Nah, this is an interesting writing group I heard from a
friend. When I joined them, after the moderator approved my
membership(oops, yes, you have to submit one or two of your
works as sample, better if it had been published somewhere,
in a book or printted circulation like magazine or
newspaper) the system automatically sent me files. Not only
welcoming, it included some tips wrriten neatly in easy
language. One of enlightening articles i ever read. You can
read one of them below, and if find it useful and you want
to get more, join your self at mdpublishing groups
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Just to get you primed and ready for writing, here are a few
tips:
Whatever you are writing (and this applies to
non-imaginative writing as well),
you MUST (absolutely must) have:
1. A BEGINNING
2. A MIDDLE
3. AN END
Sounds logical, doesn't it? But you'd be astounded at the
number of people who ignore this simple principle of
writing.
In imaginative writing,
you BEGIN by introducing your character/s,
setting the scene (in place, time and atmosphere)
and establishing the main story line.
In the MIDDLE you place a couple of obstacles in the path of
your characters - a problem or difficulty that has to be
overcome. This builds tension and maintains interest as well
as allowing you the chance to reveal more about your
characters and their strengths and weaknesses. You then
build to a climax of the action.
The END involves tying together any loose ends - if you've
introduced something like a mysterious car driving past at
different times, then you must explain its significance
before you finish - if it has no significance, then leave it
out! You can have a twist at the end of your writing, but
don't make it too complicated or far-fetched and please
(please, please) DON'T have your character wake up and find
it was all a dream ...Aargh!
The key to success in imaginative and dramatic writing is to
write about things you know and understand. Stay on familiar
ground and you stay out of trouble.
Many people make the mistake of thinking that good writing
has to have masses of drama (these are the same people who
think that good acting is LOUD acting). You only have to
cast your mind over some of the more woeful offerings on the
telly to understand how prevalent this is.
You know the sort of thing - a typical day in a typical
suburban street: a mugging, an attempted suicide, a
long-lost parent returns and wreaks havoc in the lives of
his/her long-lost family, the lovers discover that they're
really brother and sister the day before they're due to be
married, the drive-by shooting, the old duffer on the corner
reveals that he's really an eccentric millionaire and little
Johnny discovers aliens in the refrigerator ...
You don't need all that nonsense.
The best writing deals with subjects and events that we can
all relate to and understand. That's not to say that you
shouldn't attempt science-fiction, thrillers, action stories
and romance writing. Just keep one foot firmly on the ground
(or your tongue firmly in your cheek). There's a difference
between the improbable, the impossible and the
you've-got-to-be-joking.
Remember that the aim of this form of writing is to
entertain and to amuse - but that doesn't mean that you want
your audience to be falling about laughing at you.
If you're tackling a novel or any extended piece of writing,
you must take steps to keep track of your:
Characters
Scenes
Plot twists
There's nothing worse than getting to the end of a novel and
wondering why the writer introduced that scene in the
mountains; or what ever happened to that fellow who was
hanging around outside the heroine's bayside cottage at the
beginning of the story or just what was the significance of
that necklace which played such a major role in the dispute
between the two main characters in chapter five ...
You owe it to your readers to tie up all the loose ends - if
we wanted loose ends, we'd just observe our own lives! We
read novels because we like that satisfying feeling that,
yes, it does all fit together; there really is method in all
the madness.
It can be very difficult to keep all the loose ends under
your control when writing a novel - especially if you're
writing it over a prolonged period.
The best way to keep track of events is to invest in some A3
paper. Turn the paper side on, so that it spreads out like a
banner, sideways. You can tape several sheets together to
make a long strip. Now you can begin plotting your novel.
Start at the beginning and write down the date you have in
mind for the start of the events in your novel.
Write this at the top left-hand corner of your paper and
highlight it. Each time you change the time-frame, write the
date above the events, at the top of the paper, and
highlight it in the same colour.
Divide your paper into sections and keep one section for
each main element of the novel
Character
Plot
Setting
For example, you already have the time-frame at the top of
your paper, so you could have the top third of each page for
characters; the middle section for plot development and the
bottom of each page for changes in setting.
Any plot twists need to be highlighted in a different colour
or circled I boxed or whatever - just do something which
will draw them to your attention, so that you don't forget
about them.
As you unravel each plot twist, you can go back to where you
first introduced it and cross it out to show that you have
dealt with it. That way, you can easily check that all loose
ends are tied together, because it will be immediately
obvious if a particular event hasn't been crossed out.
Don't try to cram too much onto each page - the whole point
of this process is to give you plenty of room to change your
ideas without the problem of numerous pieces of loose paper.
You have plenty of paper at your disposal - so roll out a
separate page for each separate idea. You can then add new
ideas as they occur to you, cross out bits that don't work,
write little reminders to yourself (have a special colour
for these reminders, so that they stand out - or circle them
in a special way) and initial them as you deal with them.
Don't separate the pages either - keep them together, so
that events stay in order (it's a good idea to doubly
safeguard your system by numbering your pages - just in case
they're accidentally torn).
You'll find that there's no substitute for being able to see
everything set out like this. When you come back to your
opus after a time away from it, you can simply unroll your
paper and have an immediate overview of plot development,
characters and so on.
And it's especially effective if you can literally unroll
the whole lot in order to get this overview - so try to find
a big room - a hallway is often the only space suitable once
you get under way. Never mind, your family and friends will
soon become accustomed to the sight of you crawling up and
down the hallway, muttering to yourself and scribbling on
tatty bits of paper ...
OK - now you don't have any excuse. So pick up that box of
colouring-in pencils, grab your paper and start scribbling.
Yesterday I was reading how a person had scaled the panda enclosure of at a zoo in China. He just felt compelled to give the panda a hug. The startled panda bit the man.
I hope he's ok. The panda, that is.
Just heard that DJ, Mark Leishman's dog (and co-star of our microshow The Pet Project) has passed away. The series is still running on Breakfast TV. Does that make DJ something like Heath Ledger?
Pic via Dan Pink
