KICKING THINGS OFF:
We humans seem to love stories because they reflect ourselves to ourselves by taking us on a journey. We are reeled along primarily by compelling & complex characters encountering conflicts & complications on their way to striving toward some goal.
So, all we really need to create a story is a CHARACTER and a CONFLICT (and maybe a setting, which could also be in a character’s mind).
To keep us focused as fiction writers, we’ll always return to this essential question:
“What is the primary yearning of this character?”
Here are some resources to get us started:
- LITERARY ELEMENTS INTRO SLIDES (PowerPoint)
- Writers are made, not born
- Worst Analogies Ever in High School Essays
- 55 Fiction (Learning to say more with less)
- 55 Fiction Samples (from World’s Shortest Stories)
- 55 Fiction-Metz Sample
- Complexity of Language
YOUR FICTION TOOLKIT:
Remember all those great MEMOIR Tools? They’re STILL handy!
- Show Don’t Tell
- Imagery Exercise- Abstract Concrete
- Writing Exercise – Setting- Details and Feel
- Writing Exercise – Setting – Farm-Metz example
- Great First-Last Lines FICTION
- New Speaker = New Paragraph
- 300 Ways to Say “Said”
But we probably shouldn’t move forward without this from Kurt Vonnegut:
- The Shapes of Stories “Lecture” (5 mins video + BrainPickings Article)
- 8 Tips on How to Write a Great Story-Vonnegut ( 2 mins video + Brainpickings Article)
And here’s some more invaluable FICTION FODDER….
- How To Be A Writer
- David Sedaris MasterClass (preview video)
- Take Risks & Tell The Truth: How To Write a Great Short Story (Donal Ryan- The Guardian)
- Fiction Flow – Get It Going
- How Can I Begin a Story
- Story Starter Helpers – SEVERAL
- Story Starter Helpers-FICTION
- Story Starter -Writers Block Helper
- WHACK – Brainstorm Story Starters
- Character Profile Worksheet
- Character Profile Sheet with Samples
- Playing with POV- The 3-Way Wake with Samples
- Symbolism Exercise – The Journey Within
- Plot Diagram and More
- Plotting Your Plot – Story Designs
- PROS & CONS of Present Tense (MasterClass)
- Peer Critique Sheet – Short Story
- Fiction Writer Checklist
- 10 Hints for Creating a Great Short Story
- Good Story Starts – Samples
- Dialogue-Narration Mix (Fiction Sample-A Confederacy of Dunces)
- Dialogue Sample – Raymond Carver- Popular Mechanics (Full Story)
- Story Sample – Downers Grove
- Student Sample – The Bride Wore White
- An interesting story idea: Walmart Purse w/Prisoner Note Inside
- Author’s Research Too: Look at What Hamnet author Maggie O’Farrell Did
SOME SUPERIOR SAMPLES FROM SUPERIOR WRITERS:
- The Open Window – Saki HH Munro
- The Flowers-Alice Walker
- Angela’s Ashes Excerpt-Frank McCourt
- Song of Solomon Excerpt-Toni Morrison
- 100 Iconic Love Stories From Around the World