Short Story Writing Articles | Writing

Search:

short story writing tagged articles (0-50 of 22974) Related Tags: writing, short story, creative writing, novel, story, writing tips, writing a book, online writing, writing your life story, writing skills, writing coaching, storytelling, writing coach, novel writing, short stories
Story Endings are Important, But How do You Get There? - It's all very well having a brilliant idea for a story plot but you need to know more than how it starts. The right ending is vital, so are you prepared? Have you a clear plan as to how you're going to get there? There are four methods you can use to plan how your story will end: 1. Just do it. This is where you start writing from page one and hope it will all turn out right in the end. Fingers crossed. Make Conflict the Backbone of Your Story - Most types of story, whether short stories or novels, absolutely need that vital ingredient: the conflict. Preferably more than one. You may well have your characters all fleshed out and ready to go, but don't give them an easy ride! Bring some angst into their lives, your readers will love it! Conflict is not necessarily physical violence or fast action, although it certainly can be this. How to prove your theme in your story - Your theme has to be something you can prove in your story - It does not have to be a universal truth. This means that your theme does not have to be something that happens in real life all the time (providing our logic can accept it, in order for us to believe it). The Gospel of Writing According to Marilyn, Chapter 11 - Chapter Eleven: Inspire With Your Storytelling While finding time to write came be like having unplanned sex, the act of writing is more like making love. You cannot fake it. You must feel it. Writing Book Reports - If you are a student, writing a book report is something you will probably have to do at some time whether you want to or not.It has never been a favorite activity for most but it is always valuable. It is valuable because it allows you to think about the book you have read, in terms of the setting, characters, plot and finally examine your feelings and thoughts about what you have read. You learn how to give an analysis and develop your own point of view. Is it any wonder that teachers continue to give students book report assignments? How is your story theme furthered by elements in your story - Creative Writing Tips – Whichever theme you choose, all the elements, which make up your story, dialogue, conflict, scenes, etc should be written with the theme in mind. How To Start Your Story Effectively to Keep Your Reader Reading - Whether a person buys your novel or continues reading your short story is often decided with the first page or even paragraph. How you start your story is vitally important. Here are some ideas to put you on course to keep your reader reading. Your story should start with some significant event or turning point and present the main character with a problem they have to solve. How To Find The Novel That Only You Can Write - Most people think writing a novel is just writing. I have lost count of the number of people who say “I want to write a novel” and think that they will just sit down, put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, and the whole thing will just unfold before them. I’ve read a few novels, they think, why can’t I write one? If only it were that easy! The process of writing any story is exactly that, a process. A Solution To The Problem Of Writing For Children - Many aspiring writers decide the way to start their career is to write for children. And they tend to have two very good reasons for deciding this: 1. The woman that wrote the stories about the boy wizard is doing very well for herself and I want some of that 2. It’s much easier to write for children – there are fewer pages and the words don’t need to be as long. I will start by saying, in case you hadn’t guessed, that I think these are the worst two reasons in the world to start writing for children. Writing Stories - There's nothing like writing a story. It is a truly satisfying creative process. In order to write a story that people will enjoy. You need to understand the key elements that all good writers use in stories. In this article we will explore these elements. 1. Brainstorming Ask yourself these questions: What are you are going to write about? Who will be your audience? An Alternative Solution For Anyone Who Wants To Write A Novel - The phrase is well worn, ‘Everyone has one book in them.’ Countless New Year resolutions fail because aspiring novelists fail to put pen to paper and too many conversations that start, “How’s that book you’ve been planning to write,” end in, “I haven’t got round to it yet. Young Writers - If you are between the ages of 8 to 18 and love to write, be it short stories, plays or poems, then you are a young writer. The Long And The Short Of The Short Story - Congratulations! You’ve spotted a great short story competition and decided to enter. You’ve had a go at a few short stories in the past and you’ve been wanting to tackle a novel for ages, but the idea was way too daunting so you’ve just shoved that to the bottom of your life’s “To Do” list. A short story is a much better idea, isn’t it? It’s just like writing a novel only shorter. Right? Not exactly! How to Nudge Your Creative Side into Action and Grab Some Great Story Ideas. - The muse has done a bunk, the creative juices have withered on the vine and to cap it all the cat has just poo'd on your last packet of A4. You feel as if all your ideas have scurried off like lemmings looking for the nearest cliff. But all is not lost. For one thing if you bin the top five sheets the rest are probably OK. For another if you try the tactic below, you could end up saying 'Ha! Who needs a muse?' Our creative minds are, in fact, our willing servants. Give Your Readers an Emotional High and They'll Love You For It - From time immemorial story tellers have used the emotional element to grab the listener or reader by the heart strings. And you know what? They love it! They actually want to me moved, excited, horrified, aghast at what your characters are going through. Here's how to give them what they want. As a general rule women want to be moved by love, sympathy, uplifting sentiments, incidents of caring and nurture, etc. How To Get Ideas For Your Writing - Have you ever wanted to write fiction or articles for a publication but you find that you can’t think of anything interesting to write about? Well you’re not the only one. For a long period in my life I had a hard time coming up with good ideas for stories and articles, mostly because I was going about it all wrong. Then when I was off doing other things in my daily life (doing housework, my job, watching TV) I would reminisce and day dreamed of good experiences in my past or what life could be like. Fill in Background by Using Flashbacks - What is a 'flashback'? Think of a flash of light illuminating a scene from the past and you've got it. Say you are writing a story and want to start, quite rightly, at the turning point in your hero's life, or the point where the action really takes off. Six Point Of View Mistakes To Avoid When Writing Your Novel - Writing offers an opportunity to do something that filmmakers and artists can’t. You can allow your reader to get into the head of your characters. Unlike TV, where you are a casual observer, writing permits you to weave a spell over the reader so that they become the character. They get to share their hopes and fears, experience the highs and lows - and at the very end of the book, walk away. Despite this gift, too many writers throw it all away by committing basic point of view errors. Improve Your Writing Skills With These Three Easy Tips - For some, writing effectively is as simple of a task as breathing. For others, writing is like a car that keeps stalling and really doesn't ever seem to get going smoothly. Minor Characters. Is Reg Bigley really necessary? - Your short story started out well enough with two star struck lovers who met on holiday. Nice and simple. Three thousand words later and you've introduced three friends, both sets of parents, the tour guide and a chimney sweep. Somewhere along the way something got out of hand. Write What You Know - The best sort of writing is concise and usually very simple. It is also derived out of a place very deep within the self: passion. Passion, with a little acquired know-how, can make all the difference between bad and dispassionate writing, versus bad and passionate writing. This is to say that passion can and will impact bad writing as much as will good. And all the better when used for good. Dispassionate writing will, inevitably, lead to short, snippy phrases, rather than complete sentences, as well as narrow topics more directed at personal bias than toward relevancy. In short, all the elements of redundant, one sided articles and essays are all derived out of dispassionate writing. One Solution To Beating Writer’s Block - There are many tricks and tips to help writers either beat the block or to ensure that they keep in the groove. One of the tools that I use and I borrowed it from my day job – is music. Yes, music. Some like to have background noise – as it allows them to focus on the job in hand. It is common for people to need the act of filtering out music to focus the mind. Some people can only write in absolute silence. I accept that. They might think that music is of no benefit to them – but they’d be wrong. Music can help with writing in two ways. The Gospel of Writing According to Marilyn, Chapter 12 - Chapter 12: Get Real Nobody becomes Ernest Hemingway overnight, not even Ernest Hemingway. Style is fundamental to the person doing the writing. Trying to adopt someone else's style is like wearing a toupee. It might look good in passing, but on closer inspection, it doesn't look right. One Tip To Help You Come Up With Ideas For Novels Is To Widen Your Horizons - When you’re considering writing a new story, just where do you get your ideas from? I have met many published authors and read interviews with countless more. Most of them confirm that this is the question that they get asked more than any other. Many aspiring writers no doubt hope that the famous author will provide them with a web address – or book title – that will mean never having to think up an idea again. Of course, successful authors don’t have a secret place they go to find new ideas. Most writers I’ve heard can’t even tell you where they find inspiration – it just happens they say. The Truth About The Writing Life - When you are a writer, you cannot separate your writing from your life. Writers cannot not write, so writing for you is like breathing. It is so natural you don't even think about it. I think it's a shame that so many writers treat their writing as anything from "special time" to the last thing on their to-do list. Writing is life. And so the principles of life, or the truth about life, are also the principles of, or the truth about, the writing life. The Gospel of Writing According to Marilyn, Chapter 4 - The Gospel of Writing According to Marilyn, Chapter Four: Nothing turns out as you expect it to. That's the journey. That's the excitement. That's the joy of writing. The trick is to let our unconscious take us where we go while we move out of its way. This is true of all creating. How to Create a Story When Your Mind's A Blank - Waiting for the inspiration for a story that just won't come? Got a deadline to meet and your muse has gone on strike? Fire the muse and use these easy tactics to fire your imagination instead. Do this right now: Go to the mirror, look yourself boldly in the eye and say with as much conviction as you can muster "I am a writer! This is just a temporary hiccup in the great digestive system of life. I vow to be burp free from this moment on". Now, don't you feel better already? OK. So let's take a look at two ways I've used to get over this problem in the past. At least one of them should work for you. Article Marketing -The Big Mistakes To Avoid While Writing Your Articles - Article marketing/writing can be a complex business to get into. This is because people do not understand article writing. This is kind of like an art form, and a lot of other rules for writing do not apply to article writing online. This is where we usually lose someone, so let's clear that last statement up. Writing articles for the internet is different than, say, writing a book or newspaper story. The Gospel of Writing According to Marilyn, Chapters 7-8 - The Gospel of Writing According to Marilyn, Chapter 7: Ninety-five percent of Writing is Just Showing Up If I were to ask each of you why you haven't written a book, I'm guessing the most common answer would be that there doesn't seem to be enough time in the day. There are people with children, businesses, extended families, and any other life picture you can imagine. Yet, they are published authors who had the same life as you, and they were able to write their book. What's the difference? I believe that the fundamental difference is how much you value what you have to say. And that stems from how you value yourself. So, make yourself your highest priority. Throw in a Handful of Suspense to Keep Your Readers Coming Back for More - Whatever kind of book you are writing a dollop of suspense will do to your readers precisely what you've written the book for: so that they will read it and keep on reading it to the end! But my biography, or my non-fiction book on train spotting doesn't need suspense, surely? Oh, yes it does. But more about that later. Let's consider the two most usual types of suspense. First there is the 'signpost' suspense. Write That Book! - You're inspired by an idea for a book and decide to sit down and start writing. You take your laptop to a quiet comfortable spot in your home and open up your document. Then, you stare at the screen. Ideas race through your head but where do you start? What do you call it? Panic grips you as you think about all of the details you’re missing. Relax. Been there, done that. Only now I've written five books with a sixth in the works. First, focus on your content and plot. Using Dialogue to Good Effect in Your Story - In any short story or novel dialogue is the element that raises the readers level of interest and moves the story on. But dialogue isn't just dialogue. Here's how to make it a whole lot more exciting than 'he said', 'she said'. I'm not decrying narrative description, which is essential, but it's far better to show the reader what's happening through your character's dialogue, when it's acceptable to do so, than relying too much on descriptive passages. Writing Fiction For Middle Graders, Part Two - In the last article we talked about whether to use an outline when you're starting to think about your newest story for middle graders and the best place to get ideas. Now let's turn to that all important first chapter and believability. The first chapter The most crucial part of a new book for a middle grader is the first chapter. If you don't grab their attention in the first couple paragraphs, you haven't done your job right. How to Make Readers Believe Wholeheartedly in Your Characters - The most important thing is that your characters should be believable to you as the author. You should know them inside out. You should know not only what they look like, but what sort of people they are and how they react to various situations. Of course, you need to have a clear picture of what your hero or heroine looks like, and you should be able to describe them physically and the type of clothes they wear. Also make sure you get their names right, and that their manner of speaking fits the person they are. But what sort of person are they? How do you develop a profile of your characters so that they become real people to you? Here is a guideline of what you can do to 'grow' a character from scratch. Serious About Serials - Are you seriously thinking about writing a serial? Did you write a book and then want to write another in a series? Do you have ideas about a storyline that go on and on? When I wrote my first book I was pretty well organized. But I had not intended to write a series. When I decided to continue the storyline and write a series I realized I needed to be much more organized. I had my plot summary and basic ideas, characters with basic histories, and a timeline. It was fortunate that I had created a timeline. I found this to be the most important document supporting my series. The Writing Journey: Transforming Lives - When I was growing up, my parents took an annual two-week camping trip that took us to many places in the U.S. and Canada. They'd pack the car with all the equipment, clothes, and food for them and their brood of five kids. Eventually the family grew to seven (plus the occasional friend who came along). What Everybody Ought To Know About Creative Writing And Being A Professional Writer - There are many people trying to be a writer. They keep practicing—which is good—but sometimes they are lack of guidance. Thus, their goal to be a professional writer gradually deteriorates. This must not happen if one has made a decision to be a writer. When there is a strong will, there’s a way. To avoid your will from fading away, here are some tips that you can try doing: • Join writing clubs By joining this club, you meet many people having the same goal or at least hobby with you. You can share ideas, talk about your script, discuss details about it such as your writing style, setting, plot or characters. Gathering with these people helps you strengthen your motivation and desire to be a writer and one thing for sure, you’ll get as much support you need. How To Write A Book Of Memoirs Fast - Who said it was too hard to write your life story? That's a myth; you can write your memoirs fast. The truth is anyone can write a book of memoirs. Well, anyone with a strong desire can do it. You might think aha; I knew it was a catch. No really. You can easily write your book of memoirs. It's the same with everything. You have to want it first. If you want to write your life story fast, here's 5 top tips that will speed you on your way to a successful book of memoirs. 1.Know every life story is important. Every fingerprint is unique and so is every life story. If told effectively, realize there's hundreds if not thousands that will benefit from your life experiences. Your story, your events, your unique journey is worth sharing. Reading Comprehension Strategies - Comprehension should always be the chief concern when teaching reading. What good is reading if the child has no understanding of what is read? In this article I will outline key reading comprehension strategies and show how they should be used. Before reading you should allow children to make predictions about what they think the book will be about based on either the title or the picture on the front cover of the book. Children can also make predictions about what they think will happen based on what they read on the back cover of a book. Find Your Readers' Funny Bone and You're Set for Life - When was the last time you read a newspaper item that gave you something to smile about? It doesn't happen very often. So if you can bring some humour and happiness into people's lives, they will lap it up. The Gospel of Writing According to Marilyn, Chapter 6 - Push Past Your Insecurities and Keep Moving Your Pen Writing takes courage. Talent is part of the equation, but it is a smaller part. Becoming a writer takes a willingness to let people see who you really are. Determination is the key. In January, after many suggestions over the years, I finally arranged to work with a channeler. I had glimpses through the years of what I call my Council of 12, a group of spirits guiding me through the perils of life's choices. I've found that when I pay attention to their voices, my life proceeds with ease. When I stop listening, trouble follows. What A New Writer Has To Know About Creating A Character - What is the soul of a story? Some people say the plot, some others say the characters. I say, it’s both. But now, I’d like to talk about characters. How do you create a character? Here are some ways used by writers out there in creating the characters in their story: • Go with the flow Some writers begin with the first few lines. As long as they can get something interesting for the first line, the rest will follow. The character’s personality grows at the same time the writer builds the plot. It is not actually intentionally created. Writing Home Business - Five Tips To Turn Your Writing Into A Business - Writing can become an extremely successful home business for you, if you take the "business" aspect seriously. Writers who do take it seriously earn six-figure incomes, because they know how valuable their writing skills are to the business community. Considering your writing as a home BUSINESS is a mindset. Let's look at how you can develop that mindset, and develop your writing into a thriving business. I've chosen the following five tips because they're essential, and they're the things I see many of my writing students overlook. 1. Create a business plan The first and best tip I can give you is to develop a business plan for your writing. One Problem That New Writers Face, Is Knowing Which Book To Write - Many writers will tell you that they are great at research. They can spend up to six months prior to putting pen to paper – yet few actually bother to study the market they’re writing for. Now it’s an interesting aspect, as many books on the subject will give you similar advice – but it’s not necessarily the guidance a marketing expert would give you. The consensus advice from writing books is to go where the crowds are. On the face of it, it seems a sensible option. Lots of other books equates to lots of readers – and writing is a business like any other. No publisher would want to waste money printing for a market that doesn’t exist. But think of this from a marketing perspective. If your book has a lot of competition, that means two things. Firstly there is definitely a market. How to Use Time Transitions to Make Your Story Flow - Time and the transition of time can make all the difference to the smooth flow of your narrative. It gives your reader a sense of movement through the story and places things in context. Here are some tips on how to do this. Place your characters in time by some reference to when the action is taking place. For instance: 'Jemima sat up startled. Of course, now she understood. The whole problem started the day Sally came to live with her nearly three years ago. Now it all began to make sense...' So although we don't yet know in what year the current action is set, we do know that Sally and Jemima have lived together for three years and that the 'problem', whatever it is, has been brewing for that length of time. This simple time framework has set the story up. One Mistake To Avoid In Setting The Scene In Your Novel, Is To Overlook The Weather - The weather is so much more than how wet you’re getting. It’s amazing how many writers overlook the weather as a useful tool in both setting and also in telling the story. Many years ago, we relied on the weather and took it seriously. Poor weather affected crops and livestock. Bad weather would even affect health – be it through famine or disease. Nowadays we have supermarkets that will fly in food from around the world and central heating and air conditioning to ensure that whatever is happening outside, we don’t need to vary the climate inside our home. But it’s deeper than that. Seasons reflect aspects of life and weather can be a great barometer (pun intended) for emotions. In reality, we all react slightly differently to the weather. Some love the heat and others despise it. Write Articles to Promote Your Website - Is your website dying? Is it just sitting there in an internet desert, shriveling up because of a lack of traffic? Can you hear the wind whistling over the emptiness? Yikes! Don't jump off a bridge just yet. Find out how writing short articles and submitting them to directories can save you from ruin. This is the way article writing works. You have a website devoted to, well, let's say rabbits. You write a short article of about 400 to 500 words that explains how to treat a sick rabbit. You submit your article to free article directories. Next, somebody comes along looking for information about their sick pet rabbit. Presto! Don't Loose Readers, Get the Narrative and Dialogue Balance Right - In Victorian times, and before, readers would enjoy getting engrossed in huge chunks of narrative and descriptive prose. Maybe it was because they had more time to relax and take it all in, but more likely it was simply the mindset of the times that enjoyed that kind of tale. So what kind of mindset do the people who read your type of story have? 5 Tips On How To Get Your Articles Read - Lots of people dread writing articles or writing E-Books because it just seems like too much work for many of us. Articles can be interesting but if the article is written the wrong way it can become quite boring to the reader so it's important to make your article interesting and full of information for the reader. Recipe for a Page Turner: Turn up the Tension - Tension is the brother of suspense, but it's different. Suspense is where something is left 'suspended' but tension is where something is being pulled in two directions. Here's how to have your readers biting their nails wanting to know how a tense situation is resolved. So just what is tension? It is where your character is being pulled in two, even three directions at once. Imagine Lizzy Battlebridge, the heroine in our tale of everyday country folk, falling for Tom Roding the tractor mechanic. She has been giving him the eye and knows he is interested.
[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]»

Sign Up for a free Content Spool article directory account or learn more.

{ARTICLEMENU}

Submit Articles

Most Popular Articles

Submission Guidelines

Ezine Notifications

Article RSS Feeds

Share This Page:

Add to Onlywire

Terms of Service
Sitemap

Tags powered by Articles

Produced in Cooperation with Content Spooling Network.

© 2007 Expert Insiders, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
ContentSpool.com is free for both publishers and authors to use and is supported entirely from advertising revenue.
Use of our service is protected by our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.