onewildword

Nov 1

Hook readers with these first-page techniques

Before you can reel readers into your story world, you have to hook them with your first page. I find inspiration from reading other writers and seeing how they created a compelling beginning.

Here are a few concepts to consider as you craft your beginning with examples from three authors.

Narrative and character attitude. Imagine you walk into a room and you’re engaging with people and observing the feeling of the place. Are the people angry, happy, tired, or sarcastic? Like rooms full of people, stories have a narrative and a character attitude or feeling. Readers will sense the attitude of your story in the first few pages and will notice at some level the characters’ and narrator’s emotional spin or attitude about their world. Check your first page to see what attitude your words project. Read more

Oct 31

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How to tame the beast called plot

In honor of Halloween, I thought I’d write about plot. The word plot used to scare me more than the time I was ten years old and my cousin dragged me to the local haunted house our little town hosted for Halloween.

I screamed my head off (cliches are okay at Halloween when the veil between good and bad prose is thinnest)—monsters lurching out of the dark, re-enactments of beheadings and hangings, cobwebs tangling in my hair, but when a hand reached out and grabbed my ankle in that dark hallway, I let loose a blood-curdling scream that would make the director of “Saw” proud. (Not that I would ever see said movie). I nearly trampled all the people in line in front of me to get out of there. I’ve never been in a haunted house since. To this day, I still shiver when somebody mentions haunted house and Halloween in the same breath.

But I digress…. Notice, I said the word plot used to scare me. That was before I started reading James Scott Bell’s Plot & Structure.As a newbie to writing fiction, I’d get confused about the word plot—what does it mean exactly? It sounds like some exotic species of plant that needs to be cared for in an exact, specific way or all will be lost. Read more

Oct 28

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Exercises in memoir: finding your story

We all have a story to tell. Some of us have several. So how do you discover your real story? In memoir, it’s important to sift through the events of your life to discover what’s important.

Below are a few exercises that helped me find the core of my story:

Set your timer for 15 minutes and write 10 sentences that begin with the words, “I remember….” The sentences don’t have to be related, just write, try not to think too much, just let the words flow. When you’re done, read through your list and see if there’s anything that stands out or feels the most honest. Usually, these lines appear later in the list. Read more

Oct 27

Discover the benefits of failure and the magic of imagination

Has fear of failure ever stopped you from pursuing your creative passion?
Find out how rock bottom became the solid foundation on which J.K. Rowling built her life. Rowling spoke at Harvard University’s commencement in 2008.

Oct 26

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Three tips to writing multi-dimensional villains

At the Surrey International Writers’ Conference this year, I attended a workshop by author Wendy Roberts on how to create a great villain. Judging by her popular Ghost Dusters series, I’d say what she does works. Below are some of Wendy’s tips, mixed in with several of my own.

Books, of course, can have more than one villain (bad guy) but should really have only one main antagonist (the baddest bad guy).

1. Know your antagonist. Most of us spend more time developing our protagonist then our antagonist. But we should know our villain as well as, or even better than, our hero. We have to know our antagonist inside and out. To help with this, I ask myself questions. What makes them tick? What in their childhood or past set them on their path? What drives them? Greed? Revenge? Drugs? What do they want out of life? What makes them feel good? What makes them feel bad? Dig deep and find your villain’s motives. But don’t stop there. Read more

Oct 25

Place readers in your story world by noting significant details

One of the best things about reading a gripping book is the way it pulls you into another world where you become so immersed it’s as if you’re really there. One way to draw readers into your story is by using what writer and teacher John Gardner called “significant details.”

Before he died at age 49, Gardner wrote more than thirty works of fiction and nonfiction, including novels, literary criticism, and a book of poetry. He also wrote three successful children’s books, among them “Dragon, Dragon, and Other Tales,” which was named Outstanding Book for Children by the New York Times. Gardner was also a professor of medieval literature and creative writing.

In his book, The Art of Fiction, Gardner wrote, Read more

Oct 24

How to use poetry to better your writing

At the Surrey International Writers’ Conference this last weekend, I received the honorable mention award for poetry in their annual writing contest. It was an incredible honor and an exciting, inspiring conference. Later this week, I’ll share some of my personal highlights from the weekend—including a few tips I learned from author Diana Gabaldon on writing sex scenes and author Wendy Roberts on what makes a good villain.

In honor of my poetry award, below are three previous posts about ways to use poetry to better your writing:

Two exercises to help you write poetically

Four ways to stimulate creativity and cure the writing blahs

Three ways to feed your muse: hunting down inspiration

If you have other ways you use poetry to better your writing, please share!