All Write - Fiction Advice

I’ve written about this subject previously, but I’ve been asked to revisit this much underappreciated aspect of fiction writing, so therefore it deserves another look. There are so many elements that go into fiction writing that writers really should take the time to understand them, because writing is not an easy, instant process.   In fact, it’s quite difficult to conceive, develop, plan, research and write a novel.   And that’s because there are many technical things a writer should be aware of - not just creative ones - if they want to succeed.   So how many writers actually consider subtext? Surprisingly, not many. Writers have a tendency to race through their novels without considering the more mechanical aspects such as symbolism, simile, metaphor and so on.   And they do so because often, they are not aware that the story needs them. This is the difference between a serious writer and one that suddenly wakes one morning and decides they want to b...

Whatever the story, whatever the genre, there are always two sides to every story, and story tellers need to show that. But what does this actually mean? Put simply, writers are not just writing about their main character.   The story may be about them, but there are also other characters that share that same story.   In truth, it is not entirely about the main character.   That means that while every story must have a protagonist ; it must also have an antagonist .   The antagonist – otherwise known as the ‘bad guy’ (you might have more than one) – has a specific, important function in fiction writing.   If you don’t have one, then there will be little or no conflict in the story, and without conflict, there is no story to tell, because fiction (and life) is all about conflict. Primarily, any story will be about your main character – it’s about their journey, what happens to them, the decisions and dilemmas they face and the obstacles they have to ...

The answer is yes, there are some very clear differences between short stories and novels.   There are also clear advantages to writing and working with these different story types. Some writers love writing short stories, while others balk at the idea.   Other writers only write novels or novellas, and wouldn’t even entertain the thought of writing short stories. But why can some people only write one specific type, where others have easily diversified and can write anything from flash fiction, poetry, short stories, longer stories and novels? The answer probably lies in a writer’s own misconceptions and fears:   “I can’t write short stories – I don’t know how to…” or “I just can’t seem to write short stories, they never seem to work…”   There are other excuses, such as, “I can only write novels – short stories are too limiting…” or “Only serious writers write novels…” If a writer can write a 1000 word story, they can also write an 80,000 word novel – they...

Whether you write short stories or novels, having fully rounded, believable characters always complements a strong story and therefore makes the experience of reading the story more enjoyable. The one thing that can let a story down is clichéd, wooden characters that have little depth.   This often happens with first time writers who have not yet learned how to characterise, and often their first creations tend to fall flat. Another reason why characters might be somewhat like cardboard is the lack of attention to full characterisation. This is where writers tend to neglect characters for a plot driven story.   In other words, the story is great but the characters are thinly sketched. All primary characters need to be fully realised and, above all, believable, regardless of plot driven or character driven stories.   That means they have to relate to the reader like a real living, breathing person.   In effect, they have to leap from the page.   Every...

Continuing the theme of teasing the reader, we’ll look at a couple more of those elements which are at a writer’s disposal.   The last two common essentials to look at are foreshadowing and dialogue. Foreshadowing is a really effective tool if used correctly.   While it is very similar to the information and revelation hints that we’ve already touched upon, there are subtle differences between the two and they should be treated separately.   The act of foreshadowing is a deliberate path that the writer takes in order to fulfill an integral part of the plot.   It foresees events that will happen, rather than what might happen, which s what information hints might do. Foreshadowing is usually interpreted as something foreboding yet to happen within the story. Clever foreshadowing is achieved by using metaphor rather than the obvious info dump or by “this will happen in chapter 30” kind of thing.    Foreshowing can be represented by anything, a...

The great thing about writing is that is has a variety of tools available to the writer in order to render the best story possible.   We know about the right kind of characterisation, the right balance of basic elements such as description, narrative and dialogue, the amount of emotion and pace to use. We know about plots and sub plots, atmosphere and tension, and we’re aware of more complicated elements such as symbolism, metaphor and assonance and so on. But the one thing that readers seem to thrive on is the writer’s ability to tease – this is one of the reasons why they keep turning the page. Reading a story is based on a ‘need to know’ basis – the reader constantly needs to know. The deliberate tease has been used by storytellers for thousands of years.   It is designed to lure the reader, to keep them guessing, wrong foot them deliberately, or it allows them to make correct or incorrect assumptions. The opportunity to tease can occur throughout a novel and th...

Description is description, right? That depends on a writer’s perspective and how much the writer wants to invest in it.   Previous articles have looked at how important description is in any story, and why it’s needed, but what separates ordinary description from the kind that leaps from the page and gets writers noticed by editors and agents? The answer to that depends how a writer breathes life into description. Without doubt, description is one of the most important aspects required in fiction writing, and how a writer handles it makes all the difference to how good that description is. The thing with description is that sometimes it can be flat an uninspiring, not because something is particularly badly written, but because instead the author hasn’t really bothered with it.   This can make reading a laborious affair.   And if it is boring and unexciting, then this is indicative of ‘telling’ rather than ‘showing’, which is one of the most common at...