When we are writing in English, we need to be students of the language. And The words we use in our everyday speech do not compare to the plethora of words available to a writer. Dr. Seuss wrote a book using just fifty different words (Green Eggs and Ham), so obviously we can write using very few - but how many words are there?
research into the subject found all kinds of data, but basically I think we can agree that English consists of hundreds of thousands of words (maybe 1 million) but the spoken language used every day by most people consists of about 40,000 words. So to be a fluent speaker you do not need to know hundreds of thousands of words. That's good news - but what about writers?
Walk. I type in that single verb on my computer and right-click for synonyms and get 8 excellent suggestions. If I'm not happy with those 8, I can click on the Thesaurus for even more. Now when I write a romance fiction I will not be happy to have my character walk home at night, but she will saunter, stroll, amble, or march home; depending on her mood of course. And in my science fiction novel my male lead will stride, pace, or hike to the next mission. Adding some variety to our verbs can really help the reader to ascertain mood without having to tell them that our character was in that mood. I am firmly against spoon-feeding the reader.
Maybe this is a free book, posted online for readers to find free fiction. There is a lot of competition and many of them are spoon-feeding their readers. Be different! They want to read a novel online, they will appreciate the effort you made to use a dictionary or a thesaurus. Fiction is a chance to escape reality, but does not have to be mindless. The man marched to the door and flung it open, he expected to find his wife there with his brother and was ready for anything...except the truth! Isn't the verb "march" better than "walk" here? The girl stepped out of the bar and toddled to her car, not a care in the world. Don't use the word walk in your romance novel, it just doesn't belong.
Sometimes I worry that writers of fiction are concerned about breaking their "groove" and don't want to interrupt a thought - that is valid. A dictionary and a thesaurus can be used when you are proof-reading the passage later. If you are typing away and don't want to stop - don't! Even if you can't think of the word you want, just type in the idea in [brackets] and keep writing. We want you to put words on paper, we want you to be a writer and contribute to Literature in general, so don't stop writing to look anything up if you don't absolutely have to. But do not neglect the importance of going back and re-reading this work with the intention of making it better. Change adjectives and verbs - that's where a dictionary and a thesaurus will really come in handy.
Look at your favourite novels and see what words the author used, you will see that he has done a great job of indicating mood with his verbs and adjectives. Popular books have teams of people researching these types of details, and if you are planning to post your book online for people to read free, you may be alone. Online reading can get you followers and constructive criticism.
Showing posts with label science fiction novel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science fiction novel. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Research
Doing research is an important part in writing any interesting novel, even if it is fiction. It is vital that the story be researched so that people reading the novel get a feeling of where they are and what the surroundings are like - setting.
Research is the careful search of information about a particular matter. It is necessary to take time to read about a subject you want to write about. It also involves interviewing people who may have a great knowledge or have studied in a certain field to help you get an expert opinion. When writing fiction we may argue that details and facts are not important; yet if we want the reader to feel like our story is believable, then getting our facts straight is important. Especially if we are writing about a specific period of time. It would be beneficial to research what people wore for clothing, what their transportation would have been or the housing types and amenities (ie: electricity, running water, etc).
If we consider what we want to achieve in our novel our research can help us to get to the conclusion with a nice flow. It may be necessary to explain further details to make a matter clear. Even if you think that the basic facts give sufficient explanation, expanding on certain details may be beneficial for convincing your readers. This is true if you are writing a science fiction novel for example. Some laws of science are better understood if given a little more explanation. The story may be fiction, but laws of gravity and matter normally have to be consistent. And when we are creating names it is good to keep a record of what each item does, so that as you write you don't add or take away from your plot.
When our readers see that we have taken the time to write about clear details this will keep them invested and they will want to keep reading. To help us with keeping our details straight, it can be helpful to do drawings of what you think a room would look like. Then as you write you can look at your drawing and bring it life with your words. To make sure that the room is accurate to the time you are writing, do a little searching online or at your local library. Would they have had electricity? No, then dark shadows from candlelight can add a nice edge to your novel. Details about fabric can also help your readers to imagine the clothing people would wear, the linens on a bed or the heaviness of curtains. Read some romance fiction and focus on these details as you read - many writers of this genre are excellent descriptive writers.
The more details you find in your research the more prepared you will be. You do not need to add every detail to your novel yet doing this in depth research will make sure you have got it right. You will not be second guessing but can write with focus, and your novel should flow wonderfully. Great literature is created every day, maybe you will create the next great novel. Do your research and read other works. Lots of free fiction is available online, pay attention to how other writers write.
Doing great research can make a huge difference.
Research is the careful search of information about a particular matter. It is necessary to take time to read about a subject you want to write about. It also involves interviewing people who may have a great knowledge or have studied in a certain field to help you get an expert opinion. When writing fiction we may argue that details and facts are not important; yet if we want the reader to feel like our story is believable, then getting our facts straight is important. Especially if we are writing about a specific period of time. It would be beneficial to research what people wore for clothing, what their transportation would have been or the housing types and amenities (ie: electricity, running water, etc).
If we consider what we want to achieve in our novel our research can help us to get to the conclusion with a nice flow. It may be necessary to explain further details to make a matter clear. Even if you think that the basic facts give sufficient explanation, expanding on certain details may be beneficial for convincing your readers. This is true if you are writing a science fiction novel for example. Some laws of science are better understood if given a little more explanation. The story may be fiction, but laws of gravity and matter normally have to be consistent. And when we are creating names it is good to keep a record of what each item does, so that as you write you don't add or take away from your plot.
When our readers see that we have taken the time to write about clear details this will keep them invested and they will want to keep reading. To help us with keeping our details straight, it can be helpful to do drawings of what you think a room would look like. Then as you write you can look at your drawing and bring it life with your words. To make sure that the room is accurate to the time you are writing, do a little searching online or at your local library. Would they have had electricity? No, then dark shadows from candlelight can add a nice edge to your novel. Details about fabric can also help your readers to imagine the clothing people would wear, the linens on a bed or the heaviness of curtains. Read some romance fiction and focus on these details as you read - many writers of this genre are excellent descriptive writers.
The more details you find in your research the more prepared you will be. You do not need to add every detail to your novel yet doing this in depth research will make sure you have got it right. You will not be second guessing but can write with focus, and your novel should flow wonderfully. Great literature is created every day, maybe you will create the next great novel. Do your research and read other works. Lots of free fiction is available online, pay attention to how other writers write.
Doing great research can make a huge difference.
Monday, October 9, 2017
How, When, Where and What?
Writers face so many questions when they consider the possibility of writing. How do I find readers for my work? Where can I write so that readers can find me? When do I stop being a writer and start becoming an author? And of course the big one; what do I write about?
Let's answer these one at a time.
Where can you write? Well the internet is a crazy thing, and today there are so many places that new writers can write, that it is easy to feel like your audience may never find you. Twenty years ago, if you wanted someone to read something you wrote, you either got it in a newspaper or had a book printed. The options were much more limiting and this made the work of writing the biggest challenge. Today the biggest challenge is finding a platform that allows you to write what you want to write, and then matching this work with the people who will want to see it. Unfortunately these people have to dig through millions of other works and sources to be matched up with your work.
Well for fiction literature, the job has been made a little easier with the launch of the Ficfun website (ficfun.com). Let's face it, if you have in mind the idea to write a science fiction novel, or a romance novel, or some clever mystery you have the chance today to have an audience exposed to your work immediately. What's more, you don't have to have the book completed before posting it, you can post a chapter at a time. You could never do that with a paper book!
You can also post on blogs and Facebook, and you cold start your own website - there are so many places you could post your next literary idea. The trick is to consider who will be exposed to your work; so find a place that readers have already gathered.
That actually answered two questions, finding readers for your work will be easier if you post on a popular website; and for beginners it is possible for that to be completely free. Don't pay to find readers, get some free exposure first and maybe some constructive criticism along with it.
When will you stop being a writer and start being an author? Well that is a tricky question. I was writing in high school and have continued writing ever since. I have not had one complete idea yet; my novel ideas do not get finished so I don't think I am an author. To be perfectly honest, this is another reason that I like ficfun.com. The ability to post one chapter at a time is so much less intimidating, but on the flip side it does put just enough pressure on me to actually keep those posts coming. I have people reading the first five chapters so I had better get the sixth one done! What a great idea that was to read novels online. No app to download!
Final question: what do I write? This one has no answer that I can give you. I believe there is an amazing story inside of each of us. Yours might be science fiction and mine might be a great romance novel. The hard part is getting that story out and working on it. I don't think you or I will simply sit down and type a masterpiece; I think we will type out a great story and then somebody who is much smarter than us will help us to fix the parts that need fixing. I think a great novel is the result of many people doing a lot of great work - but that work starts with some normal person writing a story. So figure out what your story is. Write it down and get some criticism. I might read your novel online and you might read mine. And maybe, just maybe.....something great will come of it. Then we will no longer be a writer, we will be an author.
Let's answer these one at a time.
Where can you write? Well the internet is a crazy thing, and today there are so many places that new writers can write, that it is easy to feel like your audience may never find you. Twenty years ago, if you wanted someone to read something you wrote, you either got it in a newspaper or had a book printed. The options were much more limiting and this made the work of writing the biggest challenge. Today the biggest challenge is finding a platform that allows you to write what you want to write, and then matching this work with the people who will want to see it. Unfortunately these people have to dig through millions of other works and sources to be matched up with your work.
Well for fiction literature, the job has been made a little easier with the launch of the Ficfun website (ficfun.com). Let's face it, if you have in mind the idea to write a science fiction novel, or a romance novel, or some clever mystery you have the chance today to have an audience exposed to your work immediately. What's more, you don't have to have the book completed before posting it, you can post a chapter at a time. You could never do that with a paper book!
You can also post on blogs and Facebook, and you cold start your own website - there are so many places you could post your next literary idea. The trick is to consider who will be exposed to your work; so find a place that readers have already gathered.
That actually answered two questions, finding readers for your work will be easier if you post on a popular website; and for beginners it is possible for that to be completely free. Don't pay to find readers, get some free exposure first and maybe some constructive criticism along with it.
When will you stop being a writer and start being an author? Well that is a tricky question. I was writing in high school and have continued writing ever since. I have not had one complete idea yet; my novel ideas do not get finished so I don't think I am an author. To be perfectly honest, this is another reason that I like ficfun.com. The ability to post one chapter at a time is so much less intimidating, but on the flip side it does put just enough pressure on me to actually keep those posts coming. I have people reading the first five chapters so I had better get the sixth one done! What a great idea that was to read novels online. No app to download!
Final question: what do I write? This one has no answer that I can give you. I believe there is an amazing story inside of each of us. Yours might be science fiction and mine might be a great romance novel. The hard part is getting that story out and working on it. I don't think you or I will simply sit down and type a masterpiece; I think we will type out a great story and then somebody who is much smarter than us will help us to fix the parts that need fixing. I think a great novel is the result of many people doing a lot of great work - but that work starts with some normal person writing a story. So figure out what your story is. Write it down and get some criticism. I might read your novel online and you might read mine. And maybe, just maybe.....something great will come of it. Then we will no longer be a writer, we will be an author.
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