Well, the day has finally come and Writing Fiction: A Guide for Pre-Teens is available at Amazon and CreateSpace. Yay! The Kindle version should be up in a day or two, and in a few weeks, it should be available on Kobo and at other on-line retailers. A labour of love, this book has kept me inspired and busy for the past several weeks, tweaking and adding final touches. The cover photo may still change, but for now I’m breathing a huge sigh of relief. You can take a peek at the Table of Contents below.
Hope you have some fun, writerly days ahead!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Getting Started 7
Joywriting 8
What do I need to be a writer? 9
Habits and Goals 11
Choosing Your Goal 11
Writing Every Day 12
Don’t Miss a Word 12
Write with a Friend or Two 12
Pantser or Plotter: Which are you? 15
The Pantser 15
The Plotter 16
Where do I get ideas for stories? 17
What if? 18
Write What You Know 18
Pick 4 Words 20
Writing Prompts 21
Plotting Tips 23
Basic Rule of Plotting 24
Story Planning 24
Plotting with the Hero’s Journey 27
How do I start my story? 31
Who should tell the story? 33
Point of View: First Person 33
Point of View: Second Person 34
Point of View: Third Person 34
How do I describe my characters? 37
Show Don’t Tell 38
Change Is Good 39
Character List 41
How do I describe the setting? 43
Think about how much you really have to describe. 43
Use Comparisons 43
Get the Senses Involved 44
Draw a Map or Use Photos 44
How do I write dialogue? 47
How do I end my story? 51
How do I make my writing better? 53
Revising and Editing 53
Words 53
Sentences 53
Combining Sentences 54
Paragraphs 55
What do I do when a story gets stuck? 59
1. Outline. 59
2. Forget about making the first draft perfect. 59
3. Write more than one story at a time.60
4. Put the story away. 60
5. Brainstorm. 60
6. Ask “What if?” 61
7. Don’t worry. 61
Last Words 63
Bibliography 65
