This article will show you some tips on how to write a better fantasy novel. If you’ve never written a book before, don’t think that it is too daunting of a task. On the other hand you should know that the best way to finish writing a book is to keep at it every day, and once started don’t stop until it’s done. Here are some ideas that should help you stay on track with writing your fantasy novel.
1. Make sure you know the world you are writing about.
This is one of the first places that people get strung up. You need to know what your fantasy world is like. If you can’t describe what the vegetation and trees are like in your world, you will have a hard time crafting a story that is very lifelike.
A good way to go about this is to take the time to think about your fantasy world. What is the landscape like there? What sort of creatures inhabit it? Are there any extremely different terrain features from the real world that would help make this world stand out? Think about yourself as a world builder when you are writing your fantasy novel.
2. What political factions are there?
A great way to bring more intrigue and plot lines into your fantasy story is to introduce opposing political or religious factions. Some questions to ask are: Who is the ruler of the land? Do people like him/her? Are there people who want to rule the land? What is the relation of this country to that of the other countries surrounding it?
3. Know your characters.
Often in writing text there is the section regarding the characters of the book. They often want you to write a character sketch of the person. This often doesn’t work that well for every writer. In some cases it is better to get a few chapters under your belt and see how the characters react to situations. Then go back and make notes about your characters.
In a fantasy novel, there are plenty of times where the characters have varying physical or mental qualities that are not found in the real world. This sort of attribute needs to be well thought out in order for it to become convincing to the reader. A good course of action is to have a hindrance added to a special quality that would seem to give the character an advantage over others in the story. This lends to the character being a bit more believable and is a great opportunity to add sub-plots into the story.
4. Magic
If you have any sort of magic system introduced to your fantasy world you need to do your homework here. First, think about the magic system and how it affects the world and how it affects the individual. Here are a few questions to ask yourself when introducing magic into your fantasy writing.
What are the qualities of the magic system? Can anyone have magical abilities? What about animals and humanoids? How does the average person in the world react to magic?
5. Read the classics.
It is a great idea to have read the classics before venturing out and writing your own fantasy novel. The biggest reason for this, is that you will know what sort of things have written about in the past and it will save you from becoming a poor repeat. In addition, by reading the works of those such as Tolkien, Wiess & Hickman, and more, you will come to appreciate just how tightly woven the characters and world come together and how they react with and against each other.
Writing a fantasy novel has its great advantages- you can make anything up- however, you have to be more calculated with your writing to make it believable. Click on the link provided to learn more on how to better your writing
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Five Steps To A Tighter Plot
For most people, writing isn’t really that hard. However, writing a novel and coming up with a believable plot is something else entirely. It often amazes me how people who have never written much of anything before, can think that they should be able to just sit down and write. Just because someone knows how to take medicine for a headache doesn’t mean that they should assume that they can now be a doctor. Both professions take time to learn.
It’s possible to learn how to write a novel, and even a great novel, if you are willing to put in the time and hard work. This is where Five Steps to a Tighter Plot, will be able to help you. But remember, the two most important aspects to becoming a published writer, is to read a lot and to write a lot. Every novelist will tell you this; there is no shortcut.
Step One: Think about the villain first. It’s often easier to think about what the bad guy is going to do before thinking about the protagonist. When coming up with a tight plot, there has to be the element of risk and by thinking about the risk and dangers first will make it easier to develop the plot.
Step Two: Brainstorming the plot is crucial before writing anything. Think about anything and everything that you can, no matter how ridiculous you may think it is. Often, a nugget of a great idea can be found in the most insane ideas.
Step Three: Once you have as many ideas as you can think of for the plotline, weed out the ones that aren’t going anywhere. You will be able to tell this by the plot line ideas that don’t stimulate other ideas. They just sort of lie there on the screen or paper and lack any sort of creative imagery. Put those to the side for now, so when you are making up your plot you can look back to any of these discarded ideas to help further develop your plot, if they happen to mesh well, or a little, with what you have so far.
Step Four: Detail the plot ideas that you’ve created. Think about what sort of ramifications are going to come from the bad guy doing this or that. How will that affect the main character and those he or she cares about? What would be even worse? Take that thought and twist it even more to make your plot tighter and more compelling than before.
Step Five: Now this is where you start to think about your main character. They are usually going to react to any situation. Think about it, they are going along through life without a care in the world until a problem or danger present themselves. Without this crucial element to the designing of plot, you don’t have much of a story. This is where you’re going to plug in your protagonist and start to strengthen the plot and tighten the plot to make sure that the whole novel is as concise, compelling, and page turning as possible.
It’s possible to learn how to write a novel, and even a great novel, if you are willing to put in the time and hard work. This is where Five Steps to a Tighter Plot, will be able to help you. But remember, the two most important aspects to becoming a published writer, is to read a lot and to write a lot. Every novelist will tell you this; there is no shortcut.
Step One: Think about the villain first. It’s often easier to think about what the bad guy is going to do before thinking about the protagonist. When coming up with a tight plot, there has to be the element of risk and by thinking about the risk and dangers first will make it easier to develop the plot.
Step Two: Brainstorming the plot is crucial before writing anything. Think about anything and everything that you can, no matter how ridiculous you may think it is. Often, a nugget of a great idea can be found in the most insane ideas.
Step Three: Once you have as many ideas as you can think of for the plotline, weed out the ones that aren’t going anywhere. You will be able to tell this by the plot line ideas that don’t stimulate other ideas. They just sort of lie there on the screen or paper and lack any sort of creative imagery. Put those to the side for now, so when you are making up your plot you can look back to any of these discarded ideas to help further develop your plot, if they happen to mesh well, or a little, with what you have so far.
Step Four: Detail the plot ideas that you’ve created. Think about what sort of ramifications are going to come from the bad guy doing this or that. How will that affect the main character and those he or she cares about? What would be even worse? Take that thought and twist it even more to make your plot tighter and more compelling than before.
Step Five: Now this is where you start to think about your main character. They are usually going to react to any situation. Think about it, they are going along through life without a care in the world until a problem or danger present themselves. Without this crucial element to the designing of plot, you don’t have much of a story. This is where you’re going to plug in your protagonist and start to strengthen the plot and tighten the plot to make sure that the whole novel is as concise, compelling, and page turning as possible.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Book of Mengel
Below I'm going to put my query letter that I've been sending out to agents. I'm doing this for two reasons. 1. I want others to see what a query letter looks like. I'm not saying this is the only way to write a query letter, but it has recieved interest from agents. 2. If you're interested in reading the book, you can buy it for $5.00 USD from paypal and will be sent to your inbox right away.
So here we go:
An Orc army, five thousand strong, is on the war path. Their target: the Moorland Wizards Castle. The army will arrive in seven days.
The headmaster of the Moorland Wizards, Beltharius, detects the marching army several days out from the castle. He knows it’s futile fighting such a large army on their own and suspects that he knows of the one person who might be able to prevent the total massacre of the wizards. Thus he sends Kendra Filligree, the lost love of Tavis Brantin, to lure him back to the castle.
Tavis is bitter over being forced to leave the castle nine years earlier and vows never to return. Only now, the woman he loved has re-entered his life and is asking him to return to the castle. Reluctantly, not wanting to lose Kendra again, he returns to the castle with her, unaware that he is being used to help the fate of the Wizards.
Tavis is unknowingly the descendant of the greatest Druid to ever walk the land. The headmaster knows that a druid’s power over nature is a massive power, the likes no wizard could ever hope to attain, and Tavis would be the sword edge the wizards need to clash with and destroy their enemy. He has only to decipher the Book of Mengel to channel the druidic powers he needs.
Tavis is able to read the Book of Mengel, thus learning how to control nature and its power, while slowly transforming into the New Druid. In his studies, Tavis also learns more about himself, and the imbalance of man and nature, yet struggles with helping the Moorland Wizards or turning his back and leaving them to fate for banning him years earlier.
So here we go:
An Orc army, five thousand strong, is on the war path. Their target: the Moorland Wizards Castle. The army will arrive in seven days.
The headmaster of the Moorland Wizards, Beltharius, detects the marching army several days out from the castle. He knows it’s futile fighting such a large army on their own and suspects that he knows of the one person who might be able to prevent the total massacre of the wizards. Thus he sends Kendra Filligree, the lost love of Tavis Brantin, to lure him back to the castle.
Tavis is bitter over being forced to leave the castle nine years earlier and vows never to return. Only now, the woman he loved has re-entered his life and is asking him to return to the castle. Reluctantly, not wanting to lose Kendra again, he returns to the castle with her, unaware that he is being used to help the fate of the Wizards.
Tavis is unknowingly the descendant of the greatest Druid to ever walk the land. The headmaster knows that a druid’s power over nature is a massive power, the likes no wizard could ever hope to attain, and Tavis would be the sword edge the wizards need to clash with and destroy their enemy. He has only to decipher the Book of Mengel to channel the druidic powers he needs.
Tavis is able to read the Book of Mengel, thus learning how to control nature and its power, while slowly transforming into the New Druid. In his studies, Tavis also learns more about himself, and the imbalance of man and nature, yet struggles with helping the Moorland Wizards or turning his back and leaving them to fate for banning him years earlier.
Writing for money...fund the fiction writing!
Are you tired of making little or no money online? Are you disappointed every day when you check your affiliate sales? Do you know how Internet Guru's make really big money? 1) They have their own products. 2) They have their own affiliate programs in which hundreds of other Internet marketers sell products for them. 3) They use specialized marketing techniques that only a small percentage of the Internet population know about. A brand new ebook shows you all of the above and more! You'll discover two methods to develop an ebook without writing a single word! You'll learn two techniques to create an ebook absolutely FREE! You'll get detailed step-by-step instructions on putting together your own affiliate program! Using these affiliate methods, you can begin to accumulate affiliates in as little as 24 hours. You'll discover how to put your affiliate program into OVER-DRIVE and really crank it up! You'll learn the specialized marketing techniques that Internet Guru's use to generate 5 and even 6 figure incomes in a month! You get all this and much, much more! Start making money online, get it now at: https://paydotcom.com/r/26735/miderno/22804597/ To your success, Matt
Once again...getting back to it!
So once again, I'm getting back down to it. I know...I know. It's been awhile and I haven't written a thing. Well, I've got good reason. (At least I think so). I've been putting the finishing touches on my fantasy book and then spent weeks working on the query letter to get it just right.
And an agent is interested in my book. I'm waiting to hear back from them, but they said my query sounded very interesting and they would like to take a look at the first three chapters. Of course, I was thrilled to hear this. It's not everyday that I get the attention of an agent.
So now that I'm on to working on a new book and waiting to hear back, I have time again to devote to my experiences with writing and how I go about this whacky process. I've learned a few things since finishing my book and I plan on sharing them soon.
In the meantime, if you have specific questions about the writing process, leave a comment and I will answer with how I go about this or that. Thanks for reading and keep on writing!
And an agent is interested in my book. I'm waiting to hear back from them, but they said my query sounded very interesting and they would like to take a look at the first three chapters. Of course, I was thrilled to hear this. It's not everyday that I get the attention of an agent.
So now that I'm on to working on a new book and waiting to hear back, I have time again to devote to my experiences with writing and how I go about this whacky process. I've learned a few things since finishing my book and I plan on sharing them soon.
In the meantime, if you have specific questions about the writing process, leave a comment and I will answer with how I go about this or that. Thanks for reading and keep on writing!
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Create your own ebooks and make money now.
I just finished reading a great book on how to create and market your own ebooks. It is geared more towards those that are looking to either make a little extra income online, or those who really want to start up an internet business...but they both have one thing in commen-you should like to write.
I loved this and thought it might be worth sharing here. I'm probably going to give it a shot. Heck, I might even make it a goal that I will write down and shoot to finish a first draft of by the end of the month. Maybe I will start bringing in an income with this ebook product that's all my own. How fun!
You can find out more info here if you're interested. Click Here
I loved this and thought it might be worth sharing here. I'm probably going to give it a shot. Heck, I might even make it a goal that I will write down and shoot to finish a first draft of by the end of the month. Maybe I will start bringing in an income with this ebook product that's all my own. How fun!
You can find out more info here if you're interested. Click Here
Creating a Plot for a Novel
There really is no magical way that authors come up with their plots. To be sure, they all have their way of plotting their novels, but no one way is the right way. The right way is what works for you. That's easy enough to say though. But what if you don't know what your way of plotting a novel is yet? Here are a few things that I do for short stories and novels.
First, I would start brainstorming scenes that I would want to write. This will get the juices flowing and get me thinking about different aspects of the story. For example, say I'm writing a story about a detective who is looking for a murderer. I'm going to start writing on paper, which is how I do my best thinking, scenes that I'm excited about now. This would be roughly one to two sentences. Nothing elaborate here in my notes, just something that I will remember for when I'm ready to start working on the outline.
So I have my detective and he is in an alley. He sees a few kids, probably dealing drugs. What does he do? Is he the type that wouldn't be concerned with this since it isn't his main priority right now, or would he nab the kids to teach them a lesson?
See how thinking through scenes lends to asking questions. It can be questions concerning the characters, the world that they live in, the motivations for those involved in the story and it could lead to other scenes and ideas for the overall plot of the story.
Okay, so now you have some scenes, but scenes alone don't make a plot. What's next?
Second, is looping all these scenes together, and you may find that after developing so many scenes that some are better then others, or they take off in a direction that wasn't necessarily where you had planned to go. This is okay. Go with it for now. This time is all about brainstorming and coming up with ideas for scenes and plots; you just never know where the next idea is going to come from so don't stiffle yourself.
If after you have created a bunch of scenes and you still haven't figured out a strong plot, then put it down for awhile. I find that my subconsious will actually do a lot of the work for me when I'm off doing something else. I know...it sounds a little cliched to do this, but trust me it will work.
Try working on a different project. If your brainstorming this idea do something unrelated like editing a different story. In time, something will spark in your imagination that will give you the 'Aha!' moment that you have been waiting for that will tie your whole novel together.
Good luck on plotting your novel and I hope this blog helped.
First, I would start brainstorming scenes that I would want to write. This will get the juices flowing and get me thinking about different aspects of the story. For example, say I'm writing a story about a detective who is looking for a murderer. I'm going to start writing on paper, which is how I do my best thinking, scenes that I'm excited about now. This would be roughly one to two sentences. Nothing elaborate here in my notes, just something that I will remember for when I'm ready to start working on the outline.
So I have my detective and he is in an alley. He sees a few kids, probably dealing drugs. What does he do? Is he the type that wouldn't be concerned with this since it isn't his main priority right now, or would he nab the kids to teach them a lesson?
See how thinking through scenes lends to asking questions. It can be questions concerning the characters, the world that they live in, the motivations for those involved in the story and it could lead to other scenes and ideas for the overall plot of the story.
Okay, so now you have some scenes, but scenes alone don't make a plot. What's next?
Second, is looping all these scenes together, and you may find that after developing so many scenes that some are better then others, or they take off in a direction that wasn't necessarily where you had planned to go. This is okay. Go with it for now. This time is all about brainstorming and coming up with ideas for scenes and plots; you just never know where the next idea is going to come from so don't stiffle yourself.
If after you have created a bunch of scenes and you still haven't figured out a strong plot, then put it down for awhile. I find that my subconsious will actually do a lot of the work for me when I'm off doing something else. I know...it sounds a little cliched to do this, but trust me it will work.
Try working on a different project. If your brainstorming this idea do something unrelated like editing a different story. In time, something will spark in your imagination that will give you the 'Aha!' moment that you have been waiting for that will tie your whole novel together.
Good luck on plotting your novel and I hope this blog helped.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
New Year and Lots of Writing To Get Done
It's been a long time since I've updated this blog. Sorry about that to those who have read this in the past. I had been busy working on several fiction short stories and a fantasy book that is just about finished. It's taken the better part of three years to get the book right, and it is a long...long book.
I hope to be able to provide more information here about writing in various areas such as web writing, fiction, non-fiction, and short stories. I've had experience in all these areas and make money online from the web writing, non-fiction and short stories. Hopefully soon, I will be able to add 'Novelist' to this list.
Stay tuned. In the next few days there will be new info added at least one a week.
Cheers and get back to writing!
I hope to be able to provide more information here about writing in various areas such as web writing, fiction, non-fiction, and short stories. I've had experience in all these areas and make money online from the web writing, non-fiction and short stories. Hopefully soon, I will be able to add 'Novelist' to this list.
Stay tuned. In the next few days there will be new info added at least one a week.
Cheers and get back to writing!
Sold Out
I am proud to say that the Making Money Online book is now sold out. Sorry to those who missed out. More books and pdf's on writing are soon to follow.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Writing online-yes you can make money!
If you've ever dreamed of making money from your writing you are in luck.
Like no other time is it easier to make money from your writing then now.
This twenty four page book instructs you on everything you need to know to start making money online from your writing. It includes:
Setting up your paypal account so you can receive payments.
How to write articles, ebooks, and reports.
How to make money by posting on blogs.
Blogging your way to big bucks.
Where to find the writing jobs now and start writing today.
How to make enough money to write from home full time.
How to improve your writing so you can charge more.
And a lot more! It's all inclusive and covers everything step by step so that the beginner can start earning money the first day and also has tips that the seasoned veterans may not have thought of.
If you want to start making a living at home, writing is the fastest way to do it.
If you want to make extra money from your writing, you can start making money today.
Buy this book now. It's $10 and secure through paypal. You will be able to download it immediately and start writing, and making money online now!
Like no other time is it easier to make money from your writing then now.
This twenty four page book instructs you on everything you need to know to start making money online from your writing. It includes:
Setting up your paypal account so you can receive payments.
How to write articles, ebooks, and reports.
How to make money by posting on blogs.
Blogging your way to big bucks.
Where to find the writing jobs now and start writing today.
How to make enough money to write from home full time.
How to improve your writing so you can charge more.
And a lot more! It's all inclusive and covers everything step by step so that the beginner can start earning money the first day and also has tips that the seasoned veterans may not have thought of.
If you want to start making a living at home, writing is the fastest way to do it.
If you want to make extra money from your writing, you can start making money today.
Buy this book now. It's $10 and secure through paypal. You will be able to download it immediately and start writing, and making money online now!
How to spark creativity
Do you remember the last time you had that great idea?
In a flash, you had the whole story laid out in front of you and your mind's eye.
But now you're looking at a new story and not sure where to go. Below are a few ideas on how to get started with a new story in how to spark your creativity for writing a new short story where the beginnings of a new novel.
Try jotting down ideas on a piece of paper. This is similar to what some people call mind mapping. Start in the center of the paper with one idea, usually a sentence. Draw a circle around that one sentence and start brainstorming ideas off of that. Draw lines from the first idea to the second idea, see how they relate. Possibly, there will be offshoots of your first or second circle. This is great! This is what you want. You want to have many ideas related to each other. Some of these ideas may be the main storyline for your story, while others will be subplots for the story. And some of those ideas will go off on tangents and might not be good for the story and save them anyway, you might need them later for a different story.
In a flash, you had the whole story laid out in front of you and your mind's eye.
But now you're looking at a new story and not sure where to go. Below are a few ideas on how to get started with a new story in how to spark your creativity for writing a new short story where the beginnings of a new novel.
Try jotting down ideas on a piece of paper. This is similar to what some people call mind mapping. Start in the center of the paper with one idea, usually a sentence. Draw a circle around that one sentence and start brainstorming ideas off of that. Draw lines from the first idea to the second idea, see how they relate. Possibly, there will be offshoots of your first or second circle. This is great! This is what you want. You want to have many ideas related to each other. Some of these ideas may be the main storyline for your story, while others will be subplots for the story. And some of those ideas will go off on tangents and might not be good for the story and save them anyway, you might need them later for a different story.
Many writers take a drive to clear their minds. They may take a mini recorder with them while driving as the silence and the scenes spur creativity.
Some writers like to sit in coffee shops and observe others which gives some great insight into characters and will give them great ideas for a character driven story.
The most important thing to remember here is that you may have to take a step away from your computer or your journal and get outside of your normal thinking patterns to come up with great stories.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
How to write through the middle of your book
For many people, starting and ending a novel is the easier part of writing. That is, if there really is an easy part to writing a novel! However, the middle of the book is where things start to bog down for many writers. I know I have had my share of slogging through the marshy wetlands of the second act.
So how do you get through writing the middle of your book?
I think it all boils down to having a good idea of what the story is about. If you have a solid story line, you should be able to work from that. Think about the character motivations, which should follow along with the story line. Then expand out from there.
What you are trying to achieve here are smaller sub plots to fill in the gaps when the main story line is slogging down and you don't know where to go with it quite yet. Here are a few things to think about.
What does character x want out of life?
What is their main passion?
Do they want to improve something in their life?
Aside from the main story line, what does x want to achieve within the context of this story.
As you can see, having a healthy idea of what and who your character is all about will benefit you greatly when trying to come up with sub plots.
To sum up: When the story seems to slow down, shift gears and punch it up with a sub plot. Just be sure to tie up this sub plot somewhere before the end of the book.
Be sure to check out this program where you will get an ebook on how to write sell and promote your book showing online places that review your book for free, 14 places to submit your book to win awards, 17 ebook directories that will send readers to your website, put two more free ebooks. Click Here to get jump start your novel writing career.
So how do you get through writing the middle of your book?
I think it all boils down to having a good idea of what the story is about. If you have a solid story line, you should be able to work from that. Think about the character motivations, which should follow along with the story line. Then expand out from there.
What you are trying to achieve here are smaller sub plots to fill in the gaps when the main story line is slogging down and you don't know where to go with it quite yet. Here are a few things to think about.
What does character x want out of life?
What is their main passion?
Do they want to improve something in their life?
Aside from the main story line, what does x want to achieve within the context of this story.
As you can see, having a healthy idea of what and who your character is all about will benefit you greatly when trying to come up with sub plots.
To sum up: When the story seems to slow down, shift gears and punch it up with a sub plot. Just be sure to tie up this sub plot somewhere before the end of the book.
Be sure to check out this program where you will get an ebook on how to write sell and promote your book showing online places that review your book for free, 14 places to submit your book to win awards, 17 ebook directories that will send readers to your website, put two more free ebooks. Click Here to get jump start your novel writing career.
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