Articles archived for July 2010

For most of us, the gift of writing is cathartic and freeing.  I received the first gift of a journal, full of empty pages just waiting for my words, sent me into bliss at the ripe ole’ age of eight.  My memories of being given this gift at an early age inspired me to pass on a love of writing to my own two rug rats.  It may seem like a daunting task to have a thirteen-year-old sit down at his computer to write a story.  Especially, if you consider that this type of request from a teacher would send him into a complete tailspin.

How do you get around this?  All kids are inspired by what their parents do.  Sometimes we miss the subtle clues screaming “Hey this kid has talent.”  However, you know that within each of them a story lives.  The basics for employing a love of writing start early.  If they can pick up a pen, they can describe the way it felt to jump in the pool the first time the weather permitted, or how meeting their new teacher felt.  Wonder of wonders, they may write something they hadn’t expected, and that clues you in to their intimate childhood worlds.

Of course, how the concept is presented will influence your chances to inspire you children to read and write.  This is the difference between a frown when you suggest they write about their trip to zoo, and “Good Idea!”.  Making the idea their own is important; you need to show interest, and spur their imaginations.  Simply saying, “Don’t you think it would be cool to write about our vacation?”, may not work.  However, you may be surprised by their response if you say, “Help me think of a character who lived in this area… do think they would have special qualities?  What do you think their problems, fears, and dreams would be?”

My oldest child loves to get involved in my stories and help me develop characters.  He is also a deft creator of turmoil and drama.  During our conversations about my own writing, I sometimes suggest that he would better communicate the intricacies of the character.  Now he has a small book of his own writing and is quite proud of it. Of course, I’m very proud too.  My hope is that he will learn to purge his frustration into his stories, a benefit to him, and his characters.

We should all inspire the writers of the future so a truly beautiful art form is never lost!

Do you inspire and encourage your children to write fiction? What are your own earliest memories of being encouraged to write?

Photo Credit: 07-24-08 © Yucel Yilmaz

Writers recreate – everything we write is not truly unique. It comes from outside of itself.

Did you know? “The muses, the Greek inspirers of the creative arts, were the daughters of Memory, or Mnemosyne.” ¹

Everything we experience, see, read, watch, hear, is archived on some level in our brain. As we write our subconscious draws from these billions of fragmented memories. This does not mean we plagiarize. Instead, drawing from experience, our own and that of others, we recreate, innovate, change, and forever alter the original. We create; new, fresh, and unique.

One night, I lay in bed watching the opening scenes from the movie Twilight. Bella’s voice-over talks about her decision to leave Arizona. “And this will be a good thing; I think.” In deciding to leave Arizona she is right into the event that begins her story. This is “The Inciting Incident”². As I considered “the inciting incident” in Bella’s story my mind wandered into the intricate folds of my current work-in-progress. My thoughts ran through and weighed significant details as I considered new ideas and improvements to strengthen the initial scene, “the inciting incident”, in my own work.

My story is not Twilight. But something within that movie triggered a connection within my subconscious that influenced my writing. Echos of Bella, the scene in Arizona, and her softly spoken but decisive words are recreated in the inspiration that gave me new insight into the opening scenes of my current project.

In another example of fractured memories influencing new content, I was recently working on my current novel, ruminating on it in the darkness of the night, and daydreaming through the day. In it, the death of my protagonist’s father is a significant memory but the actual event had not found itself on the page. A scene came to mind but I couldn’t grasp the details. They were hazy, fuzzy. I delved deeper, trying to gain clarity in the image so that I could put it onto the page.

Aspects of the scene I could visualize in my mind’s eye echoed other memories. The setting reflected one I remembered from The Mummy Returns starring Brendan Fraser. The rich opulence, ancient artifacts, varnished wood surfaces, and the palpable sense of old money was mirrored in the room where I visualized my protagonist’s tragedy.

In my head I saw a picture and aspects of it echoed the set from that movie. As I dug deeper into my image, as I dissected it, I discovered a mosaic of memories. That setting was made of a thousand different rooms, ornaments, experiences. I could recreate from each segment of the mosaic, but collectively they created a unique setting.

From the mosaic of our mind and memory, we can recreate and find inspiration for new, fresh, unique stories, scenes, characters, and plots. Do you recreate, within your own writing, inspiration found in books or movies? How much influence do you feel your experiences and memories have on your writer’s voice and the stories you write?

Footnotes
¹ “The Poetry Dictionary” by John Drury – First Edition, Page 158: Memory
² “Hooked” by Les Edgerton – Chapter Three, Page 47: The Inciting Incident

Photo Credit: 03-25-10 © Nancy Ross

Do you find yourself editing as you write? Do you prefer to keep the writing and editing processes separate? All writers have an opinion about how and when to edit your work-in-progress. Some storytellers let their writing flow uninterrupted, leaving a trail of spelling errors and typos in their wake. Other writers prefer careful editing of their piece after each writing session (or page, or paragraph, or sentence), examining each scene or chapter carefully and fine tuning it into a work of written art.

I use a mix of both techniques. I can’t stand looking at the red squiggly lines appearing below my errors, so I quickly backspace and fix my glaring errors while writing a scene. I even enter my characters’ names into my dictionary, so I don’t have a messy document. However, larger changes, such as carving up a scene, I save until much later on. That much reworking would knock my writer’s hat off my head, leaving only my editor’s hat.

Pros of Consistently Editing

1. You’ll finish with a more polished manuscript, which will require less editing after it is completed.
2. You can keep track of how your plot, subplot, and story arc are progressing, and rely less on your memory.
3. If you find a major plot hole that requires a complete restructuring of your story, you can fix it immediately and not find yourself at a dead end later.
4. Your characters will be less likely to wander off on tangents that are unrelated to the story at hand.
5. The story will have much more continuity, and you won’t have to search to change every instance of an incorrect fact.
6. Grammatical errors are much easier to spot when reading smaller chunks of a story.

Cons of Constantly Editing

1. The flow of the story will be harder to maintain when you are stopping and starting repeatedly.
2. The critical side of you required to edit properly can bring your mood down, draining your motivation.
3. You may pick apart a scene to pieces, so that it falls apart and is no longer usable in your story.
4. You may forget your place in the story, and stop writing much sooner than you intended.
5. Your daily word count may be lower, and your progress will be harder to track.
6. If you find a problem that requires major work, you may not know how to fix it, which will halt you in your tracks.

So what’s the verdict? Each writer has their own writing and editing style. What works for me won’t necessarily work for you. As long as it is actually working, then keep it up! If not, go over the pros and cons, and decide for yourself.

Weigh in on the editing debate! Which method do you find yourself doing most often? Do you have more pros or cons to add to the list? Share your editing experiences here.

Photo Credit: Nic McPhee

It’s TIME! Yay! It’s time to announce the winner for this months contest. If you missed out, never fear because we’ll give away something awesome in August too so stay tuned for that but lets do a round up of our entries, see some of those fantastic questions again and find out who gets to see Edwina and Cecelia landing on their doorstep very soon for free!

Don’t forget, you can order the books for yourself. Simply click, “Edwina” or “Cecelia” and you can order both from $31.18 right now!

I want to take this moment to thank each of the commenters for taking the time to write a thoughtful comment. It is wonderful to have an opportunity to interact with each of you and to share your ideas and thoughts. I know Patricia truly appreciates your feedback. You asked some wonderful questions and I’d like to open the floor for our readers, many of whom are also fiction writers, to share their own thoughts, ideas, and experiences.

• Misti Sandefur asked, “Before you begin writing a novel, do you create a character outline to use as a guide?” – Click here to share your answer.
• Patti Harris asked, “Do you stick closely with an ‘overall’ outline, or your original plot idea? Or do you set the characters free on paper to go off on their own adventure once your story is underway?” – Click here to share your answer.
• Becky asked, “Aside from solving the problems and conflicts of the plot, how do you tie things up when you write?” – Click here to share your answer.

If you haven’t had a chance to read the three parts of Patricia Strefling’s interview you don’t want to miss them:

1. Writing Romance and Strong Character with Patricia Strefling
2. Writing a Novel with Romance Author Patricia Strefling
3. Self Publishing: Patricia Strefling Shares Her Experience

Now, without further ado, our winner!

Congratulations to Becky, who not only asked a fantastic question but commented on all three posts. Obviously increasing your odds of being the winner really does help! Thanks for your eager participation Becky and thanks again to all those who took part and those who shared the posts with their friends.

Make sure you subscribe to our new RSS Feed so you won’t miss your chance to be the winner of next month’s contest. We’ve got some great posts lined up and more interesting Author Interviews to come. Is there anything you’d like to ask your favorite authors? Who would you love to talk to about writing? Share your favorite writers and the questions you’d love to ask them in the comments below.

There’s little doubt about it. Fiction writers are more creativity-centered than number-centered. We don’t want – or need – an elaborate bookkeeping system. We just need to know what’s going out (submissions, payments, commissioned work, assigned projects) and what’s coming in (assignments, money, bills). Is there a simple way to do this or do we have to invest in a high-dollar computer program or keep an accountant on retainer?

The tips and suggestions here are not meant to take the place of an accountant or tax professional. Please consult an accountant for more detailed information. With that said, here are some tips for simple bookkeeping for freelancers.

1. Design a spreadsheet. When we’re starting, even when we’re established, most of us likely don’t have the finances to purchase a software program for keeping records. Our computers likely came with a spreadsheet program, either Microsoft Excel for PC or the equivalent for Mac. Figure out how many columns you need. In my spreadsheet, there are columns for “Title,” “Written,” “Submitted,” “Market,” “Status,” “Rights,” “Genre,” “Length,” “Published,” “Pay,” and “Notes.” It’s also color-coded to be able to see what is out and what is coming in with one look. Updated regularly, the spreadsheet can keep you on track and organized.
2. Use an invoice template in your word processor software. Programs such as Microsoft Word and WordPerfect have invoice templates. If your program doesn’t, an invoice can be as simple as a letterhead with the publication’s information, project information, and agreed payment.  When you send invoices, be certain to log them in your spreadsheet that indicates income. Additionally, keep track of when you send the invoices.
3. Take advantage of the invoicing option PayPal. If publications, typically online markets, want to pay via PayPal, you can send an invoice through their system instead of sending a print or e-mail attachment invoice. When viewing your account overview, click on the “Request Money” tab at the top. You can create invoice templates for repeat clients and send from within their system. Be aware that PayPal does charge a fee for this and include that fee in your bookkeeping.
4. If you’re tech-savvy, design a database. If you’re a programmer by day (or if you’re married to one), you might want something a bit more advanced than the simple bookkeeping and records on Excel. Microsoft Access is good for designing databases on your PC or you could find (or create) website alternatives with MySQL.
5. Use your paper planner. Simple bookkeeping doesn’t have to be computerized. Heiddi Zalamar, a writer in New York City, uses her planner. She says, “I use my planner as a record keeper and actually keep them after using them for the year.”

After you have been using a simple bookkeeping system for a while, you might be ready to use software to consolidate everything in one program. But, as a creative person instead of a numbers person, that is entirely up to you.

How do you manage your bookkeeping and records?

[Editor's Tip: Invest in the full Microsoft Office bundle to save on these fantastic software products. They don't always come standard with your PC and the most recent version has great new features earlier versions don't have.]

Most writers have fiction stories from years ago that have since been abandoned to the dark recesses of a desk drawer archive. Some stories never made it past the opening lines, others were just a few chapters away from their dramatic conclusion. While some stories are best left hidden away, others can be revived and fashioned into more exciting plots.

If your current ideas aren’t inspiring you, go digging through your old files to find treasures you may have forgotten that you have! After years have passed, you can read over your partial first drafts with a fresh eye, as if they were written by someone else. Once you find a story that still has potential, read it over and look for areas that can be crafted into a new short story or novel.

Mine the Introduction

Most writers have the peak of their enthusiasm within the first chapter or scene of their story. Introductions bring the first characters and plot points into main focus. It is possible that your characters are incompatible for the story you put them in. A confident, powerful businesswoman may not belong in a sleepy Midwestern town when she’d shine in a bustling city. (Then again, she just might, providing a marked contrast. Your story may vary.) When you can extract characters from a weak plot, you can transfer them to a more exciting storyline.

On the other hand, your plot may shine, but your characters just aren’t interested in seeing the story through. They may be flat and lifeless, and not yield any additional information when you try character building techniques. It may be time to send those characters on their way, and give the story to more enthusiastic protagonists who will care about what’s happening in the world around them.

Dig into the Heart of the Story

For lengthier abandoned manuscripts, it can be harder to pinpoint exactly what went wrong. Characters seem to get minds of their own, going off in unexpected directions and wandering away from the story. Plots can weaken and meander, to the point where even you don’t know what is going to happen next.

While many writers prefer the excitement of an unplanned route, others need a solid plot outline to bring their story and characters back on track. Write out an outline of the plot so far, and see where the story is actually heading. If it is workable, then you can revive that story and get back to writing. If not, see what needs to be cut, rearranged, or expanded into new avenues. If you’re at a loss, use a mind map to free associate possibilities for your plot.

Carve Into Your Words

An abandoned story will need a lot of work, and you will need to put on your editor’s hat for awhile before getting back to the writing. Ruthlessly cut into your story, removing anything that is not serving the plot. You can literally do this with a pair of scissors and a lot of tape, or you can cut and paste within your word processing program. If you don’t want to toss out perfectly good writing that just doesn’t fit, put those unneeded phrases into an idea file that you can go over later.

Have you revived an aging story? What ideas do you use when called to rework an unfinished or finished manuscript?

Photo Credit: Orcmid

One of the remarkable adventures Patricia braved was the journey through self-publishing. Patricia Strefling joins us now to share her experience with print-on-demand publisher, Xulon Press.

Earlier, we talked with Patricia, author of romance novels, “Edwina” and “Cecelia” about writing romance, strong character and writing a novel. Don’t miss these two fantastic parts of her three part interview on The Craft of Writing Fiction.

You chose the self publishing route with two of your romance novels, “Edwina” and “Cecelia“. What made you decide to self publish your books?

Truthfully, I spent quite a lot of money going to big writer conferences, finding out all this information and then coming home so defeated that I decided I would never be able to meet all the details and requirements of proposal writing, knowing how to pitch to an editor, what they wanted, that I gave up and figured I would never be a published writer.

Life brought several changes in my life, my three sons moved to separate coasts two to Southern California, the other to New York. And my grandkids went with them, then my best friend passed away.

Suffice it to say, I was looking for a way to spend my life. I dug out my stories, and fearfully, NOT fearlessly, looked up self-publishers. Did a little research. [I] saw that one publisher had a great sale and checked it out. I didn’t know a thing about self-publishing. So I got a book that looked at many publishers, giving good points and failing points for each.

Surprisingly (to me) my chosen publisher was in the VERY GOOD category and I knew I had run out of excuses. It was now or never. Instead of spending money on conferences, I spent it on self-publishing.

What was your self publishing experience like with Xulon Press?

I was inexperienced [so I] had to learn what they were responsible for and what my part was in the POD (publishing on demand) concept. I had a lot of questions the first time around and worked to meet each expectation as it was assigned to me.

What is involved in self publishing a book and how did Xulon Press help you with the various publication stages?

Each POD Publisher has their own set of requirements. So you read very carefully what they offer, pick out the plan that works best for you and work through the process, learning as you go. The plan I chose included assigning a ISBN number, typesetting, book cover design, and marketing. I submitted an edited manuscript and they did the rest.

They kept in touch via email with every step, managing problems as we went along.

I had no idea what a galley looked like, but I can tell you one thing, when it came via email and I looked at my manuscript in book form, I was excited. THEN when they asked for a small paragraph of how I would like my book cover to appear, I had no idea what I should say. So I wrote down a few ideas and waited.

When the book cover proof came I thought it was beautiful. There was my character sitting by the brook in Scotland with her gauzy dress and the castle in the background. I expected a less professional cover to be truthful. I was so pleased. My cover did not look like most of the books I’d seen on the shelves at bookstores. Mine was beautiful.

It is a giant moment in your life when your first book is visible, when you hold it in your hands knowing all the work and love and life you put into the character has suddenly come alive. I’ll never forget the day my first books came in the mail.

Nor will I forget the first comments that came back from the readers. I knew then that writing a story is not just an exercise — it is a gift. From you to your readers. As they relate to your made-up character, you become more sober, understanding on a deeper level what it means to publish a book and place it in the hands of your readers and know it touched them somehow. Secret: I have a special folder where I keep comments, written, email, or verbal and look at it when I think what I do doesn’t matter.

Rebecca: Wow, what an amazing and ambitious endeavor. Thank you for sharing your experience with us, Patricia. I’d love to know more about your writing process and the steps from that first spark of an idea to a bound book on the shelf in the future so I hope you’ll visit with us again soon.

Patricia is donating a copy of “Edwina” and a copy of “Cecelia” to one lucky winner at The Craft of Writing Fiction in celebration of her visit here. Two weeks ago I shared Writing Romance and Strong Character with Patricia Strefling and last week we discussed Writing a Novel with Romance Author Patricia Strefling, so now you have a total of three opportunities to enter. I’ll announce our winner on the 26th of July.

Want a chance to win? Simply, ask Patricia a question of your own, or leave a thoughtful comment, regarding self publishing, print-on-demand, or her experience with Xulon Press below. Then share this post with your friends.

Make sure you subscribe to The Craft of Writing Fiction in your RSS feed reader or direct to your email inbox so you don’t miss any of the great posts we have coming up.

Fleshing out characters (giving 3d characters four dimensions) is one of my favorite aspects of writing a story, perhaps more than weaving the plot. The human mind is complex, and in a story, every character is an outstanding individual, with their own story, dreams, hopes and fears. The possibilities are limitless, and I could spend all day uncovering the characters’ motivations, ideals, and inner workings.

Once the plot gets going, even complex 3d characters get busy with what’s going on around them, and are in danger of losing their personality quirks. When I’m writing through an exciting scene, I often forget that the characters wouldn’t act the way I would act. I have to go back and evaluate the scene, and whether they are acting true to character.

When that happens, I look over four dimensions of a character’s personality, to see if they are acting consistently throughout the story. These four dimensions can be determined at the beginning of a story, or infused at any point in time thereafter to bring out the best in your heroes.

Thoughts: The Hero’s Conscious Awareness

Your characters each have their own perspective on the world. Their upbringing, education level, and current situation shape their thoughts and consequently their actions. A well-to-do, college-educated attorney will think about the world far differently than an abused high school dropout. They will be concerned about different things, have a particular sense of right and wrong, and analyze problems in unique ways. They will also hold themselves and their companions to separate standards, praising and criticizing under various circumstances.

The most common way we look at an individual’s thoughts today is through left brain, right brain analysis. In general, characters who are left brained think logically and rationally, working through a situation step-by-step to its conclusion. Right brained folks look at life on a grander scale, working holistically and creatively to solve problems. You can really flesh out a character’s thought patterns by figuring out if she’s left or right brained, and how she approaches critical thinking.

Feelings: What His Heart Wants

In direct opposition at times to the hero’s thought processes are his emotional reactions to the world. Before his brain gets a chance to analyze, his heart will express his initial reaction to external stimuli. Your protagonist will obviously have feelings about all the other characters he meets, whether they are good, bad, or indifferent feelings. This will color his actions in how much he interacts with others, and in what ways.

However, people have feelings about everything in their lives, not just other humans. She may feel that she is on the wrong course of action, even when she cannot think of a reason why this is so. Known as gut reactions, following your intuition, or even psychic awareness, these feelings crop up consistently throughout our lives. Your character may feel like wearing a red shirt today, even though her blue shirt is clean too. She may despise her best friend’s brother, even though she just met him and knows nothing about him. These are all human feelings that can take your story and characters down exciting new paths.

Actions: How He Presents Himself to the World

Your protagonist shapes his world and his story via his actions, how he interacts with other people and his environment. Actions reveal a lot about a person’s character, illuminating his thoughts and feelings with a tip of his hat. If your character doesn’t act, he doesn’t progress through the story, and will have to be helped along by his companions.

Actions are the home of “show, don’t tell”, where your heroine can really stand out from the crowd. If she pulls over to help an injured animal along the side of the road, she will come across as compassionate and nurturing, even if no one else in the story recognizes that fact. If she stands firmly against every obstacle in her path, readers will come to the conclusion that she is headstrong, determined, and perhaps a little ruthless. Actions really do speak louder than words, amongst your characters and to your readers as well.

Relations: How He Interacts with Others

Your hero does not live in a vacuum. He has to deal with other people, and all of the things that we do in our daily lives. Work, home, school, society, religion, health, goals, and values shape your character continuously. He has to relate to and react to all of these environmental influences on a daily basis, with certain aspects taking precedence depending on the day’s events.

How your character relates to her environment can provide new insights you may not have considered. If your protagonist is a diligent worker, yet lives in a messy home, she obviously has different values about what is acceptable in different settings. At the beginning of the story, she may be a self-proclaimed atheist, yet is presented with many challenges to her faith throughout the story arc. Whether she lets herself relate to those challenges, or remains unchanged, will give readers a new perspective on her personality.

These four dimensions of a character’s personality will give you unlimited characterization ideas and plot possibilities. Your readers will easily relate when the characters think, feel, act, and relate to the world in ways that we all do each day. When your heroine seems dull, go over these four dimensions and see if she has the opportunity to show of her amazing self!

How do you ensure that your characters are fleshed out and believable? To what standard do you hold them accountable? What tricks do you use to bring out the best in your heroes?

Photo Credit: Four Eyes by Carulmare
Photo Credit: Mask by Cliff1066tm

Has a lack of motivation ever seen you sitting at your desk or curled up in your favorite chair with your laptop—and no inspiration to work on your writing? Not even one word?

This is how I feel today. And I thought I’d blog about it here because surely other writers and bloggers have experienced this same thing.

Some days I’m on fire, writing and writing. The ideas are endless. My passion for words keeps my fingers tapping away at the keyboard. Then there are days like today. Days where I just want to crawl back under the covers and stay there until the inspiration comes back.

Folks, the muse plays tricks on our minds!

Whether it’s a headache, feeling blah – physically or mentally/emotionally – or dealing with life, there are times when I feel like I can’t bring myself to purge one word from my soul.

Of course, if you’re building a career as a writer, crawling back under the covers until the muse comes back to sprinkle her inspiring dust about, is out of the question. When writing is your job you can’t always afford time to give into job stress.

Here are 5 motivation techniques that keep me writing—especially when I don’t feel like it:

1. Connecting with my writing friends. Communicating with other writers and bloggers, who know exactly what I’m going through, is crucial to the health of my writing craft. They do this job too so they know the stress I’m feeling. By the time they’re finished tossing out quotes, words of wisdom, advice, encouragement, and even a joke here and there, I’m feeling refreshed, confident, and ready to take on the words. This motivation technique’s added benefit is motivating the friend too!
2. Reading quotes, blog posts, or a few pages from my favorite authors. I find great inspiration from motivational people like Maya Angelou. After drawing strength from her words, anything is possible!
3. Yoga. I’m a huge fan of yoga (particularly Ashtanga style) and have found that my writing is much more prolific, inspired, and meaningful when I practice regularly. You don’t have to take an hour to feel the benefits and motivation of this technique. As little as five to twenty minutes of yoga can reduce stress, clear your mind, stretch and warm your muscles, and inspire your creativity!
4. Gardening. Sometimes it takes nothing more than a few minutes strolling through the garden, inhaling fresh air and seeing the fruits of my labor, to feel my motivation levels rise.
5. Eating or drinking something nutritious. My brain needs food as much as my body. So if I’m hungry or have forgotten to eat, I’ll notice it affects my writing. Whether it’s a salad chock-full of veggies and a little protein, a handful of nuts, a piece of fruit, or a raw juice or smoothie, fueling up my body results in filling pages!

I hope these motivation techniques have sparked your interest and given you a few ideas you can try for those days you can’t find your motivation – or muse – but need to get the job done.

What do you do when you have to write through lack of inspiration, motivation, and/or chaotic, disruptive days? Do you ever just throw up your hands and crawl back under the covers or hide away somewhere in your house? Or do you press through? What tips and tricks do you have? Do share!

Photo Credit: wagg66

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” ~ William Shakespeare, As You Like It

Your story’s world, known as milieu,is the environment that your characters play out their story within. This backdrop provides a wealth of description, opportunities, and influences for your story, and cannot be ignored. If your characters could be living anywhere at any time, your environment could use some fleshing out.

Many authors don’t have too much trouble defining their story’s world, because it is a present day story with modern conveniences in a popular town, such as New York City, Paris, or London.  While this makes writing the story easier, it can also “date” a story, when modern day people no longer use telegraphs or 8 track tapes. If your story is modern, don’t neglect to illuminate it with rich descriptions of its environment, culture, and customs.

However, other types of stories have a different issue. Their worlds are either partially or wholly unfamiliar to the reader. Historical and romance novels have the task of staying true to facts while adding fictional elements to expand the possibilities of a bygone era. Science fiction and fantasy novels have environments entirely created by the author, which can fall prey to loopholes if the author loses track of his world-building.

Creative World Exploration

1. Research the world’s past. Your world, whether its real or fictional, has a rich history waiting to be unfurled. Writers using a real world location can research online or at their local library. When writing about a fictional realm, it is up to you to create the past events, politics, and religions of your world. Spend some time freewrite the possibilities, and create a timeline of the past that you can refer back to as you write.
2. Plan the future. Beyond normal plotting, unfamiliar worlds require special attention to the future. While your protagonists are creating their own future, the world is evolving around them. Historical writers need to plan around real world events. In Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind, Melanie’s pregnancy purportedly lasted 22 months,* when compared to Civil War battles! Science fiction and fantasy writers need only make sure their timelines remain consistent throughout the book.
3. Explain when necessary. Besides the past and future, many stories have unusual present day activities. The classic science fiction example is the oscillating door. When such futuristic objects were first introduced into stories, they had to be explained at length so the reader could envision a door that would open in a circular fashion all by itself. Today, readers are exposed to a wide variety of  technology, both fictional and non-fictional. Explanations would hardly be necessary for the modern reader. Do a bit of research into your book’s market, and see what literary conventions are taken for granted, and what unexpected bits deserve your witty exposition.

Don’t let your characters perform their life stories on an empty stage. Give them a rich, inviting world to explore, and your readers will be happy to tag along for the adventure.

How do you bring your story’s world to life? Do you do a lot of research before writing your stories, or do you edit in facts later on? Share your world building techniques here.

Photo Credit: Temari 09