Writing Better Part 1

Every good writer like st share his knowledge. We could all write on the same subjects and now produce the same work. At a writer conference in Las Vegas a group of ten attendees asked an author about having their work stolen during the submission process. Instead of giving a long lecture he passed out paper and had each person write the a brief first chapter of Cinderella. Though the story is well known, when read ten people produced ten completely different version.

This is uniquely Dwayne Bearup's work, a member of my Wednesday Writing group. I share them here with his permission. The piece is worth the investment of $2.99  to obtain the complete in depth work.

HOW TO WRITE BETTER
Published by Dwayne Albert Bearup at Smashwords
Copyright 2012 Dwayne Albert Bearup


FINDING THE STORY

BURN AND BUILD

To write fiction from the heart, you’ve got to come up with an explosion of ideas, then sort through the rubble.

Eight methods:

01) Make a list of nouns describing items from your personal past, items which resonate with emotion. Let your mind sort through the mental pictures of your past and quickly write one- or two- word reminders. Then use items from the list to brainstorm possibilities, for characterization or even stories;

02) Find the outrage - list your pet peeves, then pick one and ask yourself what sorts of characters would care about it. Put a character on either side of the issue and let them argue about it;

03) See it - daydream until you sense a sketchy sort of plot, then develop it on paper into a story;

04) Hear it - listen to music that moves you and close your eyes and see what pictures, scenes, or characters develop. Listening to that piece of music will then put you in the writing mood every time you sit down to work on that story;

05) Research - your mind will often synthesize a story out of separate bits of info, connecting plots with sub-plots almost without effort. Read up on things which add data on the topic with which your story is concerned;

06) Write what makes you burn - spend ten minutes immediately after waking following the thoughts that come to you, expanding them, then going on to others;

07) Find your obsession - make a list of what obsesses people, and pick one which fits your story to add depth and meaning to a character. (Ahab’s obsession with the whale, for instance.);

08) Open up - the first line of a story acts as the hook, but it can also suggest a realm of possibilities for expanding the plot or adding sub-plots.

Any one of the above exercises can provide a fount of ideas. Now is the time to let the head take over from the heart. Look at the pieces your creativity has generated, then put them into some sort of pattern.

For each idea, spend time on the following checklist:

01) What sort of lead character does the idea suggest?;

02) What sort of character might oppose the lead? Why?;

03) How can I make these characters fresh, exciting, original?;

04) Is there enough at stake to sustain a novel? Or might this idea work better as a short story?;

05) What plot springs from the characters? (Start with what the lead wants and why s/he can’t have it.);

06) Am I still excited about this story?