YESTERDAY’s work… finished Lesson 5 of the new Big Writing Course…

Got my fiction first TODAY — had to toss a bit of the most recent scene, came in with new words, and even came out a bit ahead. Came out with a net gain of 148 words. Not what I’d hoped for, but I’m glad to be getting fiction. And the RETHINK part of the scene was essential.

I’m going to also include what I got yesterday, which was nonfiction for the new Big Class.

I’m happy with the way the processes I’m demonstrating are coming together.

And while today’s is a subject that I’ve had to cover in every single writing class I’ve done, I’ve had to do that because it’s useful to every writer (fiction and nonfiction), and it isn’t a one-time process. You do it in some for with every single piece of fiction you write.

Every writing project benefits from this, and how you do it is different for every kind of fiction you write.

So… The lesson is done. Five out of twenty-three planned. Still no idea on what the Bonus will be. Just that there will be one.

If you have a question about fiction writing (or writing in general) that I haven’t covered, just reply to this post, and ask. And I’ll read through any replies, and see if anyone asks something I haven’t covered before.

If I can figure out a one-to-three-lesson bonus class from YOUR question, you’ll receive a nice reward as thanks for the question.


FICTION WRITERS! Sign up for Holly’s Thursday Writing Tips

image_pdfDownload as PDFimage_printPrint Page

Comments

4 responses to “YESTERDAY’s work… finished Lesson 5 of the new Big Writing Course…”

  1. Priya Avatar
    Priya

    So excited for your new course. Can’t wait to see what it is.

    Some ideas for bonus:
    1. Pacing for novels
    2. How to maintain suspense in the novel
    3. How to write effective twists and turns
    4. Writing action scenes

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      Thank you, Priya!

  2. Shelley Avatar
    Shelley

    How do you create a geek-deep religion? Complete with actually written out myths, prayers, recipes for sacred foods, etc? How do you end a story to show that there are no happily ever afters? (Not a sad ending, but an ending that demonstrates (as real life does) that there are really no arrival points where everything is perfect now, which tends to be the implication in just about every story without a sad ending where the central conflict is resolved? How do you create a map that involves time? How do you figure out the order to tell your story in when the chronology is nonlinear? How do you create a type of fictional government that’s radically different than what humans have used on Earth in the past 2000-ish years? How do you write a species with a sense that humans don’t have in a way that human readers can understand? How do you invent a genre? (Or rather, find a niche that doesn’t seem to exist yet, since I want to write stuff straddles the line of sci fi and fantasy (black holes and the big bang WITHOUT spaceships etc, magic WITHOUT dragons or werewolves etc). How do you write from the point of view of an atom? How do you make different types of maps for fiction? (A map of a library, a map that includes multiple dimensions, a map of a fictional multiverse, etc). How do you write a story with magic that DOESN’T involve the main character simply being born special? (i.e. no moments of “You’re a wizard, Harry!” and no being a slave child who happens to be absurdly strong in the Force) How do you write a story with magical/space-pondering elements that still focuses on the central journey of change within the main character (to the extent that a memoir might) MORE than the sci fi/fantasy stuff itself? It seems like every story I read that has magic focuses much more on the central magical defeat-Voldemort conflict with character development as a side dish, while every memoir/autobiography/fiction set on Earth within the constraints of our nonmagical reality seems to focus more on the character’s internal journey. Is it possible to have a world where there is magic but the focus is on the character’s internal journey (and mental illnesses)? (And, to somewhat complicate the last question) how do you write characters when you SUCK at writing characters?

    Apologies for asking lots of questions, but I’ve been wondering about some of these for a while (and I love asking questions).

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      I did a whole course on this, with worksheets and demos.

      And it’s $3.99 INCLUDING worksheets, demos, maps, and a live forum for discussion… So rather than answer all those many questions one at a time, I’m going to point you to where I already answered all of them.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

4
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x