Table of contents
1.Fiction Writing Careers How Do I Create Believe Characters? Page: 5
2. Learn How to Write and Finish a Novel
Page: 4
3.Know Your Theme Better Writing by Taking a Stand
Page: 7
4.Testing a Novel or Short Story Idea How to See if Your Idea Will Work.
Page: 9
5. Is My Idea Worthy of a Novel?
Page: 9
6.Learn How to Write a Great Short Story
Pages: 11
7.Books for Beginning Writers
Page: 12
8.How to Get Story Ideas for Fiction Writing
Page: 13
9. Basic Plot for the Beginning Writers.
Page: 15
10. Ten Short Story Prompts for Writer's Block.
Page: 17
11. How Long Are Short Stories? Or Should It Be a Novel?
Page: 19
12.Flash Fiction: What Makes a Successful Short-Short Story?
Page: 20
13.Learn About Characters in Fiction.
Page: 21
14.Learn About Round Characters in Fiction.
Page: 22
15.How Flat Characters Are Used in Fiction.
Page: 24
16.The Development of a Dynamic Character in Fiction.
Page: 25
17.Third-Person Point of View: Omniscient or Limited.
Pages: 26
18.How to Write from Third Person Limited Point of View.
Page: 27
19.Third-Person Omniscient Point of View and Anna Karenina.
Page: 28
20. Learn About First-Person Point of View in Fiction.
Page: 30
21.Second-Person Point of View.
Page: 31
22.How to Recognize and Create an Unreliable Narrator.
Page: 32
23. How to rewrite you story in the Third Person
Page: 34
24.How to choose the right point of view for you Story.
Page: 35
25.Examples of Third Person Writing From Classic Fiction.
Page: 36
26.How to Write Fiction.
Page: 37
27.So You Call Yourself a Writer?
Page: 39
28.Punctuating Dialogue Properly in Fiction Writing.
Page: 41
29.How to Write Realistic Dialogue.
Page: 43
30.Top Tips for Writing Dialogue.
Page: 44
31.How Do I Create Believe Characters?
Page: 45
32. Feeling Stuck Writing Your Novel? Try this Novel Writing Refresh!
Page: 47
33.Tips For Writing Action Scenes. When active verbs are your best friend.
Page: 50
34.What Is a Detective Story? Learn About Detective and Mystery Stories.
Page: 51
35.Top Rules for Mystery Writing.
Page: 52
36.How to Choose Novel Genres for a Book.
Page: 53
The purpose of a novel is to deliver this experience legitimately. To give the reader at least one profound emotional experience, preferably towards the end. Some books have these moments, some do not. But we never forget the ones that do.
• The secret of good Nobel is The Nobel must be rewrite.
• What you need to do is own up to the fact that you are the
master of your own story universe. There’s nobody else – if things go wrong, it’s all on you. A good rule of thumb is to start with the villain, and then work backwards. What is it they want? If your story doesn’t have a villain, why not? There’s always a villain. Get that through your head. If not, there wouldn’t be a story, because story is tension, story is drama. When your story is about love – characters falling in and out of love – the obstacles are the villains standing in the way of
love. Your plot should be so super-packed that you are always on To something new – even if it’s a philosophical point of view one of the characters may hold. That is story material. Allot space for it. Learn to exploit your Story. To get to the end, you have to know where you’re going,
otherwise you’re writing into the unknown, and that is a coin toss at best. Reverse engineering a happy ending, you will see all the bad – the obstacles, and so forth, that you have to overcome. All Jane Austen novels end with a wedding. But how do we get there? Shakespeare, meanwhile, liked to visit a river of bloodshed upon his stage, during a lot of his endings. Red handkerchiefs were shooting out of everywhere. The purpose of a novel is to deliver this experience legitimately.(অভিজ্ঞতা বৈধ ভাবে) To give the reader at least one profound emotional experience, preferably towards the end. Some books have these moments, some do not. But we never forget the ones that do.
1.Learn How to Write and Finish a Novel
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated August 14, 2017
According to Kurt Vonnegut, “The primary benefit of practicing any art, whether well or badly, is that it enables one's soul to grow.” If this is true, then nothing makes for more mature souls than writing a novel, a form that particularly requires perseverance and patience. Though there are no hard and fast rules for how to get from the first draft to bookstore shelf, these guideposts on how to write a novel will help you find your way.
1 Give Some Thought to Plot.
Writing a novel can be a messy undertaking. The editing process will go easier if you devote time to plot in the beginning. For some writers, this means an outline; others work with index cards, putting a different scene on each one. Still, others only have a conflict and a general idea of where they plan to end up before diving in. If you've been writing for a while, you already know how your brain works and what kind of structure it needs in order to complete big projects. If you're just starting out, then this may be something you'll learn about your writing process as you revise your first novel.
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2 Get a First Draft Down.
Though it is a good idea to test your idea out on other writers, resist getting feedback on the writing itself at this stage. Focus on getting the complete story down on paper instead. If you have trouble with writer's block or tend to let projects stall, NaNoWriMo might be helpful. Other writers maintain a regular schedule and spread the writing out over a longer period of time. Still, others enroll in novel classes, which provide weekly deadlines and community.
3 Be Prepared to Revise.
At a reading for his first book a few years ago, novelist Dominic Smith commented that the one thing he wasn't prepared for in writing a novel was the amount of work between first draft and published book. In one way, this is heartening. However inspired you might feel while writing it, the first draft will probably be bad. It will be clunky, disorganized, and confusing. Entire chapters will drag. The dialogue will be unconvincing and wooden. Rest assured that it's this way for everyone. And like writers everywhere, you just have to roll up your sleeves and get to work rewriting it.
4 Solicit Feedback.
When you think it's time to start contacting agents, get feedback from writers you trust. Don't be surprised if they send you back to your desk for another draft. Address any large structural problems first, and then go through the book scene by scene. Anytime you have a question about whether something is working, stop and see what you could do to make it better. Don't just hope the reader won't notice. If you want your book to be good, revise with your most intelligent, most thoughtful reader in mind.
5 Put It Aside.
If you find yourself banging up against the same problems with every draft, it may be time to work on something else for awhile. Sixteen years elapsed between the first draft of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and the published version, for instance. Katherine Anne Porter likewise took years on some of her most famous stories. If you find yourself losing your way, go back to the fun parts of writing. Create something new; read for fun. With each new project you take on and each book you read, you'll learn new lessons. When you come back to the novel — and you will come back — you'll see it with more experienced eyes.
2.Fiction Writing Careers
How Do I Create Believe Characters?
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated February 03, 2017
Creating the more complex round characters takes time -- spent thinking about how your characters look, where they're from, and what motivates them, for instance. The questions below provide structure to this all-important thought process.
While the reader will not need to know all the details, it's important that you do. The better you know your characters, the more realistic your story or novel will end up being.
1 Where does your character live?
Michael Adams ("Anniversaries in the Blood"), the novelist and writing professor, believes that setting is the most important element of any story. It's definitely true that character, if not story, in many ways grows out of a sense of place. What country does your character live in? What region? Does he live alone or with a family? In a trailer park or an estate? How did he end up living there? How does he feel about it?
2 Where is your character from?
In a similar vein, where did your character's life begin? Did she grow up running around the woods in a small Southern town, or learning to conjugate Latin verbs in a London boarding school? Obviously, this influences things like the kinds of people your character knows, the words she uses to communicate with them, and the way she feels about a host of things in her external world.
3 How old is your character?
Though this might seem like an obvious question, it's important to make a clear decision about this before you begin writing -- otherwise, it's impossible to get the details right. For instance, would your character have a cell phone, a land line, or both? Does your character drink martinis or cheap beer? Still get money from his parents, or worry about what will happen to his parents as they get old?
4 What is your character called?
Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? According to novelist Elinor Lipman, absolutely not: "Names have subtext and identity. If your main characters are Kaplans, you've got yourself a Jewish novel, and if your hero is Smedley Winthrop III, you've given him a trust fund. Nomenclature done right contributes to characterization." Your character's name provides a lot of information -- not only about ethnicity -- but about your character's age, background, and social class.
Continue to 5 of 10 below.
5 What does your character look like?
Is your character tall enough to see over the heads of a crowd at a bar or to notice the dust on the top of his girlfriend's refrigerator? Does she deal with weight issues and avoid looking at herself in the mirror? Though you need not have a crystal clear picture of your character in mind, physical details help your readers believe in the character and help you imagine how your character moves through the world.
6 What kind of childhood did he or she have?
As with real people, many things about your character's personality will be determined by his background. Did his parents have a good marriage? Was she raised by a single mom? How your character interacts with other people -- whether he's defensive or confident, stable or rootless -- may be influenced by his past.
7 What does your character do for a living?
As with all of these questions, how much information you need depends in some part on the plot, but you'll need some idea of how your character makes money. A dancer will look at the world very differently from an accountant, for instance, and a construction worker will use very different language from either one. How they feel about a host of issues, from money to family, will be in some part dependent on their choice of careers.
8 How does your character deal with conflict and change?
Most stories involve some element of conflict and change -- they're part of what makes a story a story. Is your character passive or active? If someone confronts her, does she change the subject, head for the minibar, stalk off, or do a deep-breathing exercise? When someone insults him, is he more likely to take it, come up with a retort, or excuse himself to find someone else to talk to?
9 Who else is in your character's life?
Relationships -- how people interact with others -- reveal character. They're also excuses for dialogue, which break up exposition, offering another way of providing necessary information. Think about who will best help you convey this information, and what kinds of people would realistically be in your character's world in the first place.
10 What is your character's goal or motivation in this story or scene?
In longer stories or novels, you will have to ask this question repeatedly. Many of your character's actions will result from the intersection of what she's trying to achieve and her personality, which is composed of everything you've invented in answering the above questions. When in doubt about how your character should behave, ask yourself what your character wants from the situation, and think about the answers you've given to all of the above.
3.Know Your Theme
Better Writing by Taking a Stand
Updated July 18, 2017
The typical definition of theme is usually something like this:
A theme is the central idea or ideas explored by a literary work.
The problem with this type of definition is that it's not very specific or helpful when coming up with the theme of your work. It leads to weakly stating themes as concepts or ideas like "death," "justice," or "love." Stating your theme in this way is just too vague to be of use.
So what about themes such as "all men are liars," or "people are basically good?" This is a step in the right direction and certainly more helpful. The problem with these kinds of statements as themes is that they are really just opinions. They lack power.
Take A Stand
An alternate way of looking at theme, which I first encountered in the wonderful book Creativity Rules! by John Vorhaus, is defined in this way:
An instruction, strongly expressed as an imperative, is the story's theme.
No one would argue that great, memorable stories have powerful themes. And powerful themes are instructions. They include a call to action. Using an exclamation point is not out of the question when stating yours.
What separates a powerful theme from the concepts and opinions above is that it takes a stand. A great theme tells people how to act and does so with authority: Embrace change! Be Strong! Destroy Evil!
Taking a stand thematically makes your writing clearer and more powerful. Once you really know what you want to say, it also makes writing easier.
Remember that writing is a seemingly endless chain of decision-making. If you are clear about what your theme is then making those decisions is a lot less difficult.
Anytime you have a choice to make, choose the option that supports your theme and you'll be building a powerful, cohesive narrative.
Won't This Be too Preachy?
Just because you are choosing a powerful, instructive theme does mean you are preaching. Having a well-defined theme that takes a stand does not mean you are writing a polemic, or "hiding" a moral message in your fiction.
Your theme does not have to be profound to be clear and powerful. It does not have to reflect a "higher" purpose or try to fix the world's problems.
Consider a fun, entertaining comedy film like Home Alone. Its theme is "Protect your home!" It's crystal clear, powerful and takes a stand without being preachy at all. There are countless enjoyable thrillers with the theme "Seek Vengeance!" which certainly isn't a lofty moral message.
Can the Theme Change?
The theme you choose to start with isn't always what you'll end up with. If it changes organically as your story moves ahead, then feel free to adjust it. But by starting with a powerful theme in mind, you'll have a default to fall back on if necessary.
One way of coming up with a theme at the start of a writing project comes from John Vorhaus. He suggests asking yourself, "If you could teach one other person in the world one thing, what would that one thing be?" The answer to that question is your theme.
Choosing Not to Decide
Remember that whether you consciously choose a theme or not, your stories will have one. It may be weak, it may not even be what you consider the point of your story, but it will be there. And readers will pick up on it.
Although the details of your story will fade over time in your reader's minds, the theme stays with people. So actively choose the theme you want to leave with your readers rather than leaving it to chance.
So next time you're stuck thinking of a story idea, try starting with a powerful, instructive theme and see what happens. You might be surprised.
4.Testing a Novel or Short Story Idea How to See if Your Idea Will Work.
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated March 11, 2017
Writers spend a lot of time alone, and because of this, there is always the danger of losing perspective. It is always a good idea to "check in" with your peers, attend a writing workshop or retreat, or even join a writing community online. However, be sure that you are choosing the "right" readers for you. This means doing your research, reading their work, and understanding their sensibilities. Make sure their critiques and responses make "sense" to you, that their writing also speaks to you, and that their insights into your work do not inhibit, but inspire you.
Don't feel badly about not taking certain opinions into account. So often I have heard from my students that they feel overwhelmed by all of the different responses from their peers. The trick is to tune out the responses that do not pertain to you, and to recognize when that is. Just because someone has a strong opinion does not mean they are correct; just because someone is a good writer does not mean they understand what your story needs. There are many voices in a room of writers looking at a piece, but only the people who you feel understand YOUR story, and who have similar obsessions and passions to you; only the people whose critiques of others make sense to you, should be listened to. This is an important lesson to learn before making revisions or edits. In the end, you need to trust your own instincts and be able to differentiate between good and bad advice.
Try an Experiment
Robert McKee, in his book, Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting, has this tip for testing out a new plot.
Next time you meet up with your reader, ask him or her if you can tell them your new story idea. Halfway through, make an excuse to leave the table. When you come back, start talking about something else, as though you've forgotten all about the story. If your friend interrupts to ask you to finish, you know you have a winner.
If your friend instead seems relieved, definitely think twice about your story idea.
This strategy is especially important for novelists, who can spend several years on a single novel, but it can be effective with stories, too.
For more tips on the subject especially for novelists, see "Is Your Idea Novel-Worthy?". And for more on what we can learn from screenwriters, see this exercise on back story.
5. My Idea Worthy of a Novel?
Updated October 28, 2017
The short story and the novel differ in many ways, but the most important consideration is the time commitment involved. While it's relatively uncommon for a writer to work consistently on a short story for years, the average novel takes 3-7 years to complete. If you're going to commit that much of your life to a project, you obviously want to be sure your novel idea is a good one. So how do you know if your idea is novel-worthy? A few questions will help you decide.
1 Does something happen?
It may sound simplistic, but for many people, the plot is one of the hardest elements to grasp. Make sure that your story contains a central conflict. Something must happen to turn your character's life upside down, and through this experience, a change must take place within your character. If your idea does not include a conflict, you're not quite ready to start writing. However, if you are passionate about your idea, and feel that you can follow it through until a plot reveals itself organically, then take the leap and start writing!
2 Will it appeal to others?
If you're reading this article, you probably do care about your audience. You probably hope to publish your work someday. If this is your goal, and you're going to spend 3-7 years on a project, do give some consideration as to whether or not your work will be of interest to others. Is it overly focused on you and your concerns? How does your theme apply to others? What will your reader gain from reading your book?
3 Are you taking a risk?
While you must consider your audience, don't be afraid to write something risky or outside the mainstream. Denis Johnson keeps a sign over his office door that reads, "Write the unpublishable...and then publish it." This rule has obviously worked for him, and odds are it will work for others. Ultimately editors and agents are interested in seeing something new. That won't happen if we're intent on writing only what we know can be published.
4 Is your novel idea compelling to you?
The most important person you have to sell on your idea is yourself. If your attention flags halfway through writing the book, your readers will pick up on it. Unless you're James Joyce, no one's going to spend as much time with your novel as you will. It's important to see your book through so that you gain confidence in yourself as a writer, but you want to enjoy the process. Writing a novel should be fun, at least some of the time.
That said, there is nothing wrong with knowing when to let a novel go. Many writers have many unpublished manuscripts. Remember: no time writing is a waste. You had to write what you did to get where you are (or where you are going). In other words: you couldn't have written the novel you published without writing (and not publishing) the one that you put to the side.
5 Are you too rigid in your outline?
Although outlines work for many writers (and can be especially helpful when writing a novel) be sure that you do not inhibit your creative process by adhering to it too strictly. If you find that you have new ideas while writing, then let yourself write them. Don't lose momentum by going back to your original idea.
Much of the process happens while you are writing, and it is important that you give yourself the freedom to explore all aspects of your story.
6.Learn How to Write a Great Short Story
Getty Images
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated November 09, 2017
In setting out to write a short story, it doesn't hurt to know that the short story is a fairly young form, dating back only to Nathaniel Hawthorne and his 1837 book Twice-told Tales. For Edgar Allan Poe, who called them "prose tales," the fact that short stories could be read in a single sitting was key to the form. It allowed the reader to have an uninterrupted experience of the fictional world.
As a recent genre, the short story has few formal elements that are not shared with the novel. The challenge for the short-story writer lies in developing the major elements of fiction — character, plot, theme, point of view, etc. — in about ten to twenty-five pages. (The cut-off for most journals is 10,000 words.) To meet this challenge, short-story writers generally follow, consciously or unconsciously, a pretty standard list of rules.
Use Few Characters and Stick to One Point of View
You simply will not have room for more than one or two round characters. Find economical ways to characterize your protagonist, and describe minor characters briefly.
Having only one or two protagonists naturally limits your opportunities to switch perspectives. Even if you're tempted to try it, you will have trouble fully realizing, in a balanced way, more than one point of view. (Click here for information on choosing a point of view.)
Limit the Time Frame When You Write a Short Story
Though some short-story writers do jump around in time, your story has the biggest chance of success if you limit the time frame as much as possible. It's unrealistic to cover years of a character's life in twenty-five pages. (Even a month might be a challenge.) By limiting the time period, you allow more focus on the events that are included in the narrative.
Be Selective
As with poetry, the short story requires discipline and editing. Every line should either build character or advance the action. If it doesn't do one of these two things, it has to go. William Faulkner was right to advise writers to kill their darlings. This advice is especially important for short-story writers.
Follow Conventional Story Structure
The standard rules of narrative we all learned in our high school literature classes apply to writers as well. Though you may not have room to hit every element of traditional plot structure, know that a story is roughly composed of exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, and denouement.
However much you experiment with form, something has to happen in the story (or at least the reader has to feel as though something has happened). Things like conflict and resolution achieve this effect. Storytelling may seem magical, but the building blocks are actually very concrete. As with any type of writing, the beginning and the end are the most important parts. Make sure your first and last lines are the strongest in the story.
Know When to Break the Rules
As with all rules, these are made to be broken. Alexander Steele points out in his introduction to the Gotham Writers' Workshop's Fiction Gallery that the short story lends itself to experimentation precisely because it is short: structural experiments that couldn't be sustained for three hundred pages can work beautifully for fifteen.
And today, the lines between genres such as the short story and the poem are blurred in exciting ways.
Keep in mind, however, that telling your story is still the most important thing. If breaking a rule allows you to tell your story more effectively, by all means, break it. Otherwise, think twice, or at least be honest with yourself if the innovation fails.
Following these rules should help you complete your stories successfully. If you find that your story overflows these boundaries no matter what you do, consider expanding it into a novel. The short story isn't for every story — or for every writer.
7.Books for Beginning Writers
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated August 06, 2016
With so many books for writers out there -- particularly for the beginning writer -- it can be hard to know where to start. These reviews of some classic and recent books for writers will help you decide which ones are right for you at this stage of your writing life.
52 Projects: Random Acts of Everyday Creativity
Author: Jeffrey Yamaguchi
Publisher: Perigee Trade
Jeffrey Yamaguchi provides a tool for infusing your life with art and creativity, including prompts and project ideas.
The Artist's Way
Author: Julia Cameron
Publisher: Tarchere
Read a Review
If you're anxious about reconnecting with your creativity, The Artist's Way will help you investigate the reasons behind that anxiety. Seven years ago, I followed Julia Cameron's program as a student. Returning to it now, I found that my impressions had not changed.
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
Author: Anne Lamott
Publisher: Knopf
Read a Review
Anne Lamott's funny and down-to-earth advice guide beginning writers through the difficulties of the writing life.
Novel and Short Story Writer's Market
Publisher: Writer's Digest Books
When you're ready to start trying to publish your work, this indispensable resource will guide you through the process.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Author: Stephen King
Publisher: Scribner
Stephen King offers insight into how a writer is formed and how one persists over time. Further, King's ideas on craft and technique are astute and practical -- perfect for beginning writers.
Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within
Author: Natalie Goldberg
Publisher: Shambhala
In her classic 1986 text on writing, Natalie Goldberg draws from her experience both as a Zen practitioner and a writer, emphasizing both discipline and rule-breaking.
8.How to Get Story Ideas for Fiction Writing
By Cliff Daigle
Updated October 16, 2017
By far the most common question asked of professional writers is where they get their ideas. We all like to think that brilliant, fully-formed story ideas just pop into the heads of our favorite authors. We imagine that if we could somehow learn their secret technique then we too could crank out bestsellers as effortlessly as they seem to.
The truth is that you have more great ideas than you could ever write.
Really, you do! The problem isn't a lack of great ideas; it's that you haven't been taught how to free these ideas from your brain.
Where to Start?
Every how-to book on writing will tell you that you need to start with a solid premise or story idea. What they rarely tell you is where this idea comes from in the first place. This is the cause of great frustration and confusion in beginning writers and has helped create the myth that you either have great story ideas or you don't. The core of this confusion is the mistaken belief that the creation of a solid story idea is an event rather than a process.
Beginning writers believe that creating a work of fiction starts with a single event - a sudden burst of inspiration that pops a fully-formed story idea into their minds. This single event then leads to the process of expanding that idea into a finished work. The truth is that coming up with a full, rich story idea is itself a process.
Knowing this is the key to generating more ideas than you could ever use.
The Secret to Endless Ideas
The secret to generating ideas is the same "secret" that solves every writing problem: writing itself. The old adage that "writers write" is true in many ways, and none more so than in idea generation.
Sitting in front of a blank page and waiting for inspiration to strike is not a recipe for success as a professional writer. Great ideas come from the act of writing.
But if you don't yet have that great story idea, what do you write about? The truth is once you free yourself from the concept of story ideation as an event, and start to think of it as a process you'll be amazed at how much there is to write about.
You actually need very little inspiration to start writing. You can and should start with almost anything that you find interesting. Maybe it's a location that fascinates you, a character sketch, a clever line of dialogue, or even a great title.
As a writer, you will start to collect these story nuggets as you go through your daily life. You'll begin to notice when something you see or hear gives you that little tingle in the back of your brain that says there's something there worth exploring. Pay attention to this and jot it down in your notebook - you do have a notebook, right?
When you later sit down to write, start with these nuggets. Just pick one and begin writing about it - what it makes you think of, how it makes you feel, what questions it raises. And write fast. One of the keys to idea generation (and writing in general) is to write as quickly as you can.
You don't want to analyze anything yet. You want a volume of words on the page.
If you find yourself writing about something completely different from the nugget you started with, just go with it. The idea is not to stress about structure, not to analyze where the story is going, not even to think about it as a story yet. You want volume, varied thoughts, and a wealth of possibilities. Don't make any decisions; just stay open and receptive to whatever comes. You will be amazed at what's in your brain just waiting to spill out onto the page.
How It Works
This process of starting with story nuggets and expanding them is the core of story idea generation. As you explore your story nuggets, start to ask questions and follow your answers wherever they lead. Do not try to force your thoughts into a story yet.
Keep things loose and continue asking and answering questions. Feel free to backtrack and choose different answers.
And remember to write a lot. Volume is your friend. Ask a question, answer it, repeat. Keep at it for a few sessions and you will be amazed at the material you'll generate.
From these explorations a story idea will effortlessly begin to form - it always does. Your brain loves to put things in order, to relate one thing to another, and to do so in interesting and surprising ways. Your mind will simply not allow you to continue to think about this much story data without ordering it into something understandable. It's like magic when it happens, and it happens every single time.
By feeding your brain a fertile mountain of images, characters, and possibilities it goes to work trying to make sense of it all. This process is the truth of where great story ideas come from.
A Bottomless Well of Ideas
You will probably find yourself coming up with multiple story ideas based on the same initial nugget. Great! Choose one idea to work on and work on it until it's done. File the others for later use.
When the pros say they have more ideas than they could ever work on in a lifetime they aren't showing off (well, maybe a little), it's simply that the process of working on one idea always creates new ideas.
That's the secret to a lifetime of story ideas. Collect story nuggets from your daily life, expand them into fertile story worlds and then condense those worlds down to beautiful, rich story ideas worth writing about.
9.Basic Plot for the Beginning Writers
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated October 23, 2017
If, like many people, you labor under the idea that for "real" writers, plot comes effortlessly, dismiss that illusion now. While some writers were born with a sense of how to tell a story effectively, more of them do study the elements of plot and pay serious attention to how other writers successfully construct a narrative.
Playwrights have this stuff drilled into them, but fiction writers often get away without basic instruction in what makes something dramatic.
It's not magic. The elements of a good story can be studied and learned.
In fact, you've probably already studied them in your high school literature classes. It doesn't hurt to review them now, from the perspective of a writer and not a student. They may seem simple, but without them, your other skills as a writer -- your ability to imagine believable characters, your talent with dialogue, your exquisite use of language -- will come to naught.
Start, of course, with a protagonist, your main character. The protagonist must encounter a conflict -- with another character, society, nature, himself, or some combination of these things -- and undergo some kind of change as a result.
"Conflict" is also known as the "major dramatic question." Gotham Writers' Workshop puts it this way in their guide Writing Fiction: The major dramatic question "is generally a straightforward yes/no question, one that can be answered by the end of the story." What will happen to King Lear when he divides up his empire and estranges himself from his one faithful daughter?
Will Elizabeth Bennet of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice get to marry for love, and will she or one of her sisters marry well enough to save the family from financial humiliation?
What sorts of changes do these conflicts bring about? Elizabeth Bennet learns the dangers of letting prejudice interfere with judgment.
King Lear acquires humility and learns to recognize superficiality and sincerity. Both are wiser at the end of the story than they were at the beginning, even if this wisdom, in Lear's case, comes at a dear cost.
Elements of Plot
A story will hit various landmarks on its way from the story's beginning to the fulfillment of the dramatic question. The introduction presents the characters, the setting, and the central conflict. Involve your protagonist in that conflict as early as possible. Today's readers will generally not wade through pages of exposition to get to the point. Don't make them wonder why they're reading your story or novel. Hook them in the first page or pages.
From there, the character will face various impediments to the achievement of his or her goal. Known as rising action or development, this is part of the story's satisfaction. Readers like to see a struggle, like to feel as though the payoff at the end is deserved.
Again, Pride and Prejudice provide an excellent example. If Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy liked each other immediately, and their friends and family immediately approved, their marriage would be much less satisfying, and nothing much would have been learned along the way, except that it's great to fall in love.
Note how other writers build dramatic tension during this part of their narrative. How do they keep us interested in the outcome of the story? How many impediments are necessary to make the reader feel satisfied at the end? None of these decisions are necessarily easy. Part of your growth as a writer entails developing a feel for a successful story arc.
The rising action leads to the climax, the turning point in the story, which in turn leads to the resolution. The central dramatic question is solved one way or another. Peter Selgin provides a good example in his book By Cunning & Craft:
Climax is the resolution of conflict, the point of no return beyond which the protagonist's fate -- good or bad -- is secured. Romeo's suicide is the climax...not because it's the most dramatic moment, but because it seals his fate and determines the resolution by preventing him and Juliet from ever living happily ever after.
In the denouement, the author ties up all the loose ends. Elizabeth and Jane Bennet get to live close to each other. Lydia stays far away in the North, where she can't bother them much, and Kitty's better qualities are drawn out by frequent visits to her sisters. Everyone we like lives happily ever after, and in a matter-of-fact three pages or so, we get all the necessary details. Likewise, the denouement for Lear takes only part of one scene: all the players of the main plot die, but under Edgar, England is reunited.
Two Disclaimers
First, much successful fiction does not follow these rules exactly. But even works like Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, which seem focused more on language than action, introduce dramatic questions to keep us reading. (Will her party come off? What's up with her and Peter Walsh?) A lot of fiction that doesn't necessarily seem plot-driven turns out, on closer scrutiny, to depend on tried and true strategies we can trace back (in Western literature, at least) to Aristotle's Poetics.
Second, these basic elements may not occur in the order listed above. Try to identify them in your reading. Question why the writer decided to tell the story the way he or she did. Note the dramatic decisions. And, of course, think about all of this as you craft your own stories. At the end of the day, something has to happen. It seems elementary, but it can be quite complicated. By all means, experiment, but spend some time on the basics, too.
10.Ten Short Story Prompts for Writer's Block
Exercises and Prompts
Updated October 30, 2017
All writers experience writer's block from time to time. If you're having trouble thinking of short story ideas, or you find yourself returning to similar plots and themes you've already covered, you've officially entered the world of writer's block. But don't despair. There are exercises and prompts that can help you explore new avenues for your writing. Use them the prompts below to unlock your subconscious, explore new territory, and just to have fun.
In addition to the ten ideas below, there are other sources of inspiration you can turn to, such as the books The Right to Write and 52 Projects both of which provide a wealth of prompts and exercises.
1 Freewriting
One of the easiest ways to generate new short story ideas is freewriting. Unfortunately, it is often overlooked outside of the classroom but shouldn't be because it's very simple. These guidelines provide a structure that will make the process effective while working on your own. If you are unsure what the results of freewriting should look like, don't fret, a link to the step-by-step example is provided at the end. More
2 "I Have a Secret" - A Writing Exercise
Secrets have always been a natural catalysis to the storytelling impulse. This lighthearted writing exercise essentially prompts groups, or pairs, of writers to provide each other with random stories and has the added benefit of helping the group to bond. More
3 Photos as Writing Prompts
This exercise is for individuals, pairs, or groups to help writers discover the story implicit in a photograph or snapshot. Or, you can use the image to start off a round of freewriting. This is also a useful prompt to awaken your narrative powers and remind you that in it's purest form, writing is a compelling visual exercise. Stories, as well as book chapters, can be reorganized visually into scenes.
4 Dictionary Writing Prompts
A few words chosen at random can lead you in a whole new direction in this creative writing exercise. In essence, this prompt takes the dictionary and turn the entire into one big writing prompt generator.
5 Storyteller Exercise
This exercise (that plugs into your powers of imagination) is inspired by an exercise in Julia Cameron's The Right to Write. It teaches writers to use their ears and "listen" for short story ideas.
6 Ten-Minute Creative Writing Exercise
If you think you don't have time to write, think again. Every writer needs to write every day, whether they feel creative or not, or think they have something to say, or not. See what you can produce with a simple set of writing prompts and 10 spare minutes of your time with this creative writing exercise. More Continue to 7 of 10 below.
7 Story Starters
These story starters are intended to be the opening phrase of a story. The phrase might give you an entire story idea, or you might spend a half hour freewriting, and that freewriting may lead you to the story you really want to tell. The important thing is that you spend time writing, whatever the result.
8 Short Story Idea Box
Keeping an idea box is a fun way to ensure that you always have a place to turn for inspiration. Your idea box doesn't have to be elaborate or filled with the gist of best sellers. Just creating a designated place where you keep ideas will keep your mind creatively engaged. More
Continue to 9 of 10 below.
9 Monthly Writing Challenges
Look through previous monthly writing challenge posts and reader responses on the Fiction Writing site to get ideas for new writing prompts and exercises. The responses also provide examples of how the exercise might be approached. More
10 Testing New Short Story Ideas
Robert McKee, in his book, Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting, has this tip for testing out a new plot.
Find more creative writing prompts. More
11.How Long Are Short Stories? Or Should It Be a Novel?
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated August 27, 2017
Perhaps the most organic way to discover a novel idea is by writing a short story and realizing -- or having someone point out to you -- that what you're dealing with is bigger than a story. Sometimes you will just begin to write something -- not knowing whether it will be a short story or novel -- and discover what it is after you begin.
How do you know if a story is begging for a larger format? Here are some signs that your short story is actually a novel in disguise.
1 Is Your Novel Idea Truly Novel?
Have you seen this story before? Does it feel overly familiar or trite? Though Willa Cather was correct when she said, "There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves," you must tell the story so that it feels completely new to the reader. Avoid stereotypes in characterization and setting. Is your take on the story truly original? Are you showing your reader something they already know, but in a new way?
2 The Short Story Is Simply Too Long.
Like poetry, there's a certain elegance to short story writing: space allows for only the essentials. A short story should run no longer than 10,000 words, and this is on the outside. (At 10,000 words, you're still pushing it with most journals.) If you've already pared the story down to what is necessary and it's still too long, you may be dealing with something bigger.
Remember: if you open the door to a new aspect of the story, you have to go inside. This means that you either need to cut off certain paths that your prose follows, or you need to expand and commit to those narratives.
3 Too Many Characters Are Needed to Tell the Story.
If the number of characters in your story makes it confusing, first check to see if any can be eliminated or combined. You may often find that more than one character can fulfill the same need in your story, and therefore can be combined. However, if too many people are still necessary, this is a sign that your plot is that of a novel, not a story.
4 The Theme, or Themes, Have Not Been Fully Developed.
If you're working with themes rather than a theme, this is already a good sign that you're craving a more generous format. Be very clear with what you're trying to communicate through the story, and whether or not you've been successful. Is the theme too big to explore in under 10,000 words?
5 The Story Encompasses Too Long a Time Frame.
Although there are no hard and fast rules, a short story generally covers a brief period of time. With exceptions, most short stories cannot comfortably cover years of a character's life. If your plot involves an afternoon or a few hours, you're probably right to choose the story format. If your plot encompasses a year, or years, of people's lives, you've probably got a novel on your hands.
That said, there are novels that cover short periods of time as well. The pages you need to tell a story will depend on your writing style.
6 One of Your Readers Has Pointed out That This Could Be a Novel.
If someone has said to you, "Hey, I'd like to read more of this," it's a good sign that you've stumbled onto some rich material. Before embarking on something as time-consuming as a novel, you do want to be sure that you've chosen a topic or a story that will hold people's interest. It's not an easy thing to achieve, so if you've done it, pay attention.
.7 You Don't Want to Stop Working on It.
The most important thing in writing a novel is that the material can sustain your attention for the years it will take to finish the book. If the thought of living with these people for longer than a month makes you tired, don't torture yourself, no matter what your readers say. On the other hand, if this story has only whet your appetite, then keep working. If you're lucky enough to find something that inspires you to that degree, by all means, go with it.
12.Flash Fiction: What Makes a Successful Short-Short Story?
By Rachel Sherman
Updated July 19, 2017
For a story to be a complete story, we only need one small element within the narrative to be resolved. This element can be tiny. It is often unhappy. It might leave us with millions of questions, but it answers one.
What is resolved within a story is not always something that happens externally, but internally. Often writers are told that their protagonist must change somehow from the beginning of the story to the end, and usually, people take this to mean that something huge must happen (see earlier articles on death, disease, zombies, etc).
But this is not true. An emotion can change. The way one sees something can change. A mood can change. A character might simply decide to make themselves tea.
Many of my students are relieved when I tell them not to focus on plot and to only aim for one small moment. Similarly, many students are glad when I assign 1-2 page pieces of fiction or flash fiction, as they think that the less they have to write, the easier it will be.
However, this is not the case. Writing flash fiction (also referred to as micro fiction, short-short fiction, postcard fiction, and sudden fiction) does not mean you simply write 1-2 pages. The same “rules” apply to a successful piece of flash fiction as they do in longer stories. This means that the writer has much less time to create a believable world before attempting to resolve something within it. This is often much more difficult.
One of the masters of flash fiction is the writer Lydia Davis, author of The Thirteenth Woman and Other Stories, Break It Down, and Varieties of Disturbance among other books.
Her stories have been published together in The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis.
Her story below is an example of how little has to change in order for the narrative to be "complete."
FEAR
Nearly every morning, a certain woman in our community comes running out of her house with her face white and her overcoat flapping wildly. She cries out, “Emergency, emergency,” and one of us runs to her and holds her until her fears are calmed. We know she is making it up; nothing has really happened to her. But we understand, because there is hardly one of us who has not been moved at some time to do just what she has done, and every time, it has taken all our strength, and even the strength of our friends and families too, to quiet us.
Davis has chosen a fiction-worthy moment: the woman coming out of her house screaming “Emergency, emergency," every day. She has acknowledged the truth of this moment, and the relatability: surely there are many moments each of us feels that we cannot bear whatever the drain of our life may be. She points this out and shows us something we already know, but in a new way. The idea that the neighbors are helping this woman but that they feel empathetic towards her, that she represents everyone's wants and needs, makes the satisfaction emotional. The sadness is admitting that life is too much, but that most of us can’t actually say so. The sadness is that someone says so every day, but is no better for it. The sadness is that we all feel this way, but stay quiet in our houses, telling no one.
13.Learn About Characters in Fiction
In a work of fiction, a character is depicted through both narrative and dialogue. Characters can be flat, minor characters or round and major, developed with depth. The persona is revealed by how a character responds to conflict, by dialogue, and through descriptions. Characters in fiction can have many roles and purposes, all of them dictated by the writer's intent and style. A few possible character roles include:
Protagonist
Also sometimes called the hero or heroine of the story, the protagonist is the main character. In some cases, the reader experiences the story through eyes of the protagonist; in other cases, the protagonist may be only one of many characters whose perspective is described. It is important to note that the protagonist need not be a character with whom the reader identifies; he or she might be a true hero but could also be a character the reader is supposed to dislike.
Antagonist
In many genres, particularly but not exclusively fantasies, thrillers, spy novels, crime stories and mysteries, the protagonist is pitted against an antagonist. The antagonist can be a truly immoral or evil individual, such as Dr. Moriarty in the Sherlock Holmes stories, but he can also be a well-meaning but domineering parent or even a person who unintentionally stands in the way of the protagonist.
Metaphor
In some works, characters are created not as fully realized human beings or fantastical beings but rather as metaphors for a particular human quality.
For example, Lord Voldemort, in the Harry Potter books, is not intended to be seen as a fully conceived person but rather as a metaphor for the terrible outcome that results from scorning and opposing the power of love.
Plot Device
In some cases, characters exist largely for the purpose of moving the story along from one plot point to the next.
The characters themselves, therefore, are only sketchily conceived; it is their actions that matter. For example, it is common for writers to create characters whose sole purpose is to motivate the protagonist to take the actions that propel the story forward.
Type
Some stories are built around a time, place or situation that requires certain types of characters to be present. These characters might not be terribly important either to the plot or the theme, but their absence would be felt. A story that takes place in a hotel, for example, would be incomplete without including at least a few members of the hotel staff; a story that takes place on a spaceship headed for Mars would be incomplete without at least a sketch of the ship's captain.
How to Create Characters
To create a character, you need to be clear in your own mind about your character's purpose in your work. While it is important to fully flesh out your protagonist's personality traits, motivations, emotional status, interests, and talents, you'll need far less detail for a character who serves as a plot device.
No matter how significant or insignificant your character is, it is important to be sure that he is consistent and believable within your story's parameters.
Motivations and actions must work together so that the reader isn't left confused and frustrated.
14.Learn About Round Characters in Fiction
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated November 12, 2017
A round character is a major player in a work of fiction — the star of the story — who encounters conflict and is changed by it. Round characters tend to be more fully developed and described than flat, or static, characters. If you think of the characters you most love in fiction, they probably seem as real to you as people you know. This is a good sign that they are round characters.
Most Protagonists Are Round Characters (but Some Are Not)
The protagonist ( the main character) of almost every work of fiction is a round character.
Round characters engage the reader's imagination and empathy, making it possible for the reader to imagine him or herself in the character's shoes — the reader relates to round characters. Often, the protagonist's personal growth mirrors the reader's own hopes and dreams.
Literary fiction usually revolves around a process of growth and change — and a character whose growth and change provide the meat of the story. All of Jane Austen's heroines, for example, discover that their girlish assumptions and expectations are naive. Most, as a result of their experiences, change their perspectives and make decisions based on personal discovery and growth.
There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. These exceptions are mainly in genre fiction as opposed to literary fiction. For example, Agatha Christie's detective Hercule Poirot does not grow or change as a result of his crime-solving activities.
The works of Charles Dickens often center on two-dimensional characters — Oliver Twist and David Copperfield are two examples.
These characters have few personal qualities or motivations; there are essentially pawns who are used and abused by others. While their conditions change over the course of the story, they themselves change almost not at all.
These works maintain their literary importance because their purpose is not to create and explore character, but rather to delve into economic and social injustice.
Examples of Round Characters Even genre novels, such as "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, gains much of its power through the development of round characters. The stories are satisfying because several of the main characters do, in fact, overcome their limitations or self-doubt to become stronger. For example:
Frodo the hobbit and his friend Sam both discover unexpected depths of personal commitment, physical and emotional strength and dedication to a cause.
Gandalf the wizard discovers that the trust he placed in his fellow wizards was misplaced and becomes a stronger magical character as a result.
Aragorn, the heir to a long line of kings, has given up his title -- but over the course of the stories discovers his own leadership skills and learns that he can and should reclaim his crown.
Creating Round Characters
A writer employs a number of tools or elements to develop a character, making him round; these include description and dialogue. A character's responses to conflict and his internal dialogue are also revelatory and create a multi-dimensional character.
How do you go about creating a round character rather than a flat one? Creating truly believable characters takes time and thought, of course; you can start by answering these questions about your main character.
15.How Flat Characters Are Used in Fiction
These Minor Figures Play a Supporting Role in the Story
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated October 30, 2017
As every reader and writer knows, novels and short stories have main characters, protagonists, and antagonists who are integral to the centerpiece of the plot. In writing lingo, these characters are called "round," or multi-dimensional. They change and grow over the course of the story. But the story needs minor characters that are involved in situations or provide information that affects the main characters.
While the main characters need to be believable to the reader, with a full range of personality traits and personal issues revealed, these minor characters have a much narrower purpose, so the reader only needs to know that character in one or two dimensions. This is called a flat character.
A flat character also does not undergo substantial change or growth in the course of a story. Also referred to as "two-dimensional characters" or "static characters," flat characters play a supporting role to the main character.
The Role of Flat Characters in Literature and Genre Fiction
Flat characters are often necessary to move a story along. Think of the characters of Crabbe and Goyle in the Harry Potter series. Telling their backstory, exploring their motivations and having them change over time would make it almost impossible to follow the story arc. Rather than attempting to flesh out these characters, author J.K.
Rowling makes them "two-dimensional," or flat. Crabbe and Goyle are unintelligent, sycophantic followers — necessary to the plot, but otherwise unimportant.
A more classic example is the character of Mr. Collins in Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice." A flat character who is almost stereotypical in his pomposity, egocentricity and class consciousness, he serves a vital role in the story.
Mr. Collins is at the center of a plot point through which protagonists Elizabeth and Darcy get together, and he provides comic elements to the story. But his character stays essentially unchanged; in fact, his lack of responsiveness is part of what makes him funny.
Flat characters are also a staple of genres that require particular personality types. For example:
Readers would be disappointed to discover that Sherlock Holmes had grown to become a warm, caring individual — or that Watson had, over time, developed top-notch detecting skills.
Few readers want to see reliably evil characters grow a conscience or feel guilt as a result of their actions.
Readers of series like "Twilight" choose the next book in the series because they want to revisit the characters they know and love. Authors of such series must be careful to avoid changing their characters too radically because this would undermine their popularity.
Stock characters, such as the wise adviser in "Quest" fantasies, are intended only to further the plot by providing critically important information to the protagonist. Should such a character change, his or her role in the story would come into question.
Creating Flat Characters
Creating flat characters is relatively easy since the writer needs to develop them only to the extent that the reader understands the context of that character's relationship to the main characters and whatever interaction that minor character has with the main character is believable.
16.The Development of a Dynamic Character in Fiction
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated October 09, 2017
A dynamic, or round, character is a major character in a work of fiction who encounters conflict and is changed by it. Dynamic characters tend to be more fully developed and described than flat, or static, characters. If you think of the characters you most love in fiction, they probably seem as real to you as people you know in real life. These are dynamic characters; this is sometimes also referred to as the depth of characterization.
A number of elements in fiction reveal character, making the character dynamic. These include descriptions of the character, the character's dialogue, the character's responses to the conflicts that arise in the plot and the character's thoughts.
Creating Dynamic Character Through Internal Conflict
One of the easiest ways to make characters dynamic is for them to have conflicting ideas or for their internal world and their external world to be at odds, which provides tension and conflict. Think about what a person says versus what they think and show the difference in your fiction.
What do they choose to reveal about themselves?
How do they craft their outer persona?
Are they transparent in terms of how they are perceived or are they secretive -- manipulative and complicit in hiding their interior lives and showing a false self?
How much do they lie?
And how do they justify their behavior?
Are they capable of intimacy, and if so, what does that intimacy look like to them?
How do they treat the people who they love?
How do they express anger and happiness? How do they show weakness?
The answers to these questions help you to paint a rounded character.
Character Flaws
Another way to show the complexity of a character is through their flaws. A flaw does not necessarily mean a giant scar on a character's face; it is simply a blanket term for anything outside the stereotype.
A simple example is a character who is a mother who feels inadequate, who is not a super mom, who doesn't always know the right thing to do or say as a parent. Often taking two or three (seemingly) disparate personality traits and putting them together can work to achieve this. You might write a number of personality traits on separate pieces of paper and pick up two or three randomly. Then write about a character who shows those traits.
Personal Inspiration
Another way to think about fictional characters is to take a good look at yourself and those around you. List your likes and dislikes, your passions and your repulsions. Look at your hobbies and habits. Be honest about the things that bother you. What is your biggest secret? What is your vice? You will probably quickly see that your answers do not fit into a stereotype.
If it is too difficult a task to look at yourself this way, think of someone you know well and try to parse these aspects of their personality. Everyone is infinitely complex and full of stories (both good and bad). For your writing to express maximum realism, fictional characters should reflect this. Creating believable characters takes time and thought. Start by answering these questions about your main character.
17.Third-Person Point of View: Omniscient or Limited
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated October 15, 2017
The third-person point of view is a form of storytelling in which a narrator relates all the action of their work using a third-person pronoun such as "he" or "she."
There are two types of third-person point of view. A third-person point of view can be omniscient, in which the narrator knows all of the thoughts and feelings of all of the characters in the story, or it can be limited. If it's limited, the narrator only relates his or her own thoughts, feelings, and knowledge of various situations and other characters.
Very often new writers feel most comfortable with first-person, perhaps because it seems familiar, but writing in the third-person actually affords a writer much more freedom in how they tell the story.
The Advantages of Third-Person Point of View
The third-person omniscient point of view is generally the most objective and trustworthy viewpoint because an all-knowing narrator is telling the story. This narrator has no bias or preferences and also has full knowledge of all the characters and situations. On the other hand, in first-person point of view, the narrator has a limited vantage point and might have biases that interfere with his or her perceptions. Not surprisingly, the majority of novels are written in third-person.
A trick to remembering the difference between omniscient and limited is if you think of yourself (the writer) as a kind of god. As such, you're able to "see" everyone's thoughts (omniscient).
If on the other hand, you're a mere mortal, then you only know what is going on inside the heart and mind of one person. Therefore, your perspective is limited.
The Golden Rule of Consistency
The most important rule regarding the point of view is to that it must be consistent. As soon as you drift from one point of view to another, the reader will pick up on it, and you lose your authority and the reader's attention.
Your job as the writer is to make the reader feel comfortable as you take them into your world. If you're telling the story from a limited third-person narration, and then suddenly the reader is told that the lover of the protagonist secretly does not love him anymore, you have lost the reader. That's because it's impossible for someone in the story to know a secret without the person telling them. Either that or they overheard them, they read about it or they heard it from a third party.
An Example of the Classics Using the Third-Person
Jane Austen's novel "Pride and Prejudice," like many classic novels, is told from the third-person point of view.
Here's a passage from Austen's classic novel:
"When Jane and Elizabeth were alone, the former, who had been cautious in her praise of Mr. Bingley before, expressed to her sister how very much she admired him. 'He is just what a young man ought to be,' said she, 'sensible, good-humored, lively; and I never saw such happy manners! So much ease, with such perfect good breeding!'"
If you still have questions about third-person try reading some more examples of third-person from classic fiction.
18.How to Write from Third Person Limited Point of View
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated November 03, 2017
Before you write a single word of fiction, you will need to decide who is telling the story -- and from which point of view. If the story is told by a narrator (rather than by a character), you will be writing from the third person perspective. But who is the narrator? How much does the narrator know? Can the narrator get inside the characters' heads to describe what they're thinking?
What Is the Third Person Limited Point of View?
The third person omniscient (meaning "all knowing") point of view is a method of storytelling in which the narrator knows what every character is thinking.
Third person limited point of view, on the other hand, is a method of storytelling in which the narrator knows only the thoughts and feelings of a single character, while other characters are presented only externally. Third person limited grants a writer more freedom than first person, but less knowledge than third person omniscient.
Why Choose the Third Person Limited Point of View?
There are a number of reasons why you might decide that third person limited may be right for your next work of fiction. Here are just a few possibilities:
You want the ability to show a situation through the eyes of an interesting or unique character;
You are writing a mystery, and want the reader to experience the clues and outcomes from the point of view of one of your characters;
You are telling a story in which your main character's perspectives evolve or change, and you want to show those changes through their eyes;
You want to maintain a sense of uncertainty about other characters' motivations, emotions, or past.
Examples of Third Person Limited Point of View in Fiction
Most works of fiction are told from the third person limited point of view. For example, Jane Austen's famous Pride and Prejudice is told entirely from the point of view of protagonist Elizabeth Bennett.
J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series unfolds its secrets through Harry himself who, like the reader, is new to the world of magic and wizardry.
A classic example of third person limited fiction is Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, which sticks firmly with one character's consciousness, that of Robert Jordan, who shares:
"This Anselmo had been a good guide and he could travel wonderfully in the mountains. Robert Jordan could walk well enough himself and he knew from following him since before daylight that the old man could walk him to death. Robert Jordan trusted the man, Anselmo, so far, in everything except judgment. He had not yet had an opportunity to test his judgment, and, anyway, the judgment was his own responsibility."
The reader will only know Anselmo's thoughts and responses insofar as he reveals them through his actions. But Robert Jordan's thoughts will be shared throughout the story. It's his reactions and his interpretations of events that the reader will understand and follow.
Because third person limited is defined largely by what it doesn't do, it may help at this point to read an example of third-person omniscient for comparison.
19.Third-Person Omniscient Point of View and Anna Karenina
This Viewpoint Allows the Reader Inside the Minds of Several Characters
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated October 21, 2017
The third-person omniscient point of view is a method of storytelling in which the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all of the characters in the story. The third-person is not the same as the third-person limited, a point of voice that adheres closely to one character's perspective, usually the main character's.
Through the use of the third-person omniscient viewpoint, a writer is able to bring to life an entire world of characters and give them significant depth and meaning.
As such, it's an excellent literary device to aid in character development. This is an especially useful literary device in complicated stories when the writer is introducing the reader to a plethora of characters. Using the third-person omniscient point of view, the narrator is able to relate information to the reader about each character that some of the characters in the story might not know about each other.
This device takes what might be a difficult and complicated writing endeavour and turns it into a more manageable one.
Third-Person Omniscient in 'Anna Karenina'
A prime example of the third-person omniscient point of view is Leo Tolstoy's renowned and character-heavy novel "Anna Karenina" which is told from multiple points of view.
Learning About a Character From Anna's Point of View
Some sections of the novel are told from Anna's point of view:
'"All the same, he's a good man, truthful, kind and remarkable in his sphere,' Anna said to herself, going back to her room, as if defending him before someone who was accusing him and saying that it was impossible to love him.
'But why do his ears stick out so oddly? Did he have to have his hair cut?"'
"Exactly at midnight, when Anna was still sitting at her desk finishing a letter to Dolly, she heard the measured steps of slippered feet, and Alexei Alexandrovich, washed and combed, a book under his arm, came up to her."
"'It's time, it's time,' he said with a special smile, and went into the bedroom."
"'And what right did he have to look at him like that?' thought Anna, recalling how Vronsky had looked at Alexei Alexandrovich."
Learning About a Character From the Narrator
In "Anna Karenina" many other points of view (besides the character Alexei Alexandrovich) are given equal importance. Here's a look at another major character in the classic novel, Konstantin Levin, told entirely by the narrator, without dialogue:
"The house was big, old and Levin, though he lived alone, heated and occupied all of it. He knew that it was even wrong and contrary to his new plans, but this house was a whole world for Levin. It was the world in which his father and mother had lived and died. They had lived a life which for Levin seemed the ideal of all perfection and which he dreamed of renewing with his wife, with his family."
Other Novels Told in Third-Person Omniscient
If you want to expand your knowledge base about writing in third-person omniscient point of view there are many excellent examples in literature to choose from. Here are a handful of well-known classic examples.
"Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy
"Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
"The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
"1984" by George Orwell
"Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen.
20. Learn About First-Person Point of View in Fiction
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated October 08, 2017
Point of view in fiction simply means who tells the story. In first-person point of view, the story is told from the vantage point of a narrator who tells it from his viewpoint, using "I" or "we" as the story plays out. The narrator might be a relatively minor character, observing the action, as the character Nick does in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," or the main protagonist of the story, such as Holden Caulfield in J.D.
Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye."
Why Writers Use First-Person Point of View
There are a number of good reasons for using the first-person point of view in fiction; used correctly it can be an extremely effective tool for storytelling. Here are just a few situations in which first person is an ideal choice:
You are writing a piece of fiction that is, at least to some degree, autobiographical. You want to be sure that the reader sees the world you have created exactly as you experienced it. An example of this approach is Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar," in which the main character is a thinly disguised version of the poet herself.
You want the world you've created to be seen from a unique "outsider" point of view. Both "Catcher in the Rye" and Harper Lee's classic, "To Kill a Mockingbird" are told from the perspective of youngsters whose observations of the adult world are both naive and incisive. No third-person narrator or adult storyteller could bring the same qualities to these stories.
You want the reader to experience only a carefully edited set of story elements and to experience them only from a particular point of view. This technique is effective in both literature and genre fiction. It is often used by romance and mystery writers to provide the reader with a sense that they are participating in the drama and uncertainty experienced by the main characters.
You want to mislead the reader and then -- in some cases, at least -- surprise him with a dramatic revelation. While it is possible to mislead a reader with the third-person voice, it is much more effective to do so through an unreliable narrator. "Catcher in the Rye's" Holden Caulfield is a classic example of the unreliable narrator. Another extremely effective use of the unreliable narrator is in Agatha Christie's renowned mystery "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd."
Pros and Cons
The first-person point of view allows a reader to feel close to a specific character's point of view; it lets the reader in, so to speak. It also provides the writer with a tool for crafting the reader's perspective on the fictional world. Using first-person can also be easier for beginning writers since everyone is accustomed to telling stories from their own personal point of view.
However, first-person point of view limits the reader to that one perspective. The reader can only know what this character knows, which can make telling the story more difficult, depending on the plot and other characters involved.
21.Second-Person Point of View
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated October 17, 2017
Second-person point of view is a form of writing in which the point of view of a narrative work is told in the voice of the "onlooker," which is you, the reader. For instance, the text would read, "You went to school that morning."
The second-person point of view is rarely used in fiction because of its difficulty level. It is hard to develop a set of characters and a story in which the second person is appropriate.
Additionally, it is not easy to maintain a second-person narrative in a longer piece of writing, as opposed to a shorten piece such as a one-page essay.
Examples of Second-Person Point of View
Despite its difficulty, there are a few examples of works told in the second-person point of view. Tom Robbins' "Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas" is an example of a novel told in second- person. Many of the stories in Lorrie Moore's book "Self-Help" are also written in second-person.
This example of second-person writing comes from Moore's story "How to Become a Writer:"
"The next semester the writing professor is obsessed with writing from personal experience. You must write from what you know, from what has happened to you. He wants deaths, he wants camping trips. Think about what has happened to you. In three years there have been three things: You lost your virginity, your parents got divorced, and your brother came home from a forest ten miles from the Cambodian border with only half a thigh, a permanent smirk nestled into one corner of his mouth."
Distinguishing Second-Person Point of View From Other Devices
Don't confuse second-person point of view writing with a writer who is simply addressing the reader. Many major authors, including classic writers such as Charles Dickens and Jane Austen, actually speak directly to the reader expressing their commentary on the plot or characters.
Contemporary writers of blogs and non-fiction will also write to "you" when offering advice or insights.
Another point of confusion is distinguishing second- from third-person point of view. When a writer addresses/questions the reader, the writer is writing from the third-person point of view. For example, "Do you enjoy pot roast as much as I do?" This is a question asked by a pot-roast loving third-person narrator. On the other hand, "You love pot roast, so you plan to cook it tonight," is a use of the second-person point of view.
Why Would an Author Choose Second-Person Point of View?
Most people naturally write in first-person or third-person because it takes a great deal of effort and intention to write in the second-person. Generally, people write in the second-person because:
They want to immerse the reader in the experience of "being" the protagonist.
They want to engage the reader in an extremely rich sensory experience which can best be accomplished by forcing the reader to imagine himself, or herself, as part of the experience.
They want to write a particularly persuasive or engaging passage that will be most effective when written in the second-person.
They want to try a new and different style of writing.
While there is certainly nothing wrong with experimenting with any type of writing, second-person requires a good deal of practice and finesse. Don't be surprised if your first efforts end with readers being confused or frustrated. Only by refining your technique will you become an accomplished writer in this difficult form.
22.How to Recognize and Create an Unreliable Narrator.
Trust Issues With the Narrator Character
An unreliable narrator is a popular authorial trick to build tension and withhold information.
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated November 10, 2017
In fiction, as in life, the unreliable narrator is a character who cannot be trusted. Either from ignorance or self-interest, this narrator speaks with a bias, makes mistakes, or even lies. Part of the pleasure and challenge of these first-person stories is working out the truth and understanding why the narrator is not straightforward. It is also a tool a writer uses to create an aura of authenticity in his work.
The term originates from Wayne C. Booth’s 1961 "Rhetoric of Fiction," and though it is a key component of modernism, unreliable narratives are found in classics like "Wuthering Heights," in both Lockwood and Nelly Dean, and Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels."
The Unintentionally Unreliable
Many stories presented in the first-person point of view are told by a child or outsider who believes he is telling the complete truth but who, the reader quickly learns, is not fully aware of the circumstances around them. This is the case, for example, with the protagonist of J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye," as well as young narrators such as Scout in Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird."
The unintentionally unreliable narrator invites the reader to think beyond the writing and to become an adult observer. What is really going on in Holden Caulfield's life? Is he truly the only "non-phony" in a world of liars?
What is Scout really seeing when she describes the behavior of her teachers, classmates, and father? This device gives the reader insight and perspective into the character who is the narrator.
The Intentionally Unreliable
While unintentionally unreliable narrators can be endearing and naive, intentionally unreliable narrators are often frightening.
Typically, such characters have sinister motives, ranging from guilt, as in the case of Nabokov's "Lolita," to insanity, as in the case of Edgar Allen Poe's short story "The Tell-Tale Heart."
Some of the most interesting uses of an intentionally unreliable narrator are in the mystery genre. Why might the narrator of a mystery story be intentionally unreliable? Most likely because he or she has something to hide. Such stories are especially intriguing because, when they are well done, the reader is completely unaware of the narrator's true character.
Creating an Unreliable Narrator
The purpose of an unreliable narrator is for you to create a work of fiction with multiple layers in which there are competing levels of truth.
Sometimes the narrator's unreliability is made immediately evident. For instance, a story may open with the narrator making a plainly false or delusional claim or admitting to being severely mentally ill. A more dramatic use of the device delays the revelation until near the story's end. Such a twist ending forces readers to reconsider their point of view and experience of the story.
For this writing mechanism to be effective, the reader must be able to discern more than one level of truth.
While your narrator might be an unreliable source of information for the reader, it is absolutely essential that you, the writer, understand and eventually reveal the reality behind the misleading words. It is essential that the reader can recognize not only the narrator's unreliability but also the reality that is being hidden.
23. How to rewrite you story in the Third Person
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated October 09, 2017
Though it's easy to fall into the habit of always writing in the first person, it's crucial to be able to use the third person as well. Both first person and third person have their strengths and weaknesses; what works for one story may not work for another.
This exercise will help you observe the effect of writing in the third person point of view to add this tool to your toolbox. It might also show you directions for the story you hadn't considered before.
Any distance you can have from the page, or new ways you can have of seeing the same narrative are important.
Often, as writers, we are too focused on what we think the story is about, rather than - perhaps - what it has become on the page. Changing point of view can give you a new perspective, often illuminating new pieces of your fiction, inspiring new ideas, and - ultimately - making for deeper and more introspective fiction.
What You Need
A scene from a recent story or novel.
Computer or paper and pen.
Quiet place to work.
How to Write in the Third Person
Choose a particularly compelling -- or problematic -- scene from a piece of prose you have recently written in the first person. Try to find a piece that includes both dialogue and exposition.
Rewrite the piece from the third person point of view. Take your time. It may require some strategizing to pull off the transformation. You'll also have to consider whether or not you want to use third person omniscient or limited. In moving from first to third, it might be easiest to try the third person limited first.
Notice how the change in point of view changes the voice and the mood of the story. What freedom do you have with this narrator that you did not have before? If you have chosen limited third person, is there anything that you now know about the character that you didn't before? If you have chosen omniscient, does the new information inform or inhibit the story? Likewise, are there any limitations in using this point of view?
Make a list of three or four advantages of the new point of view: ways the new voice helps develop plot and/or character. Does it change the structure? Does the heart of the story change, or does it become more refined?
Make a list of the limitations of the third person point of view with regard to this particular piece. Is it the most effective way of telling this story? Were there ways in which it was harder to develop your central character with the third person? Did it force you to use other techniques in revealing your character? Was the voice stronger or weaker? If weaker, was the trade-off worthwhile?
If the new point of view works well with this scene, consider changing the point of view for the entire piece. Otherwise, return to your original.
Tips
Even if changing to the third person point of view has not improved this particular piece, remain open to it in future work. Use the lessons learned in this exercise to evaluate point of view in all the fiction you write. As you become more comfortable with the third person, you might begin to find the distance it can provide helps you have a new perspective on your narrative.
Lorrie Moore has a good explanation for how she chooses POV: "There are times when the first person is necessary for observing others (not the protagonist) in a voice that simultaneously creates a character (usually the protagonist); then there are times when the third person is necessary for observing the protagonist in a voice that is not the character’s but the story’s."
Want to practice other aspects of craft and technique? Find more craft exercises here.
24.How to choose the right point of view for you Story.
How to Choose the Right Point of View for Your Story
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated October 09, 2017
The point of view of a story is the perspective from which a story is told. Writers may choose to tell their story in on of three perspectives:
First person: using "I" or "we,"
Third person: "he," "she," or "it," which can be limited or omniscient,
Second person: "you," the least common point of view.
As a writer, you must strategically choose the point of view that allows you to most effectively develop your characters and tell your story.
First Person Point of View
First person limits the reader to one character's perspective. With a book such as "On the Road," for instance, the first person point of view puts the reader directly in the car with Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty. Readers follow Sal's every exhilarating thought as the two characters careen across the country. First person feels more personal.
But what about unreliable narrators and first person? Discover the intrigue of an unreliable narrator with books like Chang-rae Lee's "A Gesture Life."
Third Person Point of View
Though first person point of view can be powerful third person is actually a more versatile point of view. Third person allows the writer to create a richer, more complicated universe. A book such as "Anna Karenina," for example, could only have been written in third person. As one writer put it: "When I write in first person, I tend to make the story more personal to me, which can limit how far I will go with a character.
Third person isn't as much about me, and I can be much freer with the plot."
Second Person
Second person is writing from the point of view of a narrative onlooker who is writing about you, the reader: "You went to school that morning." This point of view is rarely used in fiction because it is difficult to develop characters and hard to maintain a narrative in longer pieces of writing.
Try a New Point of View
Despite the advantage of third person, beginning writers tend to fall back on first person, either because it's easier or they are writing about themselves. Even if your story is autobiographical, consider trying third person. Doing this will help you view your story more dispassionately and allow you to tell it more effectively. It might also show you directions for the story you hadn't considered.
When choosing between limited and omniscient, it may be easier to use third person limited, which still adheres closely to one person's point of view. But, as your plots become more complicated, you may find you need more than one point of view to tell your story and begin to use omniscient.
If your story keeps hitting a wall, consider switching the point of view. For most people, this involves going from first person to third. Beginning writers may groan at the idea of rewriting an entire story but for professional writers such experimentation is par for the course. If you're writing for the first time, consider switching the point of view. This point-of-view exercise will help lead you through the process.
25.Examples of Third Person Writing From Classic Fiction
Everett Henry/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated October 12, 2017
If you're still a little confused about what the third person writing looks like in fiction, study these classic examples and examine how each author handles point of view.
Examples of Third Person Writing From Classic Fiction.
Jane Austen's clear prose provides a perfect sample of the third person. Though Pride and Prejudice are very much Elizabeth Bennet's story, the narrator is not Elizabeth Bennet.
"I" or "we" would only occur within quotations:
When Jane and Elizabeth were alone, the former, who had been cautious in her praise of Mr. Bingley before, expressed to her sister how very much she admired him."
He is just what a young man ought to be," said she, "sensible, good humoured, lively; and I never saw such happy manners! -- so much ease, with such perfect good breeding!"
"He is also handsome," replied Elizabeth, "which a young man ought likewise to be, if he possibly can. His character is thereby complete."
We can find a more recent example of the third person in Joseph Heller's Catch-22. Again, though it's Yossarian's story, he isn't telling the story to us. Note the dialogue tags (e.g., "he answered" and "Orr said.") In the third person, you'll never see "I said" or "we said."
"What are you doing?" Yossarian asked guardedly when he entered the tent, although he saw at once.
"There's a leak here," Orr said. "I'm trying to fix it."
"Please stop it," said Yossarian. "You're making me nervous."
"When I was a kid," Orr replied, "I used to walk around all day with crab apples in my cheeks. One in each cheek."
Yossarian put aside his musette bag from which he had begun removing his toilet articles and braced himself suspiciously. A minute passed. "Why?" he found himself forced to ask finally.
Orr tittered triumphantly. "Because they're better than horse chestnuts," he answered.
Finally, contrast these with a first-person example from Moby-Dick. In this case, the story is told by Ishmael, and he speaks directly to the reader. Everything is from his perspective: we can only see what he sees and what he tells us. The dialogue tags, of course, vary between "I said," when Ishmael is talking, and "he answered," when the other person speaks.
"Landlord!" said I, "what sort of chap is he -- does he always keep such late hours?" It was now hard upon twelve o'clock.
The landlord chuckled again with his lean chuckle, and seemed to be mightily tickled at something beyond my comprehension. "No," he answered, "generally he's an early bird -- airley to bed and airley to rise -- yea, he's the bird what catches the worm. -- But to-night he went out a peddling, you see, and I don't see what on airth keeps him so late, unless, may be, he can't sell his head."
"Can't sell his head? -- What sort of a bamboozingly story is this you are telling me?" getting into a towering rage. "Do you pretend to say, landlord, that this harpooneer is actually engaged this blessed Saturday night, or rather Sunday morning, in peddling his head around this town?"
A trick to ensure that you are consistently using third person narrative in a piece of fiction is to do a complete read-through only paying attention to the point of view.
26.How to Write Fiction
Get Started Here
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated March 10, 2017
Anyone who says writing can't be taught is speaking nonsense: inspiration can't be taught, but writing certainly can. It's a skill, no different from, say, cooking. Some people have a greater appreciation for food, a natural sense for how different tastes work together. But they're not the only ones capable of whipping up a tasty meal. It's exactly the same with wanting to write. Almost anyone can learn how to put words on the page in a clear, intelligent manner -- they can even do so in a way that tells a story. If your goal is to write a story, or to learn to write better, these articles will help.
Freewriting.
Freewriting is one of the easiest ways to dive into writing, and it's a technique even experienced writers use when they're blocked. (Many people feel comfortable writing without much structure, but if you're not one of those people, then start with a writing exercise or prompt.) The best part about freewriting is that there is no wrong answer: anything you get down is A-OK. More
Write Short Stories.
If you're feeling hesitant about how to structure your story, or you have pages of prose you'd like to shape into fiction, start by reviewing these basic rules. Don't be put off if writing a story doesn't seem simple. With a short story, a lot has to happen in relatively few pages. Some people are better at longer forms, but it's helpful in thinking about plot to start small. More
.Plot 101.
Now that you have an overview of the short story, drill down into each of the elements, starting with plot. Plot is what separates a freewriting exercise from a short story. No matter how great your characters or your setting, a story won't be successful if the plot isn't sound. More
Characters.
That said, at least one character should be well-developed. Someone in the story must take action, and that action will only be believable if the character seems real to the reader. This exercise will help you develop the characters in your story. More
Setting.
Some people believe that setting is the most important element of a story, that it drives everything else. If you're just starting to write, this may be a bit abstract, but take it as a fact: the setting counts. Work on your setting here. More
Point of View.
Once you have your plot, characters, and setting, you must decide how to tell the story: first person or third person? Third person limited or omniscient? This article helps you think strategically about point of view, either before you start to write or between revisions. More
Dialogue.
When you strive to "show and not tell," dialogue will almost certainly come into play. But as you've probably noticed in your reading, it's really easy to get it wrong. Find out how to get it right. More
Writing Style.
Getting your story down may not be the challenge for you: you may have concerns about the way you're telling your stories. For the most part, style develops naturally, with years of reading and writing. However, there are elements of style to keep in mind, a baseline, if you will. Keep these rules in mind as you learn to write. More
Books on Writing.
Continue your writing education with these books, classics in the genre. While you don't want your study of writing to keep you from the actual practice of writing, there is much to be learned from others' experiences. Books are a great alternative if you aren't quite ready for a writing class.
27.So You Call Yourself a Writer?
The difference between having the talent, and doing the work
By Rachel Sherman
Updated November 21, 2016
“Can we talk about the role of napping? It’s under described and so essential. There’s something about the creative process that requires it.” - A. M. Homes
Why is it so hard to write when it is the one thing you are supposed to be doing? What makes it so unbearable, even when you have nothing else to do? What about the guilt of not writing when you have the time? There are enough things to feel guilty about.
I know about discipline. In college, my writing professor told me that if I didn’t write every day I would never be published.
Another mentor said, “If you aren’t writing, don’t call yourself a writer.”
I’ve heard all the tricks.
“Write in the morning when you are half awake and still in that dreamy part of your mind.”
“Put aside a certain amount of time every day and do nothing but write.”
“Get that software that stops you from going on the internet.”
You could even do like John Cheever did, and get dressed up in a suit and tie, walk down the stairs to your office at 9am, and write until 5 in the evening.
Here is the truth: I don’t write for days. For weeks. But when people ask me what I do, I always say I’m a writer. So what is it that makes you a writer if you are not always writing? If you are sleeping, walking, eating, listening, TV watching, laughing, living...
I know many people that I consider to be writers who write very little.
Each writer has a different process. A writer, to me, is not necessarily someone who produces 100 pages, but someone who has the capacity to break my heart with words.
I can often recognize writers right away in my classes. They are not always the most verbal, and they do not always give the best critiques.
They are not always hyper-intellectual or well-read. I am probably going against every teacher's manual and classroom rule when I say this, but in my experience, writers are not always the best students.
Being a writer has to do with being what I call “emotionally smart.” It is about understanding people, their complex interiors, the “whys” of the symptoms, not the symptoms themselves. I often tell my students to take psychology classes. Everything is inside.
Being a writer means being hyper-aware. It means seeing where the beauty, the humor, and the sadness is.
Being a writer is recognizing the moments to write about. It is knowing what is “fiction-worthy,” and what is not.
Being a writer is being able to live in two minds, to observe while interacting, and to see the truth.
Being a published writer is something else.
I believe that good writers need to have all of the traits above, but the work of being a writer comes from another place, and the work is not always fun. Being a writer is unconscious, doing the work is the opposite. They are two different parts that need to be combined: one is a talent, and one a job.
However, I often tell my students this:
If you are inspired, then write.
Do the work. But if you are writing and feeling that nothing is going the way you want it to and that you are simply writing for the sake of it, wasting your time, then go on a bike ride, call a friend, jump on a trampoline, dive in the ocean...
The thing about being a writer is that it doesn’t go away. You can never retire. It is your job to show the world what it is missing. Which might be the hardest job there is.
28.Punctuating Dialogue Properly in Fiction Writing
The Need-to-Know Dialogue Punctuation Rules for All Fiction Writers
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated February 04, 2017
Nothing marks a beginning fiction writer faster than improperly punctuated dialogue. Because most academic papers do not use dialogue, many students don't learn the proper dialogue punctuation and grammar until taking a fiction writing class.
The Dialogue Punctuation Rules
Get ahead of the game! Learn these rules, and you'll avoid obvious mistakes:
Use a comma between the dialogue and the tag line (the words used to identify the speaker: "he said/she said"):
"I would like to go to the beach this weekend," she told him as they left the apartment.
Periods and commas go inside the quotation marks in American writing (the Brits have slightly different rules); other punctuation -- semicolons, question marks, dashes, and exclamation points -- goes outside unless it directly pertains to the material within the quotes, as in this example from Raymond Carver's short story "Where I'm Calling From":
"I don't want any stupid cake," says the guy who goes to Europe and the Middle East. "Where's the champagne?" he says, and laughs.
In the next example, the question mark goes outside the quotation marks because it is not part of the material being quoted:
Did he say, "We should all go to the movies"?
Also note that the sentence ends with only one mark of punctuation: the question mark. In general, don't use double punctuation marks, but go with the stronger punctuation. (Question marks and exclamation points are stronger than commas and periods. Think of it as a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, if it helps.)
When a tag line interrupts a sentence, it should be set off by commas. Note that the first letter of the second half of the sentence is in lower case, as in this example from Flannery O'Connor's story "Greenleaf":
"That is," Wesley said, "that neither you nor me is her boy..."
To signal a quotation within a quotation, use single quotes:
"Have you read 'Hills Like White Elephants' yet?" he asked her.
For interior dialogue, italics are appropriate, just be consistent.
Do I really love her? he thought.
If a quotation spills out over more than one paragraph, don't use end quotes at the close of the first paragraph. Use them only when a character is done speaking.
"...and in the end I didn't even love her.
I did think of marrying her, though."
Common Punctuation Dialogue Mistakes
Incorrect dialogue punctuation and formatting is very common amongst beginning fiction writers. The most common mistake is the use quotations outside of the spoken word. Remember: only the words that the person says should be inside the quotation. But here are two more common dialogue mistakes to avoid.
Punctuation and Spacing
Incorrect:
"Surely she has gone mad" ! she said.
Correct:
"Surely she has gone mad!" she said.
See rule number two above.
Commas Between Two Sentences of Dialogue
Another way that people incorrectly write dialogue is by putting a comma between two sentences instead of a period.
Incorrect:
"I have made up my mind," she said nodding, "I do not want to marry him."
Correct:
"I have made up my mind," she said, nodding. "I do not want to marry him."
While rule number 1 above might lead you to believe that the first example is correct, remember that two spoken sentences are still two separate sentences and need a period.
More Tips on Using Dialogue
Interested in writing dialogue but unsure how to make it work within a more action-oriented narrative? Having trouble adding dialogue to a certain genre? Read Writing Dialogue in Action Scenes.
Grammar mistakes are not the only way your writing can suffer. It is just as important to make your dialogue sound believable. Read How to Write Realistic Dialogue for tips on writing realistic dialogue.
How do people really talk in fiction? Read How Do People "Talk" in Fiction? for tips and exercises on eavesdropping and making your dialogue authentic-sounding in your prose.
Want to take it to the next level? See more tips on writing dialogue. Or, review the editing checklist to make sure you've got other aspects of grammar covered as well.
29.How to Write Realistic Dialogue
Plume
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated April 24, 2017
Your first draft of a story may be messy, with a lot of unnecessary words and phrases. You'll probably find that as you edit your dialogue, it will become more succinct. Try to think in terms of speech patterns, and less about storytelling through your dialogue. Listen to how people talk and pay attention to what your characters are already familiar with. For your dialogue to be realistic, both the characters AND the reader need to believe it.
Keep Sentences Short
In general, keep sentences short. Oakley Hall, in The Art and Craft of Novel Writing, offers the rule, "One thought at a time and keep the lines short." Most people don't talk in perfectly formed, complex sentences. For example, in this passage from Raymond Carver's "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love," note how short and simple most of the sentences are:
"When I left, he drank rat poison," Terri said. She clasped her arms with her hands. "They took him to the hospital in Santa Fe. That's where we lived then, about ten miles out. They saved his life. But his gums went crazy from it. I mean they pulled away from his teeth. After that, his teeth stood out like fangs. My God," Terri said.
Cut Unnecessary Dialogue
Paring down your sentences may not be enough, however. Chances are, there'll be scenes you wrote for yourself, to get to the next part of the story. Cut any unnecessary dialogue.
If it doesn't build character or advance your plot, edit it out. In the Gotham Writers' Workshop guide to writing fiction, Allison Amend explains it this way: "The realism of good dialogue is something of an illusion. Readers of fiction have a higher expectation for dialogue than the conversations of real life.
Fictional dialogue needs to have more impact, focus, relevance, than ordinary conversation."
A conversation about the correct route to take when driving, for instance, is extraneous if it goes like this:
"So I think we should take Elm all the way to Lincoln," Mary said, the map spread across her lap.
"Is that really the best way?" Mel asked her. "What if we hit traffic? “But it's Sunday. We'll be fine."
There's no tension and nothing necessary is revealed here, so there's no reason to include this scene, though it is true to life. Presumably, these characters are on their way to something important: why not fast-forward to those key scenes, and leave out the logistics of getting there?
On the other hand, if the scene were to reveal something about Mel and Mary's relationship, something that mattered to the plot, we would keep it:
"Why aren't we taking Elm?" Mary asked.
"Did I ask your opinion?" Mel said, switching lanes a bit too quickly. "When you drive, you can pick the route. But I'm driving, so I'll pick the godd*@n route."
"Fine, fine," Mary said. With a sigh, she reached over to switch on the radio. "If you'd ever let me drive, then maybe I could," she said under her breath.
30.Top Tips for Writing Dialogue
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated March 10, 2017
Writing dialogue — realistic dialogue, anyway — does not come easily to everyone. Done well, dialogue advances the story and fleshes out the characters while providing a break from straight exposition.
However, just as realistic dialogue is one of the most powerful tools at a writer's disposal, nothing pulls the reader out of a story faster than bad dialogue. It takes time to develop a good ear, but noting these simple rules and obvious pitfalls can make a huge difference.
1 Listen to How People Talk.
Having a sense of natural speech patterns is essential to good dialogue. Start to pay attention to the expressions that people use and the music of everyday conversation. This exercise asks you to do this more formally but, generally speaking, it's helpful to develop your ear by paying attention to the way people talk. And remember: eavesdropping is not a crime!
2 It's Not Exactly like Real Speech.
But dialogue should read like real speech. How do you accomplish that? Alfred Hitchcock said that a good story was "life, with the dull parts taken out." This very much applies to dialogue. A transcription of a conversation would be completely boring to read. Edit out the filler words and unessential dialogue — that is, the dialogue that doesn't contribute to the plot in some way. Take out the tangents, stay focused in content but true to speech pattern. More
3 Don't Provide Too Much Info at Once.
It should not be obvious to the reader that they're being fed important facts. Let the story unfold naturally. You don't have to tell the reader everything up front, and you can trust him or her to remember details from earlier in the story. Remember that people who know each other leave a lot unsaid. Use exposition, instead, to get important facts across. More
4 Break Up Dialogue with Action.
Remind your reader that your characters are physical human beings by grounding their dialogue in the physical world. Physical details also help break up the words on the page: long periods of dialogue are easier for the reader's eye when broken up by description. (And vice versa, for that matter.) See the link above for examples of how this can work.
5 Don't Overdo Dialogue Tags.
Veering too much beyond "he said/she said" only draws attention to the tags — and you want the reader's attention centered on your brilliant dialogue, not your ability to think of synonyms for "said."
6 Stereotypes, Profanity, and Slang.
Be aware of falling back on stereotypes, and use profanity and slang sparingly. All of these risk distracting or alienating your reader. Anything that takes the reader out of the fictional world you're working so hard to create is not your friend. Read some examples of how to achieve the tone you want without stereotypes, profanity, and slang.
7 Read Widely.
Pay attention to why things work or don't work. Where are you taken out of the story's action? Where did you stop believing in a character? Or, alternatively, when did the character really jump off the page, and how did dialogue help accomplish that? You can start reading like a writer with the link above, or pick up an anthology and start your own list of writers to learn from. And
8 Punctuate Dialogue Correctly.
The rules for punctuating dialogue can be confusing: many writers need help getting them right in the beginning. Take some time to learn the basics. A reader should get lost in your prose — not feel lost trying to follow your dialogue.
31.How Do I Create Believe Characters?
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated February 03, 2017
Creating the more complex round characters takes time -- time spent thinking about how your characters look, where they're from, and what motivates them, for instance. The questions below provide structure to this all-important thought process.
While the reader will not need to know all the details, it's important that you do. The better you know your characters, the more realistic your story or novel will end up being.
1 Where does your character live?
Michael Adams ("Anniversaries in the Blood"), the novelist and writing professor, believes that setting is the most important element of any story. It's definitely true that character, if not story, in many ways grows out of a sense of place. What country does your character live in? What region? Does he live alone or with a family? In a trailer park or an estate? How did he end up living there? How does he feel about it?
2 Where is your character from?
In a similar vein, where did your character's life begin? Did she grow up running around the woods in a small Southern town, or learning to conjugate Latin verbs in a London boarding school? Obviously, this influences things like the kinds of people your character knows, the words she uses to communicate with them, and the way she feels about a host of things in her external world.
3 How old is your character?
Though this might seem like an obvious question, it's important to make a clear decision about this before you begin writing -- otherwise, it's impossible to get the details right. For instance, would your character have a cell phone, a land line, or both? Does your character drink martinis or cheap beer? Still get money from his parents, or worry about what will happen to his parents as they get old?
4 What is your character called?
Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? According to novelist Elinor Lipman, absolutely not: "Names have subtext and identity. If your main characters are Kaplans, you've got yourself a Jewish novel, and if your hero is Smedley Winthrop III, you've given him a trust fund. Nomenclature done right contributes to characterization." Your character's name provides a lot of information -- not only about ethnicity -- but about your character's age, background, and social class.
.5 What does your character look like?
Is your character tall enough to see over the heads of a crowd at a bar or to notice the dust on the top of his girlfriend's refrigerator? Does she deal with weight issues and avoid looking at herself in the mirror? Though you need not have a crystal clear picture of your character in mind, physical details help your readers believe in the character and help you imagine how your character moves through the world.
6 What kind of childhood did he or she have?
As with real people, many things about your character's personality will be determined by his background. Did his parents have a good marriage? Was she raised by a single mom? How your character interacts with other people -- whether he's defensive or confident, stable or rootless -- may be influenced by his past..
7 What does your character do for a living?
As with all of these questions, how much information you need depends in some part on the plot, but you'll need some idea of how your character makes money. A dancer will look at the world very differently from an accountant, for instance, and a construction worker will use very different language from either one. How they feel about a host of issues, from money to family, will be in some part dependent on their choice of careers.
8 How does your character deal with conflict and change?
Most stories involve some element of conflict and change -- they're part of what makes a story a story. Is your character passive or active? If someone confronts her, does she change the subject, head for the minibar, stalk off, or do a deep-breathing exercise? When someone insults him, is he more likely to take it, come up with a retort, or excuse himself to find someone else to talk to?
9 Who else is in your character's life?
Relationships -- how people interact with others -- reveal character. They're also excuses for dialogue, which break up exposition, offering another way of providing necessary information. Think about who will best help you convey this information, and what kinds of people would realistically be in your character's world in the first place.
10 What is your character's goal or motivation in this story or scene?
In longer stories or novels, you will have to ask this question repeatedly. Many of your character's actions will result from the intersection of what she's trying to achieve and her personality, which is composed of everything you've invented in answering the above questions. When in doubt about how your character should behave, ask yourself what your character wants from the situation, and think about the answers you've given to all of the above.
32. Feeling Stuck Writing Your Novel? Try this Novel Writing Refresh!
How to keep your perspective when writing longer narratives
By Rachel Sherman
Updated September 21, 2016
How often I have heard, “You are starting a new chapter in your life…”
How often I have thought, "It's time to begin a new chapter..."
Fiction echoes our world.
Although difficult in the moment, it is necessary that one sees outside oneself. Applying this idea to novel-writing, it is important to give yourself some freedom, and get perspective.
Here are a list of ideas to try if you are stuck in a rut, your novel feels static, you are sick of your novel, or you are having trouble seeing the future of your manuscript. Hopefully this list will help to shape your story, and you will be on your way to finding the right words...
1 Put your work away!
One week. Two weeks. Don’t open that file! Perspective needs time and space. To see clearly, you must have distance. More
2 Cut a character/add a character
by Jack Potter.
Don’t make your work too “precious.” Ask yourself: are these people really necessary? This is a way in which fiction is NOT like life: you will not hurt anyone's feelings if you delete them, and you might find that certain characters can be combined.
3 Change POV for a paragraph or a chapter.
by Rachel Gannon.
See what happens! Learn about your characters through your characters.
4 Print out a hard copy
Just like the old days! Read it on paper, and edit with a pen! Seeing the words on the page is a different experience than reading them on the screen.
5 Research!
Is there a part of your book that needs you to leave the document itself, interact, or simply Google? Maybe you need to do an interview. Get outside the narrative and acquire more material. Then sit down again with your new knowledge!
6 Take a jog!
Fresh air, nature, endorphins, ideas...
Continue to 7 of 14 below.
7 Listen to music
You might want to make a playlist for your character. Check out the awesome blog Largehearted Boy for some examples of other writers who have scored their novels.
8 Give your character a new memory
Think of a place in which your character will never go in your story, and write him or her in a scene. Sometimes seeing an old face in an unexpected setting brings new light.
9 Try these prompts...
10 Give it to a (trusted) reader
It's very important that your readers have similar sensibilities to your own, and yet will be able to be encouraging and critical of your work. This is not always an easy find. Although it's great to hear how well you write, try to find a reader who is not a friend or a family member but a peer.
.
11 Try it in another tense
Sometimes the present tense raises the stakes. Sometimes the past tense makes everything more clear. Remember: you can always go back to the tense from which you came...
12 Write a short story or essay
Put your longer piece aside and write something completely new!
13 Send out your work
Publishing is not a part of the initial creative process, and because of this, it can work as a distraction, a tool and a goal. It can also work to motivate you: getting good feedback or the validation of publication can give you the confidence to go forward with your longer work. More
14 Re-arrange your scenes
This one I got from the amazing Lee Houck. After you print your work out, separate your scenes and then put the pages in a new order. Everything changes when you choose to reveal (or withhold) certain stakes.
33.Tips For Writing Action Scenes : When active verbs are your best friend.
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated October 30, 2017
Action scenes are not just for espionage or fantasy novels. Almost every story will have some sequences in which the characters are doing things. How do you get the action right? What makes the action seem believable, interesting and, in the case of fast action, gets the blood pumping? These tips can help you portray the action scenes effectively and with style.
Perform the Action
If possible, before you put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, get up and act out the scenes. Sometimes your memory can be deceiving. If you are not exactly nailing the sequence right, it could be that you are not describing what a human body actually does in a given situation.
For example, if you are describing someone climbing a ladder, then find a ladder. What do you do first? Foot first or hand? If it is a fight scene, throw a few punches and try out a few kicks. For even greater depth, observe or take a martial arts class. How do people tend to fall—on their sides or on their hands? What sorts of exclamations do they make? Do they wipe sweat away, or do they ignore it? How does a body respond when a hand or foot makes contact?
Pick Up the Pace
In writing action scenes, the pace must speed up, to match that of the scene. In order to do this, keep descriptions of anything besides the action to a minimum. For instance, this is not the place for long descriptions of a setting or a character. Some writers use shorter, choppier sentences, or even incomplete sentences. And describe more than just what your protagonist sees. More
Keep Dialogue Short
As with all of your fiction, dialogue is helpful for breaking up action scenes. However, when adrenaline is flowing, people do not engage in lengthy discussions. To be realistic, keep dialogue short and snappy when writing action scenes.
Make Full Use of Verbs
In your first draft, do not worry about verbs. Make sure to accurately get the action down. Then, in your revision, drag out the thesaurus. This is action, after all, the verbs are the most important words. They give your scene momentum.
Take, for instance, this line from Tana French's novel "In the Woods": "Footsteps thumped behind me and Sweeney streaked past, running like a rugby player and already pulling out his handcuffs. He grabbed Rosalind by the shoulder, spun her around and slammed her against the wall." The words, "thumped," "streaked," "spun," and "slammed," are specific actions and they are active verbs, full of energy and focus. Scenes like this are not the norm in life, so the verbs will not be everyday words, but nor should they call attention to themselves.
Learn from Other Writers
As with all aspects of writing, you can learn a lot by studying the work of writers you admire. How do your favorite authors play out an action scene? Look at their verbs and their descriptions. What gives these scenes a feeling of momentum? Look at the kinds of sentences they use in the faster scenes. Do they use more modifiers or fewer? Note what phrases they use in describing certain kinds of action. Do not plagiarize, but use your favorite authors as inspiration as you write or revise your action sequences. For a good reference, check out Francine Prose's book
34.What Is a Detective Story? Learn About Detective and Mystery Stories
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated April 24, 2017
The detective story is a genre of fiction in which a detective, either an amateur or a professional, solves a crime or a series of crimes. With few exceptions, the crime involves one or more murders (occasionally, detective stories may revolve around spectacular thefts or blackmail, but this is rare).
Because detective stories rely on logic, supernatural elements rarely come into play. The detective may be a private investigator, a policeman, an elderly widow or a young girl, but he or she generally has nothing material to gain from solving the crime.
Mystery stories, unlike police procedurals, thrillers, true crime stories, and other crime-related genres are typically focused not on the blood, gore, and horrific details of murder but, instead, on the puzzle of an unsolved murder. While contemporary mystery writers may dwell on graphic details or graphic sex, this is still somewhat rare. In fact, most "classic" mysteries fall into the category of "nice, clean" murders in which the victim is whacked on the head, poisoned, stabbed, or otherwise killed in a single blow with little or no suffering involved.
History of Detective Stories
The first "official" detective story was The Murders in the Rue Morgue, written in 1841 by Edgar Allen Poe. While Poe's was not the first story to include a mystery or a murder, it was the first to introduce the then-new character of the detective. It was also the first story to revolve entirely around the solution of a murder-related puzzle.
Poe's writings were short stories, but The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins, was a full-length gothic novel which was, at the same time, a murder mystery.
The most famous of all fictional detectives, Sherlock Holmes, was invented by Arthur Conan Doyle for the Strand Magazine in 1887. It was Conan Doyle who developed the idea of the "consulting detective," who works independently from the police--along with a not-quite-bright companion whose involvement may provide comedy, drama, suspense or an opportunity to befuddle the reader with misinterpretations of clues and red herrings.
The "Golden Age of Mysteries" -- the 1920's and 1930's -- included authors such as Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Josephine Tey, Ngaio Marsh. These authors created gentlemen detectives and evocative settings -- manor houses, cruise ships, and archaeological digs, among others -- have continued to fascinate readers.
Types of Mystery Stories
There are several sub-genres of mystery stories. While there is no "official" set of rules for writing a particular type, these descriptions should be helpful:
The cozy is a gentle detective story set, almost always, in a small town or village. The detective is an amateur sleuth, usually a woman.
The hard-boiled detective story is an older genre which came to popularity during the 1930's with writers such as Dashiell Hammett who developed tough "private dicks" such as Sam Spade.
The "locked room" or "whodunnit" mystery is primarily a puzzle in which characterization takes second place to discovery and interpretation of clues...
For a complete list of the rules of the genre,
35.Top Rules for Mystery Writing
By Ginny Wiehardt
Updated October 26, 2017
More than any other kind of genre writing, mystery writing tends to follow standard rules. This is because readers of mysteries are looking for a particular experience. These readers are looking for the intellectual challenge of solving a crime before the detective does, and they want the pleasure of knowing that everything will come together in the end.
Of course, the best way to test the rules of mystery writing is to read many books in the genre. This way you can see how other writers use the rules, and how they're able to get away with breaking them. But before you attempt to break the rules, read the rules below and see how your work adheres to the rules, and how it deviates from them.
1 In Mystery Writing, Plot is Everything
Because readers are playing a kind of game when they read a detective novel, plot has to come first, above all else. Make sure each plot point you write is plausible, and keep the action moving. Don't get bogged down in back story scenarios or go off on tangents.
2 Introduce the Detective and the Culprit Early On
As the main character, your detective must obviously appear early in the book. As for the culprit, your reader will feel cheated if the antagonist, or villain, enters too late in the book to be thought of as a viable suspect.
.3 Introduce the Crime in the First 3 Chapters
The crime, and the ensuing questions, are the hooks that will engage the reader. As with any fiction, you want to introduce these as soon as possible.
4 The Crime Should be Violent, Preferably a Murder
For many readers, only murder really justifies the effort of reading a 300-page book while suitably testing your detective's powers. However, it's worth noting that other types of violence (such as rape, child molestation, and cruelty to animals) are taboo enough to warrant a mystery novel.
5 The Crime Should be Believable
While the details of the murder (i.e., how, where, why, and how the crime is discovered) are your main opportunities to introduce variety, make sure the crime is plausible. Your reader will feel cheated if the crime is not something that could actually take place.
6 The Detective Should Solve the Case Using Only Rational and Scientific Methods
Keep in mind this oath written by G.K. Chesterton for the British Detection Club, "Do you promise that your detectives shall well and truly detect the crimes presented to them using those wits which it may please you to bestow on them and not placing reliance on nor making use of Divine Revelation, Feminine Intuition, Mumbo Jumbo, Jiggery-Pokery, Coincidence, or Act of God?"
7 The Culprit Must be Capable of the Crime
It sounds like a no-brainer but keep in mind that your reader must believe your villain's motivation. And, the villain must be both physically and emotionally capable of the crime.
8 Don't try to Fool the Reader
Again, being implausible takes all the fun out of it. Don't use improbable disguises, twins, accidental solutions, or supernatural solutions. The detective should not commit the crime. All clues should be revealed to the reader as the detective finds them.
9 Do your Research
Mystery writer Margaret Murphy says, "Readers have to feel you know what you're talking about." Murphy has a good relationship with the police in her area and has spent time with the local police forensic team. Make sure you nail all the essential details.
10 Wait as Long as Possible to Reveal the Culprit
People are reading to find out, or figure out, the whodunit. If you provide readers with the answer too early in the book, the reader will have no reason to continue reading. People are reading to find out, or figure out, the whodunit. If you provide readers.
36.How to Choose Novel Genres for a Book
By Cliff Daigle
Updated October 23, 2017
The choice of genre is a pretty straightforward process for some writers. They love writing one kind of thing, and that's what they focus on. For the rest of us, this can be a difficult decision to make.
Making a Choice is All About Marketing
By choosing to stay open to writing in any genre you are free to pursue any idea that grabs you. You could write a gothic horror novel, followed by a techno-thriller.
So why choose if, by choosing, you limit your options? It all comes down to marketability.
When a publisher buys your novel what they are really buying is you, the author. They want to know that they can build a platform, a brand, around you and your writing. They need to believe that there will be more books, similar to the first, on the way. That means sticking to one genre.
Imagine pitching a fantasy novel to a publisher. They ask if you have other novels either finished or in-progress. You tell them that you also have a romance, a western, and a collection of hard-boiled crime stories. Does this help you sell your fantasy novel? Not at all.
If all your other books, stories, and works-in-progress were in the fantasy genre, then you'd be that much closer to a sale. It might sound shallow, but it does make sense.
Other Benefits Genre Choice
Sticking to one genre has a few other advantages as well:
Constraints breed creativity. Sometimes having some rules to write by actually makes you more creative. When you can write about anything it can be difficult to know where to start.
You look more professional. It's important for publishers to see that you understand the need to build a platform and that you've started on your own. The more confidence they have in your willingness to market yourself, the better.
You become known as an expert. The more you write in one genre the more people see you as an authority in that area.
It's one less choice to make. As a writer building a career your life is filled with endless choices. Now you have one less!
How to Choose
The most obvious way to pick a genre is to write what you like to read. If you mostly read romance, then write romance. Most of us read in several genres, and that can make it tricky though. Do you choose the one that seems the most marketable? The one you think is the most fun? Flip a coin? This is ultimately a personal choice, but there are a few techniques that can help you choose:
Make a pros and cons list. The classic decision-making tool. Write down the good and bad reasons to write in each genre and see how it shakes out.
Go with your gut. After thinking about your options for a while, sit quietly for a while and listen to your intuition. Forget about marketing, or what your friends will think, what does your heart tell you to write?
Pick the most marketable genre. This is tricky since it's almost impossible to guess where the market is going. That said, you may be choosing between writing in a super-niche, micro-market, and something more mainstream. If you truly feel that they are equally-weighted in every other way, then maybe go with the one you think you can sell.
As you examine potential genres pay attention to the ones that attract you but scare you at the same time. If you're excited to write in a certain area but afraid that you won't be able to do it, then seriously consider choosing that genre. Often what you fear to do is what you need most to grow as an artist.
When to Choose
Do you really need to choose right away? It probably won't hurt. If you are writing in several genres, you will have to pick one once a publisher agrees to publish one of your novels. And since your off-genre novels won't do much to help you sign a deal, you might as well choose as soon as you can.
Changing Your Mind
Once you're established you can start to work in a new genre if you like. Many successful authors write in multiple genres. They didn't start out that way, though.
They mastered one genre at a time, building a fan-base and a catalog before moving on to something new. Of course if you're prolific enough to be shopping multiple books in multiple genres you can always use a pseudonym to brand each genre separately. It's certainly not an easy way to start out though!
The Bottom Line
As critical a decision as this is, it's important not to let it paralyze you. The worst thing you can do is use your indecision about the genre as an excuse not to write. If you really need to write something off-genre, then go ahead. Just make the choice as soon as you can, and keep the words flowing in the meantime.
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