But first, this:
I hope I have given you lols. Go read it, it's awesome! http://dragongirlhellfire.deviantart.com/gallery/31624694
So, plot. Some people prefer not to plot out their stories, but come anyways! Once your story is finished, you want to know the elements of a good plot so you can see where you succeeded and where you failed.
Two tips on plot, from http://blog.janicehardy.com/2012/05/best-advice-on-plotting-ive-ever-heard.html
are to focus on Cause and Effect.
"When writing out your plot, think in terms of but and therefore. When you’re writing, don’t worry about if a section is a scene or sequel. Think cause and effect, sentence-by-sentence, action to reaction, scene to scene, and you’ll never go wrong." This tip is a lot like the other one, and is just as helpful.
so, basically I am now just going to list websites and tips. I promise this will make actual sense at the lesson... probably.
This related to plot and character: What is your main characters heart's desire? The plot should stem around this desire. Heart's desires can change, but they cannot be instantly rewritten. If your character really wants a dog, then they will not just walk past free puppies. But if they get a dog and realize how much work they take, your character may change their minds.
http://writerswrite.co.za/the-top-10-tips-for-plotting-and-finishing-a-book
This website has a few good tips, but I don't like all of them (So I'll leave them out)
1. Write the ending first. It may change in the future, but it's good to have at least a general idea of where you're ending. You don't have to plot before you start your story, but it can be helpful.
2. Choose your antagonist first. This may not apply in all cases. Most of my stories have started out as a character. But you need to develop your villain just as much as you develop your hero. We don't have to like their goals, but we should be fascinated by them, or at least interested.
3. Decide on a genre and stick to it. Don't change from fantasy to romance!! You can have romance elements in a fantasy story, or fantasy elements, but don't start one way and then snap into another. No one will love you and I for one will be thoroughly disappointed. (This happened to me once. No wonder the book was free...)
4. Be disciplined with settings. Do not introduce a brand new setting towards the end of the book. Try to keep to a small number of areas, and if your characters stay in a place for more than a night or if that place has significance in either the plot or their lives, do development behind the scenes that is not necessarily included in the story. Try to stick to around five major settings.
5. Don't include to many characters. You can have a large cast, but most of that cast should function off camera and behind the scenes. They may appear for a few moments, but the main characters of your story should be a small and elite group. Don't use my stories as an example, for example! I have way too many characters, and not only is it hard to keep track of them all, it's hard to give each character the time they need, so many of them can become sorely underdeveloped, while characters who have almost no appearances have tons of development. (This can though, in my opinion, be a good thing. trixie doesn't show up too much, yet when she does the effects are... large, to say the least. And even though you never really know her whole story, you can tell that its there.) If you are going to have multiple points of view, don't have any more than three. It kills all sense of understanding if you have more than that. And I could go on with just this all day, so I'll stop before this gets any longer.
6. Just write the end. It doesn't matter that there's loose ends. Once you end your story, you can go back and look at everything as a whole. But before you even scroll to the top, close your microsoft word program or notebook and don't look at them again for at least two weeks. I've tried it both ways, and if you can force yourself to just leave it alone, completly and totally, you will be much the better for it.
And now I am finally going to shut up. See what happens when I actually prepare?
Br
I hope I have given you lols. Go read it, it's awesome! http://dragongirlhellfire.deviantart.com/gallery/31624694So, plot. Some people prefer not to plot out their stories, but come anyways! Once your story is finished, you want to know the elements of a good plot so you can see where you succeeded and where you failed.
Two tips on plot, from http://blog.janicehardy.com/2012/05/best-advice-on-plotting-ive-ever-heard.html
are to focus on Cause and Effect.
"When writing out your plot, think in terms of but and therefore. When you’re writing, don’t worry about if a section is a scene or sequel. Think cause and effect, sentence-by-sentence, action to reaction, scene to scene, and you’ll never go wrong." This tip is a lot like the other one, and is just as helpful.
so, basically I am now just going to list websites and tips. I promise this will make actual sense at the lesson... probably.
This related to plot and character: What is your main characters heart's desire? The plot should stem around this desire. Heart's desires can change, but they cannot be instantly rewritten. If your character really wants a dog, then they will not just walk past free puppies. But if they get a dog and realize how much work they take, your character may change their minds.
http://writerswrite.co.za/the-top-10-tips-for-plotting-and-finishing-a-book
This website has a few good tips, but I don't like all of them (So I'll leave them out)
1. Write the ending first. It may change in the future, but it's good to have at least a general idea of where you're ending. You don't have to plot before you start your story, but it can be helpful.
2. Choose your antagonist first. This may not apply in all cases. Most of my stories have started out as a character. But you need to develop your villain just as much as you develop your hero. We don't have to like their goals, but we should be fascinated by them, or at least interested.
3. Decide on a genre and stick to it. Don't change from fantasy to romance!! You can have romance elements in a fantasy story, or fantasy elements, but don't start one way and then snap into another. No one will love you and I for one will be thoroughly disappointed. (This happened to me once. No wonder the book was free...)
4. Be disciplined with settings. Do not introduce a brand new setting towards the end of the book. Try to keep to a small number of areas, and if your characters stay in a place for more than a night or if that place has significance in either the plot or their lives, do development behind the scenes that is not necessarily included in the story. Try to stick to around five major settings.
5. Don't include to many characters. You can have a large cast, but most of that cast should function off camera and behind the scenes. They may appear for a few moments, but the main characters of your story should be a small and elite group. Don't use my stories as an example, for example! I have way too many characters, and not only is it hard to keep track of them all, it's hard to give each character the time they need, so many of them can become sorely underdeveloped, while characters who have almost no appearances have tons of development. (This can though, in my opinion, be a good thing. trixie doesn't show up too much, yet when she does the effects are... large, to say the least. And even though you never really know her whole story, you can tell that its there.) If you are going to have multiple points of view, don't have any more than three. It kills all sense of understanding if you have more than that. And I could go on with just this all day, so I'll stop before this gets any longer.
6. Just write the end. It doesn't matter that there's loose ends. Once you end your story, you can go back and look at everything as a whole. But before you even scroll to the top, close your microsoft word program or notebook and don't look at them again for at least two weeks. I've tried it both ways, and if you can force yourself to just leave it alone, completly and totally, you will be much the better for it.
And now I am finally going to shut up. See what happens when I actually prepare?
Br
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