Examples of Query Letters

A query letter can get your manuscript from unsolicited to solicited status. Most magazine editors read only query letters and don’t read slush-pile articles.

Self Publishing an Ebook

Creating an ebook is easy and anyone can self publish an ebook in today’s market. Once you purchase an ebook compiler you can get to work writing your ebook.

Developing Characters for your Novel

A novel is made from many parts and if you look at it like that it is easier to create your characters. Start with a notebook and write down everything in the notebook about your characters.

How to Develop Believable Vivid Characters

Building believable characters for your short stories starts with a character sketch. Create great characters for your fiction.

How to Become a Self-Publisher

A writer can write an excellent book and become a self-publisher. It’s often hard for a new writer to break into the publishing market, so why not self-publish?

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

How to Create Details of Setting in a Novel


By Lanee’ Blunt
Details are important in setting--
Image by Kaeska.

Building setting in your novel must be done carefully. Details in a novel are either used to the extreme or some writer’s don’t give enough details. The details of setting should be weaved into the fiction without notice. When setting is done correctly it pulls your reader into your fiction world and helps them imagine your novel vividly.

The setting has to be incorporated into the fiction and not just stuck in. If you are writing about a character’s feelings don’t describe what the room looks like. For example, Maria was hurt by John. She noticed that her kitchen was a mess. There were pots and pans on the stove and the dishes were piled high almost to the ceiling.

That information may describe the room but what does it have to do with Maria’s feelings toward John? The messy kitchen has nothing to do with Maria’s hurt feelings. It is just there and it doesn’t emphasize her feelings.

Example
Maria felt like the empty dirty glass in the sink. What was she just something to be tossed aside when John was finished using her? She slammed the glass into the sink on top of the dirty dishes and broke it.

When you write your setting this way you never leave the focus of the character and you still got in the details of the messy kitchen. Professional writer’s use these details so skillfully that the reader is immediately drawn into the fiction and never notices them.

Reference:
Leonard Bishop; Dare to Be a Great Writer; Writer’s Digest Books 

Friday, May 11, 2012

How to Create a Plot in a Novel


By Lanee’ Blunt
Writ a plot outline--
Image by Lusi.

Plotting your novel doesn’t have to be difficult. Writing from a plot outline will make your job easier.  A lot of writer's don't want to write from an outline for fear that the novel will sound stale.  Having your novel plotted will help you especially if you have gotten lost and gone off in another direction. Plot is built on significant events that have important consequences.

Start with an idea
Your idea must be big enough for a whole novel. You can have a lot of ideas for a novel but some of them are only fragments of a story and will be difficult to turn into a novel.

Moving
Your plot must have a beginning, middle, and an ending.  When you are plotting your novel think of the idea as a vivid opening. Think about a beginning scene and the next scene after that. What is going to take place in the middle of the novel? What is the final confrontation or resolution of the novel?

Conflict
Plotting a novel is putting your protagonist into conflict with another character, machine, society, or nature.  The conflict will be present throughout the middle of your novel. What is at stake? Is there something that the character is going to lose? What is the struggle in the book, and that is the basis of plot? Show and don’t tell, but show in vivid scenes of what will happen to the characters, and make your readers care about what happens to them.

Reference:
“Plot”; Ansen Dibell; 1988

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Writer’s Software: Writer’s Blocks 4 Review


By Lanee’ Blunt

Writer's Blocks 4 is simply amazing. The software is designed to help you organize your work and it frees you from working in a constricted linear way. Using sizeable blocks you are able to move around the text you enter, for example every scene, or idea and drag or drop blocks of text creating a logical sequence. You are free to write in any way you want. 

Another cool feature is that it can be used for all types of writing whether you are writing a novel, short story, or working on a non-fiction book you can use it.

Let’s take a look at all of the software’s features.
  • Visual outlining to create clearer and more compelling writing.
  • Great for organizing all types of writing: fiction, research, biographies, non-fiction or any type of complex writing.
  • Integrated word processor lets you use one tool from brainstorming to your final manuscript or export.
  • Easily collect references and create endnotes.
  • New Thesaurus with over 60,000 words.
  • Import and export Word docs and Adobe Acrobat PDF files.
  • Drop and Drag entire columns.
  • If you want to buy this software, you can get them on sale at Amazon through this link.Writer's Blocks 4Overall, the price that they charge for the software, you will find it’s worth it to help you get from idea to finished manuscript.


    This is what a current owner said about it.


    Oles,
    Writers Blocks 4 is an excellent upgrade to the already terrific ver. 3. Lots of good new features and better stability, navigation, and ways to manipulate your data. Your blocks now can contain hyperlinks and footnotes and much more. I've found WB to be the best organizational, note-taking, research, and outlining tool for writing of any kind: non-fiction, plays, screenplays, articles, etc. etc. You can set it up and customize everything about it to suit your own methods and personality...

    Review paraphrased for size-- view original review here. Writer's Blocks 4
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