Tools and Tips for Writiers

Monday, June 5, 2017

"Words to use instead of amazing"

Sunday, June 4, 2017

"The Writing Process"

Prewriting

Research

Library
Internet
Interviews
Outlining

Freewriting
Clustering

1st Draft

Fast
Get it down

Revision

Structure
Content
Support
Point of view

Proofreading

Diction
Grammar
Mechanics
Format

Publishing

Posting
Submitting
Mailing

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

"Bad Beginnings"

Waking Up: Starting your story with your character waking up (from a coma, from being knocked out, from being asleep, etc.) is not only cliche, but boring
Dreams: Like waking up, starting your story with a dream is another cliche and it cheats the the reader
Back Story: We don't care about your character yet! Get right to the action. Don't start with an info dump of background information on your character

"The Five Elements of Story"

Someone to Care About

External

Undeserved Misfortune
Power and Humility
Weaknes

Internal

Morality
Desire
Wil

Something to Want

Story Goal
Motivation
Internal and External
Stakes
Ideal

Something to Dread

Curiosity, Expectation, Fear
Suspense
Dread

Dreadful Promises
Progressively Worse Obstacles
Dread Embodied, The Villain

Something to Suffer

Suffering=Story Goal Value
Building Suffering to Climax
Hero's Ideal=Suffering

Physical

Inconvenience
Discomfort
Pain
Loss

Emotional

Something to Learn

Theme
Premise
Ideals

Meaning
Character Change
Revelation

"Character Motivations"

Basic Motivations

Survival
Failure
Peer pressure
Curiosity
Guilt
Desire
Instability

Noble Motivations

Love
Loyalty
Honor
Obedience
Vengeance
Inequality
Unfulfillment

Evil Motivations

Hatred
Dishonor
Pride
Greed
Revenge
Lust
Jealousy

Fear Motivations

Death
Humiliation
Pain
Rejection
Loss
Regret
Shame

"How to Write a Scene In 11 Steps"

What need to happen in this scene?
What's the worst that would happen if this scene were omitted?
Who needs to be in the scene?
Where could the scene take place?
What's the most surprising thing that could happen in the scene?
Is this a long scene or a short scene?
Brainstorm three different ways it could begin
Play it on the screen in your head
Write a scribble version
Write the full scene
Repeat 200 times

"9 Tips for Creating Conflict"

Introduction: Every novel needs conflict. Without it, your characters have nothing to disagree on and no arc to develop. Without it your plot will flatline.
Source of Conflict: Your protagonist should face conflict from lots of sources, but the main barriers should always come from your antagonist
Make the Conflict Specific: Don't be broad and start a war because your hero and villain dislike each other. Start a war because your villain killed your heroes wife
Target the Conflict: If you want your hero to invest in saving the world then give him a specific reason. Make the conflict personal to him.
Make It Emotional: Make the conflict mean something to your hero. If it means something to them it will mean something to your reader too
Realism=Believability: Make sure your conflict is plausible to your world/genre/plot. If it's plausible, it's realistic which makes it believable
Time Is Of The Essence: Add time pressure to your conflict raises the pace and tension in your novel
Go All In: Don't just raise the stakes once with your conflict. Add layers, keep raising the stakes and throwing barriers in your protagonists way until winning seems impossible. Only then does he become a hero to win
Torture Your Hero: Conflict is there to torture your hero. In order to win they have to suffer and lose something.

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