Creative Writing

Today, I’m going to talk to you about creative writing.

Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays, scripts, speeches, songs, autobiography and memoir are all forms of creative writing.

Creative writing gives you the power to create something to entertain someone. You can make them laugh, cry or think about what you’ve written. It is an art as well as a craft. There must be a plot, otherwise there is no story and your characters must be developed to tell the story. That means that readers should be able to engage and understand your main character, the protagonist.

There must be an underlying theme and description so the reader can understand the protagonist’s surroundings. All these things help the reader imagine being in the protagonist’s shoes.

The most common point of view that creative writing is written in, is first person and third person. Characters need to interact with one another to tell the story so you will need to include dialogue. To make it more interesting consider using metaphors, figures of speech, anecdotes and similes. This will help the reader feel how you want them to about the story. Make sure you vary the voice of each character, so they don’t all sound the same.

The more you practice the better you will become at creative writing. If you don’t practice, you’ll lose your skills. It’s the same with anything you do.

Here’s an exercise to get you started: You’ve woken up, and your reading this blog post. Write about what you’ve done since you’ve got out of bed. It doesn’t matter if it’s mundane, like brushing your teeth. Try and make it as interesting as possible for the reader.

Here’s my attempt: I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, unwilling to look at myself. I took my time brushing my teeth thinking about my new job and all the people I’d meet. The interviewer reminded me of a teacher I once had in high school. The glass smashed in the bathroom window and a brick landed at my feet…

Read your work aloud and make sure you edit it.

Good luck!

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Book Reviews

Today, I’m going to look at how to write a book review.

Before you start reading

Here are some things to think about before you start to read. Look at the cover and ask yourself:

• What does the title and picture convey?
• Read the back cover to get a general idea of what the story is about.
• Is there a preface? What does it promise?
• Who is the book’s audience?

If you’re interested in a book it will help you write the review, so choose a genre that interests you.

If you’ve been asked to write a review about a genre that you’re not interested in, you’ll need to find a way to become interested in it.

Once you start reading

Make brief notes in the margin with a pencil or write the page number and some points down on a piece of paper. If I own a copy of the book, I underline passages as I read though I wouldn’t do that on a library book.

If the chapters have headings note them and anything of interest in each chapter so it will be easy to go back to later if you need to. Are the chapter headings relevant to the text within them? Try summarizing what the chapter was about in a few sentences and write some notes about some of the passages you can discuss in your review.

Questions to ask while reading

Keep these questions in mind while you’re reading the book:

Is there a good hook to keep you reading?

What is the plot outline? Is it clear?

Are there any sub-plots?

Is the book well-written?

What is the ending like without spoiling it for other readers – what did you think?

It takes time to write a book, sometimes many years, so at the end of the review, try and pay the author a compliment.

 

What to include in a Synopsis

Hands up who finds writing a synopsis harder than writing a book? I know I do.

A synopsis is a selling tool. It’s what the editor and publisher use to decide if you’ve written a novel they want to sell. If you are thinking of working with an agent, you might find that they will ask you to provide a synopsis.

Before submitting your manuscript and synopsis make sure the publisher publishes the same genre that you have written. You don’t want to waste their time or yours.

An editor will have set guidelines for you to follow. Some want a 1-page synopsis while others may request 2 pages. They may also request your synopsis to be single or double spaced. The publishing house that I recently looked at said they wanted 500 words with single spacing. Make sure you adhere to the guidelines. If an editor asks for 500 words, don’t write 1,000 and think, they’ll love my story because I wrote it. Wrong!

A synopsis is an outline describing the events that take place in your novel and it is usually written in third person present tense. Type your name at the top right-hand corner and the title of your novel underneath it.

The editor wants to know the protagonist’s conflict and whether it is strong enough to make readers want to read your novel to the end. Therefore, a synopsis must provide answers to the following questions:

• What is the story about?
• Who are the main characters and what do they want?
• Why do they want it and what stands in their way?
• What is the setting, tone and pace of your novel?

Include any sub-plots and how they interact or affect the plot and characters.

Leave out description and dialogue.

You must tell them everything that happens in the book.

When you’ve finished writing it, read your synopsis out aloud to see if it flows. At the moment, I’ve got a lot of work to do on mine because it sounds like he did this, she did that.

When you send it to the editor via mail, make sure you write on the envelope: ‘requested material for e.g. Melisa Quigley’s manuscript. Do the same thing in the subject line if sending it via email. That way you avoid it being placed in the slush pile.

Good luck!

 

 

Writing and being a writer

Today, I thought I’d share something about being a writer.

 

Some people would say writing creates stress, but I believe writing relieves stress. Writers can create characters and take all your stress out on them.

When they do research, they gain knowledge about different topics.

Writers are curious. They want to know about things and what makes people the way they are.

Writers are always learning about themselves and their characters, the world and the world their characters live in.

They have a sense of purpose. When they wake up they set their intention for the day about their work in progress etc.

Writing is full of endless possibilities and opportunities. It’s never boring because there are so many things to write about. If what they’re writing about doesn’t work out they can always write something else.

 

 

Improving your writing skills

This month I’d like to talk about how to improve your writing skills. It’s easy to brush up on any skill – practice, practice, practice until you get it right.

I’ve listed some tips below that you may find useful:

Reading

I know you’ve probably heard it repeatedly but to be a good writer you need to read widely. Don’t read one genre, try reading different ones and immerse yourself as much as you can. In doing so, you will broaden your expertise and see different styles and techniques that other writers use.  Try reading the newspaper, magazines, literary fiction as well as YA, Fantasy, Romance etc.

Read something every day. I set a target of reading for 1-2 hours each day. Over time you’ll notice your writing improving.

Read a book about writing

Robert McKee’s book is a good place to start. His book, Story, talks about substance, structure, style and the principles of screenwriting and writing fiction.

Join a writer’s group

Joining a writing group is a wonderful way to obtain feedback about your writing. Look for one in your local area. I joined one six weeks ago and the feedback has been invaluable. My group has pointed out things about my story that I hadn’t even thought of. You’ll meet other like-minded individuals who can provide you with suggestions and ideas about your writing and you can do the same for them so it’s a win-win for everyone concerned.

Online writing courses

Here is a list of 75 free online courses that you can have a look at to help improve your writing skills when you have the time to do so:

https://www.class-central.com/report/writing-free-online-courses/

Schedule your writing

I must admit, I don’t have a schedule. When I’m not working, I’m either washing, ironing, cooking, cleaning or visiting friends. The fact is I still manage to write and read and I’m not up until midnight every night. I like to read on public transport and write in the solitude of my home. Find out what works for you and make time to write and read.

Rewrite

A good writer is one who rewrites. It’s part of writing. Like I’ve mentioned in one of my other blog posts, put your manuscript, poem or short story away and bring it out a couple of weeks or a month later and see if it needs a complete rewrite.

I hope this helps.

If you want to know more about me you can read an interview I did recently here: http://empowered-individuals.blogspot.com/2019/02/melisa-quigley-interview-with-melisa.html?m=1

 

 

Writing and reading

I know you’ve probably heard this before but I’ll say it in case you haven’t – the more you read the better your writing will be.

Wip

Don’t ask other people what their wip is. This will only put pressure on you. Start slow and aim for a small amount of words each day. If you manage to write more, well done. If you don’t it doesn’t matter. As long as you writing something each day, that is all that matters.

When to write

Write at a time that suits you. If you work, like I do, you may want to write before work, in your lunch break or after work. I like to write after work.

Programs

Don’t get bogged down in programs like Scrivener, Evernote, Google Drive, Microsoft One Note and Dropbox. Programs are great when they work but if they crash you may lose everything.

I like to write my novel by hand first and type it into a word document. When I’ve finished I always save the current version of my draft onto a USB stick. I believe in keeping things simple.

Paper etc

For the first draft you can use a journal, exercise book or type it into a word document in your laptop or computer. Use whichever modality feels best for you.

Spelling

Make sure you always spellcheck your work after you’ve typed it. Grammarly is a good way check grammar and punctuation. You can copy and paste your work into Grammarly. You can replace the edited version back into your draft and save it onto a USB stick like I do ready for the next round of typing.

Happy writing!

 

Fantasy

 

Have you ever considered writing Fantasy?

Here are some tips to help you write a short story or novel about fantasy.

1             Plot your story

Even though you have to create a new world, creatures and other imagery you must make sure that your writing is good and that your characters are interesting and motivated. Make sure your plot is interesting and unfolds in a logical and engaging way and that your description is vivid so the reader can feel as though they are there.

2            Setting

If you’re having trouble finding a setting, look for a time in interesting that excites you and add some magic.

3            What sort of Fantasy story are you writing?

Some fantasy stories start with a character/s in the real world and  go into another world and come back again like The Fairyland Series. Other fantasy stories are in a fantasy world from the first page and the storyline is based in that world like The Lord of the Rings. These are only two examples of what fantasy stories are like. Yours may be different.

4            Dialogue

Make sure your characters’ dialogue matches the society live in.5

5            Magic

Using magic is a challenge. The trick is not to overuse it. Remember a genie grants three wishes? Don’t overload your story with magic.

I hope the above information helps you.

Happy writing!