May 19, 2012

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Short Stories to a Novel?

This is a short story about the best dude ever.
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Can a short story be turned into a novel? Much like poetry, there is are certain criteria that make a short story just that, a short story. Generally, short stories should run no more than 10,000 words. If it is over that specified word count, and you find yourself unable to slim it down any further, without affecting content, than you may be looking at the beginning of a novel instead of a short story.

How many characters does the story actually need to keep it cohesive and understandable? If you are unable to remove any characters than that is yet another sign that your plot may be too wide to fit that of a short story.

Another area to check is the interwoven theme or themes. Is the story built on multiple themes to make the story complete? Is the theme you have chosen to broad to keep you at the 10,000 word minimum guideline? What about the stories time frame? If the plot is based on years, rather than a brief time period, once again the work is leaning more towards the making of a novel.

How much of a time commitment do you feel comfortable allotting for? Generally writing and completing a novel can take anywhere from 3-7 years. One of the main components in any story is a well-defined plot. Every story needs a central conflict. Take into account the audience you are trying to reach. What will the reader gain from reading your story?

Take all of these items into account when making the leap from short stories to writing a novel. The amount of commitment and time that you will invest is a hefty one. If you are wondering if your story would make a good novel, it never hurts to get others opinions and suggestions. Be open to constructive criticism.

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Creative writing

Creative writing is a fun and rewarding activity for aspiring writers, and it can also be an activity that is shared with kids and family. It is important to start out with small projects. It will discourage and frustrate you if the first writing project you choose is an epic novel. Start out by writing a series of short stories or poems to get a feel for your writing style. It will also give you a chance to see how easily you can put words to together in an understanding and cohesive manner.

It is not uncommon to have writers block from time to time. Generally if you remove yourself from the situation for a brief period and come back, you will have a fresh perspective on what has gotten you stuck. Another way to get passed the writers block are prompts. There are several ways to getting these idea prompts such as: online, in books, or just taking a moment to take in your current environment.

There are parts of writing a creative piece such as: plots, characters, disputes and contradictions and so forth. These are what are considered the meat of any good writing. Another method to help just start your writing is the jumble story method. What this method entails is taking paper and writing about varying scenarios, characters and their notable traits, and write them down on the different pieces of paper. Pick one sheet per category, and use them to make a story. This exercise will also help stretch you as a writer, because you will have to think outside the box to put the story together.

It is a great idea to join a writing group with others to share ideas, but also for them to be able to critique and proofread your work. Those two items are imperative when you write.

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Writing viewpoints

The Affair at the Inn has four different narra...
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Deciding what viewpoint to write a story will eventually become the basis of building credibility for each of the main characters. Here are some different viewpoints on which stories are told.

If the story is written from an objective viewpoint it is being told from an external view. This is a form of narrative that is based solely on the observations of what a character says and does. This is used frequently in the romance genre.

Next is the first person subjective. This is being told from the person narrating, and it is not an objective outsider. Telling a story from this viewpoint is based completely on one characters view. While writing in this form it gives the character the opportunity to draw closer to the reader. Generally this is the point of view that most mystery and suspense writers use.

When it comes to second person narrative, it is very rarely used in any form of fiction writing. Another viewpoint is omniscient. This particular narrative is all knowing. In the same way that God is viewed as omnipotent. With this form of writing each character will likely be given the chance to disclose their personal thoughts and views separate from each other.

Lastly, we have author intrusion. This is another one that is not widely used as it was years ago in the Renaissance Era. Generally this form of narrative is used when the author is the main character writing from a first person point of view.

Delve into each character and dont hold back. Try not to write from too many different viewpoints in one set writing piece, because it will be confusing and distracting from the story. Also, describe all the senses of the characters such as: sight, smell, taste, and things such as motivations and passions towards people and things.

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Importance of conflict

Developing a well-constructed conflict is one of the hardest tasks, but it is also a very important one. An effective conflict will hook the reader and keep them turning the pages. They have to feel the words jump off the page and come to life.

Each different scene should offer a form of struggle between characters. This will offer the revelations that something important is happening, that the plot is moving forward. Another step to an effective conflict is the invention of distinct and complex characters. Keep the differences of each character as polar opposite as possible. A few steps showing the scenes advancing are:

• Distinguish the characters goal. What does the character want to accomplish? What is their driving passion to arrive at the intended goal? Using the single point of view narrative will dig into the characters psyche revealing thoughts and views of the world around them.

• Stage conflict. Offer the conflict by putting a hindrance in the characters path. Whether it is an internal conflict or an external one, they both can work together to successfully to develop the point. The conflict has to be strong and convincing to come across with impact.

• Conclude the action with devastation. This is where all the stops are pulled out for the conflict to progress into disaster. It needs to directly correlate to the character’s struggle. The next obvious step is leading the character to resolving the conflict, and drawing conclusion to the calamity.

Does the reader identify to the struggles of the character or characters? When this is successful, the reader is struck with emotions, and drawn directly into the scene and keeps the pages turning. The more the reader can relate the more they want to read the work. Try to stay away from cliché’s and develop the characters with depth and passion that outrivals the best of them.

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Beginning to Write

A good tool to use when brainstorming ideas for writing is the question, what if and why? Some author’s writings are based or have a piece of their life experiences incorporated in their work. Each writer will vary depending on where they feel comfortable writing.

Starting a new project can be an overwhelming process, but the best way to get past that is putting the pen to the paper and write until you can’t anymore. The key is to not focus on spelling, grammar and adherence because those can be corrected when it comes to the multiple edits that are done before the piece is finished.

Another idea is to create a timeline for tracking the progress of your writing. It gives the writer a tangible thing to keep moving forward, and keep them on task. It could be as little as writing a page a day, but at least it gives the writer a goal to work towards getting to the final product.

If the writer is just starting out, here are a few ideas that may help in getting the process moving:

1) Generally a good writer likes to read and needs to read. It helps to envision the story, and also helps expand the writer’s vocabulary. TV and movies are fine, but they should be used as last resort.
2) Once you have finished reading or watching a story, mull it over. What did you like about it? What did you not like? How would you have written it?
3) Finding your niche. It takes trial and error when a writer begins to write. Some writers excel at short stories, some fairy tales, poems and so on. A successful writer writes about something they are passionate about or have a good understanding about. Doing this, the passion and feeling will come through to the reader, and keep them reading.

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Forms of poetry

Title page of the First Folio, by William Shak...
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Poetry is typically a work of emotions and expressions put into a writing technique that flows smoothly. Metaphors and similes are also used through various works. There is an emphasis on rhyme, meter, and repetition that sets apart poetry from prose. Poetry shares the imaginative awareness of experience expressed through the poets work.
Prose can be defined as basic speech or a form of writing without any form of metrical structure. What that means in generalized terms is that it is writing without any form of using rhyme or a specific order of set meters.
When poetry is written effectively the reader is able to fully imagine the emotion of the writer. Other types of rhyming poetry can be limericks. The other various techniques that poets will use are: assonance, alliteration, consonance, and euphony. Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in words that are similar to each other. Alliteration is the use of the same consonant sounds. The sound in alliteration poems is more important than the letter. Consonance is the effect of similar speech sounds. Now with euphony, it is considered to be an agreeable sound reflected in phonetic quality.
Another part of poetry structure is whether it is couplet, line, strophe, or stanza. A couplet is a form of poetry type that Shakespeare used frequently at the end of his sonnets. In a couplet only two lines usually will rhyme and form a complete thought.
A stanza is a fixed number of lines of verses that develop a cohesive unit of a poem. Along those same lines is the strophe, which is basically a stanza containing irregular lines. There are a decent amount of formats that poetry can consist of. From acrostic, this is poetry that contains specific letters that form words that read in a sequence to ballads, which follow a pattern similar to folk tales and legends.

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Effective Business Plan

In this day and age writers have options available to self-publish their finished manuscripts without too much of a hassle, but the key is finding a reputable publishing company that fits the authors needs. It is important to do due diligence in researching these companies. The authors have worked exhaustively to get to this stage, so it is only fair to say this step should not be taken lightly.

As the author enters into the formatting and designing of the book, it is a good idea to put together an effective business plan.

Here are a few steps to start the author on the road to success.

Be sure to do an extensive amount of market research. There is a lot of information that has to be sifted through at this point of the publishing process. Research publishing companies, distribution channels, and the costs that will be incurred. Are there books similar to yours? If so, how do you plan to make yours stand out above the rest? It is a good idea to focus the efforts geared towards the preference the authors intended audience, which will give the reader incentive to buy the book.
Develop an original and inspired mission statement. The purpose behind a powerful and impacting mission statement is to state the goals, purpose, and the factors that are the driving force behind, what you feel, will lead to achieving success.
Establish solid promotional direction. At this step, as the author, the decision on how to promote and advertise your book needs to be addressed. One of the benefits of self-publishing is the author has absolute creative control of how the direction of the promoting and the focus towards their intended niche market.

There are many writing groups out there that have published or in the process of. Use them as a tool when you have industry questions.

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Thickening the Plot

When developing a plot for your story, take the careful consideration to be inventive and unique. You want it to stand out to your reading audience or it will not likely succeed. The plot device chosen must be written in a way that later in the story the reader can recall what it was, but not to suspect it until it comes to complete fruition.
Where the plot device is placed can be alluded to further on in the story. Be careful not to throw out too many hints regarding your plot devise so as not to confuse the reader. If that requires that the story must be extended, than extend it. This is one of the reasons an outline is helpful. You can hopefully prevent bumps in the road while writing.
A good plot should be able to be written in one to two sentences. If it requires more than that, the plot is more than likely to complex, and you will lose your reader. A way to utilize a good plot is deciding it ahead of time. This will help so that all the details are mapped out and not lost in translation. Another technique that helps in the writing process move along is doing a lot of prewriting before you start putting the entire story together on paper.
Try to plan out each chapter with a brief overview of characters and milestones that will occur in that specific chapter. Furthermore, take the chance to develop a subplot, deciding which chapter to place it in, and how to resolve it.
An outline again will help to get the writing moving, and developing the plot and storyline progressing instead of stalling out. It may need to be revised but the plan is to just get started.
Ultimately, the plot is where, what happens, the extensive storyline, and that action that the writing ensues.

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Writing poetry

Neruda hand writing of poem Srpen (August) fro...
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Writing poetry is a matter of being able to accept constructive criticism, and the ability to not shy away from subjects that may challenge you. The more you read others poetry, the more you have the opportunity to learn something new. So, try and read poetry often, and spend time just writing to develop your voice and get comfortable with your own personal writing style.

One of the initial steps is picking the theme direction you want to write about. The broader the theme, the more intricate and important the details become. Take your time and thoughtful consideration when it comes to titling your poetry. The titles are the first words your audience sees. This is an opportunity for the writer tohook the reader in.

Take chances, and step out of your usual comfort zone. Try and write from different points of view to change it up. If you hit a writers block, get up and change your scenery. Take a walk, go to the store and so on so it will help clear your mind and change your perspective.

Always keep a pen and paper handy wherever you go. You never know when an idea will spark, and you dont want to lose momentum. It may also be a good idea to keep a notebook next to your bed because if you have a profound dream and wake up with ideas, if you dont write them down immediately they will slip away.

Use powerful, concrete imagery and vivid descriptions in your writings. Also, make use of sensory handles such as: taste, sight, hearing, and touch, so the reader can distinctly envision what you are describing.

Lastly, save the powerful message or insight, you want to come across, for the conclusion so that it evokes some sort of emotional reaction from your reader. That is a successful poem!

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Non-fiction Market

There is a large market that is limitless when it comes to non-fiction writing books and magazines. One of the keys to success is taking the knowledge you specialize in, and deciding if others could benefit from your work.
A few areas that can be options to look into are:
Educational writings. This requires excellent skills in communication. You do not have to hold a teaching degree to utilize your skills, but it helps to have some form of a specialty that you have extensive knowledge on.
Reference material writings. These books are ones that are always in great demand. There are reference books for anything you can possibly imagine. Anything from how to plant flowers, to how to clean out a bathroom drain.
Religious writings. This particular genre has the capability to cater to books and magazines alike. The world we live in is filled with a plethora of religious denominations, and even break away religions from those! If this is the subject matter one chooses to write on, understand that this is definitely a niche market that you should extensively educate yourself on before endeavoring.
Travel. If this would be the niche market you feel confidant writing about, realize that it is much more than just blanket descriptions that can be found in a travel brochure. Some of the following are a must to include: culture, sense of the environment, vivid details, and correct facts put in wording that still makes it interesting.
Technical writing. To write in the technical writing field you need to have good research skills, patience, a good eye for detail, and accuracy. Also having the aptitude to sift through the amount of research, and still be able to translate it in terms any one person that chooses to read it, can and still understand it is a must.

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