Writing Help
January 20, 2009 | 
Author 
As a Christmas present to myself, I signed up for an internet-based course offered by my local community college titled, “How to Write a Romance Novel.” Now, I am not the biggest fan of romance novels, though I do think my newest project may be a fantasy romance in the end.
I chose to take this course because it seemed to be the most extensive of all writing courses offered at the college. It covers everything from character creation and plot to synopsis and query writing. The instructor has 39 romance novels published, so she must know what she is doing.
Updates will be posted every week about the topics covered and how effective I think the class is.
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Writers are often solitary creatures, sitting in dimly lit bedrooms or trendy cafes and typing away on laptops and computers. But maintaining total solitude can prevent your writing skills from improving, and can definitely put a damper on your career. Fiction writers should use online writer’s forums and discussion groups to improve their chance for becoming published.
I have always been a dedicated pantser. I plow through the first draft or any novel or short story without planning or preparation. It’s exciting. It’s liberating even.
BUT… I am having second thoughts. Rewriting has become a chore that I do not like. Every single one of my written novels has required plot-based rewriting after finishing the first draft. My latest work in progress (WIP) requires a reordering and insertion of a subplot to be the best it can be.
Perhaps I should make an outline before starting to write? I have this wonderful writing software program called yWriter3 that would help with this kind of thing.
But… is there some shame involved in losing my pantser ways?
That’s one I’ll have to think about.
… to bury the dead.
Erm… uh… no.
Since I have made the incredible goal to get 10 short stories publishing in 2008, I figure I better get cracking on writing some. I have submitted two already, though I can’t expect them to be accepted. However, that is two which I do not have to write.
So, I must write or finish editing eight more quality short storied.
But, I am devoid of plots.
I also seem to be devoid of varying sentence structure without the use of ellipses and excessive commas. I digress.
I seem to have forgotten the art of coming up with a plot small enough to fit in a short story. Coming up with novel plots is not a problem. I have excess novel plots.
Sigh….
I subscribe to both The Writer and Writer’s Digest magazines. I love both of them!
This month in The Writer, there is a great article about writing online… or more specifically, having your writing published online. Besides the face that the internet is pretty much ubiquitous these days, online publishing of short stories, creative non-fiction, articles, WHATEVER! can be easier than trying to break into print.
Of course, just as there are different levels of professionalism in print mags, there are better and worse ezines and online magazines. However, the sheer number popping up these days gives a better chance for new writers to become published.
Submitting short stories to ezines is one of my goals for this year. There are a lot of speculative fiction ezines to choose from. And the same rules of submission apply. Study the market before submitting, pay attention to submission rules, and only submit the best work you can.
Who wants to read a story that starts with the birth of the main character and follows them through their entire life? This method of fiction writing is hardly ever successful. Why? Because readers will not care about everything that happened to the character when he was two, three, four, and more. They want to get to the action… the stuff that matters to the story or book in front of them.
Fiction Writing: How to Include Back-Story Without an Info Dump – Read More!
But what about backstory? Information that happened outside the scope of the piece of fiction writing is often necessary to understand the plot. A character’s history can provided needed clues about their current emotional state, goals, or reactions to events. Some backstory must be included.
The sheer speed and insanity of my NaNoWriMo writing has blocked a few important things from me mind. Goals.
No, not MY goals. I get the whole 50,000 words in November thing. I’m on track with that goal.
My CHARACTER’S goals.
I’m a firm believer in every character having a goal. Well, every main and semi-main character anyway. The waiter who brings a cup of coffee to your MC does not need a goal… other than to get the coffee to them safely.
My characters just started DOING things…. like unruly teenagers when their parents are away. I forgot that they needed goals, and that they have to work toward their goals all the time.
If my characters DO have goals, they are beginning to lean more and more toward sex. Someone wants to have sex in this book (actually, MOST of my characters want to have sex with someone), but I think only one will end up doing the deed. And that took all of one sentence.
Anyway…. goals. You and your characters have to have some.
Elements of Time
Available from Twin Trinity Media.
Elements of Dimension continues the Twin Trinity short story anthology series with more top-quality stories and poems. This book explores the themes of science fiction, fantasy and reality. I have one short story, "Death Obeyed," and one poem, "Tale of the Suburban Dungeon" in this book.
"Elements of Time" short story anthology is available now. It features winning stories from the Accentuate Services contests plus themed poetry. Two of M. Lori Motley's short stories, "Inescapable" and "No Time Like Now," are included.
"Elements of Soul" short story anthology is available now. It features fifteen winning stories from the Accentuate Services contests plus themed poetry. Two of M. Lori Motley's short stories, "Summer Heat" and "Flood of Tears," are included.