Posted by qpen on June 3, 2010
All you need to know to write a novel, play, short story, screenplay, poem, or article. This easy-to-follow reference teaches readers the basics of good writing and how to develop style. Comprising exercises, techniques, and scores of samples for each writing discipline, this exciting new book has all the ingredients you will need to become a master of creative writing.
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Posted by Bobby Williams on June 2, 2010
To those of you who want to be the best writer you can be, here are some basics of writing. I know this maybe dated information but without the full understanding of writing, you cannot progress. Learning the basics can help create a foundation for the writing world. You may surprise yourself after taking a writing class that the talent is natural, but difficulty in setting up description can take a person out of the reading very rapidly. It can destroy a potential fan. To even dream of being accepting in the writing world you need to know the basics.
Plot is one of the ones that is quite simple to understand. It literally is the series of the events that happens in a story, in some kind of order. It does not necessarily have to be in chronological order, but it still needs to be an order that is understandable. The plot takes the reader through all the interesting points, it figuratively connects the dots, and it leads the reader from beginning to end. Plot is constructed of five main parts: the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. As long as the novel or short story follows this design it is considered coherent and complete.
Setting is another factor that most people tend to over look or at least not establish well. It is the time and place the story is happening. This could be something as simple as giving a city and a year to something as complicated as weather and buildings descriptions. The amount of detail that is contained in a setting can be anything from something very minute to something that is very broad. The more alive, or realistic, one makes the setting, the more intense the reading can become. A good setting “sets” the mood of the piece. It can also affect the tone, mood, and quality.
Characters are a major basic aspect of writing. Without them there are no objects, animals, people, etc. to push the story along. With the characters being as realistic as possible it makes the experience more believable. Characters are the author’s creation, used as a means to move the story along in the hopes of helping the reader understand the character’s situation. These are four types of characters: protagonist, antagonist, static, and flat. A good character is one that is credible, applicable, and explicable, whether or not they are “bad” or “good”.
In conclusion a story does not work without these simple writing aspects. The work may not even be considered complete in many instances without these. The time used to develop these three features may vary, placing more emphasis on some aspects over others, nevertheless being aware of how much consideration that is applied to these can improve your writing just because you are conscious. Happy writing and good luck!
Before you write a blog, short story, or novel, make sure you check out Totally Random Hobbies’ writing tips. There is lots of free writing advice located on this site.
Posted by qpen on May 24, 2010
The write stuff for telling a good story…includes exclusive interviews with New York Times bestselling authors! Novelist and editor Tom Monteleone shares his insights about the writing process-from developing a style through creating believable characters and settings, to the final editing and rewriting chores. ? Features never-before-published interviews with such bestselling authors as Janet Evanovich, Peter Straub, Richard Matheson, Whitley Streiber, Stephen Hunter, (more…)
Posted by qpen on April 8, 2010
The write stuff for telling a good story…includes exclusive interviews with New York Times bestselling authors! Novelist and editor Tom Monteleone shares his insights about the writing process-from developing a style through creating believable characters and settings, to the final editing and rewriting chores. ? Features never-before-published interviews with such bestselling authors as Janet Evanovich, Peter Straub, Richard Matheson, Whitley Streiber, Stephen Hunter, (more…)
Posted by qpen on April 2, 2010
![NewNovelist 2.0 [Novel Writing Software]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Z0sJy8quL._SL500_AA270_.jpg)
NewNovelist software breaks down the process of writing a novel into manageable chunks. This means that you are never faced with a blank screen or piece of paper.
This approach also means that you don’t have to start with the introduction and keep on writing until you get to the end. You could start by developing a character or work on a plot turn. You could describe a particular event, or even write the ending and work backwards! You can dance around as the inspiration takes (more…)
Posted by Britt Hellman on March 13, 2010
UK’s best-selling author Terry Pratchett’s latest novel Unseen Academicals (2009) is a parody on the cultural phenomenon of European football (soccer) and everything that surrounds it. As such, it may be better understood and enjoyed by Europeans than Americans; in particular since football hooliganism, a distinctly UK phenomenon, plays a central role in the story.
But really, the book is about so much more than football (soccer) and makes for fabulous entertainment for anybody, American or British. It is also a book about fashion super models (and their association with football super stars); pies of every conceivable variety (and their association with football fans); as well as goblins and orcs (association to football unknown).
In typically characteristic Pratchett-fashion, everything on the Discworld mirrors things in our own world with a slight and hilarious twist. For example, a tail-gate market on the Discworld becomes a cart-tail market. And instead of cheerleaders, there are naiads dancing on the sidelines.
The book has many heroes, in particular a goblin-turned-orc by the name of Mr. Nutt. Because he’s one of only a handful of surviving orcs on the Discworld, two of the world’s most powerful leaders take him under their wings to help him save himself as well as his dying race.
It bears mentioning that the two leaders in question, Lord Vetinari and Lady Margolotta have been at this before. Their previous projects have included rock trolls, werewolves, golems, and vampires, all of which they assisted in becoming integrated and accepted members of human society.
Mr. Nutt gets sent from Lady Margolotta’s Uberwald to Lord Vetinari’s Ankh-Morpork and assigned the task to accumulate ‘worth’ in human society. In doing so, Nutt gains many loyal friends and admirers in his workplace, the Unseen University. Co-worker Trev Likely goes to any length to defend his orc friend, and the head mistress of the Night Kitchen, Miss Glenda Sugarbean (creator of the crusty onion pie) becomes a staunch admirer, which later leads to a budding romance.
By impressing his superiors at Unseen University with his knowledge and knack for strategic thinking, Mr. Nutt eventually gets placed in charge of coaching the school’s new football team. And then one thing leads to another.
Unseen Academicals may be a parody on the phenomenon of European football (soccer), as well as a number of other things thrown in for good measure, but soccer fan or not, this book will give you many hours of joyous reading and barrels of laughs.
Mrs. Hellman resides in North Carolina with her husband and their three boys. She’s a professional copywriter and does book reviews as a hobby. Visit her web-site named after The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett, where you can order Unseen Academicals and all the other 36 novels in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.
Posted by Britt Hellman on March 7, 2010
The Wrecker is the second novel in a new Western series by “one of the greatest adventure novelists of our time” (imdb). It promises to become perhaps the most popular Clive Cussler series yet. Because, let’s face it, stories about the Wild West never lose their appeal to American (as well as International) audiences.
The main character of the of this new Clive Cussler series is a detective by the name of Isaac Bell, a fearless figure of physical prowess equaling James Bond who simultaneously possesses observational skills and powers of deduction rivaling Sherlock Holmes.
As an independently wealthy heir to a Boston banking family, Isaac Bell pursues his detective investigations with a fury born out of an obsession and passion for justice rather than the need to make a living.
Isaac Bell gets hired by the Southern Pacific Railroad Company to find and stop a saboteur known as “The Wrecker,” who has targeted Southern Pacific construction sites throughout the West. If the sabotage continues in the midst of pressing deadlines to finish work on a major new track, it could cost Southern Pacific its good standing with its lenders, and rapidly lead to bankruptcy.
Unbeknownst to all until the very end of the book, The Wrecker is a regular member of the inner circles of Southern Pacific Railroad president Osgood Hennessy, even courting the railroad baron’s “unspeakably beautiful” daughter Lillian. He’s a formidable adversary, perhaps as brilliant as Isaac Bell himself.
The agenda of the Wrecker is to seize control of the Southern Pacific Railroad through various dummy corporations he has put in place, which will help him capture the fallout from Southern Pacific’s impending bankruptcy. Not only that but it appears he plans to eventually to control the entire United States railroad system, the greatest source of billionaire wealth in America at the turn of the last century.
Notorious as an avid automobile enthusiast, one reason why Clive Cussler may have picked the early 1900′s as the setting for his new series may well have been to give him an opportunity to write about car chases in classic automobiles from the turn of the last century.
Featured in The Wrecker, we find the winner of the 1908 New York to Paris race, the 1907 Model 35 Thomas Flyer, as well as a Packard Grey Wolf, a turn of the century Rolls Royce, Isaac Bell’s Locomobile, and a Bugatti Type 41 Royale.
Although Clive Cussler may be best known for his love of diving and sea exploration, both through his fictional stories and non-fictional enterprises, he obviously also cherishes the rugged landscapes of the American West. Why else would he have chosen to live in the mountains of Colorado, as far from the sea as you can get in the United States?
Through The Wrecker, we get a glimpse of this other side of Cussler, the one that loves the arid mountainous landscapes of the American West. And it’s an enthusiasm that shines through with unmitigated contagiousness. The new Isaac Bell series may well help give birth to a whole new generation of Western enthusiasts, as well as spark great excitement in many old ones. With all due respect to the previous Clive Cussler series, his Isaac Bell stories may top them all.
Britt Hellman resides in Western North Carolina with her husband and three sons, working as a copywriter. She writes book review as a hobby. Visit her site to order The Wrecker, or the latest Dirk Pitt novel, Arctic Drift, Clive Cussler.
Posted by Britt Hellman on January 21, 2010
As usual, Clive Cussler stays right on top of current world events in his latest Dirk Pitt novel, Arctic Drift. This time, not surprisingly, the book set in the year 2011 revolves around the financial crisis and global warming.
The villain this time around is a Canadian billionaire named Mitchell Goyette who is publicly admired for his green industry empire. However, covertly he is heavily invested in the dirty oil and gas industries.
South of the Canadian border, the United States faces a financial crisis of unequaled of proportions, a crisis intensified by the looming boycott of the U.S. by the international community if the country does not cut its greenhouse gas emissions from coal burning and automobiles.
The American president in 2011, when the story takes place, plans to use natural gas from Canada to replace both coal and automobile gasoline, thereby killing two birds with one stone. The nation would make huge savings by cutting down on expensive oil imports, and simultaneously reduce greenhouse gas emissions by burning a cleaner fuel.
However, Goyette is in a perfect position to take advantage of the United State’s desperate gamble, and he does so without conscience. To the Canadian public, Goyette is an environmental hero who invests millions in wind power and carbon sequestration. Unbeknownst to the masses, he’s unscrupulously involved in every dirty industry that will make him more money, in particular the oil sands of Athabasca, Alberta, and the Melville natural gas fields of the Canadian Arctic, over which he has full control.
Promising the U.S. government a nearly unlimited supply of the Melville natural gas to help solve the American energy crisis, and consequently also the financial crisis brought on by soaring oil prices, Goyette underhandedly signs a secret deal with the Chinese to instead sell them the gas at 10% above market value, with no intention of keeping his word to the U.S.
(In reality, it seems a little farfetched that the American government would not have had an iron-clad, legally binding, written contract in place for a deal of this magnitude and importance. But it makes for a good story.)
Even so, the backstabbing of the United States as a business-partner is the least of Mitchell Goyette’s shenanigans. He also bribes high ranking Canadian officials, creates toxic waste that kills wildlife and people, pays to have property stolen or vandalized, and for his opposition to be assassinated.
What Goyette does not count on, of course, is Dirk Pitt, the hero of 20 Clive Cussler books, including this latest installment. In the end, good prevails over evil.
Arctic Drift is an excellent and seamless co-authorship between Clive Cussler and his son, Dirk Cussler. It is hard to tell the penmanship of one apart from the other throughout the book. Whatever sections Dirk Cussler wrote, he did an excellent job of adopting Clive’s inimitable style. (That’s an intentional oxymoron.)
Arctic Drift is a thrilling read in classic Clive Cussler style. You will not be disappointed. It may not be the edge-of-your-seat non-stop action from cover-to-cover as in some of the older Cussler works, but it’s still an exciting, intriguing and brilliantly written story that keeps your attention and makes you want to keep reading. The thugs are as smart as they are sinister, and the heroes as pure as Arctic ice.
Britt Hellman resides in North Carolina with her spouse and three children. She operates her own copywriting business from her house. Clive Cussler has been one of her favorite writers since reading his Trojan Odyssey in 2003. She writes reviews like this one on Arctic Drift for the fun of sharing that excitement.
Posted by Britt Hellman on January 1, 2010
New York Times bestselling author Clive Cussler launches a fifth parallel action series with the publication of Spartan Gold, co-authored by up and coming novelist Grant Blackwood.
The books of this new series are called “Fargo Adventures,” so named after the book’s heroes, married couple Sam and Remi Fargo.
After a few years of entrepreneurship early in life which made them a fortune, the Fargos have been able to devote their new lives to their main passion, archeological treasure hunting. And they generally let nothing and no one deter them from finding their prize.
The Fargo Adventures feature a new set of characters and a new approach in the form of archeological treasure hunting. (New in terms of being the main focus.) But as with any Cussler-novel, we can still expect a lot of the action to take place in and around water, as well as plenty of exotic cars, foods and drinks.
Through Spartan Gold we follow Sam and Remi Fargo as they pursue a trail of clues left behind by Napoleon Bonaparte on the back of wine-bottle labels from his lost wine cellar. Not only are the clues written as riddles but they are also in code, which they must first crack.
Of course there are also adversaries to be faced and dealt with. A former Soviet freedom fighter turned mafia billionaire sends his hired hooligans to interfere with the Fargos’ investigation, several times imperiling their very lives.
At the end of the trail await two ancient Greek statues of pure gold, which were looted from Greece by Persian conqueror Xerxes the Great. Bondaruk has discovered through genealogy research that he is a direct descendant of Xerxes, and believes the treasure is his rightful inheritance, never mind that is was stolen from Greece.
The riddles on the wine-bottles lead the Fargos and their adversaries from a WWII German submarine in the Great Pocomoke Swamp of Maryland to the Bahamas and through much of Europe including Monaco, Croatia, Italy, Germany, and Ukraine: not necessarily in that sequence.
Spartan Gold is a solid, action-filled treasure hunting novel in the spirit of The Da Vinci Code. It is also distinctly a Clive Cussler novel with all of what that entails. Another guaranteed New York Times bestseller, in other words.
Britt Hellman lives in Western North Carolina with her spouse and three children. She runs her own copywriting business out of her home. Clive Cussler has been long time favorite author. Visit her Cussler book site to order Spartan Gold or read her review of the most recent Dirk Pitt novel, Arctic Drift.
Posted by Nathan D. Clark on September 22, 2009
by Nathan D. Clark
Advice for writing suspense fiction books is something that is not exact. If you intend to write a suspense fiction book, and have a favorite author, then you may want advice that’s geared toward mimicking them to a degree. But when you look around, you find that many other authors offer different advice for laying down a good suspense fiction book. It’s in the eye of the beholder and can vary from person to person, and author to author.
If you look closely at your favorite author, and compare him/her with a few others, you’re going to find that creativity reveals itself in different ways in all of us. What you need to do is get a good basic idea of writing principles, and then fashion them into a style that belongs to only you, where you are able to let out your creative side, and it saturates the words that you put down.
Creativity is a different area of outlet for all people. Most creative people are affected by times and seasons. They have a bond with nature and the world and it’s workings that is unlike what others experience. They tend to notice things and have a different take on what they see. Creativity is the formation of the world is based upon. Rhythms, cycles, and forces drive the creative person and push them to find things within themselves that reflect what moves them in the outer world.
Creative people have intense moods that can be affected by weather or other people. Solitude doesn’t seem to bother them as much as it does others, because it’s here that they can tune in to their creative forces and find a unique kind of comfort there. They contemplate the creator, the long for something intriguing. Some will paint, some will build, and some will write. They must have an outlet for the feelings that swell up within them. So your writing should be a flow. You should learn to build the suspense, but also let yourself flow through your words.
For a lot of creative writers, ‘writing by the seat of their pants’, or ‘pantsing’, is their preferred method. This freewriting is simply done by forming an idea, jotting down a few notes, and taking off to wherever it lands you. You just ‘wing it’ until you finally have your first rough draft. It doesn’t have to be great as you’ll need to do some very heavy editing, but you’ll have the skeleton from which you can work.
This freewriting, of course, means that the first draft will be very rough indeed. From here comes the duty of hard editing. There will no doubt be many things that simply get thrown out, and new things added during this process. You’ll also be able to spot some things that you want to improve on and embellish. This first draft is in now wise intended to be a perfect example of what the finished work will be, but it’s a base to work from.
Once the rough draft is in place, and you’re tweaking it, you’re going to run into places where the ‘exposition’ may give you some trouble. Don’t be discouraged, this happens with seasoned veterans as well. You have to give some thought as to where to reveal the plot, and where to give sample information that will cause your readers to come to their own conclusions. It can be a bit tricky, but makes the reading great.
Advice for writing suspense fiction books can be found readily available if you go online and search it out. It’s a very involved process for some, and the different techniques that many successful authors use can take a lot of time to understand, and even more time to learn how to implement them into your writing style. Writing is one of the greatest creative outlets. So if you’re one of these creative people yearning to set your inner creativity free, try your hand at writing. It can be fun, adventurous, and very rewarding.
About the Author:
To find out more about Dennis W. Clark’s spellbinding
suspense fiction books, make sure to visit the author’s website at DennisClarkNovels.com
