Questions

Writing short stories or poetry is where most writers begin their long journey towards publication. It provides a perfect creative outlet for those who have the feint stirrings of a story to tell and wish to transfer those creative thoughts to paper. Crafting a unique and well-rounded story is not easy and there are many pitfalls but with a little help, success is only a few steps away. When writing short stories, always consider what you are trying to achieve. It is very easy for the writer to become lost in the depths of their own imagination and a 1000 word story can easily be trebled. Writing short stories is an art form and it deserves a great deal of recognition as the writer must be focussed and dedicated to the task at hand.

There are many different story lengths available, writers can choose to write flash fiction which can be anything from approximately 50 words up to 1000, although many fiction magazines seek out stories which also have had the chance to develop and grow and these can be around the 2000 word mark. Identifying a market for the story is the first step and then once this has been determined, it is time to plan the story in its entirety. Writing short stories that will sell readily requires additional planning, so extend the market research around the intended publication. For example, what do you know about the readership? A story about a teenage pregnancy is not going to be of interest to publications aimed at those in their senior years unless the writer can make it relate to them significantly.

Many writers fail at the first post by writing solely for themselves. There is of course, nothing wrong with writing for the sheer joy of creativity alone, but as many writers would like nothing more than to see their story and name in print, it is vital that those writers change their mind set from that of an amateur to a professional and this will then afford them much more opportunities and in fact, fuel that creative fire even further.

When writing a story with a minimal word count, many writers neglect to develop their characters fully but it is important that the reader begins to connect with the characters and start to care as to the outcome, otherwise the story will lack interest for them. Allow the reader to identify with a strong human interest angle and this will help keep them interested and following through to the end.

Stories are around us all the time but it is our own unique interpretation that makes the story come alive. As writers, it is important that any witnessed mannerisms, characteristics and events are all stored away for future use,  as aspects of events can be used in short stories, for example  an old creepy building that you may have observed in passing could be used when trying to picture a haunted house for a ghost story. Life produces unlimited opportunities for story tellers everywhere but when writing short stories with a serious intent, we have to make good use of this free material and then we can go from amateur to professional quickly and easily.

 

 


- annette young

Fictional histories are products of the imagination yet still based on real past events. The most famous are Dan Brown’s the Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons.

Fictional history is a section of a novel based on real facts but the storyline being an imagination of the author only. It confuses some readers but it is a good strategy to incite interest and gain a following.

It may be based on real past events yet the story itself was revised such that it is still classified as fictional. Fictional history has been made timeless and endearing to all the people. It greatly influences the beliefs formed in the minds of the readers or viewers.

It can be squeezed into a novel or any short story as a way also to inform readers of what happened before. They may be reading something fictional, yet factual at the same time. Some might not be fond of history when reading it straight from an academic book, but will enjoy it more if these facts are inserted in his favorite book.

Fictional history recounts the real events that happened in history while changing some settings or deviating from the real phenomenon to suit his writing. These stories are real but the characters of the said stories are all fictional.

One famous example is that of William Tell, a Swiss patriot. William Tell is a fictional character but his story is based on real life. There is one man who really existed at one point in time who did the things that were recounted in the tale. The author was probably inspired by William Tell that he based his story writing on the Swiss patriot.

Some of these books are turned into movies. The most popular are The Lord of the Rings and The Harry Potter Chronicles. These books are in series of stories and are bestseller books worldwide. Many people have read them and have enjoyed watching the movie versions also.

The Lord of the Rings is one long fictional history whose story has been imbibed in almost everyone’s mind. The Harry Potter may be fictional but it tries to impart real life values that children and adults like will learn from. This book simply is showing that kids can do a lot of things with their mind and power if only they use both in a wiser way.

Merlin is another fictional history which is about famous magicians. Another bestseller book that was subjected to debates is The Da Vinci Code. It was then followed by another best seller book entitled The Angels and Demons. The author Dan Brown tried to weave his own story while inciting passages from the bible. A lot of readers were confused if he was telling a factual or fictional story that he received the ire of the Catholic Church.

As stated earlier, there are many other fictional history books available in the market these days. There are actually millions of them. They have been a part of out lives for many years now. It gives reading a new flavor, and we learn more about the world around us.

Just like the two controversial books of Dan Brown, the controversy somehow did something positive if only because it stirred the people’s curiosity and made them research on their own what is true and what is not.

There are other famous fictional history authors that are famous in the world today. Some of these are Christopher Hart, Conn Iggulden and Bernard Cornwell. Christopher Hart used the pseudonym William Napier and he was famous of his story entitled The Scourge of God aka Attila. Conn Iggulden was known for his emperor series while Bernard Cornwell was famous of the 12 books of European Campaigns of Sharpe.


- David H. Urmann

How many of us have made the big mistake of adding too many characters and too many plots in a short story? Well, I actually did. That was way back in my college days and I was tasked to make a short story but I ended up making too many characters that in the end, I did not submit it. Sometimes, our strong imagination can overcome our logic and we begin to pour all of our ideas and that often is the number one mistake for aspiring short story writers.

A short story is, well, a brief fictional or non-fictional piece of literature. This is why it is very important to limit the size and content of the piece. How? Here are some important pointers for short story beginners in order to save you from the frustration that I have felt.

First rule is to set a number of characters. A short story should only have a few characters. This is not an epic play where you deal with 20 characters and side-characters. By having a small number of players in this literary piece, the conversation, plot and the entire story is made brief and this is the basic foundation for a good short story.

The next thing you need to understand is the simple plot. Of course, we all love a good mystery and sometimes we cannot help but place intricate and skillfully designed plots in order to raise the level of surprise in a story. The only problem with this is that you also lengthen the story itself and this is not a good sign. The plot should be simplified, allowing the story to reach the climax in a short span of time.

These are the basics when it comes to writing a short story. For most beginners, keeping the content ” short, but sweet ” is a sound advice. Just because the story is brief doesn’t mean you have to take away the quality of the piece. If you want to be double-sure, try using an English writing checker or have the short story checked by a pro. Besides, writing short stories are meant to be fun, not a chore.

There you have it, my ideas on how to become a great short story writer. With more practice, you might become a master in writing them and you can earn a lot because of your talents. However, keep on learning them for now so that you will learn a lot.

These are the basics when it comes to writing a short story. For most beginners, keeping the content ” short, but sweet ” is a sound advice. Just because the story is brief doesn’t mean you have to take away the quality of the piece. If you want to be double-sure, try using an English writing checker or have the short story checked by a pro. Besides, writing short stories are meant to be fun, not a chore.

Want more story writing tips? Then I suggest you wait for the next articles that I will be writing with regards to short story writing. These will indeed help you in becoming a professional writer in the future! Who knows? You might become very famous and very rich because of your stories. Happy writing!


- Mary Simmers

How many of us have made the big mistake of adding too many characters and too many plots in a short story? Well, I actually did. That was way back in my college days and I was tasked to make a short story but I ended up making too many characters that in the end, I did not submit it. Sometimes, our strong imagination can overcome our logic and we begin to pour all of our ideas and that often is the number one mistake for aspiring short story writers.

A short story is, well, a brief fictional or non-fictional piece of literature. This is why it is very important to limit the size and content of the piece. How? Here are some important pointers for short story beginners in order to save you from the frustration that I have felt.

First rule is to set a number of characters. A short story should only have a few characters. This is not an epic play where you deal with 20 characters and side-characters. By having a small number of players in this literary piece, the conversation, plot and the entire story is made brief and this is the basic foundation for a good short story.

The next thing you need to understand is the simple plot. Of course, we all love a good mystery and sometimes we cannot help but place intricate and skillfully designed plots in order to raise the level of surprise in a story. The only problem with this is that you also lengthen the story itself and this is not a good sign. The plot should be simplified, allowing the story to reach the climax in a short span of time.

These are the basics when it comes to writing a short story. For most beginners, keeping the content ” short, but sweet ” is a sound advice. Just because the story is brief doesn’t mean you have to take away the quality of the piece. If you want to be double-sure, try using an English writing checker or have the short story checked by a pro. Besides, writing short stories are meant to be fun, not a chore.

There you have it, my ideas on how to become a great short story writer. With more practice, you might become a master in writing them and you can earn a lot because of your talents. However, keep on learning them for now so that you will learn a lot.

These are the basics when it comes to writing a short story. For most beginners, keeping the content ” short, but sweet ” is a sound advice. Just because the story is brief doesn’t mean you have to take away the quality of the piece. If you want to be double-sure, try using an English writing checker or have the short story checked by a pro. Besides, writing short stories are meant to be fun, not a chore.

Want more story writing tips? Then I suggest you wait for the next articles that I will be writing with regards to short story writing. These will indeed help you in becoming a professional writer in the future! Who knows? You might become very famous and very rich because of your stories. Happy writing!


- Mary Simmers

If you want to learn a lot about writing take a stab at a Fiction Writing course.  My instructor was great and the students all eager to improve upon their writing.  It was an intenstive course where we had 10 stories to be completed in a 10 week course.  The April course was perfect for me as it finished before all the hot weather.  Eagerly I would wait in turn to read my truly wonderful fiction story.  You should never take the critiquing that follows to heart as every student is there to learn where they can improve in their writing.  I would listen and write down the comments from both the students and the instructor.  By critiquing other students work I would learn through them what I was doing right or wrong.  The course taught me how to examine my writing as well as how others wrote.  Some of the things that come to mind that make you a better fiction writer are the following:

write in the active voice keep it short its not an novel put some good little details into your characters like how she twirled her hair and moved her lips in that funny way she had make sure you don’t put too many characters in your story and enough information so your reader knows who the protaganist is don’t name people with the same letters like James and jim, it gets confusing put lots of emotion into your character show it don’t tell it try to stay in the same tense try to stay in the same time sequence if your a beginner mix it up, some scenery, some plot, don’t drag it out too long write something that inspires you, it will be more passionate try not to end with a sermon (although a morale to the story can shine through) do every assignment show up for every class enter writing contests

Remember, in order to succeed you must first be willing and able to accept that sometimes you will fail.  Most great writers, Stephen King comes to mind, was rejected a lot before he became famous.  Hope you find this both inspiring and helpful. Good luck to all you novice writers.  I wish you great success. 

 

 

 


- Gladys Bates

Writing short stories or poetry is where most writers begin their long journey towards publication. It provides a perfect creative outlet for those who have the feint stirrings of a story to tell and wish to transfer those creative thoughts to paper. Crafting a unique and well-rounded story is not easy and there are many pitfalls but with a little help, success is only a few steps away. When writing short stories, always consider what you are trying to achieve. It is very easy for the writer to become lost in the depths of their own imagination and a 1000 word story can easily be trebled. Writing short stories is an art form and it deserves a great deal of recognition as the writer must be focussed and dedicated to the task at hand.

There are many different story lengths available, writers can choose to write flash fiction which can be anything from approximately 50 words up to 1000, although many fiction magazines seek out stories which also have had the chance to develop and grow and these can be around the 2000 word mark. Identifying a market for the story is the first step and then once this has been determined, it is time to plan the story in its entirety. Writing short stories that will sell readily requires additional planning, so extend the market research around the intended publication. For example, what do you know about the readership? A story about a teenage pregnancy is not going to be of interest to publications aimed at those in their senior years unless the writer can make it relate to them significantly.

Many writers fail at the first post by writing solely for themselves. There is of course, nothing wrong with writing for the sheer joy of creativity alone, but as many writers would like nothing more than to see their story and name in print, it is vital that those writers change their mind set from that of an amateur to a professional and this will then afford them much more opportunities and in fact, fuel that creative fire even further.

When writing a story with a minimal word count, many writers neglect to develop their characters fully but it is important that the reader begins to connect with the characters and start to care as to the outcome, otherwise the story will lack interest for them. Allow the reader to identify with a strong human interest angle and this will help keep them interested and following through to the end.

Stories are around us all the time but it is our own unique interpretation that makes the story come alive. As writers, it is important that any witnessed mannerisms, characteristics and events are all stored away for future use,  as aspects of events can be used in short stories, for example  an old creepy building that you may have observed in passing could be used when trying to picture a haunted house for a ghost story. Life produces unlimited opportunities for story tellers everywhere but when writing short stories with a serious intent, we have to make good use of this free material and then we can go from amateur to professional quickly and easily.

 

 


- annette young

When writing romance, put aside any cynical thoughts and focus instead on innocent dreams and memories from your youth because capturing that all important innocent essence is vital when trying to portray that spark of attraction between two of your characters. Writing romance can add sparkle to a scene or indeed, depth to a character and as it can encompass different layers for your characters, it provides glimpses of the person you are trying to create. Writing romance scenes can be fun for the writer too and it can help the story or novel to sell, because romantic fiction is hugely popular in these stricken financial times.

We all like escapism. Readers may want a story which has a semblance of gritty realism but they also want stories of hope, laughter and romance. Fiction needs to have aspects of true life so that readers can relate to it and interlacing romantic moments can produce feel - good factors throughout. When writing romance just remember that it does not all have to be hearts and flowers and over the top romantic gestures to make it work, in fact, depending on the type of fiction that you are planning to write, it can have variations of romance which either carry or support the story as it unfolds.

Romance can also add much needed obstacles to the story and these add weight to any storyline and draw the reader in. Obstacles work in a variety of ways because they add depth to the characters and to the storyline but they also take the reader on a voyage of discovery and leaves them wanting to know whether the obstacles were finally overcome. Using obstacles to prevent the romantic liaisons from progressing also works incredibly well and the actions of the characters involved then start to reveal a great deal about their personalities going forward.

Of course, if writing a short story, word count is going to be limited greatly and so the writer must know exactly what the story is about and also how much romantic content it will contain. Finding the relevant starting point is also important and writing a compelling opening paragraph essential. All readers secretly want a happy ending in some shape or form, it doesn’t have to be that the romance works as long as there is some hope that it has worked out for the best or perhaps within those final paragraphs, there are hints of a better alternative as the story closes. Sometimes leaving out some information and avoiding finalising the story down to the very last detail can have the reader’s imagination soaring as they being to perceive those characters as three dimensional entities and start to think about the plot, how it progresses and ultimately ends.

Romantic interludes work well. The writer does not need to write intense or heavily erotic scenes if they feel uncomfortable with that, instead they can suggest a positive intensity between their characters by well-crafted dialogue and descriptive scenes. When writing romance, it is essential to provide dark and light elements to vital scenes and allow the reader to convey the subtle influences within the text.


- Annette Young

When writing romance, put aside any cynical thoughts and focus instead on innocent dreams and memories from your youth because capturing that all important innocent essence is vital when trying to portray that spark of attraction between two of your characters. Writing romance can add sparkle to a scene or indeed, depth to a character and as it can encompass different layers for your characters, it provides glimpses of the person you are trying to create. Writing romance scenes can be fun for the writer too and it can help the story or novel to sell, because romantic fiction is hugely popular in these stricken financial times.

We all like escapism. Readers may want a story which has a semblance of gritty realism but they also want stories of hope, laughter and romance. Fiction needs to have aspects of true life so that readers can relate to it and interlacing romantic moments can produce feel - good factors throughout. When writing romance just remember that it does not all have to be hearts and flowers and over the top romantic gestures to make it work, in fact, depending on the type of fiction that you are planning to write, it can have variations of romance which either carry or support the story as it unfolds.

Romance can also add much needed obstacles to the story and these add weight to any storyline and draw the reader in. Obstacles work in a variety of ways because they add depth to the characters and to the storyline but they also take the reader on a voyage of discovery and leaves them wanting to know whether the obstacles were finally overcome. Using obstacles to prevent the romantic liaisons from progressing also works incredibly well and the actions of the characters involved then start to reveal a great deal about their personalities going forward.

Of course, if writing a short story, word count is going to be limited greatly and so the writer must know exactly what the story is about and also how much romantic content it will contain. Finding the relevant starting point is also important and writing a compelling opening paragraph essential.  All readers secretly want a happy ending in some shape or form, it doesn’t have to be that the romance works as long as there is some hope that it has worked out for the best or perhaps within those final paragraphs, there are hints of a better alternative as the story closes. Sometimes leaving out some information and avoiding finalising the story down to the very last detail can have the reader’s imagination soaring as they being to perceive those characters as three dimensional entities and start to think about the plot, how it progresses and ultimately ends.

Romantic interludes work well. The writer does not need to write intense or heavily erotic scenes if they feel uncomfortable with that, instead they can suggest a positive intensity between their characters by well-crafted dialogue and descriptive scenes. When writing romance, it is essential to provide dark and light elements to vital scenes and allow the reader to convey the subtle influences within the text.


- annette young

If you want to learn a lot about writing take a stab at a Fiction Writing course.  My instructor was great and the students all eager to improve upon their writing.  It was an intenstive course where we had 10 stories to be completed in a 10 week course.  The April course was perfect for me as it finished before all the hot weather.  Eagerly I would wait in turn to read my truly wonderful fiction story.  You should never take the critiquing that follows to heart as every student is there to learn where they can improve in their writing.  I would listen and write down the comments from both the students and the instructor.  By critiquing other students work I would learn through them what I was doing right or wrong.  The course taught me how to examine my writing as well as how others wrote.  Some of the things that come to mind that make you a better fiction writer are the following:

write in the active voice keep it short its not an novel put some good little details into your characters like how she twirled her hair and moved her lips in that funny way she had make sure you don’t put too many characters in your story and enough information so your reader knows who the protaganist is don’t name people with the same letters like James and jim, it gets confusing put lots of emotion into your character show it don’t tell it try to stay in the same tense try to stay in the same time sequence if your a beginner mix it up, some scenery, some plot, don’t drag it out too long write something that inspires you, it will be more passionate try not to end with a sermon (although a morale to the story can shine through) do every assignment show up for every class enter writing contests

Remember, in order to succeed you must first be willing and able to accept that sometimes you will fail.  Most great writers, Stephen King comes to mind, was rejected a lot before he became famous.  Hope you find this both inspiring and helpful. Good luck to all you novice writers.  I wish you great success. 

 

 

 


- Gladys Bates

When writing romance, put aside any cynical thoughts and focus instead on innocent dreams and memories from your youth because capturing that all important innocent essence is vital when trying to portray that spark of attraction between two of your characters. Writing romance can add sparkle to a scene or indeed, depth to a character and as it can encompass different layers for your characters, it provides glimpses of the person you are trying to create. Writing romance scenes can be fun for the writer too and it can help the story or novel to sell, because romantic fiction is hugely popular in these stricken financial times.

We all like escapism. Readers may want a story which has a semblance of gritty realism but they also want stories of hope, laughter and romance. Fiction needs to have aspects of true life so that readers can relate to it and interlacing romantic moments can produce feel - good factors throughout. When writing romance just remember that it does not all have to be hearts and flowers and over the top romantic gestures to make it work, in fact, depending on the type of fiction that you are planning to write, it can have variations of romance which either carry or support the story as it unfolds.

Romance can also add much needed obstacles to the story and these add weight to any storyline and draw the reader in. Obstacles work in a variety of ways because they add depth to the characters and to the storyline but they also take the reader on a voyage of discovery and leaves them wanting to know whether the obstacles were finally overcome. Using obstacles to prevent the romantic liaisons from progressing also works incredibly well and the actions of the characters involved then start to reveal a great deal about their personalities going forward.

Of course, if writing a short story, word count is going to be limited greatly and so the writer must know exactly what the story is about and also how much romantic content it will contain. Finding the relevant starting point is also important and writing a compelling opening paragraph essential. All readers secretly want a happy ending in some shape or form, it doesn’t have to be that the romance works as long as there is some hope that it has worked out for the best or perhaps within those final paragraphs, there are hints of a better alternative as the story closes. Sometimes leaving out some information and avoiding finalising the story down to the very last detail can have the reader’s imagination soaring as they being to perceive those characters as three dimensional entities and start to think about the plot, how it progresses and ultimately ends.

Romantic interludes work well. The writer does not need to write intense or heavily erotic scenes if they feel uncomfortable with that, instead they can suggest a positive intensity between their characters by well-crafted dialogue and descriptive scenes. When writing romance, it is essential to provide dark and light elements to vital scenes and allow the reader to convey the subtle influences within the text.


- Annette Young