught in our schools again, because currently it isn't a part of any high school curriculum unless you are home-schooled. Here is a little information about the different words we use and why we use them NOUN... Nouns are words that describe persons, places, and/or things. PRONOUN...I, he, she, we, they, them, him, her, it...pronouns are used instead of person/place/thing. ADJECTIVE...words that lend credibility to nouns and pronouns (colors, shapes, any word that is a descriptive) VERB...words that express an action, occurrence, or state of being. ADVERBS...helper verbs...words that lend credibility to verbs..they often show time, manner, place or degree...and most usually end in "ly." CONJUNCTIONS...a word that joins together sentences, clauses, phrases, or words. COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS...for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS...(only examples because they are many!) after, although, because, before, if, since, than, unless CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS...either/or, neither/nor, both/and, not only/but also, whether/or PREPOSITIONS...a word or group of words that is used with a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to show direction, location, or time, or to introduce an object. PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE...a modifying phrase, one that begins with a preposition and ends in a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase (eg....He is going to the store. In this sentence, "to the store" is the prepositional phrase.) So, do I have you totally confused?? Our English language is simple, once you know how it is put together. Proper Queen's English is a nightmare and one that I'm glad I don't have to use daily. TRY TO AVOID BEGINNING SENTENCES WITH THE WORDS AND OR BUT. Think about this for a moment. Those are connecting words... that can be used in the prior sentence to link thoughts. New sentences begin new thoughts. I wish I could sit beside each of you and tear apart a sentence and show you how to diagram it. For me, it is how my thoughts become words, become sentences, become paragraphs, and finally become stories. As always, at any point in time, if you have questions or would like to communicate with me, feel free to do so through Facebook or Email. Until next month, I wish you happy writing. Each month I will be blogging about a different literary topic. Hopefully these helpful hints and article links will be of interest to you.
As we begin this journey together, I thank you for taking a look at this website and considering your options. Remember, you really do control your own world...both literally and figuratively. You can go wherever your imagination takes you. Let's soar to new places through the stories told and touch lives in a positive way. Walking each step beside you, Grace |
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