|
Writing Fiction
by Marie Grossett I love writing, reading, and critiquing fiction stories. With fiction you can stretch your imagination; you are in your own world in a sense. I have critiqued many stories, though the majority of them are good many lack the essential fiction writing ingredients. Here are my top five writing tips:- You must show and not tell instead of writing 'her hair was black' you would write 'Her ebony curls'. 'He wanted to sleep' would turn to 'His eyelids closed over his optical,' 'she was crying,' would write into 'Water streamed down her brown skinned face.' Get the idea! Describe, describe, and describe It so important to describe your characters and the scenery, many manuscripts I have read lack this. Apart from the characters name what do they look like? Where are they from? What is their height and weight? What is their background etc.....In terms of scenery what are their surroundings like? What day and year is it? How was the weather like? What was the time etc.... Though the characters and scenery are fiction as the author it is your job to make them as real as possible. Also you do not leave your readers wondering what the character and scenery were like you have to bring the story to the reader. If you get stuck on description remember to answer the five important questions who, what, where, why, and how. Be realistic Though your work is fiction you have to be as realistic as possible. I once read a sentence that read 'the car humbly sat on the driveway' a car is a machine it doesn't know about being humble it is better to write 'the car was parked in the driveway,' this is more realistic to the reader. Remember make the story as real as possible. Good transition Your story needs to flow correctly. For example if you want to move onto a next scene within the same chapter then you can start the next paragraph by writing a different day or time. Or leave a space between your last sentence and the scene. Sample, 'Rose slipped under her white soft duvet her eyelids closed over her optical.' 'It was a wet Tuesday at 6:00am the buzz noise pierced in Roses ear. Her oval shaped lids unfolded.' Clear quotes It needs to be clear which character is speaking there were so many times when I became confused on which character was speaking. If necessary you can add their name at the end of a quote or make the quotes flow in a way that the reader is clear of who is speaking. Sample - "Hello Peter it's been a long time?" "Hey Rose you're looking good, how have you been, what have you been up to?" "I'm well I've just been working, moving house. What about you?" Or "Hello Peter it's been a long time?" Rose said. "You're looking good, how have you been, what have you been up to?" "I'm well I've just been working, moving house. What about you?" Whichever method you decide to use with both quotes it is clear on whose speaking. I hope you aspiring fiction authors found my tips useful happy writing. Marie Grossett aka Vanessa Grossett is a published Author, and has interviewed best selling and award winning Christian Authors. She is a Literary Agent at The Authors Care Services ltd. www.theauthorscare.co.uk [email protected] Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |