Writng Fiction: Cooking Up a Story

Basic Ingredients

Plot
Characters
Setting

Stir the ingredients until they separate into a beginning, middle and end.

Edit for grammar
Publish

If the process was as simple as the ingredients imply, there would be more successful writers than aspiring writers, and a million would-be writers wouldn't be working as accountants, clerks, and teachers.

Writing fiction is rewarding, but it's not easy. The guidelines and criteria are not clear cut, and what qualifies as a good story is defined by the readers, not the writers. It is easier to write a factual article about North American Hummingbirds or Walking for Fitness than to create something from nothing. There are guidelines that help, but it's the writer's imagination that breathes life into the story.

Many fiction writers outline their story and follow it from the opening sentence to the last period ending the book or story. I have spent hours and hours writing up an outline and then veer off track by the third page. Outlines do not work for me, but I have found that writing a guide does.

A guide outlines the premise of the story, not the story itself.

Theme

A theme is the concept behind the story. It's usually an abstract idea such as Love Conquers All or Justice Prevails. I rarely consciously choose a theme for the story but its there. The theme is usually tied to the writer's basic beliefs and viewpoint on life.

Hero/Heroine/Villain

There can be several characters or just one. With a single character you still need a villain. The villain can the hero/heroine's conscience or circumstances pushing them to do something they find abhorrent or immoral.

Conflict

The conflict is essential. Without it there is no story. It can be a battle between good and evil or right and wrong, growing pains, lessons learned... The list is endless, but a story without a conflict is just a meandering collection of words. It doesn't have to be overt but it needs to be there.

Crisis

The conflict escalates. A decision has to be made and action taken. The time to weigh the pros and cons is over.

Climax

The hero/heroine acts on the decision.

Resolution

Did they succeed or fail? Will they learn from their mistakes?
Resolution is the conclusion. It is a brief summary of what happened and where they will go from there. For some it's the moral of the story. However it's treated, the loose ends need to be tied up. The reader needs to understand and accept that the story is coming to an end without having to count the number of pages left to be read.


Wrap it up and tie a pretty bow around it.
A story doesn't have to end, but the issues addressed in the book need to be addressed in the resolution even if they are not resolved. A series will pick up the problem in the next book and expand on it.

I started writing several years ago more on a dare than any true interest in the craft, but I didn't expect it to be so much fun. I had a ball writing my first novel. I didn't know how to format a story, but that didn't matter. I just sat down and started writing. Since that day I've written five books, numerous short stories, and more articles than I can count.

I love to write.

Imagination is a writer's fuel of choice but I have found that reading fuels my imagination. I read and I write. I can't imagine doing one without the other.

My suggestion to any would-be fiction writers is simple. Don't focus on potential markets or writing trends. Read how-to books, but don't use them as cookbooks. Your best writing will be uniquely yours. Find your own style.

Write often and make it fun.

Review by Mary Fersner
as taken from Amazon.com

We've all kissed our share of toads in our search for Prince Charming, but some women just can't get a break. Such is the case in the humorous mystery, My Mother's Shoes. The debut novel of Elizabeth Jean Allen is a page turner loaded with characters you instantly love, and villains you love to hate.

Annie Natali's mother has been gone for ten years and Annie is convinced she's dead. Everyone else in town thinks she ran off with another man--a pattern that had kept tongues wagging in their small hometown for as long as Annie could remember. But when her mother's shoes and purse are uncovered at a construction site, Annie starts sifting through the gossip and lies in search of the truth.

Unfortunately, Annie has troubles of her own. She's separated from a cheating husband who wants to kill her. Her biological father tries to keep her employed at one job, while one of her step-fathers fires her from another. And a step-brother endeavors to keep her safe despite the fact she's too stubborn to accept his help because she's totally attracted to him.

Small town, USA comes alive with gossip, scandal and hilarity as Annie attempts to solve her mother's murder while trying to keep herself out of the grave.