Category: Fiction Writing

Articles about fiction writing tips, elements and more

How to create characters readers really care aboutHow to create characters readers really care about

April 4, 2015April 4, 2015| Guest AuthorGuest Author| 9:19 PM

This is a guest article by Alex Limberg. If you want to write a guest article of your own be sure to read the guest article guidelines.

Some writers claim they know their characters even better than their spouses. It’s great when your spouse doesn’t just exist on paper, and even greater when you can create real, three-dimensional characters. The more real your character seems, the more your audience will root for him. Your readers will be more involved in the story emotionally and live with him through his fears and joys. This makes for a much more rewarding reading experience.

This post will show you how to make your characters come alive. Also, because it’s easy to overlook when your figures lack depth, you can download a free goodie below the post to help you discover any problems with your characters and pretty much any other aspect of your story (it uses test questions).

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How to write great scenes: tips and toolsHow to write great scenes: tips and tools

March 28, 2015March 28, 2015| Guest AuthorGuest Author| 10:39 AM

This is a guest article by Michael McPherson. If you want to read a guest article of your own be sure to read the guest article guidelines.

Writing for a living is not as easy as people think. Most persons believe that writers have a great life – just sitting at a desk, filling in blank pages. But the truth is that freelance writers struggle to survive everyday by trying to create new and exciting content. Fortunately, in our informational era, there are a lot of apps designed to help you organize the text. A better visualization of the scenes means less time spent arranging and more time spent writing.

So here are some amazing tools that a freelance writer must know about.

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Writing Powerful True Short StoriesWriting Powerful True Short Stories

August 16, 2010August 16, 2010| Idrees PatelIdrees Patel| 9:42 PM

Writing a short story is easy, but writing a powerful short story is difficult. In fact, extremely difficult. Add the word “true” to the whole thing and you might as well have a story which is impossible to write… but if you do write it well, then you have a winner.

True short stories can be awesome to read and they can be boring to read. The difference is clear, and you need to make your ones in the first category. You need to make them powerful ones.

But how do you write a powerful true short story? (more…)

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Writing Tip: Finding the Balance of Narrative and DialogueWriting Tip: Finding the Balance of Narrative and Dialogue

July 8, 2010July 8, 2010| Idrees PatelIdrees Patel| 12:03 AM

In the world of fiction writing, there are many things to explore. Subplots, conflict, POV, characters, you name it. But have you heard of narrative and dialogue? If you’ve got a story, you’ve got to narrate it. If you’ve got a set of characters, they have to converse, i.e., talk. Talking in fiction writing is known as dialogue, and narrating or describing anything is known as narrative.

Now where’s the problem in that?

Too much of a good thing is usually a bad thing, and it applies here. Some writers use narrative a lot. Their characters aren’t talkers. It’s just page after page of narrative, how they did this, their journey, their perils, the people they met, the surroundings, and so on. All description. At which point your story looks like an essay which no one wants to read, rather than an amazing novel.

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Why Hunting for Plots is WorthlessWhy Hunting for Plots is Worthless

June 9, 2010June 9, 2010| Idrees PatelIdrees Patel| 4:28 PM

Plots are limited, and that’s a fact. If you think you can make up a unique plot all by yourself, think again. I’m not saying that it isn’t possible – maybe you can do it — but it’s as difficult as climbing Mt. Everest without oxygen.

Why is this so? Because there have been writers for centuries and centuries, and every plot you think of has already been done, been written or been told in one form or another. The details may be different – the characters may be different, and the setting may be different. But the plot will be similar; the issue of plagiarization will rise.

It’s a big claim to make. Is your writing original? Maybe you struggle with plots. Maybe you can’t seem to find a suitable plot.

Maybe it doesn’t fit.

Maybe it seems like it’s been done before, and many times.

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