Articles related to "Writing Fiction"



Characters Need Unique Dialogue
Dialogue becomes real when your characters' words show their background, attitudes, and culture.
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Creating Characters That Live
Ask thought-provoking questions about your character, and then write character sketches to create people that breathe and come to life.
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Discovering the Story Within
Review of Alicia Rasley's series of booklets on writing fiction.
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Fiction Story Ideas - News Events
Here are some tips to use news stories as starting ideas for your fiction.
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Good Dialogue Isn’t Real
Looking for ways to create realistic dialogue? Listen to real people for tips, but keep the dialogue focused and tight
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How to Use Dialogue in Fiction - Four Purposes
Use dialogue carefully and it will serve different purposes, developing character, story background, plots and pacing.
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Lost on the Information Superhighway?
Introduction to <i> Resources for Writers </i>, discussing author's experiences with the world of online resources.
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Maps and Other Tidbits: Finding Authentic Detail
Review of Mapquest, suggesting it as a site for researching locales for fictional settings.
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More Southern State Arts Grants
Emerging and experienced fiction writers in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Louisiana can receive grant funding through state arts councils.
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Multiple-Choice Adventure Engines
Two nifty new applications have been published for writers who want to create "Choose-Your-Own-Adventure" style games.
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One Writer's Journey
Review of Christopher Vogler's A WRITER'S JOURNEY, a detailed guide to using the classic Hero's Journey as a model for plotting fiction and screenplays.
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Renaissance Faires and Air Bag Safety
Search engines can help you find information you need, or lead you far astray. Some ideas to help you narrow your search.
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Reserve Backstory in Fiction
Reveal characters and situations through backstory, a little at a time, instead of telling it all at once. Beloved, One True Thing and CBS's Jericho provide examples.
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Storyline Interactive: A Guided Tour of the Fiction Writing Process
Review of <i>Storyline Interactive</i> free software for fiction writers. Outlines the program's features and gives some examples.
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The Idea's The Thing--Getting and Working with Novel Ideas
Learn how to generate ideas and what to do with them once you've got them.
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Using a Personal Journal While Writing Fiction
A personal writing journal is different from a diary, and can be a helpful strategy for writing a book and plotting a novel or short story.
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Winning Beginnings Contest Winners
Contest winners showcase their talent. Read these catchy openings.
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Writer's Village Moves to New Location
This week I want to update you on an excellent site I've featured in this column. Writer's Village, a meeting place for writers in all fields, has moved.
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Character Development in Fiction
Short story or novel, if you don't know and truly understand your own characters you are facing an uphill struggle all the way. Work hard on real character development.
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All In His Imagination - Part Two
David Gilmour continues to talk about his new novel, <i>Sparrow Nights</i>, as well as his television career and and future writing plans.
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6 Reasons Books Get Rejected
"I'm sorry, but this book just doesn't meet our editorial needs..." are the cruelest words a writer can hear. But what do they really mean?
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Book Review: Story by Robert McKee
Review of Story, by Robert McKee. While this is a screenwriting book, it is a great (but dense) work on plot, and a recommended read for all novelists.
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Complex Scope of Writing a Novel
To write a novel well is a huge task, incorporating character, theme, voice and much more. Here's how to conquer the intimidation and accompanying writer's block.
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Create a Writer’s Retreat
Can't afford a writer's retreat? It's easy to create your own.
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Editing Your Novel for Content
Wouldn't it be wonderful if manuscripts sold the minute they were printed out and sent off to a publisher? More often than not, publishing is a long process.
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Fast Writing
National Novel Writing Month and Book in a Week programs push writers fast. How do they work? Can writers produce anything good when the focus is quantity, not quality?
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Finding a Writing Group
A writers group can focus on critiques, marketing and networking, or simply be a social support group. What kind of a group are you looking for, and how do you find one?
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Great First Lines of Novels
A great opening will pull readers into your novel and not let them put it down. Here are ways to develop problems, questions and "uh-ohs" in your first lines.
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Natalie Goldberg Offers Organic Approach to Writing
Reviews of Natalie Goldberg's THUNDER AND LIGHTNING and her audiotape WRITING THE LANDSCAPE OF YOUR MIND. These are two excellent tools for developing your skills as a writer.
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Review of The Writer's Journey
Christopher Vogler's how-to structure plots and create believable characters. Step by step guidelines to develop bestselling stories using the enduring wisdom of myths.
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Setting the Scene in Writing
Create a scene readers can easily visualize by focusing on character interactions, character movement and the surroundings.
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Storyboards Help Track Plots and Subplots
Use storyboards and scene summaries to keep plots and subplots straight, and give you a whole-story view of your novel. Go further and track character growth and pacing.
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Write Compelling Opening Lines
It only takes editors a few pages to know if they like your novel. Here are some tips to develop character, setting and mood in your first lines.
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Write What You Know
John Grisham, Dick Francis, Jeff Stone and Sara Gruen are great examples for aspiring writers to "write what you know."
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Writing Strong Characters in Kids Books
The best way to build characters is to understand their inner drives. You can learn an enormous amount about children and their inner needs by watching them playing.
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Writing the Mystery Short Story
What are the ingredients for a good mystery short story? Clues, red herrings--what other elements do you need to create a salable story?
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Avi Gives Advice on Writing
Newbery Award winning author Avi gives how-to-write advice in "A Beginning, A Muddle, and an End: The Right Way to Write Writing."
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Do You Need a Plot Outline?
The most difficult part of writing a book is planning ahead of time where it will lead. That is why a good plot outline is so essential.
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Editing for Themes and Structure
A good edit can make a huge difference to your story for kids. This article, the first of three, looks at editing for themes and structure.
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Marketing - Three: What stories can you find?
Marketing Your Writing: What stories can you find?
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Plotting Your Book for Children
There are three kinds of storyline in fiction. This article explains the different categories.
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Six Books on The Craft of Writing
There are so many how-to books about writing one could easily fill a room. But which books are really needed to help improve writing skills?
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Why We Love SFF
What's unique about the SFF genre? Creativity, the power of metaphor and meaning, and tools to meet both logic and the inner dreamer. SFF writing just does more.
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Write Better Short Stories
You need equal parts of skill and craft plus plenty of practice to turn rather ordinary attempts in to decidedly Better Short Stories.
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Deanne Durett: Non-Fiction Pro
Interview with nonfiction writer of educational books, Deanne Durrett. She offers writing advice, tips on writing.
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Finding Ideas for Picture Books
Finding ideas for picture books can seem daunting. Hans Christian Anderson Award winner, Margaret Mahy found inspiration in a motel swimming pool.
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Marketing - Seven: Spin-offs and what to do with them
Market Your Writing - Spin-offs and what to do with them
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The City of Ember Author: Jeanne DuPrau
Interview with children's author Jeanne DuPrau. She discusses the craft of writing and offers tips and advice to others. Also a review of her book "City of Ember", "The People of Sparks", written by Sue Reichard
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Vanity Fair
A review of the film "Vanity Fair".
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A Huge Thanks to the Readers of Writing Bestsellers
Changes at Suite101 means that "Writing Bestsellers" will be on hiatus until further notice. Thanks to all my readers. Please stay tuned...
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