I have met several people since I started writing who share a desire to do the same, but they either do not know where to begin or are too unsure of themselves to try. Authorship ends up on their bucket list for far too long as it did mine.
This blog offers some suggestions on how to overcome the first obstacles as well as offering you encouragement to put pen to paper. That is my wish for you.
This blog offers some suggestions on how to overcome the first obstacles as well as offering you encouragement to put pen to paper. That is my wish for you.
There are numerous how-to books on writing. To access a list of the top 100, go to Goodreads.com and look for the page entitled "Best Books on Writing." These books are valuable sources of information on everything from developing your own unique "voice" to the nitty gritty of sentence structure, grammar and punctuation.
My personal favorites are:
On Writing by Stephen King
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamatt
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
The Writer's Little Helper by James V. Smith, Jr.
The authors of these books provide useful suggestions and advice in, of course, their own unique styles!
One book I fully intend to purchase is The Elements of Style by Wm. Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White. It is considered by some to be the ultimate writing guide.
I picked up yet another book on writing; this one written by local author, Marshall Frank, who I met at a recent book fair. The title of his book is So You Want to Write. One of the things I like best about this book is the precision of Mr. Frank's prose. His recommenda-tions are crisp and clear, unlike others' that are overly complex thus somewhat confusing. It is an excellent book for would-be writers to cut their teeth on. I highly recommend it.
My personal favorites are:
On Writing by Stephen King
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamatt
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
The Writer's Little Helper by James V. Smith, Jr.
The authors of these books provide useful suggestions and advice in, of course, their own unique styles!
One book I fully intend to purchase is The Elements of Style by Wm. Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White. It is considered by some to be the ultimate writing guide.
I picked up yet another book on writing; this one written by local author, Marshall Frank, who I met at a recent book fair. The title of his book is So You Want to Write. One of the things I like best about this book is the precision of Mr. Frank's prose. His recommenda-tions are crisp and clear, unlike others' that are overly complex thus somewhat confusing. It is an excellent book for would-be writers to cut their teeth on. I highly recommend it.
The most consistent suggestion offered by these authors is to read. How will you know which style most appeals to you or which genres you dislike if you don't expose yourself to the writings of others? If you are a big sci fi officianado, give a Western a try. Like thrillers the best? Pick up a romance to read. Hooked on mysteries? Take a peek at an autobiography. I discovered an unknown interest in fantasy when I first read The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. There is such a wide variety of books to choose from!
The Outlander series, by Diana Gabaldon, so enthralled me that I decided that historical fiction was to be my genre of choice. There is, of course, a tremendous amount of history to choose from. Narrowing it down to one particular era, location or event was nearly overwhelming when I finally sat down to write. My first effort was a novel with a parallel plot named Winter's Whispering Winds. Half of the story takes place in 14th century England, the other half in the state of New Jersey during the modern era. The inspiration for that book came from the many romance novels I read in my younger years.
Swift Currents of Change came about as a result of reading Michael Shaara's novel The Killer Angels. As I shared in an earlier post, I was uninterested in history for many years. Shaara's novel opened my eyes to the American Civil War in very real and palpable ways. I could suddenly see, hear, feel and KNOW soldiers and battles in ways that had not been possible in the past.
Noticing the volume of Civil War books already in print nearly convinced me that it was senseless to add one more to the stack. Published author, Davis Bunn, spoke at a writer's conference I attended a few years back and convinced me otherwise. Yes, it's true that there are many books on that topic. None of them, however, was written from my particular perspective. No other author has my voice or style. Every writer has his or her own distinctive thought patterns and ways of presenting information. Each voice is unique and worthwhile.
Instead of jumping directly into the Civil War, I decided to focus on John Brown's raid of Harpers Ferry, an event that some identify as a precursor to the War Between the States. I visited Harpers Ferry National Park so I could get a feel for the place. I walked on the streets where the raid took place. I viewed the bridge Brown and his raiders traversed when they entered the town. I stood inside the firehouse where Brown held captives during the raid. I witnessed the flow of the rivers that hug the town on both sides and stood at the point where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers converge. While standing in that spot, the title of my book called out to me . . . I listened.
The Outlander series, by Diana Gabaldon, so enthralled me that I decided that historical fiction was to be my genre of choice. There is, of course, a tremendous amount of history to choose from. Narrowing it down to one particular era, location or event was nearly overwhelming when I finally sat down to write. My first effort was a novel with a parallel plot named Winter's Whispering Winds. Half of the story takes place in 14th century England, the other half in the state of New Jersey during the modern era. The inspiration for that book came from the many romance novels I read in my younger years.
Swift Currents of Change came about as a result of reading Michael Shaara's novel The Killer Angels. As I shared in an earlier post, I was uninterested in history for many years. Shaara's novel opened my eyes to the American Civil War in very real and palpable ways. I could suddenly see, hear, feel and KNOW soldiers and battles in ways that had not been possible in the past.
Noticing the volume of Civil War books already in print nearly convinced me that it was senseless to add one more to the stack. Published author, Davis Bunn, spoke at a writer's conference I attended a few years back and convinced me otherwise. Yes, it's true that there are many books on that topic. None of them, however, was written from my particular perspective. No other author has my voice or style. Every writer has his or her own distinctive thought patterns and ways of presenting information. Each voice is unique and worthwhile.
Instead of jumping directly into the Civil War, I decided to focus on John Brown's raid of Harpers Ferry, an event that some identify as a precursor to the War Between the States. I visited Harpers Ferry National Park so I could get a feel for the place. I walked on the streets where the raid took place. I viewed the bridge Brown and his raiders traversed when they entered the town. I stood inside the firehouse where Brown held captives during the raid. I witnessed the flow of the rivers that hug the town on both sides and stood at the point where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers converge. While standing in that spot, the title of my book called out to me . . . I listened.
Books are our friends. They are able to take us to places and times that ordinary travel is unable to allow. Each book is a new adventure, so READ!!
So many books, so little time. Sigh!
In addition to books that may be purchased on the art of writing, there are several excellent websites to be utilized. I found About.com's site on Fiction Writing to be very informative and user friendly. It includes links to other sites on specific topics as well.
I'd also recommend attendance at writing classes. Numerous colleges offer courses on Creative Writing. Although they are worthwhile, their price tags may be prohibitive for some. Don't give up! Classes I've attended were offered through senior programs, business schools and libraries. Even if you do not end up with a degree after taking these courses, you will certainly gain knowledge and experience. One of the bonuses of non-collegiate classes is the opportunity to meet other aspiring writers in your area. Their support is invaluable once you venture forth and start writing on your own. I've discovered that my writer classmates are among my dearest friends. We open our hearts to each other in ways we rarely do in other classes or venues. One of my college professors stated on the first day of class "We are the stories we tell." We expose the deepest parts of our being when we write . . . for better or for worse . . . usually for the better. Writing classes offer us opportunities to develop and hone our skills. As long as I write, I will continue to take classes. Highly recommended!
Once you've decided which genre to write in, the next decision might be which point of view (POV) to write from. The most commonly used POV is called Third Person . . .
In third-person POV, the author acts as a narrator, a person who
is observing the story from the outside. Characters in books
written from this perspective are referred to as he, she or it.
There are two forms of third-person narrative, they are
omniscient and limited. I leave to you to find in-depth
descriptions of them.
Most new writers, including myself, choose to write from the First-
person perspective. A single character tells the story from his or her viewpoint in this POV. This person is most often the protagonist, the leading character in the story. Marty McCrory is the protagonist in Swift Currents of Change. The story is told in her voice. There are limits to writing in this POV because one character is unable to know what others are thinking or doing outside of his/her direct experience. When writing in this POV, the protagonist refers to him or herself as I or me.
Second-person POV is rarely used. In stories written in this way, the narrator addresses the reader directly and refers to the reader as "you".
Once a genre has been decided upon along with a point of view, an author needs to decide whether or not to create an outline in advance. I've discovered that there is a 50/50 split in the number of authors who plan out their plots in advance and those who wing it; I fall into the latter category. Try as I might, I am unsuccessful at following a preplanned plot. My stories take on lives of their own and meander in directions I could never have anticipated. People like me are said to write "by the seat of their pants." I personally find plotting to be more like plodding.
If you find that you are a plotter, I have some ideas that might aid you in that effort. My current writing instructor has suggested that writers buy a large piece of poster board and a package of Post-It Notes. On one section of the board, place notes with information about each of the characters (their names, birth dates, appearance, education, hobbies, interests, personality type, etc.). On another section, you might want to place notes about the location/s where the story takes place, the significance of those location/s, what takes place there, what one sees when he/she looks around, dates when that location comes into play, etc. Yet another section of the board might be used for notes on plot twists, relationships that develop between people, etc. You get the idea, cover the board with the details of your story so they can be accessed quickly. Too often, authors lose track of these specifics only to discover too late that errors have been made. Can you just go back to make sure the details are accurate? Yes, of course you can. From experience, though, I can tell you that it is no fun searching through your story to find such minutiae. That truly is plodding! Some authors who outline, choose to put all of that information in a notebook or a binder. At any rate, if you find plotting in advance helpful, it is important to find a quick-reference system that works for you.
Inconsistencies in stories are inevitably discovered by someone, and when they're found, they scream AMATEUR! No one wants their beloved stories torn apart because they weren't careful enough in checking, double checking, triple checking, ad nauseam for accuracy! We'll get into more of that in a future post.
So now you have an idea of what genre you want to write in, you've decided on which POV to use and you have some ideas on your plot either in your head or on paper. What comes next?
GO FOR IT!!
That's right, put pen to paper and start writing. By now, I expect that you've taken at least one class, read one or more books on the topic of writing or worked with a website in preparation for this day. There are lots of things to remember, DON'T LET THEM GET IN THE WAY!! Whatever you do, don't stop to correct anything while you are writing. Your internal editor will inhibit your creativity faster than any other distraction. There will be plenty of time to edit afterward.
The second most recommended way to get you on track is practice. It is through regular practice that you find your authentic voice. Don't worry, you don't have to spend hours practicing every day! However, you'll need to set aside maybe 10-15 minutes a day to spend writing at least five days a week. Diligence spells success!
If nothing comes to mind at first, keep your pen moving in circles or waves. This has proven to release anxiety and allows access to the creative parts of your psyche. Before you know it, a story will develop on your paper and you'll be amazed!! It works, I've tried it - trust me! You may also go online and type the words "writing prompts" in any search engine. A number of web sites will pop up that offer words or concepts that may effectively jog your pen into action.
Since writing is a very solitary activity, I would strongly recommend that you participate in local events for writers. We all get writer's blocks and all find writing discouraging at times. It's very helpful to share your stories with others. Feedback is crucial to success! But make sure you park your ego at the door. All of our work needs to be critiqued; no one's writing is perfect and those who have learned more about the art have contributions to make.
So many books, so little time. Sigh!
In addition to books that may be purchased on the art of writing, there are several excellent websites to be utilized. I found About.com's site on Fiction Writing to be very informative and user friendly. It includes links to other sites on specific topics as well.
I'd also recommend attendance at writing classes. Numerous colleges offer courses on Creative Writing. Although they are worthwhile, their price tags may be prohibitive for some. Don't give up! Classes I've attended were offered through senior programs, business schools and libraries. Even if you do not end up with a degree after taking these courses, you will certainly gain knowledge and experience. One of the bonuses of non-collegiate classes is the opportunity to meet other aspiring writers in your area. Their support is invaluable once you venture forth and start writing on your own. I've discovered that my writer classmates are among my dearest friends. We open our hearts to each other in ways we rarely do in other classes or venues. One of my college professors stated on the first day of class "We are the stories we tell." We expose the deepest parts of our being when we write . . . for better or for worse . . . usually for the better. Writing classes offer us opportunities to develop and hone our skills. As long as I write, I will continue to take classes. Highly recommended!
Once you've decided which genre to write in, the next decision might be which point of view (POV) to write from. The most commonly used POV is called Third Person . . .
In third-person POV, the author acts as a narrator, a person who
is observing the story from the outside. Characters in books
written from this perspective are referred to as he, she or it.
There are two forms of third-person narrative, they are
omniscient and limited. I leave to you to find in-depth
descriptions of them.
Most new writers, including myself, choose to write from the First-
person perspective. A single character tells the story from his or her viewpoint in this POV. This person is most often the protagonist, the leading character in the story. Marty McCrory is the protagonist in Swift Currents of Change. The story is told in her voice. There are limits to writing in this POV because one character is unable to know what others are thinking or doing outside of his/her direct experience. When writing in this POV, the protagonist refers to him or herself as I or me.
Second-person POV is rarely used. In stories written in this way, the narrator addresses the reader directly and refers to the reader as "you".
Once a genre has been decided upon along with a point of view, an author needs to decide whether or not to create an outline in advance. I've discovered that there is a 50/50 split in the number of authors who plan out their plots in advance and those who wing it; I fall into the latter category. Try as I might, I am unsuccessful at following a preplanned plot. My stories take on lives of their own and meander in directions I could never have anticipated. People like me are said to write "by the seat of their pants." I personally find plotting to be more like plodding.
If you find that you are a plotter, I have some ideas that might aid you in that effort. My current writing instructor has suggested that writers buy a large piece of poster board and a package of Post-It Notes. On one section of the board, place notes with information about each of the characters (their names, birth dates, appearance, education, hobbies, interests, personality type, etc.). On another section, you might want to place notes about the location/s where the story takes place, the significance of those location/s, what takes place there, what one sees when he/she looks around, dates when that location comes into play, etc. Yet another section of the board might be used for notes on plot twists, relationships that develop between people, etc. You get the idea, cover the board with the details of your story so they can be accessed quickly. Too often, authors lose track of these specifics only to discover too late that errors have been made. Can you just go back to make sure the details are accurate? Yes, of course you can. From experience, though, I can tell you that it is no fun searching through your story to find such minutiae. That truly is plodding! Some authors who outline, choose to put all of that information in a notebook or a binder. At any rate, if you find plotting in advance helpful, it is important to find a quick-reference system that works for you.
Inconsistencies in stories are inevitably discovered by someone, and when they're found, they scream AMATEUR! No one wants their beloved stories torn apart because they weren't careful enough in checking, double checking, triple checking, ad nauseam for accuracy! We'll get into more of that in a future post.
So now you have an idea of what genre you want to write in, you've decided on which POV to use and you have some ideas on your plot either in your head or on paper. What comes next?
GO FOR IT!!
That's right, put pen to paper and start writing. By now, I expect that you've taken at least one class, read one or more books on the topic of writing or worked with a website in preparation for this day. There are lots of things to remember, DON'T LET THEM GET IN THE WAY!! Whatever you do, don't stop to correct anything while you are writing. Your internal editor will inhibit your creativity faster than any other distraction. There will be plenty of time to edit afterward.
The second most recommended way to get you on track is practice. It is through regular practice that you find your authentic voice. Don't worry, you don't have to spend hours practicing every day! However, you'll need to set aside maybe 10-15 minutes a day to spend writing at least five days a week. Diligence spells success!
If nothing comes to mind at first, keep your pen moving in circles or waves. This has proven to release anxiety and allows access to the creative parts of your psyche. Before you know it, a story will develop on your paper and you'll be amazed!! It works, I've tried it - trust me! You may also go online and type the words "writing prompts" in any search engine. A number of web sites will pop up that offer words or concepts that may effectively jog your pen into action.
Since writing is a very solitary activity, I would strongly recommend that you participate in local events for writers. We all get writer's blocks and all find writing discouraging at times. It's very helpful to share your stories with others. Feedback is crucial to success! But make sure you park your ego at the door. All of our work needs to be critiqued; no one's writing is perfect and those who have learned more about the art have contributions to make.