All Write - Fiction Advice

In part 1 we looked at three of the various ways a story can sag in the middle, what is commonly referred to as the ‘mid story crisis’, things like running out of steam, not knowing what goes in the middle section and the characters running out of things to say to move the story forward, so in this concluding part we’ll take a look at some more reasons and the ways that writers can avoid these common problems. If you find that your story struggles with what to do next, this is usually because you have run out of ideas – the kind of ideas that should push the story forward. Many stories tend to start off with plenty of momentum and fire, but then they start to trundle after ten or eleven chapters and eventually they become a chore because the zest of those first ten or eleven chapters has worn off. And the magic reason why? The writer hasn’t planned anything. They haven’t outlined chapters or thought through scene scenarios, nor do they truly know what the main character’s goal ...

There are lots of reasons why writers get to a certain point in their novel and then hit a brick wall. They seem unable to proceed, as though stuck with nowhere to go, nothing to write or nothing to say. Some say this is a symptom of writer’s block, but any blockage lies with the writer, not the blank page, so more often than not, the gradual realisation that that the book is going nowhere is known as a mid-story crisis. The ‘crisis’ in question can encompass all manner of things, so we’ll take a look at the main reasons, why they happen and ways writers can recognise them and combat them. The good news that most writers have suffered the ‘mid story crisis’ at some point in their writing careers, so it’s not uncommon. Every writer starts their novel out with enthusiasm and fire, but then halfway through the process, things become sluggish, writing becomes harder and eventually the writing grinds to a halt. They struggle to understand why this happens, particularly when they h...

Last week we looked at how you create a cast of supporting characters, and this week we continue the theme by looking at just how important those supporting characters are.   Nothing happens in any story without the secondary characters getting involved on many different levels. They contribute more to any story than just “being in the background”. Their importance shouldn’t be ignored – they don’t just interact with the main characters or provide a foil, but instead they help advance the plot, they move the story forward, carry subplots, heighten conflict, reveal information and do much more.   Supporting characters also need to be vivid – they won’t share the same amount of time in the spotlight as your protagonist and antagonist – so they need to reflect real people, they should be intriguing and interesting enough for the reader to care about them.   Plot Advancement   It’s surprising just how some secondary characters shoulder more story than...

While every good story needs memorable main characters, they are nothing without a supporting ensemble of secondary characters. That’s because it’s not just your main characters that carry the story – other characters play an important role in conveying the story, too. While secondary characters don’t drive the story in the same way that the antagonist does, they move it forward in their own ways; they shoulder the responsibility for different points of the story and they strengthen it when involved with subplots. They often have strong connections to the main character – they might be family members, friends or colleagues, or even enemies. They also have strong connections with the story arc and subplots. Any supporting cast of characters has their own little part to play in the story. In other words, they have a reason to be there. Why are they there? What will they do for the story? What is their motivation? What conflict will they cause? How will they move the story forwar...

We’ve looked at this subject before, but it’s always good to revisit certain elements of fiction writing, it helps keep things fresh in the memory, so it’s time to look again at the art of a good turning point. So what do writers mean when they talk of turning points? A turning point describes exactly what it is – it’s a pivotal moment within the story when the story takes a turn in a different direction and things change. This occurs either through the actions or decisions of the main character, or there’s a significant reveal. It may be the character faces a terrible dilemma. They’re important in fiction because no story is without ups and downs and twists and turns, otherwise there wouldn’t be any story. They don’t always have to be physical turning points – through actions, for example – they can also be emotional turning points when, perhaps, a character ‘realises’ a hard truth or loses someone important to him or her. Perhaps it is something unexpected, so thes...

Part 1 looked at five tips to use when it comes to editing, things such as waiting to finish the story before you edit, printing it out so you have a physical copy to look at or reading it aloud and so on, but here are five more hacks to help writers help themselves where editing is concerned, starting with hack number 6... 6. Keep a Continuity Sheet/Notebook Similar to making notes, this is another tried and tested method that many writers use. A continuity sheet or notebook is a useful way to make sure that key details remain correct and consistent throughout the story - things like character names, place names, incidents, characteristics, colours, settings and clothing etc. It’s easy to forget that your hero might be a blonde, blue-eyed stud because by chapter 25, after all the action and excitement of the story, he’s morphed into a man with brown hair and dark eyes. Or it could be that in chapter 3 he’s from a town called Oakley, but in chapter 7 it’s become Oakly. Perhap...

Editing isn’t the most enjoyable process for some, or the easiest, but there are ways to make the process simpler, especially for beginners, so these insights will help make it easier for writers – regardless of their experience – to help themselves when it comes to editing their work. Hacks, tips, snippets of advice – whatever you want to call them, they provide a starting point for writers, something to work to, and while there is never a right or wrong way to do things, they’re all tried and tested, and they all work in their own way. So, what’s the best way to try to edit a novel?   What are the best tips? In this first part, we’ll start will the basics and work our way up. 1. Finish the Manuscript There is a valid and important reason for this particular piece of advice, and it’s now an accepted an accepted universal guidance. The reason why we say it’s better to finish the manuscript first is because it makes the entire editing process easier. There are writer...