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    Begin Writing Fiction
    Begin Writing Fiction
    Begin Writing Fiction
    Ebook65 pages1 hour

    Begin Writing Fiction

    By Shruti Chandra

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    About this ebook

    Tools can help a writer to convert ideas into a brilliant story. Many first-time writers get themselves stuck in the middle of a story, not knowing how to take the story forward. To complete writing a brilliant story with real characters and setting, know the essential elements of fiction writing.

    This book provides you with comprehensive knowledge and skill building in every aspect of fiction writing so that you can create memorable characters, real story worlds, and an engaging plot without running into potholes.

    Once you get a grasp of these elements, you can explore and experiment, and maybe come up with a masterpiece!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNibiruki Books
    Release dateJan 9, 2014
    ISBN9781310123078
    Begin Writing Fiction
    Author

    Shruti Chandra

    Shruti Chandra is the author of The Return to Beginnings, a novel. She has also authored many non-fiction books on fiction writing. She distributes her time between her reading, her daughter, and her writing.

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      Book preview

      Begin Writing Fiction - Shruti Chandra

      Table of Contents

      Chapter 1 - How to Create Powerful Characters

      Chapter 2 - Get a Gripping Plot

      Chapter 3 - What Comes First? Character or Plot

      Chapter 4 - Find Your Way to Brilliant Narration

      Chapter 5 - Point of View

      Chapter 6 - Setting

      Chapter 7 - Writing Dialogues

      Chapter 8 - Use and Misuse of Clichés

      Chapter 9 - What’s Your Style?

      Chapter 10 - Improving Prose through Editing

      Chapter 11 - Planning and Organizing

      Copyright © Nibiruki Books

      All rights reserved. The information published in this book is for the personal use of the reader and may not be incorporated in any commercial activity. Making copies of the information in full or any portion thereof for purposes other than own use is a violation of the copyright law.

      CHAPTER 1

      HOW TO CREATE POWERFUL CHARACTERS

      Characters make a story what people make the world. Powerful characters seem real, sometimes so real that you remember them as real people. How do great writers create such characters?

      Your characters must be real to you if they are to be real to your readers. The more time you spend with them, the better you will know them. Spending time with imaginary people is difficult. Therefore, we have techniques that help discover characteristics of characters that are relevant for building powerful characters. Along with imagination, you also need a purpose because getting lost in irrelevancies is easy without markers. A smart trick is to ask your characters questions based on the demands of your story. Get them to answer. Listen to them spell it out. That will reveal to you their personality and their role in your story. Asking targeted questions keeps you safe from inconsequential details and helps you discover important details about your characters.

      Background Building of Major Characters

      A character must have a history, even if you do not include it in your story. The questions below will provide you with the biographical information of your characters, including facts that will help you build the personality of your characters:

      In what circumstances was s/he born?

      What do her/his parents do professionally?

      Does s/he have siblings?

      What three adjectives would you use to describe her/his childhood personality? (shy, talkative, naughty, stubborn, angry, depressive, lonely, aggressive, bold, friendly, caring, cruel, detached, dull, playful, secretive, investigative, sad)

      What were the financial conditions in which s/he was brought up?

      How did society and culture affect her/his growing up?

      How is the relationship between her/his parents?

      How is her/his relationship with her/his father and mother?

      How much formal education did s/he receive, if any?

      How her birth affected her family? (financially, socially and in interpersonal relationship between family members)

      How did s/he look as a child?

      Develop your characters from childhood to adulthood. It doesn’t matter which part of their lives you will include in your story. It is essential that you know about the past of every major character of your book. Believe me, it will show in your story. When I spend less time with a character, I know readers will notice it. What I learnt when I tried to take the short cut is, you can’t!

      Visualization - Another technique to create a 3-D, round character is visualization. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Visualize your character’s, especially your protagonist’s childhood in your mind. See the color of her hair, the expression on her face, hear her voice, see her walk, talk, play, scream, cry. See her talk to other characters (only those with whom she will converse in the book). See her in relation to those characters. See how other characters behave with her.

      Creating images in your mind instead of thinking about it in words is a must for every fiction writer. Do not transfer your thoughts onto

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