Introduction
Yo! I'm going to guide you through a series of courses and tips to help you improve your writing. Who am I you ask? I'm BP, one of the experienced writers here on the WBO. Are you ready? Well, here we go.
Chapter 1 ~ Your Main Storyline
First things first. Take some time to relax down and, in one sentence, write down the summary of your story. For example, "The Earth is threatened by different species and only those who have the courage can stop them." (That is the summary of a story I'm working on named "Friend or Foe".) From that one sentence, expand it so as you describe the setup, disasters/conflict, the ending, the settings, the characters and etc. By then, you have your rough idea of the whole story and what's there for YOU to unfold. Now, it is time to ad your sub-plots. Sub-plots are secondary plots that depict a side story of the story. Sub-plots should be related to the main plot and they should come together within the last few chapters of the novel. Remember though, your plot should be in sync with the theme you chose for your novel. You don't just write about elves and wizards when it's a Sci - Fi novel no?
Chapter 2 ~ Making Your Characters
Ah yes. This is very important indeed. Your characters are the ones who guide you and the readers through the plot. First of all, start with a name. Don't use any part of your name or a name you wish to have or else your character will scream, "MARY SUE!!". What are Mary Sues you ask? Mary Sues are characters that are perfect and don't have flaws at all. You know that no one is perfect. But then you ask, "But it's a story. Anything is possible in one." No. You must keep your story realistic. Nothing/No one, real or not real, can be perfect. Everyone will have a flaw no matter how hard you try o get rid of them. You can take tests to check if your character/s are Mary Sues by the way. Here are some:
http://www.ponylandpress.com/ms-test.html
http://www.katfeete.net/writing/marysue.html
http://www.springhole.net/writing/marysue.htm
Now going back, here is your checklist to make your character/s:
The character's name
A one-sentence summary of the character's storyline (Or, if you're on a roll, write a whole page of what's his/her role in the story. Is he/her a protagonist? Or an antagonist?)
The character's goal (What is he/she trying to achieve throughout the story?)
The character's conflict (What prevents him/her from reaching that goal?)
The character's development (How is he/she going to change throughout the story?)
Once again, take some time to write some pages of description for each for the major characters in your story. But then again, if you have major characters, you should have minor characters! Minor characters help develop and drive the plot. They make the main characters more meaningful! Once again though, they are still characters therefore, you should still avoid making them into Mary Sues!
I'm going to update this. I'd need help writing it too! If somebody offers their help, this might turn into something all of the experienced writers here will write!
Yo! I'm going to guide you through a series of courses and tips to help you improve your writing. Who am I you ask? I'm BP, one of the experienced writers here on the WBO. Are you ready? Well, here we go.
Chapter 1 ~ Your Main Storyline
First things first. Take some time to relax down and, in one sentence, write down the summary of your story. For example, "The Earth is threatened by different species and only those who have the courage can stop them." (That is the summary of a story I'm working on named "Friend or Foe".) From that one sentence, expand it so as you describe the setup, disasters/conflict, the ending, the settings, the characters and etc. By then, you have your rough idea of the whole story and what's there for YOU to unfold. Now, it is time to ad your sub-plots. Sub-plots are secondary plots that depict a side story of the story. Sub-plots should be related to the main plot and they should come together within the last few chapters of the novel. Remember though, your plot should be in sync with the theme you chose for your novel. You don't just write about elves and wizards when it's a Sci - Fi novel no?
Chapter 2 ~ Making Your Characters
Ah yes. This is very important indeed. Your characters are the ones who guide you and the readers through the plot. First of all, start with a name. Don't use any part of your name or a name you wish to have or else your character will scream, "MARY SUE!!". What are Mary Sues you ask? Mary Sues are characters that are perfect and don't have flaws at all. You know that no one is perfect. But then you ask, "But it's a story. Anything is possible in one." No. You must keep your story realistic. Nothing/No one, real or not real, can be perfect. Everyone will have a flaw no matter how hard you try o get rid of them. You can take tests to check if your character/s are Mary Sues by the way. Here are some:
http://www.ponylandpress.com/ms-test.html
http://www.katfeete.net/writing/marysue.html
http://www.springhole.net/writing/marysue.htm
Now going back, here is your checklist to make your character/s:
The character's name
A one-sentence summary of the character's storyline (Or, if you're on a roll, write a whole page of what's his/her role in the story. Is he/her a protagonist? Or an antagonist?)
The character's goal (What is he/she trying to achieve throughout the story?)
The character's conflict (What prevents him/her from reaching that goal?)
The character's development (How is he/she going to change throughout the story?)
Once again, take some time to write some pages of description for each for the major characters in your story. But then again, if you have major characters, you should have minor characters! Minor characters help develop and drive the plot. They make the main characters more meaningful! Once again though, they are still characters therefore, you should still avoid making them into Mary Sues!
I'm going to update this. I'd need help writing it too! If somebody offers their help, this might turn into something all of the experienced writers here will write!
