Dear friends,
Today blog Wonderworld is going to feature a very special book on fiction writing skills for authors. This book talks about some extremely valuable suggestions and insights on how to write an interesting and successful fiction novel. The book is titled FICTION WRITING by author Karleene Morrow who is an ace fiction novel author and has quite a few award winning books to her credit.
Her fiction novel DESTINIES was a semi-finalist in Kindle's Best Indie Books of 2012 and is in competition now in another major contest.
More on the book and the author in this special edition!
Fiction Writing - How to write your first novel Author Karleene Morrow
When creating the character in your reader’s eye, it will be tempting to write something like, “She was exceptionally tall for a woman, close to six feet. She was thin with long fingers and had red hair. Her eyes were hazel and more oval than round. She had a long slender nose and full lips. She was a cautious, non-trusting type.” Sad to say many writers fall into this easy method of describing a character. A better and more effective way is to flesh out the character as the storyline progresses. Have someone else notice or comment on her height. A waitress could stare at her red hair. The character’s own actions and dialogue can let us know that she does not trust people. Develop her as the story moves forward.
Remind yourself, too, that less is more. Readers bring their own experiences to a novel. The writer can be minimal in his descriptions of a character. The reader will fill in what the writer leaves out and readers will visualize your story people. Interestingly, they won’t all see her the same.
NAMES
While writing Destinies, I was well into the character of the ship captain’s daughter but she wasn’t moving along well for me. I figured out that she was wearing the wrong name. When I changed her name she came alive. After that, whenever she was in a scene, she spoke naturally, acted in accordance with who she was. She played her part and I became the scribe, capturing what she did and said.
If a difficult great-aunt is named Jennifer, she isn’t going to feel right to your readers and she won’t feel right to you, either. You probably won’t find her easy to write. But change her name to Hortense or even Cordelia and watch her start to take on a life. A sweet, scatterbrained great-auntie named Gertie will most likely have you smiling as you allow her to play her part with hands that flutter around blue hair while she gives off the scents of talcum powder and old lace.
A word of warning: avoid giving your people sound alike names. You don’t want your female characters to be named Betty, Barbara, Beth, Bonnie and Bernadette. If you read The Brothers Karamazov you probably remember, with agony, the challenge of keeping all the characters straight. Think carefully, too, before you tag your characters with names from highly read books, current or past. It’s difficult to give your characters personalities of their own if you use names like Hermione, Hamlet, Scarlet or Spock.
Today blog Wonderworld is going to feature a very special book on fiction writing skills for authors. This book talks about some extremely valuable suggestions and insights on how to write an interesting and successful fiction novel. The book is titled FICTION WRITING by author Karleene Morrow who is an ace fiction novel author and has quite a few award winning books to her credit.
Her fiction novel DESTINIES was a semi-finalist in Kindle's Best Indie Books of 2012 and is in competition now in another major contest.
From the author's desk (about the book FICTION WRITING) : "This is a
no-nonsense, easy-to-read book packed with the nitty-gritty of creative
writing; a cut-to-the-chase work that will become your fiction writing bible."
More on the book and the author in this special edition!
Fiction Writing - How to write your first novel Author Karleene Morrow
Connect with author Karleene Morrow
Author website : http://www.karleenemorrow.com/
Author Facebook Page : https://www.facebook.com/KarleeneMorrowAuthor
Follow the author on Twitter : https://twitter.com/KarleeneMorrow
Author Goodreads Page : http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5165062.Karleene_Morrow
Author Bio : KARLEENE MORROW is the
author of the impressive historical fiction novel, DESTINIES. In that epic tale, Catherine seizes the crown of Russia
and a thousand miles away a Rhineland boy’s life changes forever. Ms. Morrow
holds a B.S. Honors degree, Sociology and an M.S. in Ed Psychology. She lives
at the beach in the Pacific Northwest with her Pomeranian dogs, some of them
champions, all of them beloved family companions.
Book Spotlight
Ebook : FICTION WRITING : How To Write Your First Novel
Author : Karleene Morrow
Genre : Non fiction, Creative Writing Techniques
Reviews : multiple 5 stars
Amazon Store (Paperback) : http://www.amazon.com/Fiction-Writing-Write-First-Novel/dp/1480298859
Amazon Store (Kindle) : http://www.amazon.com/Fiction-Writing-Write-First-ebook/dp/B00ANXW1EW
Kobo bookstore : http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Fiction-Writing-How-Write-Your/book-IAJGWf3zYEmkXaQPfAlmXA/page1.html
This book is also available at Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Sony EReader Store, Apple iTune store and many other online book stores!
Synopsis : Wasting no words, the author quickly takes you to the Secrets of writing your first novel, Prologues, Beginning, Middles and Endings, Developing your Style, Writing Memorable characters, Suspense and Foreshadow, Ending your novel and Dealing with Writers Block. She also offers a few words on Rewriting and Publishing.
Author : Karleene Morrow
Genre : Non fiction, Creative Writing Techniques
Reviews : multiple 5 stars
Amazon Store (Paperback) : http://www.amazon.com/Fiction-Writing-Write-First-Novel/dp/1480298859
Amazon Store (Kindle) : http://www.amazon.com/Fiction-Writing-Write-First-ebook/dp/B00ANXW1EW
Kobo bookstore : http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Fiction-Writing-How-Write-Your/book-IAJGWf3zYEmkXaQPfAlmXA/page1.html
This book is also available at Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Sony EReader Store, Apple iTune store and many other online book stores!
Synopsis : Wasting no words, the author quickly takes you to the Secrets of writing your first novel, Prologues, Beginning, Middles and Endings, Developing your Style, Writing Memorable characters, Suspense and Foreshadow, Ending your novel and Dealing with Writers Block. She also offers a few words on Rewriting and Publishing.
Chapter Excerpt
Where to start? When a character appears in a novel, we, as
writers, must get into that character’s head. We must become him, at least
while he is on stage. If there are twenty characters then we’ll have to slip
into the persona of each of them. Be the fiancée while she is in the scene,
think like she does, speak as she would. Be the gardener. Be the neighbor.
When creating the character in your reader’s eye, it will be tempting to write something like, “She was exceptionally tall for a woman, close to six feet. She was thin with long fingers and had red hair. Her eyes were hazel and more oval than round. She had a long slender nose and full lips. She was a cautious, non-trusting type.” Sad to say many writers fall into this easy method of describing a character. A better and more effective way is to flesh out the character as the storyline progresses. Have someone else notice or comment on her height. A waitress could stare at her red hair. The character’s own actions and dialogue can let us know that she does not trust people. Develop her as the story moves forward.
Remind yourself, too, that less is more. Readers bring their own experiences to a novel. The writer can be minimal in his descriptions of a character. The reader will fill in what the writer leaves out and readers will visualize your story people. Interestingly, they won’t all see her the same.
NAMES
Give your characters tags and traits or at least give them
to your major characters. We’ve briefly discussed giving your characters names
and they’re all going to need one. Maybe not a shopkeeper referred to briefly
in the book as ‘the shopkeeper,’ but the rest of them will. You may not know
right off what name is right for a particular character even your protagonist.
If you feel you have given him the wrong name, you can refer to him by his role
or his temperament, such as “Don’t make it your business,” Grumpy said, or
Protagonist said or Builder said. At some point you are either going to feel
the right name, your character will tell you his name or you’ll go on a Google
search looking for a name that will suit him.
While writing Destinies, I was well into the character of the ship captain’s daughter but she wasn’t moving along well for me. I figured out that she was wearing the wrong name. When I changed her name she came alive. After that, whenever she was in a scene, she spoke naturally, acted in accordance with who she was. She played her part and I became the scribe, capturing what she did and said.
If a difficult great-aunt is named Jennifer, she isn’t going to feel right to your readers and she won’t feel right to you, either. You probably won’t find her easy to write. But change her name to Hortense or even Cordelia and watch her start to take on a life. A sweet, scatterbrained great-auntie named Gertie will most likely have you smiling as you allow her to play her part with hands that flutter around blue hair while she gives off the scents of talcum powder and old lace.
A word of warning: avoid giving your people sound alike names. You don’t want your female characters to be named Betty, Barbara, Beth, Bonnie and Bernadette. If you read The Brothers Karamazov you probably remember, with agony, the challenge of keeping all the characters straight. Think carefully, too, before you tag your characters with names from highly read books, current or past. It’s difficult to give your characters personalities of their own if you use names like Hermione, Hamlet, Scarlet or Spock.
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