How do fiction writers write

You can put it everywhere. And you should. His wife is trying to have a normal dinner with him. I wanted to go over and take this guy Radan and knock the hell out of him. Something had to happen. It was like before a big storm, with the black clouds out there on the horizon. Everything goes calm and dead, and then …. Dialogue is the fastest way to improve a manuscript—or to sink it. But dialogue that is sodden and undistinguished marshmallow dialogue has the opposite effect.

Second, compress your dialogue as much as possible, cutting fluffy words, whole lines or even entire exchanges. Try this: Copy a lengthy dialogue exchange into a fresh document. Then cut and compress as much as you can. Compare it to the original. Finally, when writing dialogue be sure to include some sort of tension in every exchange.

Remember fear? At the very least you can have some aspect of it worry, anxiety, fright going on inside one of the characters so that communication is partially impaired. Try playing up the different agendas each character has in a scene.

Let them use dialogue as a weapon to get what they want. Readers like to worry about characters in crisis. Your novel no longer conveys a fictive dream but a dull ride down familiar streets. Plot twist ideas and prompts for writers. The fix is simple: Put something unexpected in every scene.

Doing this one thing keeps the reader on edge. So how do you come up with the unexpected? Try making lists. Pause and ask yourself what might happen next, and list the possibilities, centering on three primary areas: description, action, and dialogue. Force yourself to list at least five alternatives. How might he see a room where someone died? The bed? The closet? Action: Close your eyes and watch your scene unfold.

Let the characters improvise. What are some outlandish things that could result? If something looks interesting, find a way to justify it.

How might characters say things that put other characters and thus, readers off balance? Clarice begins:. Scene beats, or micro-tension, make up the dramatic action that propels a story forward. I wrote four versions of my novel before I finally pegged its current course. The challenge? I wrote a collection of disparate and at times tangentially-related scenes. In a vacuum, these scenes were fine, but when woven into a tapestry of scenes and chapters, many of them fell flat. Make sure they build upon one another.

The character enters the room thinking one thing is going to happen, only to find something else. Or, the character is investigating a mystery, and discovers something shocking that changes the purpose of her quest. How she feels about that discovery, in that moment, is another beat.

What does your character choose, and how does that choice affect her? Drafts are hulking, beastly things. They sit in the corner and sulk as you plod through, page by page, trying to do everything at once to reach the Second Draft. Instead of looking at your revision process in terms of drafts or versions, think of passes. Passes are lighter, more jovial folks. They allow you the freedom to consider elements of revision and to move more quickly through the process, like a painter adding layers of color to a painting that is not fully realized.

One pass might be for research, another few for character development and continuity; perhaps you add one pass each for setting, tone, and consistency of speech. Editing and re-editing the same copy repeatedly can seem Sisyphean — and eventually leads to unproductive tinkering. Identifying the passes necessary to finish your project, then remaining disciplined as you move through each pass, makes the revision process seem less arduous.

In his fabulous book The War of Art , Steven Pressfield focuses on resistance as a primary culprit in avoiding creation. The forms of resistance are myriad and highly personal.

I ate up hours, even entire days, resisting the process of putting words on the page, until I was honest with myself about how I resisted writing. I kept a list and acknowledged my modes of resistance each time they popped up. Write them down on big piece of paper and hang it over your desk. Your ability to overcome resistance is fundamental to establishing a routine. Time and writing are strange bedfellows. Who is to say how long it should take to finish a story?

Writing , words takes time, discipline and some semblance of an organized routine. Each writer approaches this process in their own way, but my routine involves a commitment to a daily word count rather than a time block. Writing to a word count rids me of the pressure of feeling constantly short on time. Some days, a thousand words takes me forty-five minutes. On others, I might stretch three writing sessions out across several hours: at the coffee shop, at home while making dinner and waiting for the rice to cook, and sitting up in bed for a few minutes after I finish reading.

Set your own word count and make it achievable. Is five hundred words all you can manage? Shoot for that mark and hit it. Then stop. But give yourself the opportunity to stop. Learn to finish. Now do it every day, forever… until you need a cheat day.

Dieting is a dirty word, but I love the concept of a cheat day: the one day each week when you eat anything you want and refuse to feel guilty about it.

Sure, we all want to be perfect adherents to the dogma that writing every day is the only way to improve, but sometimes life just gets in the way. You may have kids, or kids and a crazy job — or all the above, plus a house with a yard.

Look away. In time, you may find removing guilt from the process, focusing your attention elsewhere, makes it easier to commit to a routine. Funny how that happens. This is a key practice of mindfulness and it merely requires that we actively recognize and compartmentalize thoughts. We all tell ourselves various fictions about creating art. The key difference between those who persevere and those who quit is the ability to recognize the fallacy of subjective thought, and power on through despite it.

If it works, it works. Building your own is crucial. You also want the next novel to be even better. Not Helpful 4 Helpful 7. See Publish a Book at a Young Age. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 8.

How can I get an idea for a plot? Talk with friends or family members about possible events in the lives of your characters. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 5.

What are some different publishing companies in the U. Research each publisher individually, because some will not accept fiction submissions from new authors. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 1. If I want to write short stories, how would I get them published? Would they have to be in a book with other short stories, or could it be published on its own? If you wanted to write short stories, it could be published on its own.

They are published the same way any other books are published. Have you seen the section of books for little kids? They generally are short stories, and end up having a book of their own. But, not all short stories are for little kids! There are plenty of short stories made for every audience imaginable. If you wanted to, you can make more short stories of the same topic and publish them in the same book, too!

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. If an idea comes to you, and it doesn't exactly fit the story, don't be afraid to change around what comes before it. Remember, stories are made to be exciting, have twists, and most of all, express or even surprise the author.

Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0. Keep notes of everything you want to remember so you can look back on them, as it's always easier to remember something if you wrote it down. Have fun! Don't panic if you get writer's block! Use it as a tool, to experience new things and bring back new ideas. Use it to make your story better. Don't give too much flowery detail. If you can't come up with a fictional event, use a real-life event you have experienced and add a few touches to make it sound interesting and attract more readers.

Just remember to change the names of real people to avoid hurting anyone. Use poetic devices. These are those tools like but not limited to onomatopoeia, rhyme, and alliteration. Your book doesn't have to be known nationally to be good! Does "A Tale of Two Cities" ring a bell? Now, does "The Graveyard Book"? This isn't very well known. Ever heard of "Coraline"? The first thing that comes to your mind is probably that creepy stop-motion movie.

Coraline and The Graveyard Book are both extremely well-written books, and they're both by Neil Gaiman. Books are better known once there is a movie, and just because yours doesn't get one doesn't mean it's not good. Just get an inspiration of any sort, and turn that inspiration into a story. If you have an idea you have to get out there, do it, just make sure you write from your heart. Critics are key to the overall success of your story, but don't let their views surpass your overall vision this applies mainly to friends, not the editors.

Again, you are the author, and only you know how your book functions. Helpful 6 Not Helpful 0. Related wikiHows How to. How to. More References About This Article. Co-authored by:. Alexander Peterman, MA. Co-authors: Updated: May 6, Categories: Fiction Writing. Article Summary X To write fiction, start by brainstorming story ideas and coming up with a basic plot and setting. Italiano: Scrivere un Libro. Bahasa Indonesia: Menulis Karya Fiksi. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read , times.

Reader Success Stories Anonymous Apr 12, My friend, a girl named Jan, would read my stories to help me come up with more material. I wanted to improve my stories, as I would always lose a key element in it.

I found that I was 'telling' more than 'showing' the story, which helped my style get better. Rated this article:. More reader stories Hide reader stories. Did this article help you? Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Anonymous Apr 12, Vi Brown Jul 21, Had the perfect idea for a story line today. It gave me the confidence to actually research starting.

This article gave excellent advice on all the little things to help you along the way of starting to write a story. Ailan Andrews Apr 7, The article exposed that I had not thought of a number of critical issue in regard to the "how and where" for characters and time. Kent Pangan Jun 22, This really helped me out, I wanna thank you guys for making this! The "draw a map" and "listen to nature" parts are really helpful; since I'm writing a magical story, this is really perfect!

Rex Terry Jun 27, I have vacillated and made excuses for over year: I don't know about writing, I'm not smart enough, etc. Tonight I get going. The conflicts that occur within stories happen to its characters — there can be no story without its people.

Sometimes, your story needs to start there: in the middle of a conversation, a disrupted routine, or simply with what makes your characters special. Whether your story is set on Earth or a land far, far away, your setting lives in the same way your characters do.

In the same way that we read to get inside the heads of other people, we also read to escape to a world outside of our own. Consider starting the story with what makes your world live: a pulsing city, the whispered susurrus of orchards, hills that roil with unsolved mysteries, etc. Tell us where the conflict is happening, and the story will follow. There are four POVs that authors work with:. You might find that the story flows onto the page from a different point of view.

Still, it might help to consider the broader implications of the story you want to write. How does the conflict or story extend into a bigger picture?

When we revisit the Dursleys preventing Harry from knowing about his true nature, several themes are established: the meaning of family, the importance of identity, and the idea of fate can all be explored here.

Style is the last of the six fiction elements, but certainly as important as the others. The words you use to tell your story, the way you structure your sentences, how you alternate between characters, and the sounds of the words you use all contribute to the mood of the work itself. Write it in 10 words or write it in words; write a single word sentence; experiment with metaphors, alliteration, or onomatopoeia.

To write a story or even write a book, fiction writers need these tools first and foremost. All six elements synergize to make a work of fiction, and like most works of art, the sum of these elements is greater than the individual parts. If this is the case, then use your strengths: use characters to explore the setting, or use style to explore themes, etc.