Some Simple Steps to Creating An Awesome Novel or Collection or Script!!! Use the following for which ever type of writing you are currently involved in..
Novels: To all of you who are currently reading this, if you haven't already, I suggest going to read my organizing page in the advice column first so you have a better idea of what I'm talking about. Now, when it comes to EDITING a novel, it's not the easiest thing in the world, and surely not the quickest either. So I suggest taking it chapter by chapter, in editing, OR writing. Normally every morning when I get up, I write either half a chapter, or a whole chapter depending on my mood and desire to write. Sometimes its best to write rough-draft chapters in your novels, based on your mood. Write an action scene when mad, or a love and loss scene when sad or lonely. The more you connect with you book, I can sincerly ensure, the better it will be and it will appeal and connect better with your readers.
Also if you're stuck in a place in your book where its a bit more boring than the rest, I have a trick that works for me. Add more detail, so the piece is more interesting to read. Also it is a great way to paint a better picture in your reader's head. Also you can maybe add some foreshadowing to your novel to get your reader excited to turn the page, even if in a more dull moment in your novel.
When it comes to naming a novel, I know this may seem easy, but sometimes it really isn't. I think about these things, what the book's plot is centered around, who the main character(s) are, and maybe possibly a hidden meaning to the book's plot or moral. This usually is where I come up with a name. This should be a good start to your novel, building it to be as great as you want it. (more advice to come in the future)
Short-Stories: Please I suggest reading my Organizing Tips page in the Advice column before you read this. However, UNLESS you are writing about the same character(s), I don't think you'll need the Character-Layout. So as for editing, really you can edit a short-story at a time, fixing grammar and spelling errors and then change things as needed.
The important thing about short-stories is you know how to explain the situation in a short amount of space. If you have trouble with this, go to my Challenges page and check out some to practice. Also, you need to pack the important detail and get rid of the non-needed ones. Detail is still very important, but its more important in a novel or poem. Also, similar to a novel, you need a good hook at the start, and then a dramatic ending. If you don't want dramatic, go for a funny one. Those are usually your two best choices.
When writing a collection of short-stories, it is important to stick to the same genre, or genres similar to each other. If you want to mesh tons of different genres, I then suggest making different sections, like parts in a novel. For example one part could be "Love and Drama" and another could be "Sci-Fi and Dystopian". However, normally you'd want to have Mystery be its own category. This is only because this is such a big kind of category.
(more advice to come in the future)
Poems: Poems may be short, but that doesn't mean it can't have an impact same or even more as a novel. Normally, poems are focused on one topic in one or possibly two genres. Action, Nature, Love, Mystery, Horror, etc. All can make for a rather dramatic poem (which doesn't mean it has to be a Drama-genre :). For editing poems, spelling is the problem, and if you're not to good with grammar, poems are the way to go. Poems can defy the laws of grammar, which helps when writing any piece of work, from a published novel to a school essay.
I personally include poems sometimes in novels or short-stories. I think it is good to add a powerful message, which any poem can, as long as they were written from the heart and carefully. You can't really write a poem 'correctly' unless your doing something like a haiku. A key factor in a poem is DETAIL. Adding wonderful amounts of detail can do WONDERS for your poem or poems. I suggest using a thesaurus for more interesting words. But here's the thing some people don't know about a thesaurus. If you use it to much, your poem, or any piece of writing can start sounding really funky. Take one episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. for example (T.V. Show). Joey uses a thesaurus to write a letter for Chandler and Monica to an adoption agency and well...it doesn't turn out all to great. Sometimes there's a different between trying to sound smart and creative, to sounding weird and confusing.
(more advice to come in the future)
Plays&Scripts: I suggest reading my Organizing Tips page before reading this. Now, scripts and plays have a slightly different format than say novels and short-stories. Sometimes they are difficult to write. Being a novelist myself, if find it extermly hard to transfer form to plays. I still wrote one. When editing a script, the first thing you want to check is your formatting. Is it to long between the dialogue? Is it to choppy within the dialogue? Dialogue is probably the key factor to a play. If you have good dialogue and characters and an interesting plot, your script will be a success.
Now when it comes to play, honestly the only detail you need is what happens when you watch the play. This means Settings, Costumes, and Look of the Actors. That's really all the detail you need because your viewers will not be reading the script as you go along. The other thing is, you really don't need a lot of it. Don't poor yourself into detail for a play, focus mainly on the dialogue. Does that mean abandon detail completely? Heck no! It's just that only a minimal amount is required to make it good. What you really want to focus on in a good play is that CHARACTERS. You really want to make the characters seem alive, so the more you get to know them, the easier the dialoge will come.
Also when it comes to plays you really don't want to have a lot of slow parts in the play or else your audience will get bored, and you don't want that.
(more advice to come in the future)
Novels: To all of you who are currently reading this, if you haven't already, I suggest going to read my organizing page in the advice column first so you have a better idea of what I'm talking about. Now, when it comes to EDITING a novel, it's not the easiest thing in the world, and surely not the quickest either. So I suggest taking it chapter by chapter, in editing, OR writing. Normally every morning when I get up, I write either half a chapter, or a whole chapter depending on my mood and desire to write. Sometimes its best to write rough-draft chapters in your novels, based on your mood. Write an action scene when mad, or a love and loss scene when sad or lonely. The more you connect with you book, I can sincerly ensure, the better it will be and it will appeal and connect better with your readers.
Also if you're stuck in a place in your book where its a bit more boring than the rest, I have a trick that works for me. Add more detail, so the piece is more interesting to read. Also it is a great way to paint a better picture in your reader's head. Also you can maybe add some foreshadowing to your novel to get your reader excited to turn the page, even if in a more dull moment in your novel.
When it comes to naming a novel, I know this may seem easy, but sometimes it really isn't. I think about these things, what the book's plot is centered around, who the main character(s) are, and maybe possibly a hidden meaning to the book's plot or moral. This usually is where I come up with a name. This should be a good start to your novel, building it to be as great as you want it. (more advice to come in the future)
Short-Stories: Please I suggest reading my Organizing Tips page in the Advice column before you read this. However, UNLESS you are writing about the same character(s), I don't think you'll need the Character-Layout. So as for editing, really you can edit a short-story at a time, fixing grammar and spelling errors and then change things as needed.
The important thing about short-stories is you know how to explain the situation in a short amount of space. If you have trouble with this, go to my Challenges page and check out some to practice. Also, you need to pack the important detail and get rid of the non-needed ones. Detail is still very important, but its more important in a novel or poem. Also, similar to a novel, you need a good hook at the start, and then a dramatic ending. If you don't want dramatic, go for a funny one. Those are usually your two best choices.
When writing a collection of short-stories, it is important to stick to the same genre, or genres similar to each other. If you want to mesh tons of different genres, I then suggest making different sections, like parts in a novel. For example one part could be "Love and Drama" and another could be "Sci-Fi and Dystopian". However, normally you'd want to have Mystery be its own category. This is only because this is such a big kind of category.
(more advice to come in the future)
Poems: Poems may be short, but that doesn't mean it can't have an impact same or even more as a novel. Normally, poems are focused on one topic in one or possibly two genres. Action, Nature, Love, Mystery, Horror, etc. All can make for a rather dramatic poem (which doesn't mean it has to be a Drama-genre :). For editing poems, spelling is the problem, and if you're not to good with grammar, poems are the way to go. Poems can defy the laws of grammar, which helps when writing any piece of work, from a published novel to a school essay.
I personally include poems sometimes in novels or short-stories. I think it is good to add a powerful message, which any poem can, as long as they were written from the heart and carefully. You can't really write a poem 'correctly' unless your doing something like a haiku. A key factor in a poem is DETAIL. Adding wonderful amounts of detail can do WONDERS for your poem or poems. I suggest using a thesaurus for more interesting words. But here's the thing some people don't know about a thesaurus. If you use it to much, your poem, or any piece of writing can start sounding really funky. Take one episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. for example (T.V. Show). Joey uses a thesaurus to write a letter for Chandler and Monica to an adoption agency and well...it doesn't turn out all to great. Sometimes there's a different between trying to sound smart and creative, to sounding weird and confusing.
(more advice to come in the future)
Plays&Scripts: I suggest reading my Organizing Tips page before reading this. Now, scripts and plays have a slightly different format than say novels and short-stories. Sometimes they are difficult to write. Being a novelist myself, if find it extermly hard to transfer form to plays. I still wrote one. When editing a script, the first thing you want to check is your formatting. Is it to long between the dialogue? Is it to choppy within the dialogue? Dialogue is probably the key factor to a play. If you have good dialogue and characters and an interesting plot, your script will be a success.
Now when it comes to play, honestly the only detail you need is what happens when you watch the play. This means Settings, Costumes, and Look of the Actors. That's really all the detail you need because your viewers will not be reading the script as you go along. The other thing is, you really don't need a lot of it. Don't poor yourself into detail for a play, focus mainly on the dialogue. Does that mean abandon detail completely? Heck no! It's just that only a minimal amount is required to make it good. What you really want to focus on in a good play is that CHARACTERS. You really want to make the characters seem alive, so the more you get to know them, the easier the dialoge will come.
Also when it comes to plays you really don't want to have a lot of slow parts in the play or else your audience will get bored, and you don't want that.
(more advice to come in the future)