11 Tips For New Writers
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About this ebook
The goal of writing fiction should be to tell a story so compelling the reader has a hard time putting the book down. Over the course of eight years and fifty-three romances, Ruth Ann Nordin has picked up some practical tips for improving the storytelling craft. These are tips she shares in this short book.
The topics included in this book are as follows:
Starting With An Idea
Picking Your Genre
The Proper Use of Backstory
Point of View
Characters are the Heart of the Story
Your Setting (aka World): The Character is Always Key
When You Get Stuck
If the Scene Doesn’t Add to the Plot, Throw It Out
If You Never Finish a Story
There Is No Perfect Time To Write, So Write Today
Polishing Up Your Book
Ruth Ann Nordin
Ruth Ann Nordin has written almost 100 romances, ranging from Regencies to historical westerns to contemporaries. She plays with other genres from time to time, but her first love is romance. She has been happily married for twenty-two years to a sweet and funny guy, and they have four sons, who are all taller than Ruth now that they're 16, 17, 19, and 20. The good thing is she doesn't need a ladder. She considers herself very lucky to have led such a charmed life. Being able to play with characters and create stories is just icing on the cake. Hopefully, she'll get to keep doing this many years to come.
Read more from Ruth Ann Nordin
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11 Tips For New Writers - Ruth Ann Nordin
Writing Tips: Book 1
Tips for New Writers
Ruth Ann Nordin
11 Tips for New Writers – Smashwords Edition
Published by Ruth Ann Nordin at Smashwords
Copyright © 2015 by Ruth Ann Nordin
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
This is a work of nonfiction with fictional examples to prove the author’s point. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes:
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold. If you would like to share this book with another person, please do. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Cover Photo images Dreamstime. www.dreamstime.com All rights reserved – used with permission.
Wedded Bliss Romances, LLC
http://www.ruthannnordin.com
Table of Contents
Starting With An Idea
Picking Your Genre
The Proper Use of Backstory
Point of View
Characters are the Heart of the Story
Your Setting (aka World): The Character is Always Key
When You Get Stuck
If the Scene Doesn’t Add to the Plot, Throw It Out
If You Never Finish a Story
There Is No Perfect Time To Write, So Write Today
Polishing Up Your Book
Additional Resources
Starting With An Idea
Once you have an idea for a story, decide where you want to go from there.
1. Expand your idea to get a better feel for the story that is developing.
Start looking into possible scenarios that could develop in your story. This is a brainstorming session. Everything is on the table. Ask lots of questions. Let your imagination run wild. If you write them all down, you won’t forget them later, but there are times when no pen is handy (like if you’re driving on the interstate). So what I try to do in these situations is play the idea out as a movie in my mind to help me remember it.
Let’s say this is my idea: I want to write a story about a married couple who are seriously thinking about getting a divorce, but they hesitate to because of their daughter.
From there, you brainstorm smaller ideas to go with this main one. Like this: Perhaps, the husband is a work-a-holic, and the wife feels neglected. Maybe she was tempted to cheat but didn’t, but maybe he believes she did. (Why? That would have to be developed in the story.) So at the moment, they’re separated as they try to figure out what to do.
Okay, so you have a few ideas. These ideas are not set in stone, and you don’t have to have all the answers to all your questions. It’s actually good if you don’t because these ideas may change as you write the book. What this does is gives you a brief sketch of what