Can Your Theme Be Proved In Your Story?

Can Your Theme Be Proved In Your Story?
by: Nick Vernon
Creative Writing Tips –

Your theme has to be something you can prove in your story - It doesn’t have to be a universal truth. This means that your theme doesn’t have to be something that happens in real life all the time (providing our logic can accept it, in order for us to believe it).

Whatever story you choose to write, be it a contemporary or a story which requires elements of fantasy such as in horror, science fiction etc… the events of that story have to appear logical.

What is not logical and consequently not believable is…

A character that has no knowledge of computers and overnight becomes a computer whiz

A car that goes over a cliff, bursts into flames and the character manages to escape unscratched

Etc

These are not believable because they can’t and don’t happen in real life and our logic doesn’t accept them.

Your theme will be believed when you prove it (providing of course you can.) Let’s see how you can do that.

We’ll start with a theme…

“Hard work leads to success.’

Our story is about a character whose goal is to reach a managerial position within the company that he works. For the reader to see how the character will reach his goal I will show him…

Working hard
Working long hours
Using his initiative
Being responsible
And all those qualities, in the end, will secure him the promotion he has been aiming for.

So my theme here will be proved that ‘Hard work leads to success’ because my character succeeds in the end.

>From the examples I have given so far, you may have noticed that my stories end on a happy note. Yours don’t have to. The ending will depend on the story you are writing and how you, the writer, prefers to end it.

I could have done the reverse with this theme. I could have said,

“Hard work doesn’t lead to success.”

My story will be the same but in the end I will have the character missing out on the promotion. Both themes will be proved because I have proved them in my story.

Any theme can work in a story providing you can prove it.

Have you proved your theme?

About The Author


Besides his passion for writing, Nick Vernon runs an online gift site where you will find gift information, articles and readers’ funny stories. Visit http://www.we-recommend.com

How Are You Plotting?

How Are You Plotting?
by: Nick Vernon
Creative Writing Tips –

Writing is a creative process and how every writer chooses to create, is individual to them. Likewise, with plotting, every writer plots at a level they are comfortable with.

Some just plot the bare essentials. They have a firm idea of the story they want to write and have a good memory to be able to memorize everything.

Others go into more detail. These writers prefer to figure everything out before they write the story.

How you plot will also depend on your level of experience. For the beginner, it’s recommended to plot thoroughly.

Before writing, think of every possible situation. Plot events thoroughly, plot scenes to the last detail and generally leave no questions unasked or unanswered. This way you will always know where you’re going.

_____________

Are You Using The ‘What If’ Technique When Plotting?

Your short story of 500, 2.000, 10.000 words or whatever word length you choose to write, will spring from a single idea - Perhaps a one-sentence idea.

So when you are still in that one sentence stage, using the ‘What If,’ technique is a good way of generating ideas to build on that initial story idea.

While you are in the plotting stage, experiment. Your aim should be to write the best story you can. Experiment to see what bits and pieces you can put together to write the best story ever.

So using ‘What If,’ ask yourself questions then answer them…

What if the character was like this?
What if this happened to him?
What if I placed him in this situation? How would he react?
What if I took this away from him?
What if his worst fear came true?
What if he doesn’t get what he wants? What will he do?
What if I placed this obstacle in his path? What will he do?
You’ll be surprised what you come up with, if you take the time to experiment.

About The Author


Besides his passion for writing, Nick Vernon runs an online gift site where you will find gift information, articles and readers’ funny stories. Visit http://www.we-recommend.com

Have You Tested Your Theme Against Your Plot?

Have You Tested Your Theme Against Your Plot?
by: Nick Vernon
Creative Writing Tips –

How we usually begin the preparation stage in the writing process is…

We think of an idea for a story
We think of a suitable theme
We plot
Once we come up with a theme and we begin plotting, we have to see how the theme and the plot match up. Sometimes as we plot we find that the theme we had initially chosen won’t do.

For example…

‘Winning The Lottery Makes Your Life Easier’

Plotting with this theme in mind, we have our characters pay off all their debts, go on endless shopping sprees, go on holidays, etc. We find though that this won’t make a very interesting story. So we spice it up, adding to the theme or coming up with a different one.

“Winning The Lottery Makes Your Life Easier But Everything Has Its Price.”

We can show the characters living the life of the rich for a while before they realize that being wealthy has its problems too...

They now fear for their safety
Their friends and relatives are constantly harping at their door asking for assistance
Etc
This second scenario creates more problems for the characters, so it’s more interesting for us readers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The preparation stage is there to prepare before you write. It’s our workbench where we figure everything out. We test our theme, we test our plot and once everything passes the test, then we begin writing.

You can change the theme as many times as you feel it needs changing, while you are in the preparation stage.

The main thing is to make your story interesting.

It’s not a good idea to keep changing the theme when writing the story because then you will have to keep changing the story. This means rewriting.

Figure everything out then write.

Have you tested your theme against your plot?

About The Author


Besides his passion for writing, Nick Vernon runs an online gift site where you will find gift information, articles and readers’ funny stories. Visit http://www.we-recommend.com
mail@we-recommend.com

Does Your Theme Contain Character, Conflict, Resolution?

Does Your Theme Contain Character, Conflict, Resolution?
by: Nick Vernon
Creative Writing Tips –

For a theme to work and the story, which will revolve around the theme, it has to contain three things…

Character
Conflict
Resolution
What’s the reason for this?

If your theme doesn’t contain these three essential elements, then you won’t be writing a proper short story. It might turn out to be an essay instead.

Because without…

1) Characters

You can’t achieve emotional depth. Readers become engrossed in stories because of the characters in them. They either become the character (sympathize), or read about an interesting person (empathize).

Emotional depth is achieved when readers use their imagination and senses and/or experiences to live the story through the characters.

2) Conflict

Your story will be boring. Why? Without conflict, something to stir things up, nothing happens. And a story, in which nothing happens, is one not worth writing about.

Your characters don’t lead carefree lives. Well, not in the instance you are writing about them. In that part of their lives they are faced with a problem. They want something and can’t get it because of the conflict, which is preventing them to do so.

And it’s that conflict and the struggle the characters has to undergo that keeps us readers interested and in suspense. Will the character succeed or won’t he? And when is this all going to happen? And how is it all going to happen?

3) Resolution

Something that starts has to finish, one way or another.

Once you have created great characters, which the reader will come to care about, and you have placed them in conflict, that conflict at the end of your story has to be resolved. The characters will achieve their goals or they won’t.

That doesn’t matter.

You can end your story as you please and as it suits your story – but you have to end it. Ending the story means resolving the conflict.

Does your theme contain character, conflict, resolution?

About The Author


Besides his passion for writing, Nick Vernon runs an online gift site where you will find gift information, articles and readers’ funny stories. Visit http://www.we-recommend.com

Have You Plotted Your Story Before Writing It?

Have You Plotted Your Story Before Writing It?
by: Nick Vernon
Creative Writing Tips –

The writer, who doesn’t have the time to plot, always finds the time to rewrite.

Sound familiar?

I’ve been guilty of this too, back in the early days of my writing apprenticeship. I was so eager to get stuck into writing my story that I wouldn’t bother with plotting.

Plotting gives you a sense of direction. It’s your map, which will lead you to write your story. Leaping into the unknown rarely works. Without a plot several things can happen….

Our stories aren’t focused
We lose our way
Our characters don’t come to life because we don’t take the time to develop them
We get stuck
The story strays from us
And all this happens when we haven’t figured everything out first.

Your plot is the foundation of your story. It’s the skeleton, which will hold your story together. Your plot is there to work everything out first – to see if it can be worked out, and then flesh out that skeleton with other elements that make a story.

Plotting is the difference between writing a story for yourself and writing one for an audience. Writing for ourselves doesn’t require too much strain because we only have ourselves to please. It’s when we have to please our readers that the hard work begins.

If you are aiming to sell your stories, plotting is a must.

Have you plotted your story before writing it?

About The Author


Besides his passion for writing, Nick Vernon runs an online gift site where you will find gift information, articles and readers’ funny stories. Visit http://www.we-recommend.com

Have You Tested Your Plot?

Have You Tested Your Plot?
by: Nick Vernon
Creative Writing Tips –

Our plotting stage is our testing area.

Everything in the plot should be tested for its effectiveness before we put in into our stories. If you believe something in your plot could be better, make it better.

Figuring everything out in your plot will save you time rewriting later.

So how do you test your plot?

Start with everything that has gone into it.

For example...

Are the events interesting?
Does your plot contain problems for the character to solve?
Have you given your character a goal?
Is the conflict strong?
Is the resolution of the conflict interesting?
Is the character interesting?
Is the setting of the story interesting?
Will the incident or situation be interesting to your readers?
Etc
Make a list of what your plot contains. Comb through it carefully and tick off each item. If you find that some things need to be worked on some more, work on them.

I know to some this might be tedious work, but…

“Every one-minute you spend in planning
will save you at least three minutes in execution.”
Crawford Greenwald

About The Author


Besides his passion for writing, Nick Vernon runs an online gift site where you will find gift information, articles and readers’ funny stories. Visit http://www.we-recommend.com

Ten Tips For Budding Authors

Ten Tips For Budding Authors
by: Kevin Hart
1. For me the most important tip is to write, write every day, 365 days a year. Remember practice makes perfect.

2. Very few authors are published on their first attempt; it’s a hard slog and you’ll often want to pact the whole writing business in. It’s then you’ve got to remember patience and perseverance.

3. If you are serious about writing as a career then treat it as such. If you wanted to be a doctor, lawyer, plumber, chef then you’d expect to have to learn the trade. Why should writing be any different? It will pay you to visit workshops and listen to what successful authors have to say. Learn from the masters.

4. I’m a member of a writers group and for me it is essential it helps feed me. Also visit sites like www.abcwritersnetwork.co.uk where you will learn about current creative writing contests. Use these contests to help hone your skills. If you are involved in promoting creative writing locally let them know they will advertise the event for you free of charge.

5. In my early days of writing one of my main faults was my failure to accept criticism. This was one of the problems my writers group helped me overcome.

6. Be cautious of loved ones who tell you that your writing is ‘marvelous,’ quite often they don’t want to offend. I’ve found it best to avoid showing my work to close family until I’ve had it tested elsewhere.

7. Don’t become a writer because you think it is an easy option. It is not. It is hard work. To become successful you have to work 365 days a year. There are very few other jobs that demand that sort of commitment. Maybe after you’ve hit the big time you can drop that down to six months in the year – maybe.

8 Carry a note book. If you get a sudden idea write it down. Ideas are like dreams they are very soon forgotten, but ideas are also like oak trees they can grow mighty big.

9. Believe in yourself, if you have what it takes to be successful then you will succeed. If you haven’t then you’ll soon know.

10. Finally Maeve Binchy gives this advice ‘write as you talk.’ Also write about what you know. I know that’s old hat but its true nevertheless.

Good luck

Kevin Hart Copyright © 2005

About The Author


Kevin Hart is a published author and chair of Armagh Creative Writers. He created and maintains the hightly successful web site http://www.abcwritersnetwork.co.uk

The website offers invaluable information to creative writing. In particular it holds a large data base of creative writing contests and competitions.

Creative Writing Tips - Have You Established Your Main Character At The Start?

Creative Writing Tips - Have You Established Your Main Character At The Start?
by: Nick Vernon
In the beginning of your story you have to grab your readers’ interest and sustain it till the end. Our hook is our character. Readers keep on reading to find out more about the character. To see what he’ll do in the story; how he’ll solve his problems. What his goals are and whether he’ll achieve them.

And because our character is the reason readers become hooked on our stories, establishing him at the start is a must in a short story. And it is essential to establish him at the start because we don’t have the capacity in our limited word length to introduce him at our leisure.

The bond between readers and character has to be developed almost immediately.

You might have a few characters though. How do you decide who your main character will be? A main character is one that drives the story.

Think of it this way… If we were to take him away, there will be no story because it’s his story we are telling. The story will unfold by what is happening or what has happened to him.

When you establish who your main character will be, the next thing to do is to find which of your characters is in the best position to tell the story. Will your main character tell his story or will you give that role to another character?

This is what we call Viewpoint and what we’ll see in more detail in proceeding chapters.

Your main character isn’t necessarily the one who is telling the story; he might not even appear in our story ‘physically’ but will be there through the thoughts of others. So the viewpoint character might be a secondary character.

Whoever is telling the story is the viewpoint character.

The viewpoint character gives the coloring of the story. Whatever this characters says, we will believe. It may or may not be true, according to the main character, but because he isn’t there ‘physically’ to voice his opinions, we will have to take the viewpoint character’s word for it.

In a novel you can play around with viewpoint. You can have several viewpoint characters. In a short story it works best with one.

So your main character, whether he’ll be telling his own story or someone else will be doing it for him, has to be established at the start of your story.

Having said that, let’s see the reasons why the main character may not be telling his own story...

Perhaps our main character is one that readers won’t sympathize or empathize with.
Or the main character will not view highly with our readers
Or the viewpoint character knows all the facts and can tell the story better
Etc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let me give you an example of a secondary character telling the story of a main character…

Let’s say your secondary character is a psychiatrist and the main character is the patient. Depending on what’s going to go on in the story, we’ll have to choose who’s in a better position to tell it. In this case, I will choose the psychiatrist.

I’ve done this because the patient is confused, being the one with the problems. The psychiatrist knows all the facts and his opinions will make things clearer to readers.

So, as the secondary character (the psychiatrist) unravels the story, we’ll become involved in the main character because it’s the main character’s story that is been told.

This may get a little confusing to the beginner writer. As they write they will have to keep in mind that the secondary character, although he’s telling the story, is NOT our main character.

The secondary character is there to do perform a task. He’s only the voice. It’s the main character we’ll become involved with.

A secondary character doesn’t play such an important role as a main character does. Therefore, information about secondary characters should be kept to a minimum. It’s not his story – it’s the main character’s story and the spotlight must, most times, be kept on the main character.

Take the above example for instance. It’s no relevance to the story how the psychiatrist started his career or where he received his diploma – what’s important, is what he has to say about the main character, his patient.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Introduce your main character straight away, as close to the beginning of the story that’s possible. Enable your readers to form a bond and that will keep them hooked.

Is your main character established at the start of your story?