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
Thursday, February 05, 2009
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.
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