Friday, March 2, 2007
Write Your Novel Step By Step (Part 3)
This is going to be the third excerpt on writing your novel. I am going to try and put these editions out as quickly as I can but that is only when time allows. I love writing and that is what I am doing all the time. Am I a good writer? I don’t know. What I do know is that I am getting to be a better writer with every word I put on paper and you too can become a good writer. To write your novel just follow these steps that I am laying out and at the end you will have something that at least you are proud of.
11. What You Know To Start
When you first start your book it’s important to write about things that you are familiar with. Places that you have lived at, worked at or just visited. Things that you know a little bit about. Maybe you work in the oil path so you want your story to be on a rig. Lastly maybe you know some interesting people that you could use some of their traits to build an exciting character.
12. Characters First
Since your characters are harder to develop you should work on them first. Remember your readers are going to want characters that come to life. Another thing is that your character can’t really change half way through the story. Look at your character kind of like a snowball. He starts off small and eventually becomes big. The plot could change in your story half way through but not your character.
13. Know Your Characters
When you’re done with this exercise you will know your characters intimately. Choose a couple of females, a couple of males and some kids and start building your characters. I use a loose leaf book and use one page per character. You want to build your characters traits. What do they look like? Are they fat, skinny, tall, short, what color are their hair and eyes? Maybe they are bald. Do they have hobbies? What do they like to eat? Are they normal or do they have a sick or sadistic side to them? It doesn’t matter if these are main characters or small part characters. By giving them a life of their own it will help your readers relate to them.
14. Formula
You are going to want to build yourself some sort of formula for a story. Let’s say your writing about a fictional serial killer. You’re going to want to decide how many people he will kill. Will these people be female or male? Will he kill during the day or night? What happens if you run into problems with your story? For me when I was writing my serial killer novel and I ran into a road block I just killed someone else. By that time I was usually past my road block.
15. Plot And Characters
Now that you have your characters built you can start building your plot around them. You already know what you want to write about but you have to make sure that your characters and plot don’t go in the opposite direction. The characters and plot have to move to the ultimate finish together.
Okay this is the end of my second lesson on my step by step series on how to write a novel. Remember not everyone is going to write the perfect novel but at the end of the day if you keep following these steps I guarantee no matter what you will have something that you are proud of.
Dale Mazurek
Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ And lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://www.7dayebook.com/?hop=stcajo orhttp://stcajo.profitlan.hop.clickbank.net You can also contact him at stcajo2011@yahoo for any info on his writing or products.
In writing my novel I learnt a lot of things the hard way so I just wanted to put this series out there for would be writers to help them on their path to writing their own book.
11. What You Know To Start
When you first start your book it’s important to write about things that you are familiar with. Places that you have lived at, worked at or just visited. Things that you know a little bit about. Maybe you work in the oil path so you want your story to be on a rig. Lastly maybe you know some interesting people that you could use some of their traits to build an exciting character.
12. Characters First
Since your characters are harder to develop you should work on them first. Remember your readers are going to want characters that come to life. Another thing is that your character can’t really change half way through the story. Look at your character kind of like a snowball. He starts off small and eventually becomes big. The plot could change in your story half way through but not your character.
13. Know Your Characters
When you’re done with this exercise you will know your characters intimately. Choose a couple of females, a couple of males and some kids and start building your characters. I use a loose leaf book and use one page per character. You want to build your characters traits. What do they look like? Are they fat, skinny, tall, short, what color are their hair and eyes? Maybe they are bald. Do they have hobbies? What do they like to eat? Are they normal or do they have a sick or sadistic side to them? It doesn’t matter if these are main characters or small part characters. By giving them a life of their own it will help your readers relate to them.
14. Formula
You are going to want to build yourself some sort of formula for a story. Let’s say your writing about a fictional serial killer. You’re going to want to decide how many people he will kill. Will these people be female or male? Will he kill during the day or night? What happens if you run into problems with your story? For me when I was writing my serial killer novel and I ran into a road block I just killed someone else. By that time I was usually past my road block.
15. Plot And Characters
Now that you have your characters built you can start building your plot around them. You already know what you want to write about but you have to make sure that your characters and plot don’t go in the opposite direction. The characters and plot have to move to the ultimate finish together.
Okay this is the end of my second lesson on my step by step series on how to write a novel. Remember not everyone is going to write the perfect novel but at the end of the day if you keep following these steps I guarantee no matter what you will have something that you are proud of.
Dale Mazurek
Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ And lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://www.7dayebook.com/?hop=stcajo orhttp://stcajo.profitlan.hop.clickbank.net You can also contact him at stcajo2011@yahoo for any info on his writing or products.
In writing my novel I learnt a lot of things the hard way so I just wanted to put this series out there for would be writers to help them on their path to writing their own book.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Find It If You Can
It was a typical Saturday night in Bradonville. A town of about 5000 people but 60 percent of them being senior citizens, 25 percent adults and the rest being children under 18. So what was there to do on a Saturday night for two underage teenagers? Well one option is to go find a bush party somewhere but Jake and Dallas didn’t feel like partying so they would go with option B for the night. That option was to drive around and try to not get into too much trouble even though they planned on pushing the limits. The boys actually had a plan and the more they talked about it the more they laughed.
The boys were in Jakes 89 Dodge Ram. Even though old the truck was perfectly kept and maintained. The night was still young and Jake and Dallas were just driving around looking at stuff. Women or other teenage girls were what they were mostly looking at. You have to understand in a small town like this pretty much every body knows everybody else. It was definitely a quiet night in Bradonville.
At around ten o’clock their first opportunity came up to have some fun. They pulled up behind a police car at one of the two sets of lights in town. The boys decided to have some fun with this. When the light turned green the boys followed the cop car. They stayed a safe distance behind and didn’t do anything illegal. The boys could tell that the cop was getting frustrated. He started taking some pretty tricky routes but some how the boys managed to keep up to the cop. Finally the cop turned on his flashers signaling for the boys to stop. They did and waited for the cop to walk over to the truck. Of course he questioned them on their tactics. The boys said they were just trying to have some Saturday night fun. The cop was actually pretty nice. He explained that what they were doing wasn’t illegal but rather annoying. He asked the boys to stop. They didn’t want to push their luck so they agreed.
About two hours later the boys came across their second opportunity to raise a little hell with out getting into trouble. They were driving around and heard through the grapevine that there was a stop check by the Homesteader Hotel. They stopped at the 7-11 and bought some glasses and orange juice and out it on the seat between them. So now the boys headed towards the check stop but before reaching it they took a little detour. The boys went down a side road and stopped at the rail way tracks, got out of the truck for a minute and then got back in and headed towards the check stop. As the boys were driving through an officer waved them in to be checked. He shone the light in and saw the juice and glasses but it was also pretty obvious that the boys hadn’t been drinking. The cop did ask them why they stopped at the tracks because you could see them from the check stop. They only replied that they had to go to the washroom. So he told them to move on.
The first thing the boys did was to drive back to the tracks. They got out of the truck again for a few seconds and then headed down the hiway. It wasn’t even 2 minutes when they saw flashers behind them. They were being pulled over. This was actually what they had expected to happen. So Jake and Dallas pulled over and waited. It was actually pretty exciting because it wasn’t just one cop but rather two cop cars were pulling them over. Of course all the questions came up especially the one asking them what they needed the orange juice and glasses for. All they told the cops was that it was for drinking. Well the next two hours was spent sitting in the ditch while the cops went through the truck with a fine tooth comb and of course they didn’t find anything. The guys did notice that the cops were annoyed but they just thought it was hilarious. The cops told them they were free to go but they also warned them to be careful.
The rest of the night wasn’t without its events either. By the time Jake and Dallas went home for the night they had been pulled over a total of seven times and got no tickets. They did however annoy a lot of cops and were even accused of wasting tax payer’s money by playing their little games. The next weekend they decided not to press their luck and went back to going out to the bush parties. However they would always remember that Saturday night as one of the best Saturdays ever.
Dale Mazurek
Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ And lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://www.7dayebook.com/?hop=stcajo orhttp://stcajo.profitlan.hop.clickbank.net You can also contact him at stcajo2011@yahoo for any info on his writing or products.
The boys were in Jakes 89 Dodge Ram. Even though old the truck was perfectly kept and maintained. The night was still young and Jake and Dallas were just driving around looking at stuff. Women or other teenage girls were what they were mostly looking at. You have to understand in a small town like this pretty much every body knows everybody else. It was definitely a quiet night in Bradonville.
At around ten o’clock their first opportunity came up to have some fun. They pulled up behind a police car at one of the two sets of lights in town. The boys decided to have some fun with this. When the light turned green the boys followed the cop car. They stayed a safe distance behind and didn’t do anything illegal. The boys could tell that the cop was getting frustrated. He started taking some pretty tricky routes but some how the boys managed to keep up to the cop. Finally the cop turned on his flashers signaling for the boys to stop. They did and waited for the cop to walk over to the truck. Of course he questioned them on their tactics. The boys said they were just trying to have some Saturday night fun. The cop was actually pretty nice. He explained that what they were doing wasn’t illegal but rather annoying. He asked the boys to stop. They didn’t want to push their luck so they agreed.
About two hours later the boys came across their second opportunity to raise a little hell with out getting into trouble. They were driving around and heard through the grapevine that there was a stop check by the Homesteader Hotel. They stopped at the 7-11 and bought some glasses and orange juice and out it on the seat between them. So now the boys headed towards the check stop but before reaching it they took a little detour. The boys went down a side road and stopped at the rail way tracks, got out of the truck for a minute and then got back in and headed towards the check stop. As the boys were driving through an officer waved them in to be checked. He shone the light in and saw the juice and glasses but it was also pretty obvious that the boys hadn’t been drinking. The cop did ask them why they stopped at the tracks because you could see them from the check stop. They only replied that they had to go to the washroom. So he told them to move on.
The first thing the boys did was to drive back to the tracks. They got out of the truck again for a few seconds and then headed down the hiway. It wasn’t even 2 minutes when they saw flashers behind them. They were being pulled over. This was actually what they had expected to happen. So Jake and Dallas pulled over and waited. It was actually pretty exciting because it wasn’t just one cop but rather two cop cars were pulling them over. Of course all the questions came up especially the one asking them what they needed the orange juice and glasses for. All they told the cops was that it was for drinking. Well the next two hours was spent sitting in the ditch while the cops went through the truck with a fine tooth comb and of course they didn’t find anything. The guys did notice that the cops were annoyed but they just thought it was hilarious. The cops told them they were free to go but they also warned them to be careful.
The rest of the night wasn’t without its events either. By the time Jake and Dallas went home for the night they had been pulled over a total of seven times and got no tickets. They did however annoy a lot of cops and were even accused of wasting tax payer’s money by playing their little games. The next weekend they decided not to press their luck and went back to going out to the bush parties. However they would always remember that Saturday night as one of the best Saturdays ever.
Dale Mazurek
Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ And lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://www.7dayebook.com/?hop=stcajo orhttp://stcajo.profitlan.hop.clickbank.net You can also contact him at stcajo2011@yahoo for any info on his writing or products.
Write Your Novel Step By Step (Part 2)
This is going to be the second excerpt on writing your novel. I am going to try and put these editions out as quickly as I can but that is only when time allows. I love writing and that is what I am doing all the time. Am I a good writer? I don’t know. What I do know is that I am getting to be a better writer with every word I put on paper and you too can become a good writer. To write your novel just follow these steps that I am laying out and at the end you will have something that at least you are proud of.
6. Map Your Story
Take one of your favorite novels and analyze it. Tear it apart piece by piece. See what the author did to achieve his success. Make notes and make blue prints. If you have an office then pin them up in there if you don’t then pin them up where ever you’re going to be writing your novel. You can then go back and use this author’s ways as a stepping stone.
7. Think Small
Way too many first time writers think they are going to write the end of the world novel. Your story can be small and focused and it will be just as successful. Make sure what ever you are writing about has meaning to you. If you relate that on paper then the people that are reading it will get the same meaning out of it.
8. Be Original
Even though your blue print might be from another author try some things your self. Remember this blue print is just a guide. It can be easily swayed from or changed. Keep trying different things until you find the thing that works for you. You might be surprised at what you come up with.
9. It Doesn’t Matter If It Belongs, Write It
Just write. If it doesn’t look like it belongs there then so what. Pin that up in your office to. You obviously had a reason for writing it and it may fit somewhere else in your book. And on the off chance it never makes it in to your story than so what maybe it will make it in to the next one. What I am saying is don’t throw stuff away.
10. You Don’t Have To Know To Love
While we are still on the subject of picking a topic for your book I want you to be able to differentiate over something. To write a book you don’t have to be an expert. You have to love what you are writing about. The expertise comes in the form of research. Remember passion will get your words out better than knowing. You’re writing a novel not a technical book. You may be in enthralled with WW1 but know nothing about it. That’s great because you will do some research, learn and write a pasionate novel.
Okay this is the end of my second lesson on my step by step series on how to write a novel. Remember not everyone is going to write the perfect novel but at the end of the day if you keep following these steps I guarantee no matter what you will have something that you are proud of.
Dale Mazurek
Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ And lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://www.7dayebook.com/?hop=stcajo orhttp://stcajo.profitlan.hop.clickbank.net You can also contact him at stcajo2011@yahoo for any info on his writing or products.
In writing my novel I learnt a lot of things the hard way so I just wanted to put this series out there for would be writers to help them on their path to writing their own book.
6. Map Your Story
Take one of your favorite novels and analyze it. Tear it apart piece by piece. See what the author did to achieve his success. Make notes and make blue prints. If you have an office then pin them up in there if you don’t then pin them up where ever you’re going to be writing your novel. You can then go back and use this author’s ways as a stepping stone.
7. Think Small
Way too many first time writers think they are going to write the end of the world novel. Your story can be small and focused and it will be just as successful. Make sure what ever you are writing about has meaning to you. If you relate that on paper then the people that are reading it will get the same meaning out of it.
8. Be Original
Even though your blue print might be from another author try some things your self. Remember this blue print is just a guide. It can be easily swayed from or changed. Keep trying different things until you find the thing that works for you. You might be surprised at what you come up with.
9. It Doesn’t Matter If It Belongs, Write It
Just write. If it doesn’t look like it belongs there then so what. Pin that up in your office to. You obviously had a reason for writing it and it may fit somewhere else in your book. And on the off chance it never makes it in to your story than so what maybe it will make it in to the next one. What I am saying is don’t throw stuff away.
10. You Don’t Have To Know To Love
While we are still on the subject of picking a topic for your book I want you to be able to differentiate over something. To write a book you don’t have to be an expert. You have to love what you are writing about. The expertise comes in the form of research. Remember passion will get your words out better than knowing. You’re writing a novel not a technical book. You may be in enthralled with WW1 but know nothing about it. That’s great because you will do some research, learn and write a pasionate novel.
Okay this is the end of my second lesson on my step by step series on how to write a novel. Remember not everyone is going to write the perfect novel but at the end of the day if you keep following these steps I guarantee no matter what you will have something that you are proud of.
Dale Mazurek
Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ And lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://www.7dayebook.com/?hop=stcajo orhttp://stcajo.profitlan.hop.clickbank.net You can also contact him at stcajo2011@yahoo for any info on his writing or products.
In writing my novel I learnt a lot of things the hard way so I just wanted to put this series out there for would be writers to help them on their path to writing their own book.
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