Fiction technique
Fiction technique is a set of rules for writers who want to write quality fiction for novels, novellas, or short stories. They were developed through trial and error by fiction writers throughout history, including authors from ancient Greece. Some rules are rigid, whereas others are flexible. It is the astute writer who endeavors to master fiction writing that will know which rules to adhere and which to break.
This is a work in progress and is a HOW TO manual on developing good fiction writing skills. It should not contain content for "How to get an agent", "How to submit a manuscript", "How to get out of the slushpile", "Negotiating contracts", "Dealing with rejection", or English grammar advice. Those don't describe how to write good fiction. The following is a suggested outline of the planned article structure. This comment should be removed once the sections are fleshed out.
| Contents |
The 3 Acts
- The Greek play
- Beginning, Middle, End
Character Development
- Protagonist(s): the hero(es)
- Antagonist(s): the villian(s)
- Three, two, and one dimensional characters
- Supporting characters
- Developing character biography and back story
Plot Development
- Conflict and turmoil
- The opening scene: getting to the conflict quickly
- Showing versus telling
- Narrative and exposition
- Weaving back story
- Plants and how to use them unobstrusively
- The basic plots (there are fewer than 25 original plots)
- Which comes first? The character or the plot.
- Secondary plots
Climax and Plot Conclusion
- The reader expects closure: satisfying the reader
- The rise and climax of conflict
- When to quit
Setting and Scene
- Where, when, who
- Scene as the driver of plot
- Beats
- How to arrange and order scenes
- Keeping the story moving and keeping the reader interested
- Alternation of fast action and slow action
- What scenes are needed, which are useless
Dialogue
- Showing through dialogue
- Revealing back story through dialogue (and making it sound natural)
- Interior monologue
Self Editing
- Less is more and eliminating redundancy and useless words
- Eliminating errors and rooting out plot mistakes
- The overuse of adverbs (the -ly kind) to substitute for weak prose
- Speaker attributions
- _____, he said. Not ____, said he.
- Limiting descriptions on attributions _____, he groaned. ______, she cried. _____, they beckoned. etc
- Adverbs and attributions
- Paragraphing
- The cliche and hackneyed
- Deus Ex Machina
Mastering Fiction
- Getting organized
- Writing an outline or synopsis
- Using index cards
- Research: locale, history, people, customs, etc
- Writing as habit
- Ideas
- Allusion
- Metaphore
- Theme
- Prose as art
- Rhythm, word selection, sentence and paragraph length, variation
- Reading (and imitating) the works of the great authors
Writer's Block
- Techniques to break through
1. Write down anything that comes to mind. Try to draw ideas from what has been written.
2. Take a break from writing.
3. Read other peoples' writing to get ideas.
4. Ask others if they have any ideas.
5. Write with the screen off, it limits your inclination to edit as you write.
Resources for Fiction Writers
- Web
- Books on writing
- Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, by Renni Brown and Dave King, technique
- Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft, by Janet Burroway, technique
- The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers, by John Gardner, technique</u>
- Writing Down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg, <i>inspirational
- On Writing, by Stephen King, inspirational
- Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott, inspirational
- Writing to Sell, by Scott Meredith, technique
- The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr., technique
- Guide to Ficting Writing, by Phyllis A. Whitney, technique with some inspiraton
- Magazines
- Newsletters
- The public library
- Software
- Word processers
- Story generators
- Writing classes
- Groups
- Paying for professional advice
Recommended Reading List
- A list of masterful works you should strive to learn from.
- Novels
- The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane
- The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway
- Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
- Devil in a Blue Dress, by Walter Mosley
- The Lord of the Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien
- Short stories
- Famous Authors