Outstanding Story
Links
Character
Plot
Theme
Point of View
Setting
- When you have mastered all of these things, you're in! You don't have to push your way through the door anymore. You're already accepted.
Characters: Your characters need to be real. Avoid stereotype characters,
such as the overly ditzy blonde that everyone loves or the tall, dark and
handsome man that everyone swoons over. Create your characters where they
match every-day real-life people. Individuals are more than three
dimensional. We all have different feelings, drives, memories, physical
characters, and emotional makings. Events that occur in your character's life
should affect the way he or she is in the present. Remember this, write this
way, and you'll be fine.
One good exercise to do with sketching out the person's profile is writing out
everything you can think about them, even their looks. You wont include all
of this into your story, of course, but it does make everything seem so much
more concrete.
Plot: Think of a plot liking climbing a mountain. You start out at the
bottom, some full of hope , some drained. As you climb you encountered many
challenging obstacles, and when you're finally on top, you feel as if you're
on the top of the world.
Have the story develop. Jump into where it has just begun developing. Don't
have "dead air" as DJ's on the radio like to call it. Let everything happen,
not just be. As the story goes, in the middle the character realizes that she
has to resolve something. More obstacles come forth and more tension is felt
as she ventures further in. Finally, everything is resolved, everything is
fine, and she can go home.
Setting: If you make up a place, be precise. Tell about the town, and make
it seem like a place mortals actually dwell.
If you are using a real place, know where everything is. For example, a school
should not be in a railroad track. This could kill the whole novel.
The character changes: Whenever the end is near the character will change.
If he or she does not, then what is the whole point? Why even write the story
of book? This is the same with all movies as well.
Point of View:
Third person: is the most commonly used because their is maximum flexibility.
The author is able to jump in and out of the character's heads, and tell it
from all prospective.
The first person: is more resigned, yet more emotion can be told this way. Of
course, emotion can also be told in the third person, but it's more of a
tricky maneuver.
Second person: I do not recommend using "you" when writing a story.
Theme: This is the underlying emotion of the story. Is the character in
danger? Is she scared, lost, lonely? Find out by writing and the reader will
instantly know from page one. Choose your theme when choosing your plot.
Overall tips in writing
1. Do not use the passive voice. Say, John threw the ball. Not, the ball
was thrown by John.
2. Do not overuse words. Keep it as simple and as beautiful as possible.
3. Jump right into the action. We don't want to hear about the year that led
up to the plot, page by page
4. Be realistic. Rejections come one by one. No writer likes to see them,
but every author will. Get used to it, save your rejection slips, and move
on.